W apteczce znalazłam jakiś plaster, ale nie widzę maści na tę małą ranę.

Because the verb is in the past tense, and in Polish past-tense forms show the gender of the speaker.

• znalazłam = I found (said by a woman)
• znalazłem = I found (said by a man)

So this sentence is being spoken by a female speaker.

After the preposition w meaning in, Polish usually uses the locative case.

• basic form: apteczka = first-aid kit / medicine box
• locative after w: w apteczce = in the first-aid kit

So w apteczce literally means in the first-aid kit.

Jakiś usually means some, some kind of, or a certain.

In this sentence, jakiś plaster means something like:

• some bandage
• some plaster
• some kind of plaster

It often suggests that the speaker is not being specific or doesn’t know exactly which one.

Not usually. In Polish, plaster commonly means:

• a bandage
• an adhesive bandage
• a Band-Aid-type plaster

So in a medical context like this one, plaster is not the building material. It is a medical item used on a wound.

Because after negation, Polish often uses the genitive case instead of the accusative with direct objects.

The verb widzieć normally takes the accusative:

• widzę maść = I see the ointment

But when it becomes negative:

• nie widzę maści = I do not see the ointment

So maści is the genitive singular form of maść.

This is a very common pattern in Polish:

• mam książkę = I have a book
• nie mam książki = I do not have a book

Because na in this sentence takes the accusative case, and both the adjective and noun have to match that case.

Base forms:

• ta = this
• mała = small
• rana = wound

Accusative singular feminine forms:

• tę
• małą
• ranę

So:

• na tę małą ranę = for this small wound

Everything agrees in gender, number, and case.

Here na means something like for or for use on.

In Polish, na is very often used when talking about medicine or treatments for a problem:

• lek na kaszel = medicine for a cough
• coś na ból głowy = something for a headache
• maść na ranę = ointment for a wound

So maści na tę małą ranę means ointment for this small wound.

Because Polish usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb already shows who is doing the action.

• znalazłam already means I found
• widzę already means I see

So adding ja is usually unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• Znalazłam plaster. = I found a plaster.
• Ja znalazłam plaster, nie ty. = I found a plaster, not you.

They differ in both tense and aspect.

1. znalazłam

This is the past tense of znaleźć, which is a perfective verb.
It describes a completed action:

• znalazłam = I found / I managed to find

2. widzę

This is the present tense of widzieć, an imperfective verb.
It describes a current state:

• widzę = I see

So the sentence means:

• first, the speaker found something,
• but now, at this moment, the speaker does not see the ointment.

Yes, depending on context, nie widzę can mean either:

• I do not see
• I can’t see

In this sentence, it most naturally means that the speaker cannot find / does not see the ointment in the first-aid kit.

Polish often uses simple nie widzę where English might say I can’t see.

Yes, Polish word order is more flexible than English word order because case endings show grammatical roles.

The given version:

• W apteczce znalazłam jakiś plaster, ale nie widzę maści na tę małą ranę.

is natural and neutral.

You could also rearrange parts for emphasis, for example:

• Jakiś plaster znalazłam w apteczce, ale nie widzę maści na tę małą ranę.
• Maści na tę małą ranę nie widzę, ale znalazłam jakiś plaster.

These all mean roughly the same thing, but the emphasis changes. The original sentence sounds like a normal, natural way to say it.

Because Polish has no articles like English a/an/the.

So maść or maści can mean:

• ointment
• an ointment
• the ointment

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, nie widzę maści most likely means I don’t see any ointment or I don’t see the ointment, depending on the situation.

In standard Polish, after a verb or preposition requiring the accusative feminine singular, the correct form here is tę:

• na tę małą ranę

You may hear tą in everyday speech, but in careful standard Polish, tę is the recommended form in this sentence.

So for learners, tę małą ranę is the form to use.