Nie musisz iść pieszo, możemy jechać autobusem.

you

Breakdown of Nie musisz iść pieszo, możemy jechać autobusem.

• iść: to go
• nie: not
• my: we

Questions & Answers about Nie musisz iść pieszo, możemy jechać autobusem.

Why does nie musisz mean you don’t have to, not you must not?

In Polish, nie musisz usually means there is no necessity: you don’t have to.

• Musisz = you have to / you must
• Nie musisz = you don’t have to

If you want to say you must not / you are not allowed to, Polish usually uses something like:

• nie możesz = you can’t / you’re not allowed to
• nie wolno ci = you must not / you are not allowed to

So in this sentence, nie musisz iść pieszo means there is another option, not a prohibition.

What form is musisz?

Musisz is the 2nd person singular form of the verb musieć (to have to / must).

So:

• muszę = I have to
• musisz = you have to
• musi = he/she/it has to

In the sentence, musisz matches an understood singular you.

Why are there two different verbs of movement: iść and jechać?