Szminka leży w torbie obok perfum, ale dziś jej nie używam.

Polish does not have articles. That means words like szminka, torbie, and perfum do not automatically show a or the.

So:

• Szminka can mean a lipstick or the lipstick
• w torbie can mean in a bag or in the bag
• obok perfum can mean next to perfume/perfumes or next to the perfume

The context tells you which one sounds best in English.

Because szminka is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

• szminka = nominative
• szminkę = accusative

Here, the lipstick is the thing that is lying somewhere, so it is the subject:

• Szminka leży... = The lipstick is lying...

If lipstick were the direct object, you would use szminkę, for example:

• Widzę szminkę. = I see the lipstick.

Leży comes from leżeć, which literally means to lie. In Polish, it is very common to use a position verb for objects:

• leżeć = to lie
• stać = to stand
• wisieć = to hang

So Szminka leży w torbie means something like:

• The lipstick is lying in the bag
• more naturally in English: The lipstick is in the bag

You could sometimes use jest for location, but leży sounds more natural when talking about an object resting somewhere.

Because after w meaning in, when you are talking about location, Polish uses the locative case.

So:

• torba = bag
• w torbie = in the bag

This is a normal case change:

• w domu = in the house
• w szkole = at school
• w torbie = in the bag

If w meant into rather than in, Polish would usually use a different case.

Because obok meaning next to / beside requires the genitive case.

So the noun after obok changes form:

• perfumy = perfume / perfumes
• obok perfum = next to the perfume / perfumes

This is similar to other Polish prepositions that require a specific case. You have to learn the preposition together with the case it takes.

In everyday Polish, perfume is very often expressed with the plural noun perfumy. This is one of those words that English speakers often find surprising.

So even when English says perfume in the singular, Polish often says:

• perfumy

In this sentence, after obok, it becomes the genitive form:

• perfumy → perfum

Because the pronoun refers back to szminka, and here the verb requires the genitive form.

For a feminine singular pronoun:

• ją = accusative
• jej = genitive (and also dative/possessive in other contexts)

The verb używać normally takes the genitive, so:

• używam szminki = I use the lipstick
• używam jej = I use it

That is why the sentence says:

• dziś jej nie używam

not:

• dziś ją nie używam

In standard Polish, używać is normally used with the genitive.

Examples:

• używam telefonu = I use the phone
• używam szminki = I use the lipstick
• używam jej = I use it

That is an important pattern to remember: some Polish verbs simply govern a case that may feel unexpected from an English point of view.

Also, używać is the imperfective verb. Its perfective partner is użyć.

Because in Polish, nie is written separately from most finite verb forms.

So:

• używam = I use / I am using
• nie używam = I do not use / I am not using

This is the normal spelling:

• nie wiem = I do not know
• nie mam = I do not have
• nie używam = I do not use

It can mean both, depending on context.

Polish present tense often covers both the simple present and the present continuous that English distinguishes.

So:

• używam can mean I use
• używam can also mean I am using

In this sentence, because of dziś (today), the natural English translation is:

• but today I’m not using it

Polish word order is more flexible than English word order, but some arrangements sound more natural than others.

Here:

• ale = but
• dziś = today
• jej = it
• nie używam = I’m not using

Putting dziś early gives it a bit of emphasis: but today...

Also, short pronouns like jej often appear before the verb, which is why jej nie używam sounds natural.

Other word orders may be possible, but this one is smooth and idiomatic.

Yes. Dziś and dzisiaj both mean today.

• dziś is shorter
• dzisiaj is a bit fuller, but both are very common

So you could also say:

• Szminka leży w torbie obok perfum, ale dzisiaj jej nie używam.

The meaning stays the same.

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• sz sounds roughly like sh in ship
• ż sounds roughly like the s in measure
• dziś has a soft sound that English does not match exactly

Rough approximations:

• szminka ≈ SHMEEN-ka
• leży ≈ LEH-zhih
• dziś ≈ something like jish, but softer
• jej ≈ yay or yey, depending on accent

These are only approximations, but they are good enough to get started.

Yes:

• Szminka — nominative
  the subject

• w torbie — locative after w
  location: in the bag

• obok perfum — genitive after obok
  next to the perfume/perfumes

• jej — genitive
  because używać takes the genitive

So this sentence is a good example of how Polish cases are triggered by both:

• the role of a word in the sentence
• the preposition or verb used with it