Word
Nie chcę stracić dokumentu.
Meaning
I do not want to lose the document.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Nie chcę stracić dokumentu.
nie
not
chcieć
to want
dokument
the document
stracić
to lose or cease to have
Questions & Answers about Nie chcę stracić dokumentu.
What does chcę mean, and what form is it?
Chcę means I want.
It is the 1st person singular present form of the verb chcieć (to want). The ending -ę tells you the subject is I, so Polish does not need a separate ja here.
Why is there no ja in the sentence?
Because Polish often drops subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb ending.
So:
- chcę = I want
- nie chcę = I do not want / I don't want
You can add ja for emphasis or contrast:
- Ja nie chcę stracić dokumentu = I don't want to lose the document
That sounds more emphatic than the neutral version.
What form is stracić?
Stracić is the infinitive, so it means to lose.
After chcieć (to want), Polish normally uses an infinitive:
- chcę stracić = I want to lose
- chcę kupić = I want to buy
- chcę iść = I want to go
So the structure is very similar to English: want + to + verb.
Why is it stracić and not tracić?