Lack or absence (nie ma)

Expressing Absence with "Nie ma"

In Polish, to say "there is no..." or to state that something is missing, use the phrase nie ma. It always requires the following noun to be in the Genitive case.

Here is how to form the Genitive for weather and nature nouns.

Masculine Nouns

Many masculine inanimate nouns take the ending -u in the Genitive.

  • wiatr (wind) → wiatru
  • deszcz (rain) → deszczu
  • śnieg (snow) → śniegu
  • las (forest) → lasu
The weather is good today, there is no wind.
Dzisiaj jest dobra pogoda, nie ma wiatru.
There is always snow there, but today there is no snow.
Tam zawsze jest śnieg, ale dzisiaj nie ma śniegu.
There is no forest here, there is only a city.
Tu nie ma lasu, jest tylko miasto.

Feminine Nouns

Feminine nouns ending in -a change to -y (or -i after k or g).

  • rzeka (river) → rzeki
There is no river here.
Tu nie ma rzeki.

Neuter Nouns

Neuter nouns ending in -o or -e change to -a.

  • słońce (sun) → słońca
  • drzewo (tree) → drzewa
  • morze (sea) → morza
  • jezioro (lake) → jeziora
In the morning there is no sun.
Rano nie ma słońca.
Is there a tree here? No, there is no tree here.
Czy tu jest drzewo? Nie, tu nie ma drzewa.
We love the sea, but there is no sea here.
Kochamy morze, ale tu nie ma morza.
There is no lake nearby, there is only a forest.
Blisko nie ma jeziora, jest tylko las.

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