Permissions with dative (wolno)

Expressing Permissions with "Wolno"

In Polish, to say that someone is allowed or forbidden to do something, we often use the impersonal word wolno. It does not change its form depending on who you are talking about.

To say "it is not allowed" or "one must not," simply add nie before it.

If a regulation (regulamin) applies generally to everyone, you can use wolno or nie wolno directly followed by an infinitive verb. If you break the rules, you might get a fine (mandat).

Specifying Who is Allowed using the Dative Case

Because wolno is impersonal (literally meaning "it is allowed"), we cannot use standard subjects like "I", "the dog", or "we". Instead, the person or animal receiving the permission must be in the Dative case (who is it allowed to?).

For example, if you want to ask if "we" are allowed to do something, you use the Dative pronoun nam (to us).

When specifying a noun, such as a dog (pies), a guardian (opiekun), or children (dzieci), you must also decline it into the Dative case:

• Singular masculine nouns often take the ending -owi (e.g., opiekunowi) or -u (e.g., psu).
• Plural nouns always take the ending -om in the Dative (e.g., psom, dzieciom).

Let's look at how these Dative forms are used to discuss rules for pets in public spaces: