Prepositional Pronouns (n-forms)
When a Polish pronoun immediately follows a preposition (like na meaning "at" or "on", or o meaning "about"), it takes a special form starting with the letter n. These are called "prepositional pronouns", and they exist simply to make pronunciation smoother.
Masculine and Neuter: niego
The standard accusative pronoun for "him" or "it" (for masculine and neuter nouns) is go. However, right after a preposition, it changes to niego. Let's observe this dynamic by watching a rather terrible comedian (komik).
| The comedian himself is insolent, so nobody looks at him. | Komik sam jest bezczelny, więc nikt nie patrzy na niego. |
| Marek, why are you whistling at him? Does he annoy you? | Marku, dlaczego gwiżdżesz na niego? On cię denerwuje? |
Feminine: nią
For feminine nouns, the standard accusative pronoun is ją. After a preposition, it changes to nią. This is especially useful when talking about a challenging audience (publiczność).
| It is a difficult audience, but the comedian is still looking at it. | To trudna publiczność, ale komik nadal na nią patrzy. |
| The comedian is insolent and gets offended at it. | Komik jest bezczelny i obraża się na nią. |
Plural Non-Masculine: nie
When referring to plural non-masculine items—like a set of bad jokes or punchlines—the standard pronoun for "them" is je. After a preposition, you must use nie.
(Note: This looks exactly like the Polish word for "no", but context and the preceding preposition make its grammatical role obvious!)
| His jokes are embarrassing, the audience does not react to them. | Jego żarty są żenujące, publiczność nie reaguje na nie. |
| The punchlines are embarrassing, nobody asks about them. | Puenty są żenujące, nikt nie pyta o nie. |