Breakdown of Mam na myśli twojego brata, nie ciebie.
nie
no / not
brat
brother
twój
your
ciebie
you
mieć na myśli
to mean, to have in mind (co masz na myśli?)
Questions & Answers about Mam na myśli twojego brata, nie ciebie.
Why is 'I mean' translated as mam na myśli instead of using the verb znaczyć?
The phrase mieć na myśli literally means 'to have on one's mind.' You use it when talking about what a person intends to say or who they are referring to. The verb znaczyć is used for the definition of words, like asking what a Polish word means in English.
What grammatical case is twojego brata in?
It is in the accusative case, which we use for direct objects. Even though it is part of the idiom mieć na myśli, the core verb is mieć (to have). You literally 'have your brother on your mind,' so the nominative twój brat changes to the accusative twojego brata.
Why do we use the long form pronoun ciebie here instead of the short form cię?
We use the long form ciebie because we are strongly emphasizing it and contrasting it with twojego brata. Short pronouns like cię cannot be used to show contrast, and they usually shouldn't stand on their own after a comma or the word nie.
Why does the sentence end with the accusative ciebie rather than the basic nominative ty?
The second half of the sentence still relies on the verb mam (I have) from the first half. You are effectively saying 'I don't have you on my mind.' Therefore, 'you' must be in the accusative case as a direct object, matching the case of twojego brata.
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