Breakdown of Na początku filmu nic się nie dzieje.
nie
no / not
film
film
nic
nothing
dziać się
to happen, to be going on
na początku
at the beginning
Questions & Answers about Na początku filmu nic się nie dzieje.
Why does the word początek change to początku here?
The phrase na początku (at the beginning) uses the preposition na which takes the Locative case here. The root word is początek. It loses the fleeting vowel 'e' and takes the Locative ending '-u' to become początku.
Why is it filmu instead of film?
The word filmu is in the Genitive case. In Polish, the Genitive is used to express possession or the English concept of 'of'. Therefore, początku filmu means 'the beginning of the film'.
Why do we use both nic and nie in this sentence?
Polish requires double negation. When you use a negative pronoun like nic (nothing), you must still negate the main verb with nie. A literal translation of this sentence would be 'At the beginning of the film nothing itself does not happen'.
What is the dictionary form of the verb dzieje, and why is się there?
The infinitive form is dziać się (to happen). It is an inherently reflexive verb, which means it always requires the pronoun się. Its present tense conjugation is irregular, which is why the stem changes to give us dzieje się (it happens).
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