Learn Polish: Pracodawca zabrania pracownikom palić w biurze. - The employer forbids employees from smoking in the office.

The verb zabraniać (to forbid), just like kazać (to order) and pozwalać (to allow), requires the person receiving the command or permission to be in the Dative case. We use the Dative plural pracownikom to show who is being forbidden, and then simply attach the forbidden action as an infinitive (palić).

Why is the imperfective infinitive palić used instead of the perfective zapalić?

When expressing a general rule, ban, or ongoing prohibition, Polish almost always uses the imperfective infinitive. Using palić emphasizes that the act of smoking in general is forbidden. A perfective verb would only be used for a specific, one-time action.

Is zabrania perfective or imperfective?

Zabrania is imperfective, coming from the infinitive zabraniać. This matches the context of a general, ongoing company rule. If the employer were issuing a sudden, one-time ban, you would use the perfective equivalent, which is zabronić.

As a quick refresher, why does the word biuro change to biurze?