Word
Jeśli intencja jest niejasna, nie wiadomo, co zrobić.
Meaning
If the intention is unclear, it is unknown what to do.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Jeśli intencja jest niejasna, nie wiadomo, co zrobić.
być
to be
nie
no / not
co
what
zrobić
to do / to make (someone something)
Questions & Answers about Jeśli intencja jest niejasna, nie wiadomo, co zrobić.
How does nie wiadomo work with the infinitive zrobić in this sentence?
The impersonal predicate nie wiadomo translates to 'it is unknown' or 'one does not know'. When followed by a question word like co and an infinitive like zrobić, it expresses uncertainty about an action. In this context, the structure translates naturally to 'nobody knows what to do'.
Could I use the imperfective robić instead of the perfective zrobić here?
Yes, but the perfective zrobić is a better fit for this sentence. It focuses on taking and completing a specific, one-time action ('what to do to resolve this specific situation'). Using the imperfective robić would imply a more general, ongoing dilemma ('what one should be doing' in a broader sense).
Why is there a comma before co zrobić?
Polish punctuation is heavily based on syntax rather than pauses. You must always place a comma before an infinitive phrase or subordinate clause introduced by a question word like co, gdzie, or jak, no matter how short the phrase is.
Why is niejasna written as a single word?
In Polish, the negative particle nie is written together as a single word with adjectives in their basic, positive degree. Therefore, instead of writing them separately, 'not clear' becomes the single adjective niejasna.