Questions & Answers about To bynajmniej nie jest arcydzieło.
Why do we have both bynajmniej and nie in this sentence?
The word bynajmniej means "by no means" or "not at all", and it is used to strongly emphasize a negation. Because Polish uses mandatory double negation, bynajmniej almost always has to be paired with a negated verb, which is why we need nie jest here rather than just jest.
What would happen if I accidentally used przynajmniej instead of bynajmniej here?
The meaning would change completely. The sentence To przynajmniej nie jest arcydzieło means "At least it's not a masterpiece" (perhaps implying you are relieved it isn't overly complicated). Remember that przynajmniej means "at least", while bynajmniej strongly denies something. Mixing them up is actually a frequent mistake even among native Polish speakers!
Why is arcydzieło in the nominative case instead of the instrumental case after the verb jest?
Normally, a noun describing the subject after the verb być (to be) takes the instrumental case, for example: Ten film jest arcydziełem (This film is a masterpiece). However, this sentence uses the pointing pronoun to as the subject. When to is paired with jest, the noun that follows always stays in the basic nominative case, which is why we see arcydzieło here.
Could I drop the rest of the sentence and just say Bynajmniej?