Breakdown of Ona dzisiaj nie pracuje, ale czyta.
ona
she / it (f)
nie
no / not
czytać
to read
pracować
to work
Questions & Answers about Ona dzisiaj nie pracuje, ale czyta.
Why does nie come directly before pracuje?
In Polish, the word nie (not) must go right in front of the verb it negates. Because we are saying she is not working, nie is locked in place immediately before pracuje.
The English translation says "is not working". Could nie pracuje also mean "does not work"?
Yes! Polish only has one present tense. Ona nie pracuje translates to both "She does not work" (in general) and "She is not working" (right now). The word dzisiaj (today) gives us the clue that it means "is not working" in this specific sentence.
Why isn't there an ona before czyta? Should it be ale ona czyta?
You do not need to repeat the pronoun. In Polish, the verb ending already tells us who is doing the action. Since czyta is the correct form for he/she/it, and we already know the sentence is about ona, repeating it after ale (but) is unnecessary and would sound a bit unnatural.
Can I put dzisiaj at the end of the first clause instead?
Yes, Polish word order is quite flexible. You could say Ona nie pracuje dzisiaj, ale czyta. However, putting dzisiaj earlier in the sentence is very natural. The most important rule to remember is just keeping nie glued to the front of pracuje.