Questions & Answers about Nie znam go.
Why isn't there a word for "I" in this sentence?
In Polish, the verb ending usually tells you who is doing the action. The verb znam already means "I know" (from the base form znać). You can add ja to make it Ja nie znam go if you want to emphasize that it is you who doesn't know him, but normally the pronoun is just dropped.
Why use znam here instead of wiem? Both mean "I know" in English.
Polish uses two different verbs for "to know." You use znać (the base form of znam) when you are talking about being familiar with a person, a place, or a language. You use wiedzieć (where wiem comes from) when you know a fact or a piece of information. Because we are talking about knowing a person, we must use znam.
Does the negative word nie change the grammatical case of go?
Yes, but you can't see it here! In Polish, making a sentence negative changes the direct object from the Accusative case to the Genitive case. However, for the masculine pronoun "him", the short form for both of these cases is exactly the same: go. So whether you say "I know him" (Znam go) or "I don't know him" (Nie znam go), the word go happens to look identical.
Could I use the longer word jego instead of go for "him"?
Yes, but it changes the focus. Go is the short, unstressed form of the pronoun and is used in standard sentences. Jego is the longer, stressed form. You would only say Nie znam jego if you wanted to strongly emphasize "I don't know HIM (but maybe I know someone else)."
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