Breakdown of Nie ma jej w domu.
dom
house
mieć
to have
nie
no / not
w
in / on (a day)
jej
her (Genitive: after nie + verb, and in the n-form after prepositions)
Questions & Answers about Nie ma jej w domu.
Why does this sentence use jej (her) instead of ona (she)?
When you say someone is absent or missing, Polish uses the phrase nie ma plus the Genitive case. The Genitive form of ona (she) is jej. It literally translates closer to 'There is no of her.'
Wait, doesn't nie ma usually mean 'does not have'?
Yes! But nie ma is also used to mean 'is not present' or 'is absent'. Whenever you want to say someone isn't at home, at work, or here, you must use nie ma instead of nie jest.
Why is the word for home domu instead of just dom?
The basic dictionary word is dom. However, when you use the preposition w (in/at) to talk about a location, the noun must change its ending. This is called the Locative case, and for dom, it changes to w domu.
Could I put the pronoun first and say 'Jej nie ma w domu'?
You would be understood, but it sounds less natural. Short pronouns like jej are usually placed right after the verb (like ma) rather than at the very beginning of the sentence.
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