Questions & Answers about Nie mam dolarów.
Why does the word for dollars end in -ów here?
Because the verb is negated. The verb mieć (to have) usually takes the Accusative case, but when you make it negative (nie mam), Polish requires the Genitive case instead. Since we are talking about multiple dollars, we use the Genitive plural form: dolarów.
How do I know to use the -ów ending for the Genitive plural of dolar?
Dolar is a masculine noun that ends in a hard consonant (the letter r). The standard Genitive plural ending for most masculine nouns is -ów.
How is the ending -ów pronounced at the end of the word?
The letter ó sounds exactly like a regular Polish u (similar to the "oo" in the English "boot"). Additionally, consonants at the very end of Polish words lose their voicing, so the w sounds like an f. Therefore, the ending -ów sounds roughly like "oof".
Why isn't the word ja (I) used in this sentence?
In Polish, the verb ending already tells you who is doing the action. Mam specifically means "I have". You only need to add ja if you want to emphasize who you are talking about (for example, "I don't have dollars, but he does").
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