Word
Nigdy nie pożyczam pieniędzy obcym osobom.
Meaning
I never lend money to strangers.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Nigdy nie pożyczam pieniędzy obcym osobom.
nie
no / not
pieniądze
money
nigdy
never
osoba
person
Questions & Answers about Nigdy nie pożyczam pieniędzy obcym osobom.
Why do we use the dative plural endings in obcym osobom?
The verb pożyczać (to lend) needs the dative case to show who is receiving the item. In the dative plural, adjectives take the ending -ym (or -im) and nouns almost always take the ending -om. This changes obce osoby (strangers) into obcym osobom (to strangers).
Why is the word for money in the genitive case (pieniędzy) instead of the accusative?
Usually, the thing you are lending is the direct object and takes the accusative case. However, in Polish, whenever a verb is negated (here with nie), its direct object automatically switches to the genitive case.
Why are there two negative words (nigdy and nie) right next to each other?
Polish uses double negation. If you use a negative word like nigdy (never), nic (nothing), or nikt (nobody) in a sentence, you still have to put nie in front of the verb. Literally, this sentence says "I never do not lend."
Wait, doesn't pożyczać also mean "to borrow"?