Word
Czy na korytarzu nigdzie nie ma okien?
Meaning
Are there no windows anywhere in the corridor?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Czy na korytarzu nigdzie nie ma okien?
czy
[question particle]
mieć
to have
nie
no / not
okno
window
Questions & Answers about Czy na korytarzu nigdzie nie ma okien?
Why do we need both nigdzie and nie ma? Doesn't that mean "there are nowhere no windows"?
In Polish, double negation is mandatory. When you use a negative word like nigdzie (nowhere), the verb must also be negative (nie ma). Unlike in English, these negatives don't cancel each other out; they work together.
The English translation says "anywhere", but doesn't nigdzie mean "nowhere"?
Yes, nigdzie literally translates to "nowhere". However, because English doesn't allow double negatives, we have to translate nigdzie nie ma as "there are no... anywhere" to make it sound grammatically correct in English.
Why is the word for windows okien here instead of okna?
The negative phrase nie ma (there is no / there are no) always forces the noun that follows it into the Genitive case. Okien is the Genitive plural form of okno (window).
Why do we say na korytarzu instead of using w (in) for the corridor?
In Polish, the preposition na (literally "on") is conventionally used for certain spaces like corridors, halls, and train stations. It is paired with the Locative case here because it describes a static location, answering the question "where?".