Breakdown of W tym starym pokoju nigdy nie ma słońca.
mieć
to have
nie
no / not
ten
this (m)
stary
old
w
in / on (a day)
pokój
room
słońce
sun
nigdy
never
Questions & Answers about W tym starym pokoju nigdy nie ma słońca.
Why do we have both nigdy and nie in this sentence?
Polish requires mandatory double negation! Whenever you use a negative word like nigdy (never), nikt (nobody), or nic (nothing), you must also add nie before the verb. Literally, this sentence says 'never there is not'.
Can I change the word order to nie ma nigdy słońca?
Yes, Polish word order is quite flexible. Both nigdy nie ma and nie ma nigdy are perfectly correct. However, putting the negative pronoun (nigdy) right before the negated verb (nie ma) is very common and sounds natural.
Why is it słońca instead of the dictionary word słońce?
The phrase nie ma (meaning 'there is not' or 'there is no') always forces the noun that follows it into the Genitive case. Because we are saying there is no sun, the neuter noun słońce changes to its Genitive form, słońca.
Why do the words for 'this old room' end in -m and -u?
The preposition w (in) requires the Locative case when talking about a static location. The modifiers ten (this) and stary (old) change to tym and starym, while the noun pokój (room) changes to pokoju. Notice how the ó in pokój also changes to a regular o when adding the ending.
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