Questions & Answers about W nocy nic nie słychać.
Why is there no word for "you" in the Polish sentence if the translation says "you can't hear"?
The word słychać is an impersonal predicate. It translates to "can be heard" or "one can hear". Because it doesn't attach to a specific person, Polish just drops the subject entirely, whereas English usually fills the gap with a general "you" or "they".
słychać ends in -ć, so is it an infinitive verb?
It looks like an infinitive, but it is actually a special frozen word used only for general statements. You cannot conjugate it for "I" or "you". For impersonal sensory words like słychać (can be heard), widać (can be seen), and czuć (can be felt/smelled), the form stays exactly the same.
Why are both nic and nie used together here?
Polish requires double negation. If you use a negative word like nic (nothing), the predicate or verb must also be negated with nie. You are literally saying "At night, nothing is not to be heard."
Why is the ending -y added to make w nocy?
The preposition w (in/at) uses the Locative case when describing when or where something happens. The word noc (night) is a feminine noun that ends in a consonant, and its Locative form is made by adding -y.