Breakdown of Nie wiem, gdzie muszę złożyć ten wniosek.
gdzie
where
nie
no / not
ten
this (m)
wiedzieć
to know
Questions & Answers about Nie wiem, gdzie muszę złożyć ten wniosek.
Why is there a comma before gdzie?
In Polish, you must always put a comma before a subordinate clause. Here, gdzie muszę złożyć ten wniosek is an indirect question acting as the second part of the sentence, so the comma before the question word gdzie is strictly required.
Is złożyć the standard word for 'submit'?
Yes! While złożyć literally means 'to fold' or 'to assemble', the phrase złożyć wniosek is the standard Polish way to say 'to submit an application' or 'to file a request'. We use the infinitive form here because it follows the modal verb muszę (I must).
Why does ten wniosek look like it's in the basic dictionary form if it is the object being submitted?
It is actually in the accusative case because it is the direct object of złożyć. However, wniosek is a masculine inanimate noun. For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative form is exactly identical to the basic nominative form, which is why both ten and wniosek do not change their endings here.
Does gdzie change the word order of the sentence like question words sometimes do in English?
No, indirect questions in Polish keep a normal word order. After gdzie, you just continue with the regular sentence flow: the verb (muszę złożyć) followed by the object (ten wniosek). You do not need to do any special flipping of words like you often do in English.