Breakdown of Nigdy nie rozstaję się z moim starym psem.
pies
dog
nie
no / not
stary
old
mój
my
z
with
nigdy
never
rozstawać się
to part ways
Questions & Answers about Nigdy nie rozstaję się z moim starym psem.
Why do we say nigdy nie instead of just nigdy?
Polish uses double negatives! When you use a negative word like nigdy (never), nigdzie (nowhere), or nikt (nobody), you still must put nie in front of the verb. So it literally translates to 'I never do not part'.
Why do we use się with the verb rozstaję here?
The dictionary form of this verb is rozstawać się (to part ways). Like many verbs of interaction or accompaniment in Polish, it requires się and is followed by z (with) plus the Instrumental case to show who you are interacting with or, in this case, separating from.
Why do moim and starym both end in -m?
Because they describe a masculine noun (pies) in the Instrumental case, which is triggered by the preposition z. For masculine and neuter nouns, adjectives and pronouns take the -ym or -im ending in this case.
I know the word for dog is pies, so why is it psem here?
The word pies has a 'mobile e' that disappears when you add most grammatical endings. Also, the 'i' in pies is only there to soften the 'p' before the 'e'. When the 'e' drops out, the 'i' is no longer needed, leaving the base ps-. Then we add the masculine Instrumental ending -em to get psem.
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