Breakdown of Nowy szef nie jest ani sympatyczny, ani skuteczny.
być
to be
nie
no / not
nowy
new
szef
boss (m)
sympatyczny
nice
ani
neither / nor
skuteczny
effective
Questions & Answers about Nowy szef nie jest ani sympatyczny, ani skuteczny.
Why is there a nie before jest if we already have ani ... ani meaning 'neither ... nor'?
This is because Polish requires mandatory double negation. When you use ani ... ani, the main verb of the sentence must also be negated with nie. While English says 'is neither... nor', Polish literally says 'is not neither... nor'.
Why are the adjectives sympatyczny and skuteczny in the Nominative case? Don't we usually use the Instrumental case with the verb być (to be)?
When the verb być is followed directly by an adjective on its own, that adjective stays in the Nominative case (the basic dictionary form) to match the subject. You only use the Instrumental case if you are connecting the subject to a noun or a noun phrase.
Does sympatyczny mean 'sympathetic'?
No, this is a very common false friend! In Polish, sympatyczny means 'nice', 'pleasant', or 'likable'. If you want to describe someone who is sympathetic to your feelings, you would use a different word, like współczujący.
Is the comma before the second ani mandatory?
Yes. Polish punctuation rules require a comma before the second part of a repeating conjunction. You must always place a comma before the second ani in an ani ... ani sequence, just like you do with albo ... albo (either ... or).
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