Word
Szef nie spodziewa się niczego i nie wymaga niczego.
Meaning
The boss expects nothing and requires nothing.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Szef nie spodziewa się niczego i nie wymaga niczego.
i
and
nie
no / not
szef
boss (m)
nic
nothing
Questions & Answers about Szef nie spodziewa się niczego i nie wymaga niczego.
Why do we use niczego here instead of just nic?
Niczego is the Genitive case of nic (nothing). In Polish, both verbs in this sentence—spodziewać się (to expect) and wymagać (to require)—always force the word that follows them to take the Genitive case.
Why is there a nie before the verbs if niczego already means nothing?
Polish requires double negation. Whenever you use a negative pronoun like niczego (nothing) or nikogo (nobody), you must also make the verb negative by placing nie before it. You are literally saying 'The boss does not expect nothing.'
What is the word się doing after spodziewa?
The verb spodziewać się (to expect) is a reflexive verb, which means it always comes with the word się. It does not mean 'expects himself' here; it is just a built-in part of how this specific verb is formed.
Does wymaga (requires) also need a się like spodziewa się?
No, wymagać is a standard verb and does not use się. This is why the sentence ends with nie wymaga niczego, rather than nie wymaga się niczego. You just have to memorize which verbs are reflexive when you learn them.