W tej przestrzeni nie zauważyłem absolutnie nikogo.
I did not notice absolutely anyone in this space.
Breakdown of W tej przestrzeni nie zauważyłem absolutnie nikogo.
nie
no / not
ten
this (m)
w
in / on (a day)
nikt
nobody
absolutnie
absolutely
przestrzeń
space
zauważyć
to notice
Questions & Answers about W tej przestrzeni nie zauważyłem absolutnie nikogo.
Why do we use nikogo here instead of the dictionary form nikt?
Nikogo is the Genitive (and Accusative) form of nikt (nobody/no one). The verb zauważyć (to notice) normally takes a direct object in the Accusative case. However, when a verb is negated by nie, its direct object must switch to the Genitive case. For the word nikt, both of those forms happen to be exactly the same: nikogo.
The English translation says "anyone", but doesn't nikogo mean "no one"?
Yes, nikogo literally means "no one" or "nobody". Polish requires a "double negative" when using negative words like nobody, nothing, or never. If you use a negative pronoun like nikogo, the verb must also be negative (nie zauważyłem). So literally, the Polish sentence says "I did not notice absolutely nobody."
Why is the word for "space" spelled przestrzeni here?
The phrase w tej przestrzeni (in this space) uses the Locative case because it describes a static location using the preposition w (in). The base word is przestrzeń. Because it is a feminine noun that ends in a soft consonant, its Locative ending is -i, making it przestrzeni. The word ta (this) also changes to its Locative feminine form, tej.
How would this sentence change if a woman were speaking?
The verb zauważyłem (I noticed) is the masculine past tense form. If a female speaker were saying this, she would use the feminine past tense ending -am, making the verb zauważyłam. The rest of the sentence would stay exactly the same.
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