Breakdown of Nikt nigdy nie chce zostać emerytem.
nie
no / not
chcieć
to want
nigdy
never
nikt
nobody
zostać
to become
emeryt
pensioner
Questions & Answers about Nikt nigdy nie chce zostać emerytem.
Why are there three negative words (nikt, nigdy, nie) when the English translation only uses "no one"?
Polish uses strict multiple negation. If you have negative words like nikt (no one) or nigdy (never) in a sentence, you must also put nie before the verb. So this sentence literally translates to "No one never doesn't want..."
Why does the word for pensioner end in -em (emerytem)?
The verb zostać (to become) requires the noun that follows it to be in the Instrumental case. Because emeryt is a masculine noun, it takes the -em ending to become emerytem.
Doesn't zostać usually mean "to stay" or "to remain"?
It means both "to stay" and "to become"! You can usually tell them apart by the grammar that follows. When zostać is followed by a noun in the Instrumental case (like a profession or stage of life), it means "to become". If it's followed by a location, it means "to stay".
Why isn't the verb zostać conjugated to match nikt?
The main verb chcieć (to want) is already conjugated as chce to match nikt (which acts as a third-person singular subject). When you link two verbs together like this, the second one stays in its infinitive (dictionary) form, just like in English: "wants to become".
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