Questions & Answers about Ta stara książka nie ma żadnej wartości.
Why is it żadnej and not the dictionary form żaden or żadna?
The verb mieć (to have) normally takes a direct object in the accusative case, but when it is negative (nie ma), the object must be in the genitive case. Because the word for value (wartość) is feminine, we use the feminine genitive form żadnej.
The sentence has nie ma and żadnej. Do we always need two negative words?
Yes, Polish requires double negation. If you use a negative word like żadnej (not any / no), you must also negate the main verb with nie. You cannot say ma żadnej wartości - it has to be nie ma żadnej wartości.
The word wartości is in the genitive case. Why does it end in -i instead of the usual feminine genitive ending -y?
The base dictionary word is wartość (value). Unlike most feminine nouns that end in -a, this one ends in a soft consonant. For feminine nouns ending in a consonant, the genitive case is usually formed by adding -i or -y to the end.
Could I put żadnej at the very end of the sentence, like nie ma wartości żadnej?