Word
Nic nie widać przez mgłę.
Meaning
You cannot see anything through the fog.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Nic nie widać przez mgłę.
Why does the sentence use widać instead of a normal conjugated verb like widzisz (you see)?
Widać is a special, impersonal word meaning "is visible" or "one can see". Polish often uses these impersonal words instead of "you" or "I" for general statements. So nic nie widać literally means "nothing is visible".
Why are there two negative words (nic and nie)?
Polish uses double negation. Whenever you use a negative word like nic (nothing), nikt (nobody), or nigdy (never), you must also put nie in front of the verb. Literally, this sentence says "Nothing is not visible."
Why does the word for fog change to mgłę instead of its dictionary form mgła?
The preposition przez (through) requires the following noun to be in the accusative case (the case used for direct objects and after certain prepositions). Since mgła is a feminine noun, its -a ending changes to -ę.
Does przez mean "through" physically, or "because of"?
It actually covers both here! Przez translates to "through" (like looking through a window), but it is also the standard way to say "because of" when talking about an obstacle or a negative reason. In this sentence, both interpretations make perfect sense.