"Matematyka nie musi być nudna."

Translation: Mathematics does not have to be boring.

[JamesTWils]

Could this sentence also be "mathematics must not be boring"?

[Euhan1]

The problem here springs from an idiosyncrasy of the English language, namely that "must not" is not the negation of "must".

Compare the sentences:
1 You mustn't throw stones.
2 It is not true that you must throw stones.

Polish on the other hand treats the negation of musieć "correctly" (in agreement with propositioal logic).

[Emwue]

Nope, I'm pretty sure that would be "Matematyka nie może być nudna".

[JamesTWils]

OK, if that is the case, then how can one say "Mathematics cannot be boring." I would say "Mathematics must not be boring," for instance, to a bunch of young math teachers, exhorting them to make it interesting for their students, while I would say "Mathematics cannot be boring" (no matter how hard I might try to make it) to students, because it is so foundational to so many interesting things.

[immery]

I would say "matematyka nie powinna być nudna" to future teachers. ( but I think is means "Mathematics should not be boring" , or "Matematyka nie może być nudna" as it has double meaning (either we cannot allow it to be boring, or it is not capable of being boring)

[JamesTWils]

I always forget "powinnac" (if that is the infinitive). It's not quite as forceful as "music," though, is it. This is one of the hardest things for me in Polish, because my first Slavic language was Russian, which often translates pretty nicely into Polish, but must and should work quite differently.

[mihxal]

It is a very interesting and unusual verb. It mutated from an adjective to a verb which is somehow defective because doesn't have infinitive and some other forms characteristic for Polish verbs: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/13766794

"Musieć" means "to have, must".

[Rainer176116]

What about "Mathematics need not to be boring."?

[candlelightener]

Totaly right