"We do not know you."
Translation:Nie znamy cię.
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See the comment by Jellei right below (answering to pacecarotepatate). Just change "you (plural)" for "you (singular)" and the rest fully applies.
Couldn't find my version yet, so another question: why isn't 'nie znamy ciebie' correct? Is it about emphasis, eg would 'nie znamy ciebie, znamy jego' be ok?
That's right, it's about emphasis. Your second sentence would be correct, but there's no reason to use the emphasized form "ciebie" in a basic sentence like "We don't know you".
hello. I wrote "nie was znamy" believing I was writing "we do not know you (plural). I think I made a lot of errors... Could anyone please correct me if you have the time to?
That sentence could be correct in some a bit surprising contexts, but it basically means "It is not you (plural) that we know, we know someone else". So it's rather not a very probable phrase to say by a native...
So: “nie znamy was” is correct because it relieves “was” of an emphasis it should not have?
Well, it's basically the only way because you almost never start a sentence with a preposition in Genitive, and putting it after "nie" means you negate 'you', not 'knowing you' as you should.
Excuse me michał, can "cię " and "ciebie" be used interchangeably in this context?
cię and ciebie are always interchangeable (in meaning), it only depends on it's place in the sentence. Nie znamy cię/ciebie- both are correct, as it's not accented position. Ciebie nie znamy - it is accented position, you cannot use "cię"
It's accented because it's the first word? So that's why 'My cię nie znamy' is accepted
Yes, putting the object pronoun at the beginning is a very strong accent, and "cię" just can't work here. "Ciebie nie znamy" is a correct sentence, but it's like "We know him, we know her, but you... you we do not know!". It's rare.
Because, unfortunately, not much attention has been paid to teaching and adding 'formal You' options. So usually, they are not accepted, I'm afraid - unless someone asks to. Obviously those are correct, so added now.
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"My ciebie nie znamy" was marked incorrect. I think it follows the rules so I need to know why it is wrong.
I wrote "Was nie znamy" because one of the major rules seems to be that Polish sentences should not end in a pronoun. So this situation is a completely necessary exception? Would someone explain why? And is there a general rule for exceptions? Dziękuję.
Object pronouns shouldn't be put at the end, unless there is no other option. Starting a sentence with an object pronoun, however, is not a valid option.
If you are translating from Polish to English, you can see that "you" is singular: cię is here the (unstressed) genitive singular of ty.
If you are translating from English to Polish, it doesn't matter because both singular cię and plural was are accepted.
It's technically correct, but it's so rarely correct that I don't know if it makes sense to accept it and make people think it's a natural sentence.
Putting "Ciebie" at the beginning gives a strong emphasis on it, so it works as in "OK, we know him, we know her... you, you we don't know. Who are you?".
OK thank you, I think i see what you are saying. I guess even in English if you just said "you, we don't know", a similar reasoning applies.
I'm terribly sorry, but at the risk of sounding a bit dim; could someone please explain the difference between "cię" and "was", and when used in the context of this sentence?
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Why I cannot write. Nie znamy ciebe? What is the difference between ciebe and cię?
*Ciebie
Take a look, this question has already been answered in this thread:
https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/14097138?comment_id=49845136
I put "nie znamy ciebie" and it was marked wrong. Can someone please explain why? Thanks.
In this course we teach that you should always use the unaccented form 'cię' unless there is a good reason to use the accented form 'ciebie'.
https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/43327702?comment_id=43362115
If a public representative is addressing an individual that's what I understand when "was" is used. Why not Ciebie
Unless you're watching a movie from/depicting the communist times, no, "was" cannot be used to address a single individual. It only worked like that back then, due to the Russian influence.
Cie =singular Ciebie=? Was=plural Can someone please get me a definitive understanding of these words (YOU)?
Singular (and neutral in meaning): "cię"
Plural: "was"
Singular, but adding strong emphasis and usually used to show contrast: "ciebie". Also used after a preposition.
If there's a way to avoid putting a pronoun at the end of the sentence, you should avoid it. In "Nie znamy was" there's no other option, and that is in fact the most natural word order. But if you decide to put the subject pronoun (My) in the sentence, which already puts an emphasis on "We", then you also create a space in which the other pronoun can go. It should be "My was nie znamy" then.