Polski — Impersonal predicatives
Polish expresses necessity, permission and worth without a subject: an impersonal word plus an infinitive. There is no personal ending and no nominative subject — trzeba iść means "one must go".
How it works
Put the impersonal word first and follow it with a bare infinitive: trzeba iść (one must go), można wejść (one may enter), warto spróbować (it's worth trying). The person concerned goes in the dative, not the nominative: nie wolno mi palić (I'm not allowed to smoke).
The predicatives
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| trzeba | one must, it is necessary | trzeba iść |
| można | one may, it is possible | można wejść |
| warto | it is worth | warto spróbować |
| wolno | one is allowed (permission) | nie wolno palić |
| należy | one should, is required (formal) | należy zapłacić |
| wypada | it is proper, decent | wypada podziękować |
| da się | it can be done, is feasible | da się otworzyć |
Good to know
These words never take a personal ending — do not say "trzebę" or "mogę iść" for "one must / one may". The past is formed with było and the future with będzie: trzeba było iść (one had to go), trzeba będzie iść (one will have to go). The perfective negative of można is often nie da się rather than "nie można" when stressing impossibility.