Niego

Niego is the genitive singular form of the third-person masculine pronoun on in Polish. It is used primarily as a standalone pronoun in the genitive case, most often after prepositions that require genitive, and in certain fixed expressions. In contemporary standard Polish, the genitive pronoun used to denote possession or association with a male referent is typically jego when subordinating a noun (for example, to indicate “his book”). Niegоa form, however, appears as a genitive pronoun of on in contexts where genitive is required after prepositions or in older texts and some dialects.

Usage and distinction

- Niego is common after prepositions that govern the genitive, such as od niego (from him), bez niego (without him), dla niego (for him).

- It is not used as a possessive determiner in the same way as jego. When indicating possession directly with a noun, Polish usually uses jego (to his book → jego książka).

- In modern standard prose, jego remains the preferred genitive possessive determiner, while niego appears in genitive pronoun position after prepositions or in formal/literary contexts.

Examples

- Od niego dowiedziałem się o wszystkim. (From him I learned everything.)

- Bez niego nie poradziłby sobie. (Without him, he wouldn’t manage.)

- Dla niego nie ma już miejsca. (There is no room for him.)

Origin and notes

- Niego derives from the same root as other Polish pronouns and shares usage patterns with other genitive forms of third-person pronouns.

- The form is mostly encountered in prepositional phrases and in dialectal or historical texts; in everyday modern Polish, its use as a standalone pronoun is less frequent than the standard genitive form jego.

See also

- Polish pronouns

- Genitive case in Polish

- possessive pronouns in Polish