HI I am native Polish speaker and to be honest I am not able to explain "ma" properly (what an irony;-)). So I give you some examples: "Nie ma" and "ma" - generally relate to possession, presence, availability etc. Its short form is being used in common/informal speach "Czy on ma dom?" - Has he got a house "Tak" or "Ma" - yes or he's got Jest Tomek w domu? - Is Tom home? "Nie" or "nie ma" - no or he is not Są ziemniaki? - Have You got potatoes? -You ask in shop "Nie" or "Nie ma" or "Nie mamay" or "Nie, nie mamy" - first two means "no", "theri's no". Last two means "We dont have any" , "No, we dont have any"; More formal answer is: , "Niestety, nie mamy. - "Unfortunatelly, we dont have any" I hope it will help you. If you have any questions or want more examples let me know. thx

go - he ma works with nie - together they mean 'is not'

Just thought that this extra explanation might help you. "Nie ma" is often translated as "there isn't" or "there aren't". As Natalia said earlier it literally means "isn't" or "aren't", but in English subject is needed, and in Polish it can often be dropped. "Go" you would usually translate as "his". It's is a genitive case of the pronoun "on". Genitive is sually used for possession, but not here. "Nie ma" is always followed by a genitive case, and that is why you need to use "go". Unfortunately literal English translation wouldn't make any sense as it would be "There isn't his here". Hope it helps.