"Brak informacji" in the Polish state exam at B2: TAK, NIE or BI?
Published 3 October 2026
In the reading block of the Polish state exam at B2, one task has three answers: TAK, NIE and BI — "brak informacji", no information. BI is not a softer NIE. NIE means the text says otherwise. BI means the text says nothing about it.
In short
- A BI task was on 6 of 9 B2 papers from the 2021–2024 sittings, always in reading. At B1, on none of 14.
- 10 statements at 1 point each: 10 of the 40 reading points, with a bar of 24.
- BI was the answer to 18 of 60 statements (30%) — between 2 and 4 times in every task.
Where in the exam is the BI answer?
Only at B2, and only in reading. On 6 of the 9 B2 papers in the library one reading task offers three answers — one such task per paper. None of the 14 B1 papers had one.
Mind the instruction: the same paper's listening may have a TAK/NIE task without BI. Before you start marking, check how many answers this particular task's instruction allows.
The task has 10 statements, each worth 1 point. That is 10 of the 40 reading points — a quarter of a block in which you need at least 24.
How does NIE differ from BI?
The paper's instruction: TAK — the statement agrees with the text; NIE — it does not; BI — the text lacks information on the subject. The difference is one question: does the text say anything at all about what the statement is about?
TAK, NIE or BI — two questions in turn
1. Does the text say anything about what the statement is about?
If the text does not talk about it, the answer is BI — even if the statement sounds likely or is true in real life. If it does, and says something different, it is NIE.
Example: five statements on one text
The text and statements are ours, not from a paper. They are in Polish, as in the exam.
Kawiarnia Pod Lipą w centrum Lublina jest otwarta od poniedziałku do soboty, od ósmej do dwudziestej. W niedzielę jest nieczynna. Właścicielka, pani Ewa, sama piecze ciasta, a kawę parzy z ziaren z małej palarni pod Krakowem.
| Statement | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| W sobotę kawiarnia jest czynna. | TAK | The text says Monday to Saturday. |
| W niedzielę kawiarnia jest otwarta do południa. | NIE | The text does talk about Sunday — and says otherwise: it is closed. |
| Kawiarnia ma ogródek. | BI | The text says nothing about a garden. We cannot know. |
| Ciasta przywozi piekarnia z Krakowa. | NIE | The text says who bakes: Ms Ewa. Kraków comes up beside the coffee — that is the trap. |
| Pani Ewa prowadzi kawiarnię od dziesięciu lat. | BI | The text says Ms Ewa owns it, not since when. |
How often is BI the answer?
In the 6 tasks on the B2 papers, BI was the answer to 18 of 60 statements, TAK to 22, NIE to 20. Every task had at least 2 and at most 4 BI answers.
Answers in the B2 TAK / NIE / BI tasks
6 tasks of 10 statements · BI is the answer 2–4 times in every task
In practice: if you have not marked a single BI in the whole task, reread the statements you marked NIE. But do not force a BI in — a count from past sittings is not a rule.
Where is it easiest to go wrong?
- Knowledge from outside the text. Only the text counts. A statement true in real life that the text is silent on is BI.
- The same word, a different detail. When the text gives a different number, person or time from the statement — NIE. When it gives none — BI.
- A word from the text in another place. A name, town or number from the text used in the statement about something else is usually NIE, not TAK.
- Words like zawsze, wszyscy, tylko (always, everyone, only). One of them turns a statement that matched the text into one that does not.
How much time do you have for reading?
The B2 paper gives the whole reading block 60 minutes, for five tasks. In the BI task, most time goes on searching the text for a passage that is not there — so read the statements first, then the text.
The other reading and listening tasks are on state exam tasks, and the whole B2 level on state exam B2. Why one part below its bar decides the exam is in one part below the bar.