Questions & Answers about Nema poslastica u mojem džepu.
Why is the word for treats in this sentence poslastica instead of the plural form poslastice?
The word nema when used to mean 'there is no' or 'there are no' always requires the genitive case for the thing that is missing. Here, we need the genitive plural of poslastica (treat). For many feminine nouns ending in -a, the genitive plural ends in -a, making it look exactly like the nominative singular in writing, though the final vowel is spoken longer.
Could I use mom instead of mojem here?
Yes, absolutely. The word mojem is the standard, longer form of the possessive pronoun moj in the locative case, but the shorter form mom is very common in everyday speech. Both mean 'my' and are perfectly correct in this sentence.
Does nema change if I want to say 'there is no treat' (singular) instead of 'there are no treats' (plural)?
No, nema stays exactly the same. When used to mean 'there isn't' or 'there aren't', it acts as an impersonal verb and doesn't change based on the noun. You would just change the following noun to the genitive singular, resulting in Nema poslastice.
Why is it u mojem džepu and not u moj džep?
The preposition u takes the locative case when describing a static location (where something currently is), which is why we use the locative mojem džepu. It takes the accusative case (moj džep) only when describing motion toward a destination, such as if you were actively putting the treats into your pocket.
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