Questions & Answers about Herbata z wanilią smakuje dobrze.
Why is wanilią in the instrumental case and not in the nominative wanilia?
Because the preposition z/ze (“with”) always requires the instrumental case in Polish. So wanilia (nominative) becomes wanilią (instrumental) to express “with vanilla.”
Why do we use the adverb dobrze instead of the adjective dobry?
In Polish you use an adverb to describe how something tastes. Dobrze is the adverbial form of dobry. Adjectives like dobry modify nouns, adverbs modify verbs.
Why is there no article before herbata? In English we say the tea or a tea.
Polish does not have definite or indefinite articles (no equivalents of the, a/an). You simply use the noun by itself and rely on context.
Could I say Herbata z wanilią smakuje pysznie instead of smakuje dobrze?
Yes. pysznie (“deliciously”) is another appropriate adverb. You can swap dobrze for other adverbs like świetnie, doskonale, wspaniale to express different degrees of tastiness.