Klientka lubi zupę dnia.

The customer likes the soup of the day.

Breakdown of Klientka lubi zupę dnia.

• lubić: to like
• dzień: the day
• zupa: the soup
• klientka: the customer

Questions & Answers about Klientka lubi zupę dnia.

What does klientka tell us about gender?

Klientka is the feminine form of “customer,” so the subject is female. The masculine form is klient. In the present tense, the verb form lubi is the same for he/she/it. In the past tense, the verb agrees with gender: Klientka lubiła… (she) vs Klient lubił… (he).

Why is it lubi and not lubię or lubią?

Because the subject is third person singular (she). Present-tense forms of lubić:

• ja: lubię
• ty: lubisz
• on/ona/ono: lubi
• my: lubimy
• wy: lubicie
• oni/one: lubią

Why zupę instead of zupa?

Because zupa is the direct object of lubić, so it takes the accusative case. Most feminine nouns ending in -a change to -ę in the singular accusative:

• zupa → zupę
• kawa → kawę
• herbata → herbatę

What case is dnia and why is it used?

Dnia is genitive singular of dzień (“day”), used to express “of the day.” Polish often uses a noun + genitive pattern to mean “X of Y”: zupa dnia, danie dnia, słowo dnia. A few key forms of dzień: nominative dzień, genitive dnia, locative w dniu, instrumental dniem.

If Polish has no articles, how do we know whether it’s “the” or “a” customer/soup?

Polish has no articles; context tells you whether it’s specific or general. You can add demonstratives if needed:

• ta klientka = this/the (specific) female customer
• jakaś klientka = some customer
• ta zupa dnia = this/the soup of the day (pointing out a specific one)

Could I say zupa dzienna or dzisiejsza zupa instead of zupa dnia?

• zupa dnia is the standard menu phrase “soup of the day.”
• dzisiejsza zupa (“today’s soup”) is fine in conversation but less of a fixed label.
• zupa dzienna sounds odd here; dzienny means “daily/daytime,” not used for the menu item.

Can the word order change?

Yes, Polish allows flexible word order for emphasis.

• Neutral: Klientka lubi zupę dnia.
• Object focus: Zupę dnia klientka lubi. (emphasizes the soup of the day) Use SVO (subject–verb–object) as your safe default.

How do I negate the sentence?

Klientka nie lubi zupy dnia. With negation, a direct object typically switches to the genitive: zupę → zupy. Keep nie as a separate word before the verb.

Is lubić the right verb for liking food? What about smakować or podobać się?

• lubić = to like (general; fine for food): Lubi zupę dnia.
• smakować = to taste good (to someone), takes a dative person: Zupa dnia jej smakuje (“The soup of the day tastes good to her.”)
• podobać się = to be pleasing aesthetically (clothes, movies, ideas), not typically for taste.
• Stronger: uwielbiać/kochać (“to love/absolutely love”): Klientka uwielbia zupę dnia.

How do you pronounce the tricky parts?

• klientka: stress on the penultimate syllable: kli-ENT-ka; approx. “klee-ENT-kah.”
• lubi: LU-bi.
• zupę: ZU-peh; final ę is often realized as a slightly nasal or plain “e” in casual speech.
• dnia: one tight syllable, roughly “dnyah” (the n is palatal, like the “ny” in “canyon”). Polish stress is generally on the penultimate syllable of each word.

Why singular zupę—isn’t this “soup” in general?

Polish often uses a singular noun for a general preference: Lubi zupę = “She likes soup (as a type).” The plural Lubi zupy means “She likes soups” and highlights variety. With zupę dnia, it’s singular because it’s one specific menu item.

Can I drop the subject and just say Lubi zupę dnia?

Yes, if the context already makes the subject clear. Polish regularly drops subject pronouns. Lubi zupę dnia by itself just says “(He/She) likes the soup of the day,” with the person understood from context. If not clear, keep Klientka or use Ona.

How would I say this in the past or future?

• Past (state): Klientka lubiła zupę dnia.
• Future (state, ongoing preference): Klientka będzie lubić zupę dnia.
• “Come to like” (perfective, change of state): Klientka polubi zupę dnia (will come to like it) / Klientka polubiła zupę dnia (she came to like it).

How do I make it plural?

• All-female group: Klientki lubią zupę dnia.
• Mixed/masculine group: Klienci lubią zupę dnia. Note the 3rd person plural lubią (with ą).

Is there agreement inside zupę dnia?

The head noun zupę (feminine, accusative singular) determines agreement for any adjectives: smaczną zupę dnia, tę zupę dnia. The dependent dnia is genitive and does not “agree”; it just marks the “of the day” relationship.