Learn Hardcore Russian: Несмотря на то, что суп вкусный, мне не хватает соли. - Despite the fact that the soup is tasty, it doesn’t have enough salt for me.

Несмотря на то, что суп вкусный, мне не хватает соли.

Despite the fact that the soup is tasty, it doesn’t have enough salt for me.

Breakdown of Несмотря на то, что суп вкусный, мне не хватает соли.

despite the fact that

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Questions & Answers about Несмотря на то, что суп вкусный, мне не хватает соли.

Why does the sentence start with Несмотря на то, что? How is this structure built?

Несмотря на то, что + clause means despite the fact that + clause.
It’s a fixed pattern:

несмотря на = despite (literally not looking at)
то = that (a placeholder word)
что = that (introduces the subordinate clause)

So Несмотря на то, что суп вкусный = Despite the fact that the soup is tasty.

Can I say Несмотря на то что without the comma after то?

Yes. Both are found:

Несмотря на то, что ... (common and safe)
Несмотря на то что ... (also acceptable)

The more important comma is the one that closes the subordinate clause:
Несмотря на то, что суп вкусный, ...

Why are there commas in Несмотря на то, что суп вкусный, мне...?

Because что суп вкусный is a subordinate clause inside the larger sentence. Russian typically sets off such clauses with commas: 1) comma after что-clause begins (often after то) 2) comma after the subordinate clause ends (вкусный,)

So you get: ..., что суп вкусный, ...

Why is it суп вкусный and not суп вкусен?

Both are grammatically correct, but they differ in style:

суп вкусный = more common in everyday speech (adjectival predicate)
суп вкусен = more bookish/concise, sometimes sounds more formal

In casual conversation, суп вкусный is the default.

What exactly does мне не хватает mean? Why is it мне (dative)?

мне не хватает X literally means to me there is not enough of X → I’m missing X / I need more X.

Russian often expresses “lack” impersonally:

не хватает = “is lacking / isn’t sufficient”
мне (dative) marks the person who experiences the lack (the “one affected”)

So it’s not “I lack,” but more like “it’s lacking for me.”

Why is соли in the genitive case?

With (не) хватать, the thing that is missing is typically in the genitive:

(мне) хватает соли = there is enough salt (for me)
(мне) не хватает соли = there isn’t enough salt (for me)

Genitive here often implies an unspecified amount of something (some salt).

Could I say мне не хватает соль (nominative) or соль in another case?

Not in standard Russian. With не хватает, you normally use:

genitive: соли, времени, денег, места

Using nominative (соль) would be incorrect here.

Is не хватает always used with не, or can it be positive too?

It can be both:

мне не хватает соли = I don’t have enough salt / it needs more salt
мне хватает соли = I have enough salt

Note: the positive form мне хватает соли is correct but used less often than the negative in everyday talk, because people more often comment on what’s missing.

Why is the word order мне не хватает соли and not я не хватает соли?

Because хватает/не хватает is not used like a normal verb with я as the subject. It’s impersonal in this meaning:

Correct: мне не хватает соли
Incorrect: я не хватает соли

If you want a structure closer to English “I lack…,” you’d use different verbs, e.g. мне недостаёт соли (same pattern) or more rarely я испытываю недостаток соли (more formal).

Can I replace Несмотря на то, что with something shorter?

Often yes, depending on the sentence:

Хотя суп вкусный, мне не хватает соли. = Although the soup is tasty, it lacks salt for me / I need more salt.
If you remove the clause and use a noun phrase:
Несмотря на вкусный суп, мне не хватает соли. (less natural because вкусный суп doesn’t contrast as clearly as a full clause, but it can work in some contexts)

For most learners, Хотя ... is the simplest alternative.

Does мне не хватает соли mean “the soup needs salt” or “I personally want more salt”?

It can express either, depending on context:

As a judgment about the dish: It needs more salt / It’s under-salted.
As a personal preference: I would prefer more salt.

If you want to emphasize personal taste, you can add:

мне лично = personally: мне лично не хватает соли
по-моему = in my opinion: по-моему, не хватает соли

Is суп masculine, and is that why it’s вкусный?

Yes. суп is masculine, so the adjective agrees in gender and number:

вкусный суп (masc.)
вкусная каша (fem.)
вкусное блюдо (neut.)
вкусные супы (plural)