Word
Przez czyje lenistwo nie ma w biurze kawy?
Meaning
Because of whose laziness is there no coffee in the office?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Przez czyje lenistwo nie ma w biurze kawy?
mieć
to have
nie
no / not
kawa
coffee
w
in / on (a day)
Questions & Answers about Przez czyje lenistwo nie ma w biurze kawy?
Why use przez here instead of a neutral phrase for 'because of' like z powodu?
The preposition przez (followed by the accusative case) is specifically used to express negative cause or assign blame. While z powodu just states a neutral reason, using przez clearly points a finger, fitting perfectly with the complaint about 'whose laziness'.
If przez requires the accusative case, why does czyje lenistwo look exactly like the dictionary form?
lenistwo is a neuter noun. In Polish, all neuter nouns and their modifying pronouns (like czyje) share the exact same form in both the nominative and accusative cases, so no visible change happens here.
Why is the word for coffee in the genitive case (kawy)?
The phrase nie ma (meaning 'there is no' or 'is there no') always forces the noun that is missing into the genitive case. Because you are expressing the absence of coffee, the nominative kawa changes to the genitive kawy.
Could we change the word order to nie ma kawy w biurze?
Yes, both are grammatically correct. Polish word order is flexible but uses position for emphasis. The most important or surprising piece of information usually goes at the end of the sentence. Putting kawy last puts the spotlight directly on the tragic lack of coffee.