Questions & Answers about W tej zupie nie ma czosnku.
Why is it czosnku and not czosnek?
The phrase nie ma (there is no) always requires the Genitive case. Just like the preposition bez (without) from this lesson, expressing absence or exclusion in Polish triggers the Genitive. The base word is czosnek, and in the Genitive it becomes czosnku.
What happened to the 'e' in czosnek when it changed to czosnku?
This is an example of a mobile 'e'. Many Polish masculine nouns ending in -ek (like czosnek or piesek) drop the e when you add a case ending. Because of this rule, the word becomes czosnku rather than "czosneku".
Why does the sentence use nie ma instead of nie jest?
When you want to say 'there is no' or express that something is physically absent, Polish uses nie ma. You would only use nie jest to describe what something isn't, like in the sentence To nie jest zupa (This is not soup).
Why does the sentence say w tej zupie instead of w ta zupa?
The preposition w (in) requires the Locative case when describing where something is. The base noun zupa (feminine) changes to zupie, and its matching pointer word ta (this) must also change to match it, becoming tej.