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1.
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Sentence structure "У меня есть машина": Genitive + Nominative
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In English we express possession or availability by saying: I have a car.
In Russian to express possession or availability the sentence structure У меня
есть + Nominative case of what is possessed/available is used.
Russian У меня есть corresponds to English I have. The
owner/possessor is in the Genitive case, so меня is the Genitive case
form of the personal pronoun я - I.
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In order to say: I have, You have, He has..., etc. in Russian, the Genitive case
forms of personal pronouns need to be learned. Review the personal
pronouns in the Nominative and memorize their Genitive case forms:
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Nominative: Кто? Что? ->
Genitive: У кого? У чего? (Кого? Чего?)
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я
ты
он, она, оно
мы
вы
они
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У меня есть машина.
У тебя есть машина.
У него/неё есть машина.
У нас есть машина.
У вас есть машина.
У них
есть машина.
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I have a car.
You have a car.
He/she has a car.
We have a car.
You have a car.
They have a car.
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Click each dialogue and sentence to listen, then read it aloud.
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1.- У тебя есть машина?
- Да, у меня есть машина.
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1.- Do you have a car?
- Yes, I have a car.
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2.- У тебя есть брат?
- Да, у меня есть брат.
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2.- Do you have a brother?
- Yes, I have a brother.
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3. У него есть учебник.
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3. He has the textbook.
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4. У неё есть дочка.
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4. She has a daughter.
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5. У них есть дом.
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5. They have a house.
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When using a noun (brother, sister, friend) or a noun phrase (my oldest
brother, me sister, my Russian friend) in such construction, that noun or noun
phrase must be in the Genitive case. Examples:
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6. У моего старшего брата есть машина.
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6. My oldest brother has a car.
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7. У моего русского друга есть собака.
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7. My Russian friend has a dog.
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8.- У твоей сестры есть дети?
- Да, у неё есть дочка.
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8. - Does your sister have children?
- Yes, she has a daughter.
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Notes
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The preposition у is always followed by a noun, noun phrase or pronoun
in the Genitive case. When using a noun phrase after у make sure to put
all noun modifiers in the Genitive case. Compare:
Это мой старший брат. - Nominative case of
the noun phrase "my oldest brother".
У моего старшего
брата есть машина.
- Genitive case of the noun phrase "my oldest brother".
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What one has/owns/possesses is the grammatical subject of the sentence,
therefore it is in the Nominative case (дочка, собака, учебник, машина,
etc.).
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Also note that such structure can be an affirmative sentence or an
interrogative sentence (question). Intonation is the only thing that
makes the difference.
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Click the following examples to listen, then read it aloud. Pay attention
to the different intonation patterns in affirmative and interrogative
sentences:
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1. У него есть учебник.
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1. He has the textbook.
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2. У него есть учебник?
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1. Does he have the textbook?
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3. У них есть дом.
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2. They have a house.
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4. У них есть дом?
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2. Do they have a house?
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2.
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Sentence structure "У меня нет машины": Genitive + Genitive
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In English we deny possession or availability by saying: I don't have a car
or I have no car.
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To deny possession or availability in Russian the sentence structure У меня нет
+ Genitive case is used.
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Click each sentence to listen, then read it aloud.
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1. У меня нет учебника.
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1. I don't have the textbook.
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2. У моего старшего брата нет машины.
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1. My oldest brother doesn't have a car.
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3. У моей сестры нет собаки.
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2. My sister doesn't have a dog.
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Notes
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When the word есть is negated, it becomes нет (не+есть=>нет).
Russian У меня нет corresponds to English I don't have/ I have
no... .
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The owner/ possessor is in the Genitive case because it follows the preposition у:
У меня нет... - I don't have...
У него нет... - He doesn't have...
У моего старшего брата нет... - My
oldest brother doesn't have...
У моей сестры нет... - My sister doesn't
have...
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The word нет is always followed by a noun, noun phrase or pronoun in the Genitive
case, that is why something or someone you don't have is must be in the
Genitive case:
У меня нет
учебника.
- I don't have the textbook.
У моего старшего брата нет
машины.
- My oldest brother doesn't have a car.
У неё нет
брата. - She doesn't have a
brother.
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Exercises Упражнения
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Form the Genitive case of personal pronouns
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Form the Genitive case of nouns
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Translation (I have ...)
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Translation (I don't have ...)
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