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Grammar reference

The Genitive Case: absence, possession and quantity

Кого́? Чего́? — the case of нет, of у меня́, of мно́го and of из; endings -а/-я, -ы/-и in the singular and -ов, -ей or zero in the plural.

You meet the Genitive first as the case of absence. Нет plus the Genitive means 'there is no' or 'there isn't any': У меня́ нет вре́мени, В холоди́льнике нет молока́, Здесь нет апте́ки. This use is present tense only. In the past you say не бы́ло plus the Genitive — Вчера́ у нас не бы́ло хле́ба — and in the future не бу́дет: За́втра меня́ не бу́дет до́ма. Saying *Вчера у меня нет времени is one of the commonest beginner errors there is. The same case then expresses possession, through the fixed frame у + Genitive + есть: У меня́ есть брат means 'I have a brother', literally 'at me there is a brother'. The owner is in the Genitive; the thing owned stays in the Nominative.

Second, quantity. The words мно́го, ма́ло, неско́лько, ско́лько and полтора́ all force the Genitive on the noun that follows: мно́го книг, ма́ло вре́мени, неско́лько рубле́й, ско́лько люде́й. With мно́го and ско́лько the noun is in the Genitive plural; with два, три and четы́ре it is in the Genitive singular, which is a different rule entirely and is set out under numeral-government. The Genitive also expresses the partitive — a slice of an uncountable mass: купи́ть хле́ба, вы́пить ча́ю.

Third, the attributive Genitive, which replaces the English apostrophe-s and the Italian 'di'. Це́нтр го́рода, дверь ко́мнаты, брат А́нны, цвет не́ба, цена́ биле́та. The possessor or the whole comes second and takes the Genitive; the thing possessed comes first and stays in the Nominative. Note the word order is the reverse of English: 'the centre of the city' puts 'centre' first in both languages, but 'Anna's brother' becomes бра́т А́нны — brother of Anna.

Fourth, a cluster of prepositions that always govern the Genitive: из (from inside — из Росси́и, из до́ма), с (from a surface or an institution — с рабо́ты, с по́чты, со стола́), от (away from a person — от врача́, от меня́), до (as far as — до вокза́ла), для (for — для тебя́), без (without — без са́хара), у (at, by, in the possession of — у меня́), о́коло and во́круг (near, around), по́сле (after), вме́сто (instead of), кро́ме (except). The endings themselves: masculine and neuter singular take -а/-я (дом → до́ма, окно́ → окна́), feminine singular takes -ы or -и (кни́га → кни́ги, Росси́я → Росси́и, мышь → мы́ши), and the plural is -ов/-ев, -ей/-ий or a zero ending with a fleeting vowel. That last group is complex enough to have its own entry under genitive-plural.

Examples

  • У меня́ нет вре́мени. I don't have time.
  • Вчера́ у нас не бы́ло хле́ба. Yesterday we had no bread. — the past uses не было, never нет
  • У мое́й сестры́ есть соба́ка. My sister has a dog.
  • Ско́лько у тебя́ дете́й? How many children do you have?
  • Я прие́хал из Ита́лии. I came from Italy.
  • Це́нтр го́рода недале́ко от вокза́ла. The city centre is not far from the station.

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