In Russian, you will often see the genitive case used in negative sentences. This is called the “genitive case of absence” or the “genitive case of negation.”
Я новостей не смотрю.
ya navaSTEY nye smatRYU
I do not watch the news.
What’s unusual about the genitive of negation, though, is that it is not always necessary. For example, you could just as easily phrase the sentence above using the accusative case instead.
Я новости не смотрю.
ya NOvasti nye smatRYU
I do not watch the news.
Why are there two variants? Is the meaning different in any way? In this post, we’ll take you through when you might want to use (or not use!) the genitive case in negative sentences or sentences expressing absence/non-existence. Let’s have a look!
In Russian, you can say “there isn’t any” or “there is no” in English, by using нет[nyet](to not be) + the genitive case. This is called the genitive of absence.
genitive case
В этом городе нет театров.
v Etam GOradye nyet tiATraf
In this city, there are no theaters.
In Russian, we generally express “to have” using the same sentence structure that we use to say that something does or does not exist. Therefore, you’ll also use нет[nyet] + genitive to say that someone doesn’t have something. For example:
У нас нет молока.
oo nas nyet malaKA
We don’t have milk.
Check out our post on the genitive of possession in Russian for more examples of sentences like these!
The verb нет is the negative form of the Russian verb быть[byt](to be). When we use it to talk about absence or nonexistence it has only three forms: present, past, and future. These forms are used regardless of the genderNo definition set for genderLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. or numberNo definition set for numberLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. of the noun that is absent:
Past | не было NYE byla |
|---|---|
Present | нет* nyet |
Future | не будет nye BOOdyet |
Here are a few more examples of such negative sentences in the past and future:
У меня не было собаки.
oo miNYA NYE byla saBAki
I didn’t have a dog.
На стадионе больше не будет пластиковых сидений.
na stadiOnye BOLshe nye BOOdyet PLAStikavykh siDYEniy
There will be no plastic seats in the stadium anymore.
The rules above apply ONLY to sentences saying something is ABSENT or DOES NOT EXIST.
When you negate other sentences that use the verb быть you will often use other cases and a wider range of different forms for the verb as well. For example:
Он не был гениальным художником.
on NYE byl gyeniALnym khooDOZHnikam
He wasn’t a genius artist.
Я не буду рыбу.
ya nye BOOdoo RYboo
I won’t eat/have fish.
In Russian, the standard case for direct objectsNo definition set for direct objectsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. is the accusative, but in negative sentences it is quite common for them to appear in the genitive case instead. This is called the genitive of negation.
In negative sentences, the object may appear either in the accusative case (as in a positive sentence) or in the genitive case. Often there is not much difference in meaning.
Я это не говорил.
ya Eta nee gavaREEL
I didn’t say that.
Я этого не говорил.
ya Etava nee gavaREEL
I didn’t say that.
However, there are some cases where you are most likely to see the genitive of negation used in modern Russian:
In sentences with double negation (e.g. I didn’t do nothing), the direct object is generally genitive.
Certain verbs are more likely to take a genitive object in negative sentences.
You’re more likely to hear the genitive case if the object is an abstract nounNo definition set for abstract nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum..
You’re more likely to use the genitive case for nonspecific direct objects.
Though the context might make one case (accusative or genitive) more likely than the other, what we are describing here are tendencies in modern Russian, not rules. In all the contexts described below you might still hear the accusative case used.
Let’s have a look at each of these!
If a negative sentence uses both the negative particle не[ne](not) and another negative word or particle, then the direct object will usually be genitive, not accusative. For example:
Я никогда этого не говорил.
ya nikagDA Etava nee gavaREEL
I never said that.
lit. I didn’t never say that.
In Russian, “double negation” (or “multiple negation”) is quite common. This means that a sentence that is already negative can contain other negative words as well. So sentences like “I didn’t say nothing!” or “I wouldn’t never do nothing to you!” are quite common in Russian.
These additional negative words are called “negative intensifiers,” and if one of them is used, you’ll generally want to use the genitive case for the direct object.
Let’s look at a few more examples:
Ни картин, ни статуй они там не нашли.
ni karTEEN ni STAtooy aNEE tam nee nashLEE
They didn’t find any paintings or statues there.
Он даже главы не прочитал.
on DAzhe glaVY nee prachiTAL
He didn’t even read a chapter.
In Russian, verbs of possession, perception, thinking, or expectation will most often have genitive direct objects, when they are used in negative sentences. For example:
Positive Sentence (accusative object) | Negative Sentence (genitive object) |
|---|---|
Они слышали эти новости по радио. aNEE SLYshali Eti NOvasti pa RAdio They heard this news on the radio. | Они не слышали этих новостей по радио. aNEE nye SLYshali Etikh navaSTEY pa RAdio They didn’t hear this news on the radio. |
Он знает город. on ZNAyet GOrat He knows the city. | Он не знает города. on nye ZNAyet GOrada He doesn’t know the city. |
Олег получал письма каждый день. aLYEK palooCHAL PEESma KAZHdyi dyen Oleg received letters every day. | Олег не получал писем каждый день. aLYEK nye palooCHAL PEEsyem KAZHdiy dyen Oleg didn’t receive letters every day. |
Here is a list of some other verbs that follow this pattern:
иметь[iMYET](to have)
получать[palooCHAT](to get, receive)
доставать[dastaVAT](to obtain)
видеть[VEEdyet](to see)
слышать[SLYshat](to hear)
думать[DOOmat](to think)
понимать[paniMAT](to understand)
знать[znat](to know)
хотеть[khaTYET](to want)
желать[zhiLAT](to wish)
ожидать[azhiDAT](to expect)
In general, you’re more likely to see the genitive case used if the direct object of a negative sentence is an abstract noun like “happiness,” “interest,” “devotion,” or “thoughtfulness.”
Positive Sentence (accusative object) | Negative Sentence (genitive object) |
|---|---|
Анна скрывала свою радость. Ana skryVAla svoYU RAdast Anna was hiding her joy. | Анна не скрывала своей радости. Ana nee skryVAla svaYEY RAdasti Anna didn’t hide her joy. |
Он любил порядок и дисциплину. on lyuBEEL paRYAdak i distsipLEEnoo He liked order and discipline. | Он не любил порядка и дисциплины. on nee lyuBEEL paRYATka i distsipLEEny He didn’t like order and discipline. |
In other sentences with single negation the direct object may be either accusative or genitive. However, the accusative is more common if the object is specific, while the genitive is more common if the object is nonspecific. Compare:
Specific Object (accusative object) | Nonspecific Object (genitive object) |
|---|---|
Картины они там не нашли. karTEENy aNEE tam nee nashLEE They didn’t find the paintings there. | картин они там не нашли. karTEEN aNEE tam nee nashLEE They didn’t find any paintings there. |
Он главу не прочитал. on glaVOOnee prachiTAL He didn’t read the chapter. | Он главы не прочитал. on glaVY nee prachiTAL He didn’t read a chapter. |
In many idioms and proverbs in Russian, the genitive of negation is used because it was historically the primary case used with negation. Here are some examples of such phrases:
Не обращать внимания
nye abraSHCHAT vniMAniya
to not pay attention
Не принимать участия
nye priniMAT ooCHAStiya
to not take part
Не упускать возможности
nye oopooSKAT vazMOZHnasti
to not lose an opportunity
Не иметь представления
nye iMYET pryetstavLYEniya
to not have a clue
For more examples of phrases like these, download the list of common phrases with the genitive of negation at the bottom of this page!
In this post, we have looked at different situations in which the genitive case is used in negative sentences. There are two distinct types of these situations:
You must use genitive in negative sentences stating that something is absent or does not exist. This includes sentences you would translate using phrases like “there is not…” or “there are no…”, but also phrases that use “doesn’t have”!
In negative structures, the direct object may be either accusative (as in the positive sentence) or genitive (called the genitive of negation). Though there may be little difference between the two, the genitive case is preferred in some contexts:
in sentences with multiple negation
with verbs of possession, perception, thinking, or expectation
if the object is an abstract noun
if the object is nonspecific
Ready to practice what you’ve learned? Try out our genitive of negation exercises by clicking the link below. Happy learning!
