Skip to main content
Back to path

Welcome to a Grasp lesson

Create a free account to keep studying and create your own study path.

Lesson 53

Possession with "у меня есть" and "у меня нет"

Recommended resources

Здравствуйте!

In our last lesson, we took our first step into the genitive case, learning how to form the singular endings for nouns and pronouns. We also got a preview of how to express possession with the У ... есть construction.

Today, we will master that construction and learn its opposite: how to say you don't have something. This is one of the most common and useful structures in everyday Russian. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to confidently express both possession (У меня есть...) and absence (У меня нет...).

1. A Quick Review: Expressing Possession

Let's start by refreshing our memory of the "I have" construction. As we touched on last time, it's formed with the preposition У, followed by the "owner" in the genitive case, the verb есть (is/exists), and finally the object you possess in the nominative case.

  • Structure: У + [possessor in Genitive] + есть + [object in Nominative]?
  • Example: У меня́ есть кни́га. (I have a book.)

Let's watch a short video that provides some great practice with this structure and introduces some new vocabulary.

У МЕНЯ ЕСТЬ или У МЕНЯ? 5 activities to practice "to have" in Russian | Drill & Practice 9

The video 'У МЕНЯ ЕСТЬ или У МЕНЯ?' from the Maria Petrova channel is a great warm-up for practicing the 'I have' construction with different people and objects.

Watch from the beginning to 03:14. First, you'll hear some new words for common objects. Then, the host will ask questions like 'What does he have?' based on a person's profession. Try to answer along with the video.

This is a straightforward and very common way to talk about what you and others have.

2. Expressing Absence: The "Double Genitive" Rule

Now for the main event: how do we say "I don't have"? The structure is very similar, but with two crucial changes.

  1. The verb есть (is/exists) is replaced by its negative counterpart, нет (is not/doesn't exist).
  2. The object you don't have also changes from the nominative case to the genitive case.

This creates a "double genitive" sentence pattern: the possessor is in the genitive, and the object is also in the genitive.

  • Positive: У меня́ есть брат (Nominative). - I have a brother.
  • Negative: У меня́ нет бра́та (Genitive). - I don't have a brother.

This video explains the difference very clearly.

#63 Russian - у меня есть, у меня нет... I have, I don't have + Genitive case

The video '#63 Russian - у меня есть, у меня нет...' by Antonia Romaker breaks down the grammar behind possession and absence.

Please watch from 00:29 to 03:44. The host first reviews the positive 'у меня есть' structure and then directly contrasts it with the negative 'у меня нет' structure, highlighting the critical case change for the object.

This is a fundamental rule in Russian: the absence of something often triggers the genitive case.

3. Comparing the Constructions Side-by-Side

Let's solidify this concept by looking at some text-based examples. The contrast between possession and absence becomes very clear in conversation.

Russian cases - Lesson 4: The Genitive

The article 'Russian cases - Lesson 4: The Genitive' from Russian for Free offers a concise grammar summary and a dialogue that perfectly illustrates our topic.

First, read 'Dialogue 1'. Notice how the speaker contrasts what she has ('У тебя есть...') with what she doesn't have ('У меня нет...'). Then, scroll down to the 'Russian grammar' section and read the part under the 'Compare' heading, which summarizes the two structures with examples.

As you saw in the resources, the pattern is consistent:

  • У меня́ есть... + Nominative (кни́га, столы́)
  • У меня́ нет... + Genitive (кни́ги, столо́в)

4. Practice Time

Let's put this into practice. It's time to train your brain to automatically switch to the genitive case after нет.

Activity 1: Visual Practice

Take a look at the worksheet below. It shows common nouns used with У меня есть and then asks you to form the У меня нет sentence, requiring the genitive case. Mentally fill in the blanks at the bottom.

Russian Possession and Absence Worksheet
This worksheet contrasts the use of 'У меня есть' with 'У меня нет'. The top section shows examples with nouns changing to the genitive case, and the bottom provides a fill-in-the-blank exercise for practice.

Activity 2: Sentence Transformation

Now, try changing these positive statements into negative ones. Remember to change the noun to the genitive singular form, which you practiced in the last lesson.

  1. У меня́ есть каранда́ш. (I have a pencil.) -> У меня́ нет... ?
  2. У студе́нта есть компью́тер. (The student has a computer.) -> У студе́нта нет... ?
  3. У неё есть игра́. (She has a game.) -> У неё нет... ?
  4. У нас есть маши́на. (We have a car.) -> У нас нет... ?
  5. У тебя́ есть вре́мя? (Do you have time?) -> У тебя́ нет... ?
Click for answers
  1. У меня́ нет карандаша́. (pencil: каранда́ш -> карандаша́)
  2. У студе́нта нет компью́тера. (computer: компью́тер -> компью́тера)
  3. У неё нет игры́. (game: игра́ -> игры́)
  4. У нас нет маши́ны. (car: маши́на -> маши́ны)
  5. У тебя́ нет вре́мени? (time: вре́мя -> вре́мени - this is a neuter noun ending in -мя, which is a special pattern, but very common!)

Conclusion

Great job! You have now mastered the essential structures for talking about what you have and what you don't have. This is a massive step forward in your ability to communicate in Russian.

Key Takeaways:

  • To express possession, use У [possessor in Gen.] есть [object in Nom.]. (e.g., У меня́ есть телефо́н.)
  • To express absence, use У [possessor in Gen.] нет [object in Gen.]. (e.g., У меня́ нет телефо́на.)
  • Remember the "double genitive" rule for negative sentences: both the possessor and the object of absence are in the genitive case.

Preview of the next lesson:
So far, we've only worked with singular nouns in the genitive case (e.g., "I don't have a book"). But what if you don't have any books? In our next lesson, we will learn how to form the genitive plural of common nouns, which is essential for talking about quantities and the absence of multiple items.