Infinitive (imperfective): хвата́ть — "to be enough / to suffice (as a state)" Infinitive (perfective): хвати́ть — "to be enough (the outcome: there'll be enough / there was enough)" Type: an impersonal aspect pair — used only in the 3rd person, with no nominative subject
хвата́ть / хвати́ть is one of the constructions that most resists translation, because it inverts the English grammar entirely. English says "I don't have enough time" — I is the subject, time the object. Russian says Мне не хвата́ет вре́мени — literally "to-me there-is-not-enough of-time": there is no subject at all, the experiencer (I) goes in the dative (мне), and the thing in short supply goes in the genitive (вре́мени). The verb stays frozen in the 3rd person singular. This is the same impersonal logic as ну́жно, мо́жно, and на́до (see impersonal modals with the dative), and the dative experiencer is the dative-subject pattern. There is also a separate, fully personal verb spelled хвата́ть that means "to grab, to snatch" — a homonym treated at the end of this page.
Present tense (хвата́ть, impersonal) — 3rd person only
Because the construction is impersonal, only the 3rd person singular (and, when the thing is plural and counted, the 3rd person plural) appears. There is no я хвата́ю in the "be enough" sense — that form belongs to the "grab" homonym.
| Form | хвата́ть — PRESENT (impersonal) |
|---|---|
| singular thing / mass | хвата́ет |
| plural counted things | хвата́ют |
In practice хвата́ет is overwhelmingly the form you use, because the thing in short supply is in the genitive and is usually a mass noun (вре́мени, де́нег, сил, ме́ста) that triggers the singular. The 3rd-plural хвата́ют appears only when the genitive thing is a definite, counted set: На всех не хвата́ют сту́лья is marginal — most speakers still say не хвата́ет сту́льев. Lean on хвата́ет.
Мне ве́чно не хвата́ет вре́мени на сон.
I never have enough time for sleep. — dative мне + genitive вре́мени; frozen 3sg хвата́ет.
В кома́нде не хвата́ет одного́ челове́ка.
The team is one person short. — impersonal не хвата́ет + genitive одного́ челове́ка; no subject.
Тебе́ не хвата́ет терпе́ния, вот и всё.
You just don't have enough patience, that's all. — dative тебе́ + genitive терпе́ния.
Past tense
The impersonal past is fixed in the neuter singular — there is no subject to agree with, so the verb defaults to neuter: хвата́ло (impf) / хвати́ло (pf). Both members are stem-stressed in the past.
| Form | хвата́ть (impf) | хвати́ть (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| impersonal past (neuter) | хвата́ло | хвати́ло |
The aspect contrast carries over. хвата́ло describes an ongoing or repeated state of sufficiency or shortage ("there was [never] enough, as a rule"); хвати́ло reports the outcome of a single occasion ("it turned out to be enough / it lasted"). The everyday Хвати́ло! "It was enough / It did the trick" is the perfective.
В де́тстве нам всегда́ хвата́ло са́мого просто́го.
As children we always had enough with the simplest things. — хвата́ло: an ongoing past state, imperfective.
Де́нег хвати́ло то́лько на биле́ты.
The money was only enough for the tickets. — хвати́ло: a single completed outcome, perfective; genitive де́нег.
Future tense
The pair forms its future the two standard ways, both still impersonal.
- хвата́ть (imperfective) → compound future: бу́дет хвата́ть "there will (keep) being enough."
- хвати́ть (perfective) → simple future: хва́тит "there will be enough / it'll do" — note the stress shift to хва́- and the second-conjugation ending -ит (хват-ит, like all -ить verbs).
| Form | хвата́ть → future (impf) | хвати́ть → future (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| impersonal future | бу́дет хвата́ть | хва́тит |
The form хва́тит is the workhorse of the perfective: "there'll be enough, it'll suffice, it'll do." Note that the stress sits on хва́- (хва́тит), unlike the past хвати́ло. Де́нег хва́тит до конца́ ме́сяца "The money will last till the end of the month."
Воды́ хва́тит на всех, не волну́йтесь.
There'll be enough water for everyone, don't worry. — perfective future хва́тит; genitive воды́.
Бою́сь, э́того нам надо́лго не хва́тит.
I'm afraid this won't last us long. — не хва́тит, perfective future, with the dative нам.
Imperative
A true impersonal verb cannot take a personal imperative — you cannot command an amount to be sufficient. But the 3rd-person form хва́тит is used as a fixed exclamation meaning "Enough! / Stop it! / That'll do!", and it can govern a genitive thing or an infinitive.
| Form | Function |
|---|---|
| Хва́тит! | "Enough! / Stop!" — frozen exclamation (no true imperative) |
| Хва́тит + genitive | "Enough of …": Хва́тит разгово́ров! |
| Хва́тит + infinitive | "Stop …-ing": Хва́тит спо́рить! |
This Хва́тит! is everyday and slightly sharp (informal) — a parent to a squabbling child, a friend telling you to stop apologising. With a dative it becomes "that's enough for you": Хва́тит с тебя́ / С тебя́ хва́тит "You've had enough."
Хва́тит спо́рить, дава́йте реши́м всё по́зже.
Stop arguing, let's settle everything later. — Хва́тит + infinitive 'stop …-ing'.
Хва́тит с меня́ э́тих обеща́ний.
I've had enough of these promises. — Хва́тит с + genitive меня́ + genitive обеща́ний.
Participles and verbal adverbs
The "be enough" sense, being impersonal, has essentially no participles or verbal adverbs in normal use — there is no agent or subject to build them on. (The forms below belong to the transitive "grab" homonym, listed for completeness only.) Treat the "be enough" verb as a 3rd-person-only construction with no participial life of its own.
| Form | хвата́ть "grab" (homonym) | хвати́ть "be enough" |
|---|---|---|
| present active participle | хвата́ющий "grabbing" | — (impersonal) |
| verbal adverb | хвата́я "while grabbing" | — (impersonal) |
Key uses & collocations
1. (Кому́) (чего́) хвата́ет / хва́тит — the core formula
The whole construction in one template: dative experiencer + хвата́ет/хва́тит + genitive thing. The dative is optional (you can say Вре́мени не хвата́ет "There isn't enough time" with no named experiencer), but the genitive thing is obligatory. The genitive here is the genitive of negation / quantity at work: shortage and sufficiency are both quantity statements.
Ему́ не хвата́ет о́пыта для э́той до́лжности.
He doesn't have enough experience for this position. — ему́ (dat) + о́пыта (gen).
2. хвата́ть + genitive на + accusative — "enough … for …"
To say "enough X for Y" use на + accusative for the purpose or recipient: хва́тит де́нег на ремо́нт "enough money for the renovation," хва́тит сил на после́дний рыво́к "enough strength for the final push."
На́до прове́рить, хва́тит ли бензи́на на доро́гу.
We need to check whether there's enough petrol for the trip. — хва́тит + genitive бензи́на + на доро́гу.
3. The personal homonym хвата́ть / схвати́ть — "to grab, snatch"
A separate verb, fully personal and transitive, spelled identically: хвата́ть / схвати́ть "to grab, seize, snatch" (+ accusative, often за + accusative for the body part grabbed). Here the perfective takes the prefix с- (схвати́ть), not the bare хвати́ть of the "enough" verb. Он схвати́л меня́ за́ руку "He grabbed me by the arm." Don't let the shared spelling confuse the two: one is impersonal + genitive, the other is personal + accusative.
Соба́ка схвати́ла мяч и убежа́ла.
The dog grabbed the ball and ran off. — схвати́ть + accusative мяч; the 'grab' homonym, fully personal.
Common Mistakes
❌ Я не хвата́ю вре́мя.
Wrong construction — 'I don't have enough time' is impersonal: the experiencer goes in the dative and the thing in the genitive: Мне не хвата́ет вре́мени. (Я хвата́ю means 'I grab'.)
✅ Мне не хвата́ет вре́мени.
I don't have enough time.
❌ Мне не хвата́ет вре́мя / де́ньги.
Case error — the thing in short supply takes the GENITIVE, not the nominative/accusative: вре́мени, де́нег.
✅ Мне не хвата́ет вре́мени и де́нег.
I don't have enough time or money.
❌ Меня́ не хвата́ет сил.
Wrong case for the experiencer — use the DATIVE мне, not the genitive/accusative меня́: Мне не хвата́ет сил.
✅ Мне не хвата́ет сил.
I don't have the strength.
❌ За́втра я бу́ду хвати́ть де́нег.
Two errors — the verb is impersonal (no 'я'), and бу́ду takes an imperfective infinitive. Use the perfective future хва́тит: Де́нег хва́тит.
✅ Де́нег хва́тит до за́втра.
The money will last until tomorrow.
❌ Перфектив для 'enough' — хвата́ет на за́втра.
Aspect mismatch — for a single future outcome use the perfective хва́тит, not the imperfective present хвата́ет: Хва́тит на за́втра.
✅ Э́того хва́тит на за́втра.
This will be enough for tomorrow.
Key Takeaways
- хвата́ть / хвати́ть 'be enough' is impersonal: 3rd person only, no nominative subject, neuter past (хвата́ло / хвати́ло).
- Government: experiencer in the dative (мне, тебе́), thing in the genitive (вре́мени, де́нег); "enough for …" = на + accusative.
- Present/past (impf): хвата́ет / хвата́ло — an ongoing state of sufficiency or shortage.
- Future (pf): хва́тит "there'll be enough / it'll do" (stress on хва́-), the everyday workhorse.
- Хва́тит! is a fixed exclamation "Enough! / Stop!", taking a genitive (Хва́тит разгово́ров!) or an infinitive (Хва́тит спо́рить!) — (informal).
- Beware the homonym: хвата́ть / схвати́ть "to grab, snatch" is a different verb — personal, transitive, + accusative.
Now practice Russian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Russian→Related Topics
- The Genitive of NegationB1 — When existence is denied, Russian uses the genitive: нет / не́ было / не бу́дет always govern the genitive (У меня́ нет вре́мени; В го́роде не́ было метро́). Under a negated transitive verb the object's case is variable — genitive leans toward total, abstract, indefinite negation (Я не чита́ю газе́т), accusative toward a specific, concrete thing (Я не чита́ю газе́ту). The case choice itself encodes a quantification distinction English lacks.
- Dative with Impersonal Modals (можно, нужно, нельзя, пора)A2 — Russian expresses most modality about people with a frozen pattern: dative person + impersonal word + infinitive. Мне на́до идти́ (I have to go), Вам мо́жно войти́ (you may come in), Ему́ нельзя́ кури́ть (he mustn't smoke), Нам пора́ е́хать (it's time for us to go), Тебе́ тру́дно поня́ть (it's hard for you to understand). Past/future insert frozen neuter бы́ло/бу́дет (Мне на́до бы́ло уйти́). The experiencer is the DATIVE — there's no nominative 'I'. Plus the agreeing ну́жен/нужна́/ну́жно/нужны́ for needing a thing (Мне нужна́ по́мощь, Мне нужны́ де́ньги).
- Dative Subjects: Feelings, Age, NecessityA2 — In a signature Russian construction the logical subject — the person experiencing a state — stands in the DATIVE, not the nominative, and there is often no nominative subject and no real verb at all. Feelings: Мне хо́лодно (I'm cold), Ему́ ску́чно (he's bored). Age: Мне два́дцать лет (I'm 20). Necessity/permission: Мне на́до идти́ (I have to go), Здесь нельзя́ кури́ть (you can't smoke here). Liking: Мне нра́вится му́зыка (music is pleasing to me — the liked thing is the nominative subject!). The verb, when present, is frozen neuter. This is where English speakers most resist Russian, and mastering it is the gateway to sounding native.
- Genitive After Quantity WordsA2 — мно́го, ма́ло, немно́го, не́сколько, ско́лько, сто́лько, бо́льше, ме́ньше all govern the genitive: genitive PLURAL for things you can count (мно́го книг, ско́лько люде́й) and genitive SINGULAR for mass/abstract nouns (мно́го воды́, ма́ло вре́мени). Measures behave the same (килогра́мм я́блок, буты́лка вина́, ча́шка ко́фе). The count/mass split — invisible in English's much/many — decides singular vs plural.
- Verbal Aspect: The Big PictureA2 — Aspect is the spine of the Russian verb: nearly every verb belongs to a pair — imperfective (process, repetition, general fact) and perfective (a single completed whole with a result). This page explains the pair, the consequences for the tense system (perfectives have no present), and why you must decide 'process or result?' before you even pick a tense.
- Быть (to be)A1 — Complete conjugation-and-usage reference for быть 'to be': the (almost absent) present with zero copula, the есть existential, был/была́/бы́ло/бы́ли past, the бу́ду future and its job as the imperfective-future auxiliary, the будь(те) imperative, and the instrumental predicate (Он был врачо́м).