Я вовсе не ожидаю тепла зимой.

I do not expect warmth in winter at all.

Breakdown of Я вовсе не ожидаю тепла зимой.

• я: I
• в: in
• не: not
• зима: the winter
• ожидать: to expect
• вовсе: at all
• тепло: the warmth

Questions & Answers about Я вовсе не ожидаю тепла зимой.

Why is тепла in the genitive case here, instead of the nominative тепло?

Because the verb ожидать (“to expect, anticipate”) takes its direct object in the genitive case (ожидать чего?). So the noun тепло (“warmth”) becomes тепла in genitive singular.

What extra meaning does вовсе не add, and why not just не?

Вовсе не is an emphatic negation meaning “not at all” or “absolutely not.” Without вовсе, не ожидаю would simply mean “I don’t expect,” whereas я вовсе не ожидаю stresses that you have zero expectation.

Can I swap вовсе не with совсем не? Are they exactly the same?

Yes, you can say я совсем не ожидаю тепла зимой and keep the same basic meaning. Вовсе is a bit more formal or emphatic, while совсем is more neutral and common in spoken Russian.

Why is there no preposition в before зимой?

Russian often uses case-forms of time nouns as standalone adverbs. Зимой is the instrumental singular of зима, used here adverbially to mean “in winter” without any preposition.

Is зимой really instrumental case? How does that work?

Yes. The noun зима in instrumental singular is зимой. In Russian, instrumental and other cases often serve adverbial functions (like “летом,” “весной,” “утром”).

Could I move зимой to the front, as in Зимой я вовсе не ожидаю тепла? Would the meaning change?

You can. Putting зимой first shifts the focus onto the time (“As for winter…”), but the overall meaning (“I don’t expect warmth”) remains the same.

Why use ожидать here instead of ждать or рассчитывать?

• Ждать means “to wait for,” focusing on the act of waiting.
• Рассчитывать means “to rely on” or “count on,” implying stronger confidence.
• Ожидать is the neutral “to expect/anticipate,” fitting when you simply don’t expect something to happen.

What is the aspect of ожидать, and is there a perfective form?

Ожидать is imperfective. Its perfective counterpart is дожидаться (например, я дождусь вашего ответа – “I will eventually get your answer”). You’d choose дожидаться when you want to stress completion.

Could I rephrase this with a subordinate clause, like “I don’t expect that it will be warm in winter”?

Yes, you could say Я не ожидаю, что зимой будет тепло. It’s grammatically correct but more verbose. Native speakers often prefer the concise ожидать + noun construction.