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У неё есть собака.

У неё есть собака.
She has a dog.

Breakdown of У неё есть собака.

собака
the dog
неё
it
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Questions & Answers about У неё есть собака.

Why do we say «У неё есть» instead of just using она (the pronoun “she”) like in English “Она имеет собаку”?

Russian usually does not use a direct equivalent of English “have” for simple possession.

The standard pattern is:

  • У + possessor (in genitive) + есть + thing (in nominative)
  • Literally: “At/with her there is a dog.” → idiomatically: “She has a dog.”

So:

  • У неё есть собака. = She has a dog.
  • Он имеет собаку. is grammatically possible but sounds formal, bookish, or technical, not like normal everyday speech about ownership.

For everyday “has/have” with people, use the «у + genitive + есть» structure.

What does the preposition «у» mean here? It usually means “by / at / near,” so how does it give the meaning “has”?

«У» literally means something like “by, at, near, with”.

In possession sentences, Russian uses a location idea instead of a verb “to have”:

  • У неё есть собака.
    • Literally: “By her / At her there is a dog.”
    • Idiomatic meaning: “She has a dog.”

So the idea is: the dog exists in the sphere/possession of her. This is a very typical Slavic way to express possession.

Why is it «у неё» and not «у она»?

After the preposition «у», the pronoun must be in the genitive case, not in the nominative.

  • Nominative: она (she – as subject)
  • Genitive: её / неё (of her)

With «у», you always use genitive:

  • у меня – I → меня
  • у тебя – you (sg) → тебя
  • у него – he → него
  • у неё – she → неё
  • у нас – we → нас
  • у вас – you (pl/polite) → вас
  • у них – they → них

So «у она» is ungrammatical; it must be «у неё».

What is the difference between «её» and «неё»? Why is there an «н» in «неё»?

Both forms refer to “her”, but they are used in different positions:

  • её – used without a preposition (directly):

    • Я вижу её. – I see her.
    • Это книга её брата. – This is the book of her brother.

  • неё – used after a preposition, like у, к, от, без etc.:

    • У неё есть собака. – She has a dog.
    • Я думаю о ней. – I think about her.

The «н» is added for phonetic/smoothing reasons when a pronoun begins with a vowel and follows a preposition. This happens with его/него, её/неё, их/них.

Why is «собака» in the nominative case? Shouldn’t it be genitive or something after «у»?

In this construction, “possessor” and “thing possessed” use different cases:

  • Possessor: after «у», is in the genitive → у неё
  • Thing possessed: is the grammatical subject of “exists” (есть), so it’s in the nominative → собака

The underlying structure is like:

  • У неё есть собака.
    • “At-her (gen.) there exists (есть) a dog (nom.).”

So the dog is what exists, so it’s nominative. The owner is in genitive after «у».

When can I omit the word «есть»? I’ve seen both «У неё есть собака» and «У неё собака».

In many contexts, «есть» is optional and often dropped if the meaning is clear or if you’re emphasizing something else.

  1. Neutral simple statement – use or omit, both ok:

    • У неё есть собака.
    • У неё собака. (often with some context or contrast)

  2. When emphasizing existence/possession itself, «есть» is more likely to stay:

    • У неё есть собака, а у меня нет.
      – She does have a dog, and I don’t.

  3. With adjectives or focus on what exactly:

    • У неё есть чёрная собака. – She has a black dog.
    • У неё чёрная собака. – The dog she has is black / Her dog is black.

As a learner, using «есть» in simple “has” sentences is always safe. Russians will often drop it in natural speech.

How do I say “She doesn’t have a dog”?

Negative possession uses «нет» and changes the case of the noun:

  • У неё нет собаки. – She doesn’t have a dog.

Pattern:

  • У + possessor (genitive) + нет + thing (genitive)

So compare:

  • Positive: У неё есть собака. – собака (nominative)
  • Negative: У неё нет собаки. – собаки (genitive)

This genitive with «нет» is a standard rule.

Why does «собака» look feminine? Can it refer to a male dog too?

Yes, «собака» is grammatically feminine (ends in -а and declines like a feminine noun), but it can refer to any dog, male or female, in normal speech.

If you specifically want to mention the animal’s biological sex, there are words:

  • пёс – male dog (colloquial, masculine)
  • кобель – (male dog; more technical/breeder’s term, often for breeding)
  • сука – female dog (neutral in dog-breeding contexts but can be a strong insult about people)

But:

  • У неё есть собака.
    just means “She has a dog,” gender unspecified.
Could I say «Она имеет собаку» for “She has a dog”?

You could, and it is grammatically understandable, but it sounds unnatural in everyday Russian.

«Иметь» is used:

  • in formal or legal style (иметь право – to have the right)
  • in set expressions (иметь значение – to be significant)
  • in some technical or bureaucratic language

For normal, everyday possession of things, family members, pets, etc., use:

  • У неё есть собака.

So: prefer «у + genitive + есть» over «иметь» in ordinary speech.

How would I say “Maria has a dog” using the same structure?

Use «у» plus Maria’s name in the genitive case:

  • Nominative: Мария
  • Genitive: Марии

So:

  • У Марии есть собака. – Maria has a dog.

Pattern:

  • У + [name in genitive]
    • есть + [thing in nominative]
      • У Сергея есть машина. – Sergey has a car.
      • У Антона есть брат. – Anton has a brother.
How do I change this sentence to past and future: “She had a dog” and “She will have a dog”?

You replace «есть» with the appropriate form of «быть» (to be) in past or future:

  • Past:

    • У неё была собака. – She had a dog.
      • была – past feminine of «быть»

  • Future:

    • У неё будет собака. – She will have a dog.
      • будет – future 3rd person singular of «быть»

So the template stays the same:

  • У неё есть собака. – present
  • У неё была собака. – past
  • У неё будет собака. – future
Is there any word order flexibility? Can I say «Собака у неё есть»?

Yes, Russian word order is flexible and used for emphasis rather than basic grammar.

Some possibilities:

  • У неё есть собака. – neutral statement: She has a dog.
  • У неё собака есть. – often emphasizing that yes, a dog is what she has.
  • Собака у неё есть. – can emphasize that she, specifically, has a dog (contrast with others).

All are grammatical, but «У неё есть собака» is the most neutral and the best choice for learners.

How do I pronounce «У неё есть собака» correctly?

Slowly, syllable by syllable (stressed syllables in bold):

  • У – [u], like “oo” in “boot”
  • не‑ – [nee], unstressed
  • ‑ё – [yo], stressed: ne‑yo
  • есть – [yest’], ye as in “yes”, final ть is soft and not strongly released
  • со‑ – [sa], unstressed
  • ‑ба‑ – [ba], stressed
  • ‑ка – [ka], unstressed

Together, fairly smoothly:

  • [u nee‑YO yest sa‑BA‑ka]

Note that «ё» is always stressed and pronounced yo, even when not marked with dots in some texts (as е). Here it’s written with dots, which is easier.

Why doesn’t Russian use an article like “a” before «собака»? How do we know it means “a dog” and not “the dog”?

Russian has no articles (a/an/the). The noun «собака» by itself can mean:

  • a dog
  • the dog
  • dogs in a generic sense (depending on context and number)

The exact meaning comes from context, not a separate word like “a” or “the”.

In «У неё есть собака», in a neutral, context-free sentence, we usually understand it as:

  • “She has a dog.” (some dog, not previously specified)

If a particular, known dog were meant, the context before would make it clear, but the form of «собака» would still look the same.