Stating Absence with "нет"
To say that someone or something is absent, or that you do not have something, use нет. The missing person, object, or concept takes the Genitive case.
Missing Pronouns
To say "he," "she," or "it" is missing, use the Genitive forms of the third-person pronouns:
- он (he) and оно (it) become его (Note: the г is pronounced like an English "v")
- она (she) becomes её
| Where is Ivan? He is not here. | Где Иван? Его здесь нет. |
Missing Nouns
Nouns also take Genitive endings after нет:
- Masculine & Neuter: Take -а or -я (сахар → сахара, мясо → мяса).
- Feminine: Take -ы or -и (соль → соли, рыба → рыбы).
| No, there is no sugar, and there is no salt either. | Нет, сахара нет, и соли тоже нет. |
| We do not have meat or fish. | У нас нет мяса и рыбы. |
Pronouns replacing missing objects must match the noun's grammatical gender. Since рыба (fish) is feminine, it becomes её.
| Where is the fish? It is not in the kitchen. | Где рыба? Её нет на кухне. |
Телефон (phone) is masculine, so it becomes его.
| Where is the phone? It is not here either. | Где телефон? Его тоже нет. |
Abstract Concepts
The same rules apply to abstract concepts like light, answers, or mood.
| There is no light and no internet here. | Здесь нет света и интернета. |
| Anna has a question, but there is no answer. | У Анны есть вопрос, а ответа нет. |
| I am in no mood to read. | У меня нет настроения читать. |
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