Possession with Nouns
To state that someone owns something, use the same structure you learned previously: У + [Owner in Genitive Case] + есть + [Object in Nominative].
Forming the Genitive Case
When the owner is a noun, form the genitive case by changing its ending:
- Masculine nouns ending in a consonant: Add -а.
- Feminine nouns ending in -а: Change to -ы (after к, г, х, ч, ш, щ, or ж, spelling rules require -и instead).
- Feminine nouns ending in -я: Change to -и.
| Nominative (Dictionary form) | Genitive (After "у") |
|---|---|
| Иван | Ивана |
| Анна | Анны |
| студентка | студентки |
| Ivan has a bicycle. | У Ивана есть велосипед. |
| Anna has a beautiful guitar. | У Анны есть красивая гитара. |
| The student has a new car. | У студентки есть новая машина. |
Masculine Nouns Ending in -а or -я
Some masculine nouns, like male family members, end in -а or -я. They take the exact same genitive endings as feminine words.
- дедушка becomes дедушки
- дядя becomes дяди
| Grandfather has an old friend. | У дедушки есть старый друг. |
| Uncle Ivan has a black cat. | У дяди Ивана есть чёрный кот. |
Contrasting and Combining Owners
Use а (while/and/but) to contrast who has what.
| The boy has a bicycle, and the girl has a guitar. | У мальчика есть велосипед, а у девочки есть гитара. |
If something belongs to multiple people together, connect them with и (and). Both names must be in the genitive case.
| Ivan and Anna have a good house. | У Ивана и Анны есть хороший дом. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io
