Expressing Sufficiency and Lack
To express having enough of something—or lacking it—use the impersonal verbs хватать (imperfective) and хватить (perfective). The sentence structure looks like this:
- Experiencer (who has or lacks): Dative case.
- Object (what is measured): Genitive case.
- Verb: 3rd-person singular (e.g., хватает, хватит).
To say someone lacks something, simply add не before the verb:
| We constantly lack funds for this project. | Нам постоянно не хватает средств на этот проект. |
| He lacks motivation to work better. | Ему не хватает мотивации, чтобы работать лучше. |
Past and Future Tenses
The past tense of an impersonal verb is always neuter (хватило), and the future is 3rd-person singular (хватит).
| Will the factory really have enough raw material for a whole year? | Неужели заводу хватит сырья на целый год? |
| Thanks for the truth. You had the courage to say everything. | Спасибо за правду. Тебе хватило смелости всё сказать. |
The Noun: Нехватка
The noun нехватка (shortage, lack) is also followed by the Genitive case to indicate what is lacking. This is common in professional or economic contexts.
| Because of the lack of funding, they closed the company. | Из-за нехватки финансирования они закрыли компанию. |
| There is a serious shortage of raw material in production. | На производстве серьёзная нехватка сырья. |
Abstract Concepts
This structure isn't just for money and materials; it is frequently used to discuss personal qualities, professional skills, or creative resources. The same grammatical rules apply: Dative for the person and Genitive for the missing trait.
| Does the manager really lack the competence for this position? | Разве менеджеру не хватает компетенции для этой должности? |
| The student lacks inspiration and motivation. | Студенту не хватает вдохновения и мотивации. |
| The writer complains about a lack of imagination and inspiration. | Писатель жалуется на нехватку фантазии и вдохновения. |
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