Breakdown of В магазине есть всё, кроме гречки.
в
in / to (direction)
магазин
store, shop
есть
is, there is, to have
весь
all, the whole, everything, everyone (весь, вся, всё, все)
кроме
except
гречка
buckwheat
Questions & Answers about В магазине есть всё, кроме гречки.
Why does гречка change to гречки in this sentence?
The preposition кроме (except) always requires the Genitive case. Гречка (buckwheat) is a feminine noun ending in -а. To form the Genitive, the -а usually changes to -ы, but because of the spelling rule (never write -ы after к, г, х, ж, ч, ш, щ), it becomes гречки.
Why doesn't the Russian sentence use a verb like 'to have' (for example, иметь)?
While иметь exists, Russians rarely use it for everyday possession or existence. Instead, they use location-based structures. В магазине есть literally translates to 'In the store there is', which is the natural way to say 'The store has'.
How do I know whether to use всё or все here?
Всё (neuter singular) means 'everything', which fits this sentence perfectly. Все (plural) means 'everyone' or 'all' (like 'all people' or 'all the apples'). Since the store stocks 'everything' rather than 'everyone', всё is the correct choice.
Is the comma before кроме mandatory?
Yes! In Russian punctuation, phrases introduced by кроме that exclude something from a larger concept (like the word всё used here) must be separated by commas.
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