Breakdown of Любой гражданин имеет право на бесплатную помощь.
любой
any
помощь
the help
на
for (a purpose or goal)
бесплатный
free of charge
право
right; law
иметь
to have, to possess
гражданин
the citizen
иметь право
to have the right (to)
Questions & Answers about Любой гражданин имеет право на бесплатную помощь.
Why do we use любой here instead of каждый (every)?
Любой means "any at all" or "whichever one you pick". While English sometimes uses "every" in this context, Russian uses любой to emphasize that absolute freedom applies—it doesn't matter which citizen you point to, this right belongs to them. Каждый (each/every) is used when you are mentally counting or going through every single member of a specific group.
We usually say у ... есть for possession. Why does this sentence use the verb имеет?
For physical possession or everyday relationships, Russian relies on the у [someone] есть construction. However, for abstract concepts, legal rights, and formal language, the direct verb иметь (to have) is used. Иметь право (to have the right) is a standard fixed phrase.
Why is the preposition на used after право?
To say you have a "right to" something in Russian, you must use the fixed construction право на followed by the accusative case. You cannot use the dative case or translate the English "to" with its usual movement prepositions.
How can we tell what case бесплатную помощь is in?
It is in the accusative case because it is the target of the preposition на. Even though the noun помощь (help) doesn't change its ending here—feminine nouns ending in a soft sign look exactly the same in the nominative and accusative cases—the adjective ending -ую in бесплатную clearly shows that the phrase is feminine accusative.
Learn Любой гражданин имеет право на бесплатную помощь and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free