Breakdown of Мы не ожидаем несчастья, мы ждём удачи.
не
not
мы
we
ждать
to wait (imperfective)
удача
luck
ожидать
to expect
несчастье
misfortune (n)
Questions & Answers about Мы не ожидаем несчастья, мы ждём удачи.
Why are both несчастья and удачи in the Genitive case instead of the Accusative?
Verbs of expectation, like ожидать (to expect) and ждать (to wait for), often take the Genitive case instead of the Accusative when their object is an abstract concept. Since both несчастье (misfortune) and удача (luck) are abstract, they become несчастья and удачи. If you were waiting for a specific physical thing or person, you would normally use the Accusative.
Does the negative не before ожидаем also play a role in making несчастья Genitive?
Yes! This is a case where two grammar rules overlap perfectly. Abstract nouns used as direct objects of negated verbs almost always take the Genitive case (the Genitive of negation). So несчастья is Genitive both because it is an expected abstract concept and because the verb is negated.
What is the difference between ожидаем and ждём in this sentence?
Ждать is the common, everyday verb for to wait or to expect. Ожидать is a slightly more formal verb meaning to anticipate or to expect. Using both avoids repetition and gives a stylistic contrast: we do not logically anticipate bad things, we actively wait for good things.
Wait, isn't несчастья plural? How do we know it is Genitive singular?
The dictionary form is несчастье (a neuter noun). To form the Genitive singular, the -е changes to -я, resulting in несчастья. This form looks exactly like the Nominative plural, but context tells us it means misfortune (singular) rather than misfortunes.
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