Breakdown of Девушка избегает плохих примет и ждёт счастья.
и
and
плохой
bad
ждать
to wait (imperfective)
девушка
young woman
счастье
happiness
примета
omen (f)
избегать
to avoid (imperfective)
Questions & Answers about Девушка избегает плохих примет и ждёт счастья.
Why is плохих примет in the Genitive case instead of the standard Accusative for direct objects?
The verb избегать (to avoid) is part of a special group of verbs that express fear, distancing, or avoidance. These verbs strictly require their object to be in the Genitive case, which gives us the Genitive plural плохих примет.
Why does ждёт (waits for) also use the Genitive case for счастья (happiness)?
Verbs of expectation like ждать use the Genitive case when the object you are waiting for is abstract or indefinite. Since счастье (happiness) is an abstract concept, it takes the Genitive ending -я. If she were waiting for a specific person or a definite physical object, you would use the Accusative instead.
How is the noun примет formed here?
It is the Genitive plural form of the feminine noun примета (omen). For feminine nouns ending in -а, the Genitive plural is formed by dropping that vowel, leaving what is called a zero ending. Combined with the plural adjective ending, we get плохих примет.
Both verbs in this sentence are in the imperfective aspect (избегает, ждёт). What does this imply?
The imperfective aspect shows that these are continuous, habitual actions or states. The girl generally avoids bad omens as a rule in her life, and she is in an ongoing state of waiting for happiness.
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