Breakdown of Суеверные люди часто ожидают неудачи, когда видят чёрную кошку.
чёрный
black
часто
often
видеть
to see
люди
people
когда
when
кошка
cat (female)
ожидать
to expect
суеверный
superstitious
неудача
bad luck, failure
Questions & Answers about Суеверные люди часто ожидают неудачи, когда видят чёрную кошку.
Why is неудачи in the Genitive case instead of the Accusative?
The verb ожидать (to expect) is a verb of expectation. In Russian, when you expect, desire, or fear an abstract concept like "bad luck" (неудача), the object takes the Genitive case (неудачи). If you were waiting for a specific physical person or vehicle, you would use the Accusative, but abstract ideas after these verbs require the Genitive.
Why does чёрную кошку use the Accusative case, if неудачи used the Genitive?
Because it follows a different verb! While verbs of expectation (like ожидать) often take the Genitive, the verb видеть (to see) is a standard action verb that takes a direct object in the Accusative case. So, the feminine phrase чёрная кошка changes to чёрную кошку.
Could I just use ждут instead of ожидают here?
Yes, you could say ждут неудачи, but ожидают is a great choice here. Ждать is the everyday word for waiting (like waiting for a bus or a friend), whereas ожидать means "to expect" or "to anticipate." It sounds slightly more formal and is very commonly used with abstract concepts like luck, changes, or results.
How is the word суеверные (superstitious) formed?
It is a compound word! It combines an old root суе- meaning "in vain" or "empty" (which you might recognize in суета, meaning "fuss" or "vanity") and вера (belief/faith). So, a суеверный person literally has an "empty belief."
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