Breakdown of Она сказала, что мы не желаем им беды.
не
not
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
мы
we
они
they
Questions & Answers about Она сказала, что мы не желаем им беды.
Why is беды in the genitive case instead of the accusative?
The verb желать (to wish) is a special verb of desire that requires its direct object (the thing you are wishing for) to be in the genitive case, not the accusative. Because of this rule, the feminine noun беда (misfortune) becomes беды. This happens whether the sentence is negative or positive.
Why is the pronoun им (them) used instead of их?
им is the dative case of они (they). In Russian, when you wish something for someone, the person receiving the wish is the indirect object and must be in the dative case. Literally, this translates to "we do not wish misfortune to them."
Why does the second half of the sentence use the present tense желаем when the first half is in the past tense (сказала)?
Unlike English, Russian does not use a "sequence of tenses" in reported speech. The subordinate clause keeps the exact tense the speaker originally used at the moment they spoke. She originally thought or said, "We do not wish..." (мы не желаем), so the present tense is preserved after что.
Could we use the imperfective verb говорила instead of сказала here?
Usually, no. сказала is the perfective aspect, which is used here to focus on the single, completed result of making a statement. If you used говорила, it would change the meaning to an ongoing or repeated action, like "she was saying" or "she used to say."