Breakdown of Этот суеверный человек ищет помощи, потому что ждёт беды.
человек
person
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
потому что
because
ждать
to wait (imperfective)
искать
to look for
помощь
the help
суеверный
superstitious
беда
trouble, misfortune
Questions & Answers about Этот суеверный человек ищет помощи, потому что ждёт беды.
Why do the verbs ищет and ждёт take the Genitive case here (помощи, беды) instead of the Accusative?
In Russian, transitive verbs of seeking (искать) and expecting/waiting (ждать) take the Genitive case when the object is abstract, indefinite, or uncountable—like 'help' (помощь) or 'trouble' (беда). If the person were looking for a specific, physical object (like a lost key), you would use the Accusative case instead.
I recognize that беды is the Genitive of беда, but why does помощи end in -и?
The dictionary form of this word is помощь (help). It is a feminine noun that ends in a soft sign (-ь), which makes it a 3rd declension noun. For all feminine nouns ending in -ь (like ночь or вещь), the Genitive case ending is always -и.
Why is there a щ in ищет if the dictionary form of the verb is искать?
The verb искать has a consonant mutation in its present tense conjugation. The ск in the infinitive stem changes to щ for all present tense forms. This gives us я ищу (I seek), ты ищешь (you seek), and он ищет (he seeks).
How do we know ждёт means 'is expecting' here rather than 'is waiting for'?
Ждать covers the meanings of both 'to wait for' and 'to expect.' You have to rely on context! Since 'trouble' (беда) is an abstract event rather than a scheduled arrival like a train, 'expecting' makes the most sense. When used for abstract expectations, ждать always requires the Genitive case.
Learn Этот суеверный человек ищет помощи, потому что ждёт беды 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