Breakdown of Нельзя лишаться влияния в компании.
в
in / to (direction)
нельзя
one must not
компания
company
лишаться
to be deprived of (impf)
влияние
influence
Questions & Answers about Нельзя лишаться влияния в компании.
Why is влияния in the genitive case here instead of the accusative?
The verb лишаться (to lose, be deprived of) requires the genitive case for the thing being lost. This is a classic example of the genitive of deprivation. Verbs dealing with losing, avoiding, lacking, or being deprived of something almost always take the genitive rather than the accusative.
Why use the imperfective verb лишаться after нельзя instead of the perfective лишиться?
The choice of aspect after нельзя completely changes its meaning. Нельзя plus an imperfective verb expresses a prohibition or strong advice, meaning one must not do something. If you used the perfective verb лишиться, it would mean it is impossible to lose it.
Is влияния plural or singular here?
It is the genitive singular form of the neuter noun влияние (influence). Neuter nouns ending in -ие change to -ия in the genitive singular. It happens to look exactly like the nominative plural, but the grammatical requirement of the verb лишаться tells us it is the genitive singular.
Why does the verb лишаться have the -ся ending?
The base verb лишать means to deprive someone else of something. Adding the -ся particle makes it intransitive, shifting the focus to the subject experiencing the loss. It behaves similarly to the English concept of being deprived of something, which perfectly sets up the genitive case for the thing lost.
Learn Нельзя лишаться влияния в компании 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