The genitive meaning network
Genitive often places one entity relative to another: absent from a domain, belonging to a reference point, coming from a source, or measured as a quantity.
- Case versus number: нет selects genitive. The speaker still chooses singular нет кни́ги 'there is no book' or plural нет книг 'there are no books'.
| Relation | Construction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| absence | нет + genitive | нет кни́ги |
| possessor / reference | noun + genitive | кни́га студе́нта |
| source | из / с / от + genitive | из шко́лы |
| possession/circumstance | у + genitive | у бра́та |
| quantity | two-to-four count phrase | два стола́ |
| prepositional relation | без / для / до ... | без са́хара |
Mini-check
1. Which construction selects the case in нет кни́ги? 2. Does genitive itself mean singular?
Apply this next
- Retrieve the rule without looking, then continue to the next lesson.