ёсць

There Is with Ёсць

Level 1Sounds Like ëscʹ

Ёсць means "there is, there are": Тут ёсць кавярня? (Is there a café here?) Так, ёсць (Yes, there is).

How It Works

Use ёсць when the point of the sentence is that something exists, is there, or is available:

  • У горадзе ёсць вялікі парк. (There is a big park in the town.)
  • Дома ёсць малако? (Is there any milk at home?)

One form for everything. Ёсць does not change for singular or plural: ёсць кавярня, ёсць кавярні.

Short answers. Ёсць works as a whole answer: Так, ёсць (Yes, there is). The negative answer is Няма (There is none), which takes the genitive: Тут няма кавярні. See няма.

Other times. In the past and future you use the normal forms of быць, which agree with the noun: Тут была кавярня (There was a café here), Тут будзе парк (There will be a park here).

Ёсць is not "is". Do not use it for an ordinary description; Кава гарачая has no verb. See leaving out "is". Also keep ёсць apart from есць, "he or she eats", from есці.

Examples (5)

  1. Тут ёсць кавярня? — Так, ёсць.

    Is there a café here? Yes, there is.

  2. У горадзе ёсць вялікі парк.

    There is a big park in the town.

  3. Ці ёсць у вас меню па-беларуску?

    Do you have a menu in Belarusian?

    Ці opens a yes-no question.

  4. Дома ёсць малако?

    Is there any milk at home?

  5. Тут была кавярня.

    There was a café here.

    In the past, быць agrees with the noun: была.

Common Mistakes

  • Spelling ёсць like the verb "eats".

    Тут есць кавярня?
    Тут ёсць кавярня?

    Есць (with е) is the ён/яна form of есці, "to eat". "There is" is always spelled ёсць, with ё.

  • Negating ёсць with не.

    Тут не ёсць кавярні.
    Тут няма кавярні.

    The negative of ёсць is няма, followed by the genitive.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ёсцьLevel 1There Is with Ёсць

Learn This First

Ёсць is learned against the zero copula.

Words in This Pattern

ёсцьбыць