Partitive Genitive

Level 3Sounds Like rodny častkovy

Put a food or drink in the genitive to mean some: Дай вады (Give me some water), Хочаш чаю? (Would you like some tea?)

How It Works

1. Genitive = some. Use it with substances and foods after verbs of giving, taking and consuming:

  • Дай мне вады. (Give me some water.)
  • Налі мне гарбаты. (Pour me some tea.)
  • Купі хлеба і малака. (Buy some bread and milk.)
  • Дадай у суп солі. (Add some salt to the soup.)
  • Хочаш кавы? (Would you like some coffee?)

2. Accusative = the whole or a definite portion. Выпі ваду means drink the water (the water that is here, all of it). Купі хлеб means buy the bread (a loaf, the one we need). Both are correct; the genitive simply adds the idea of some.

3. Usually perfective. The partitive genitive is most natural with perfective verbs (дай, налі, купі, выпі, з'еш) and with хацець. For a habit or an ongoing action, use the accusative: Я кожны дзень п'ю ваду.

4. Masculine nouns take -у. Masculine substances use the -у/-ю genitive: налі чаю, дадай цукру, з'еш супу, but хлеба.

5. Related uses. The same genitive appears after quantity words (шмат вады, кубак чаю).

Examples (6)

  1. Дай мне, калі ласка, вады.

    Please give me some water.

    Вада → вады: some water, not all of it.

  2. Налі мне гарбаты.

    Pour me some tea.

    Гарбата → гарбаты.

  3. Купі хлеба і малака.

    Buy some bread and milk.

    Хлеб → хлеба, малако → малака.

  4. Хочаш чаю?

    Would you like some tea?

    After хацець, the genitive offers some: чай → чаю.

  5. Дадай у суп солі.

    Add some salt to the soup.

    Соль → солі.

  6. Я з'еў супу і пайшоў на працу.

    I had some soup and went to work.

    With the perfective з'еў, супу means some soup.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the substance in the nominative.

    Налі мне гарбата.
    Налі мне гарбаты.

    The object of налі cannot be nominative. For some tea, use the genitive гарбаты.

  • Using a Russian-style -а ending on a masculine substance.

    Хочаш чая?
    Хочаш чаю?

    Masculine substances take -у/-ю in the genitive: чаю, цукру, супу.

  • Using the partitive genitive for a regular habit.

    Я кожны дзень п'ю вады.
    Я кожны дзень п'ю ваду.

    The partitive genitive goes with a single act of taking some, usually with a perfective verb. For a habit with the imperfective п'ю, use the accusative.

How It Connects

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Partitive GenitiveLevel 3

Learn This First

The partitive follows the -а/-у split.

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Patterns that build on this one.