у + Genitive + есть

Possession with У and Есть

Level 1Sounds Like u + roditelʹnyj + estʹ

Russian uses a locative construction for possession: у + Possessor (Genitive) + есть + Object (Nominative). Literally: 'At me there is a car.'

How It Works

This construction is the most common way to express possession in Russian.

1. The Structure:

  • у: The preposition meaning 'at' or 'by'.
  • Possessor: The person or thing that has the object must be in the Genitive case.
  • есть: The present tense form of 'to be'. It stays the same regardless of whether the object is singular or plural.
  • Object: The thing possessed is in the Nominative case.

2. The 'н' Rule for Pronouns:
When a 3rd-person pronoun functions as the possessor immediately after у, you must add a prefix н-: у него, у неё, у них.

3. Negative Possession:
To say someone does not have something, use the pattern нет + Genitive. In this case, the object being 'not possessed' must also be in the Genitive case. For example: У меня нет времени (I don't have time).

4. Omitting 'есть':
Native speakers omit есть in two main scenarios:

  • Description: When the focus is on a quality of the object. У неё голубые глаза (She has blue eyes).
  • Temporary Possession: When you are stating that an object is physically on your person or in your hands right now. Деньги у меня (I have the money on me).

Examples (6)

  1. У меня есть вопрос.

    I have a question.

    Word by Word: At me there is a question.

    A standard use of the pattern where 'меня' is the genitive of 'я'.

  2. У него есть собака.

    He has a dog.

    Word by Word: At him there is a dog.

    Note the 'н' added to the pronoun 'его' after the preposition 'у'.

  3. У Анны есть машина.

    Anna has a car.

    Word by Word: At Anna there is a car.

    The name 'Анна' changes to the genitive form 'Анны'.

  4. У них есть дети.

    They have children.

    Word by Word: At them there are children.

    Even though 'дети' (children) is plural, 'есть' does not change to a plural form in the present tense.

  5. У меня нет ключа.

    I don't have a key.

    Word by Word: At me there is no of key.

    To say you don't have something, use 'нет' followed by the genitive case.

  6. Паспорт у меня.

    I have the passport (on me).

    Word by Word: Passport at me.

    When the object is physically with you right now, 'есть' is omitted.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the Nominative case for the possessor.

    Я есть собака.
    У меня есть собака.

    'Я есть собака' literally means 'I am a dog.' To say you have one, you must use 'У меня'.

  • Putting the possessed object in the Accusative case.

    У меня есть машину.
    У меня есть машина.

    In this construction, the object is the grammatical subject, so it must stay in the Nominative case.

  • Adding 'н-' to possessive adjectives.

    У него брата есть машина.
    У его брата есть машина.

    The 'н-' prefix is only added when the pronoun itself is the possessor (e.g., 'у него'). If the pronoun is a possessive adjective like его, её, or их modifying a noun, do not add 'н-'.

How It Connects

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

у + Genitive + естьLevel 1Possession with У and Есть

Learn This First

To understand possession in Russian, you first need to understand the concept of the existential 'есть' (there is/exists). Additionally, you must be familiar with the nominative case, as the item being possessed functions as the grammatical subject of the sentence.

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