Hi Eugenia, when is it ok to omit "есть" from genitive sentences? Also, does it remain in the infinitive when it's used to mean to have?
Hi! Oh, this is a very interesting question!
A typical textbook explanation when to use and when to avoid “есть” is the following:
When you speak about having as a fact of possessing, then use есть.
У парня есть машина = the boyfriend possesses a car.
When you describe some features of the object, then drop есть.
I don’t own blue eyes, they are my feature, hence “есть” should be dropped; otherwise the sentence would say that I am in possession of a couple of blue eyes, and these eyes are not a part of my face.
Some explanations also mention that if having something is optional, i.e. you may or may not have something, then use есть. If having it is normal and expected, drop есть. For example, having a heart and eyes is rather normal and expected for humans, so есть should be dropped.
These explanations are correct, and if you follow these rules, namely, есть for possessing something and no есть for describing an object, then most often, you’ll make correct, non-confusing sentences in Russian. But there are some nuances you should be aware of.
У бабушки всегда есть вкусное варенье.
У бабушки всегда вкусное варенье.
Surprisingly, these two sentences have very different meanings and convey very different messages. The first one, with есть, says that grandma always has delicious jam. And whenever you come to visit her, you know, there is a small jar with a delicious jam in her pantries. The second sentence, without есть, says that your grandma’s jam is always delicious. It doesn’t mean that she always has one, but when she makes it, it always turns out to be the best jam you’ve ever tried.
В Китае дешёвый интернет.
В Китае есть дешёвый интернет.
The first sentence (without есть) states that the internet in China is cheap. The second sentence argues that some of the Internet providers in China may offer cheap Internet, and it is possible to find good deals, but it wouldn’t be true to say that the internet in China is always cheap. Be cautious when using есть in sentences like this one, because you can easily turn a compliment into offense.
В твоём проекте профессиональные специалисты.
В твоём проекте есть профессиональные специалисты.
The first sentence praises the professionalism of the talents you attracted to your project, while the second admits that yeah, there are some professionals among the staff that work on your project.
В правительстве умные, честные люди.
В правительстве есть умные, честные люди.
The first sentence says that the people in the government are smart and honest, while the second sentence is more realistic stating that some of the people in the government can be smart and honest.
У меня новый телефон! = I am bragging that I have a new phone.
У меня есть новый телефон. Не покупай мне ещё один, не надо! = I am saying that I already have a new phone, and I don’t need another one.
У тебя талант! = You are a talented person! You are fascinating!
У тебя есть талант, занимайся каждый день, и всё получится! = You do have a talent, please, don’t give up, just practice daily, and it’ll come to you!
У него много интересных фильмов! = He has a large collection of great movies!
У него есть много интересных фильмов! = In his movie collection, there are quite a lot of interesting movies.
У них в холодильнике мыши! = Ouch, mice infested their fridge!
У них в холодильнике есть мыши. = They store mice in their fridge (to feed their pet owl, for example).
У него пять машин и вилла за городом. = He is a rich guy.
У него есть пять машин и вилла за городом. = This is what he listed in his tax declaration form.
If you take a close look at all the examples, you’ll see that generally, the sentences without есть, indeed, describe the object, and those with ”есть” are more about checking the inventories and adding “some” to the statement.
jacobvanloon
gummygunk
stormborns
