306 A Reference Grammar of Russian

5.3.6 Existential predication and the subject genitive of negation: reference

In addition to predicate semantics, the naturalness or likelihood of using the genitive depends on the reference of the argument.

Pronouns, proper nouns, and singular nouns as a rule refer to individuated, animate entities, and discourse is often organized around such entities rather than generalized states of the world. Statistically, pronouns are less likely to be put in the genitive even with be. One study documents a hierarchy of increasing likelihood of using the nominative with negated be as one moves away from common nouns (only one nominative in 595 tokens, or more than 99% genitive) through third-person pronouns and proper nouns (84% genitive) to firstand second-person pronouns (only 59% genitive).23

With common nouns, the use of case correlates with the sense of the nominal in context. Nouns with individuated reference, such as the sounds of jazz in [141], appear in the nominative. Nouns with essential reference -- in [142], ‘anything that would qualify as sounds’ -- are genitive, and the predicate has impersonal syntax.

[141]Dljkm nhjnefhjd cnjzkb ytuecnj pfgfhrjdfyyst fdnjvfibys. C/lf yt ljyjcbkbcm pderb<nom> l;fpf.

Along the sidewalks cars were parked here and there. The sounds of jazz did not carry here.

[142]Bp gfkfns Vfэcnhj pderjd<gen> yt ljyjcbkjcm. From the Maestro’s tent no sounds carried.

For a given predicate, the existential reading will be more natural if the noun is affected by emphatic operators such as yb ‘not even’, b ‘even’, ybrfrj´q ‘no such’. With a perceptual predicate, the genitive is regular if negation is emphatic ([143]), but the nominative is normal with a bare noun ([144]):

[143]Ybrfrb[ cldbujd<gen> ytpfvtnyj.24

No advances whatsoever are noticeable.

[144]Ytpfvtnys cldbub<nom> . Advances are not noticeable.

Emphatic operators make a genitive possible with verbs that would normally not take the genitive. The genitive is unlikely in ? yt ewtktkj yfituj aeylfvtynf<gen> or ? yt ghjdpexfkj dscnhtkf<gen>, but possible in [145--46]:

[145]Jn yfitq [b,fhs d Yjdjhjccbqcrt yt ewtktkj b aeylfvtynf<gen> . From our hut in Novorossiisk there did not survive even the foundation.

[146]Yt ghjpdexfkj yb dscnhtkf<gen> . There did not sound even a single shot.

23 Robblee 1996.

24 Paducheva 1997, [143], [144].

Predicates and arguments 307

With emphatic operators, the speaker imagines and ranks possible entities that might fit in the positive predication, but then categorically eliminates all of the possibilities.

5.3.7 Existential predication and the subject genitive of negation: ybrjuj, ybxtuj

The negated pronouns ybrjuj´ ‘no one’ and especially ybxtuj´ ‘nothing’ can be used with a much broader range of predicates than other argument expressions.25 With moderate existentials such as jcnƒnmcz/jcnfdƒnmcz, both the nominative ybrnj´ and the genitive ybrjuj´ occur. The genitive ybrjuj´ reports complete and utter absence of any members of an open class ([147]). In [148], the class is delimited, and we entertain the counterfactual possibility that one of this class might have remained alive.

[147]Dct yfib hfccnhtkzys, ybrjuj yt jcnfkjcm d ;bds[. All our people were shot, no one has remained alive.

[148]Ybrnj bp yb[ yt jcnfkcz d ;bds[, b gjlhj,yjcntq эnjuj hfpujdjhf z cjj,obnm yt vjue.

Not one among them remained alive, and details of that conversation I cannot report.

Ybxtuj´ occurs widely. It is used regularly with: moderate existential predicates:

[149]Jrfpsdftncz, xnj ybxtuj yt ghjbpjikj, rjytw cdtnf yt yfcnegbk.

It turns out that nothing happened, the world did not come to an end.

With reflexive predicates related to transitives:

[150]Ybxtuj ,jkmit yt dszcybkjcm. Nothing further was clarified.

[151]Gjxnb ybxtuj c ltncndf yt pfgjvybkjcm.

Almost nothing from childhood stayed in memory.

[152]Ybxtuj yt bpvtybncz. Nothing will change.

With many intransitives ([153--55]) and semi-transitives ([156--57]) that otherwise would not take a genitive subject:

[153]Ybxtuj yt ,jkbn.

There is nothing hurting.

[154]-- Lf, -- cjukfcbkfcm Cfhhf. -- njkmrj ybxtuj yt uhtvbn b yt dphsdftncz.

-- Yes, -- agreed Sarah. -- It’s just that there is nothing thundering and exploding.

25 Examples and discussion in Guiraud-Weber 1973, 1984:124--33, Robblee 1993[a]:229--30.

308A Reference Grammar of Russian

[155]Ybxtuj gjxnb yt dsujhtkj. Almost nothing burned.

[156]Ntv, rnj ifufk gjl rjydjtv, e;t ybxtuj yt euhj;fkj. Nothing threatened those who were in the convoy any longer.

[157]Ybxtuj yt gjvjuftn. Nothing helps.

Ybxtuj´ can even be used with certain transitives, those that express a relation:

[158]Tuj ybxtuj yt {bynthtcetn elbdkztn}.

There is nothing that {interests surprises} him.

[159]<. . .> yj vtyz e; ybxtuj yt vjukj bcgeufnm.

<. . .> but now there was nothing that could frighten me.

[160]Ybxtuj yt jcnfyjdbkj ,s, lf;t ltnb.

Nothing would stop [her], not even the children.

[161]Ybxtuj yt cjtlbyzkj yfc. Nothing united us.

The genitive is not used with more agentive intransitives ([162]) or transitives ([163]):

[162]Ybxnj<nom> ( ybxtuj<gen> ) c dm/ujq yt cjgthybxfkj. Nothing engaged in competition with the blizzard.

[163]Ybxnj<nom> ( ybxtuj<gen> ) yt yfheifkj gjrjz. Nothing disturbed the peace.

Ybxtuj´ is possible with some non-verbal predicates that are perceptuals or experientials, predicates that look almost like predicative adjectives:

[164]Gjckt cvthnb vfnthb vyt e; ybxtuj yt cnhfiyj.

After my mother’s death, there is nothing terrifying to me.

[165]J ght,sdfybb Nehutytdf d gfycbjyt gjxnb ybxtuj yt bpdtcnyj. About Turgenev’s stay in the pension almost nothing is known.

[166]Ybxtuj yt ,skj gjyznyj tve. Nothing was comprehensible to him.

[167]Yj ybxtuj yt vjukj ,snm byfxt. Nothing could be otherwise.

Ybxtuj´ is not used with unambiguous predicatives, as in [131--36] above.

5.3.8 Existential predication and the subject genitive of negation: predicates and reference

Usage can be stated as a cline (Table 5.7) ranging from genitive to nominative, with an area of variation in the middle. Two hierarchies are reflected: one based on reference of the aspectual argument (in the order from likely to use genitive

Predicates and arguments 309

Table 5.7 Predicate hierarchy and case under negation

type of		emphatic	essential	individuated
predicate	ybxtuj	operator	reference	reference

be	G | N
perceptual: d∫lyj ‘be visible’	G | N
weak existential: jcnƒnmcz ‘remain’,	G | N
ds´ qnb ‘come out’	G | N
intransitive position/motion: cnjΩnm
‘stand’, ghjqn∫ ‘go through’
phenomenological: rhfcy†nm ‘turn	±G | N
red’, ujh†nm ‘burn’	±G | N
semi-transitive: gjvjuƒnm ‘help’
relational transitive: bynthtcjdƒnm	±G | N
‘interest’
affective transitive: yfhei∫nm ‘disturb’	G | N
predicative: ,s´ nm ctrh†njv ‘be a	G | N
secret’

G | N	G | N	G |± N
G | N	G | N	G | N
G | N	G | N	?G | N
±G | N		G | N
	?G | N
?G | N	?G | N	G | N
G | N	G | N	G | N
G | N	G | N	G | N
G | N	G | N	G | N
G | N	G | N	G | N

± = acceptable, not preferred ? = acceptable but restricted= (nearly) impossible

shading = context of variation

to avoiding genitive): ybxtuj´ ≥ ybrjuj´ ≥ emphatically negated argument ≥ plural ≥ singular abstract ≥ singular inanimate count ≥ animate ≥ pronoun, and another a hierarchy of predicate semantics.

5.3.9 Existential predication and the subject genitive of negation: context

When a given combination of predicate and argument can in principle use both constructions -- nominative (and agreement) or genitive (with no agreement) -- the choice is determined by (or imputes) additional semantic nuances or discourse considerations. The aspectual and modal quality of the predication is relevant. Although be itself does not distinguish aspect, be can be used with different aspectual senses, such as momentary state, inception of a state, or endurance of a state over time.

The genitive is usual in statements about the world at a punctual time ([168]):26

[168]<hfnf<gen> {enhjv d nhb xfcf} yt ,skj ljvf.

Brother wasn’t home {in the morning at three o’clock}.

26 Observation of Itskovich 1974.

310 A Reference Grammar of Russian

[169] <hfn<nom> {gjckt эnjq cgjhs c ghjikjq dtcys} yt ,sk ljvf. Brother hasn’t been home {since that quarrel/since last spring}.

In contrast, a durative context ([169]) is a statement about an individual, who is subject to expectations about his behavior: in [169], the person “did not come when he should have done so, or when it was natural for him to come.”27 The nominative is usual. Similarly, the speaker’s presence was expected in [170]:

[170] Z<nom> yt ,sk yf tuj gj[jhjyf[. I did not attend his funeral.

Thus, in a negated sentence it is possible to use the nominative if the nonpresence of the entity -- a person was not at home, not at the funeral -- is implicitly contrasted with the positive alternative -- a person should have been home, might well have been at the funeral.

Modality is relevant with weaker existential verbs.28 In [171], with genitive, there is no evidence of anything deserving of the name sound.

[171]Pderjd<gen> c ekbws yt ljyjcbkjcm. Sounds from the street did not carry in.

[172]Pderb<nom> c ekbws yt ljyjcbkbcm crdjpm ldjqyst hfvs. Sounds from the street did not carry through the doubled frames.

In [172], by adding the restriction crdjpm ldjqyst hfvs, the speaker contrasts two alternative histories: sound does not carry under these conditions, but might be expected to otherwise. Example [172] is, then, about this contrast, not a simple denial of existence (as in [171]). Similarly, in [173], there is no evidence of Masha at all:

[173]Vfib<gen> yt dblyj. There is no sign of Masha.

[174]Vfif<nom> yt dblyf. Masha isn’t visible.

Example [174] communicates a property of Masha: speaking of Masha, the property that characterizes her is a lack of visibility at the moment, though she could otherwise be visible. Masha is then much like the River Don in [175], which can be discussed despite its lack of visibility:

[175]Cfv Ljy<nom> yt dblty, jy pf gjkjcjq ktcf, ghjnzyeditujcz gj tuj ,thtue. The Don itself is not visible [from here, under these circumstances, but only because] it is beyond the strip of forest extending along its banks.

27 Paducheva 1992:57.

28 Examples from Guiraud-Weber 1984, Paducheva 1997.