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Case also relates to the function of the sentence in the discourse. The genitive is appropriate when the topic is the whole world ([176]):

[176]{B[ ljkuj yt ,skj ? Jyb ljkuj yt ,skb}, gjnjv cjdctv ,kbprj hfplfkjcm ytcrjkmrj dscnhtkjd, b Rjkmwtd dthyekcz, ytcz yf gktxf[ jlyjuj bp ,jqwjd. There was no sign of them for a long time, then right near there rang out several shots, and Koltsev returned, carrying on his shoulders one of the soldiers.

[177]{? Tuj ljkuj yt ,skj Jy ljkuj yt ,sk} d Hjccbb, b tcntcndtyyj, yt pyfrjv c yfitq ltqcndbntkmyjcnm/.

He had not been in Russia for a long time, and naturally is not familiar with our reality.

With the nominative, the world is viewed in terms of the individual. In [177], the fact that he was absent explains another fact, his lack of knowledge.

5.3.10 Existential predication and the subject genitive of negation: summary

In summary: Certain predicates discuss the presence of an entity in a domain, which can be physical space or a speaker’s perceptual field. In principle such combinations can be interpreted in two different ways: as a statement about an individual or as a statement about the world and its contents. In the former case, interest is focused on the individual, who is otherwise known, and on the properties of that individual. In the latter case, the communicative force of the sentence is merely to establish or deny the presence of some entity in some domain, the entity often being understood as an essence. When such predicates of location are negated, the entity whose existence is negated appears in the genitive. The choice between an individuating and an existential interpretation and, therefore, the use of the genitive under negation, depends on (a) the semantics of the predicate; (b) the reference of the entity, whether individuated or essentialist or emphatically essentialist (yb jlyjuj´, ybxtuj´); (c) the modal and aspectual sense of the predicate in context -- consideration of alternative realities undermines the existential reading; (d) the function of the proposition in context, whether the predicate informs merely of the polarity of existence (genitive) or the location as a property of the individual (nominative).

5.3.11 Bvtnm and existential possessive constructions

The existential construction with a domain expressed by the preposition e<\gen> is the usual way of asserting or denying possession of concrete nouns.29 Russian also has a transitive verb bv†nm, used especially in idioms in which the noun is an abstract noun ([178]):

29 Safarewiczowa 1964, Isaˇcenko 1974.

312 A Reference Grammar of Russian

[178] bv†nm {jnyji†ybt ‘relation’ ecg†[ ‘success’ pyfx†ybt ‘significance’ djpvj´;yjcnm ‘opportunity’ ghƒdj ‘right’ l†kj ‘issue’ gjyz´nbt ‘idea, conception’ dkbz´ybt ‘influence’ cvs´ ck ‘sense’ v†cnj ‘place’}

The idioms can be expanded by adjectives (bvtnm ,jkmijq ecgt[ ‘have great success’) or conjoined (bvtnm cxfcnmt b yfckf;ltybt ‘good fortune and pleasure’). Negated, bv†nm takes the genitive: r djlrt edktxtybz<gen> jy yt bvtk ‘he had no interest in vodka’.

Even with concrete nouns whose possession would ordinarily be expressed by e<\gen>, bv†nm can be used if possession is viewed as a property of the subject. Thus, bv†nm is appropriate if possession is one of a series of properties of the subject:

[179]Jcnfdibcm cnfhjq ltdjq, ntnz Yflz yt bvtkf ghzvs[ yfcktlybrjd b ytj;blfyyj lkz vjtuj jnwf pfdtofkf cdjb lhfujwtyyjcnb tve.

An old maid, Aunt Nadia did not have any direct descendants and unexpectedly for him, she left her valuables to my father.

(Usually: E ytt yt ,skj yfcktlybrjd.) Bv†nm defines individuals:

[180]Vyjubt bp yfib[, rnj bvtk d ujhjlt rdfhnbhs, gthtikb yf hf,jne gj,kb;t jn ljvf.

Many of our friends, whoever had apartments in the city, moved to work closer to home.

(Usually: E vtyz ,skf rdfhnbhf ‘I had an apartment’.) Bv†nm must be used when the possessor is the implicit subject of a participle or infinitive:

[181]Jy egjvzyek vjtuj ,hfnf -- nfkfynkbdjuj [elj;ybrf, r njve ;t bvt/otuj nhjb[ vfktymrb[ ltntq.

He mentioned my brother -- a talented artist, who, furthermore, had three small children.

[182]Jyf cj,bhfkfcm ibnm b xbybnm j,edm yf pfrfp, xnj,s bvtnm cdjq pfhf,jnjr. She wanted to take orders to sew and repair shoes, in order to have her own income.

(Usually E ytuj ,skj nhjt ltntq ‘He had three children’; E ytt pfhf,jnjr rhj[jnysq ‘She has a modest income’.) Thus bv†nm insists that possession is a property of the subject.

Bv†nm has a related reflexive form bv†nmcz, used as a more explicit and bureaucratic equivalent of existential be.

[183]Yf Ufdhbkjdjgjkzycrjv exfcnrt {bvtkcz gfhnjhu<nom> yt bvtkjcm gfhnjhuf<gen> }

There {was was not} a party organizer at Gavrilopoliansk.

Predicates and arguments 313

5.3.12 Tcnm and existential possessive constructions

Russian, it is said, has no verb ‘to be’ in the present tense, and it is true that it does not use a conjugated verb in the present tense of either predicative or existential sentences.30 Still, †cnm, the etymological third-person singular present of ,s´ nm, is sometimes used in existential and possessive sentences. Écnm is appropriate when the import of the utterance is whether or not any token of a type exists at all. Écnm is omitted when it is already presumed that something from a general type exists, and the communicative concern is with the existence of one particular variety of the type. There are recognizable contexts in which usage is predictable.

Écnm is normally omitted in the following contexts. When a sentence describes the body parts of an individual -- hair, nose, legs -- the body parts are assumed to exist; the sentence differentiates one subtype from others. Such descriptions lack †cnm:

[184]E Kbls ,jktt rhfcbdjt kbwj, xtv e Njyb. Lida has a prettier face than Tonya.

[185]E ytuj vjhcrfz gj[jlrf. He has a seaman’s walk.

[186]E ytuj ctlst djkjcs. He has gray hair.

Identifying a disease or condition that afflicts the possessor presupposes that there is some sort of medical or psychological condition to begin with. Écnm is not used.

[187]Yf cktle/obq ltym dhfx jghtltkbk, xnj e ytt vjkybtyjcyfz cfhrjvf. The next day the doctor determined that she had acute sarcoma.

[188]D njv, xnj e yb[ hjvfy, z yt cjvytdf/cm.

That they have a romance going on I have no doubts.

[189]D rjvyfnt cnhfiysq iev.

There is a horrible din in the room.

When a noun is modified by a superlative adjective, the communicative concern is with selecting the proper individual from a set of entities, namely the individual manifesting the greatest degree of the property; the set, such as a set of rooms ([190]), is presumed to exist:

30 Seliverstova 1973, Isaˇcenko 1974, Chvany 1975, Mehlig 1979 (focusing on the known-ness of the possessed entity), Paillard 1984 (28--123, focusing on cases in which the usage is the opposite of the usual), Kondrashova 1996. Except for [196], [198], [199] (from conversation), examples here are taken from Sofia Pregel , Moe detstvo, vol. I (Paris: Novosel e, 1973), a pseudo-naive memoir of childhood conveniently written in the present tense with many possessive sentences.

314 A Reference Grammar of Russian

[190]E ytt cfvfz kexifz rjvyfnf. She has the best room.

Quantifying the noun generally means presupposing the existence of some tokens of this type of entity, and the communicative concern is with the quantity (small, large, etc.):

[191]Z [jxe pfgkfnbnm pf ,bktn, e vtyz djctvmltczn gznm rjgttr. I want to pay for the ticket; I have 85 kopecks.

Mentioning a body part along with the possessor presupposes a scenario in which different objects might be located in different sub-locations at various times, hence no †cnm:

[192]D ghfdjq hert e ytuj ,ertn.

In his right hand he has a bouquet.

Descriptions of garments and outfits lack †cnm:

[193]Dfkz ghbltn yf rjhjnrjt dhtvz. E ytt rjcn/v gjlcyt;ybrf bp rjcn/vthyjq vfcnthcrjq, ult im/n fhnbcnfv.

Valia will come for a short time. She’s got a snowflake costume from the costume shop where they sew things for performers.

Écnm is not used in all these contexts, in which a token of a type is presupposed to exist, and the predicate asserts which subtype of entity is possessed.

In contrast, †cnm is used when no tokens of a type are presumed to exist, and the sentence is concerned with establishing the existence of a token of a type in some domain as opposed to its possible non-existence. The fact of existence is presented as if unrestricted in time or condition. Écnm is common when a geographical location, with its contents, is described:

[194]Yf gkjoflb tcnm cnfhst lthtdmz. On the square there are old trees.

Écnm is used with adjectives and xnj´-nj; the question is whether any of some abstract essence is present at all:

[195]F z yf[j;e, xnj d Kblt tcnm xnj-nj pfufljxyjt.

I think that in Lida there is something mysterious.

Écnm is commonly used in negotiations that verify whether something exists at all,

[196]K: Yf lfxe etp;ftnt ctujlyz?

F: Ctujlyz bkb pfdnhf c enhf.

K: E dfc exfcnjr tcnm nfv, lf?

Are you going to your dacha today? Today or tomorrow, sometime in

the morning.

You have a plot there, yes?

Predicates and arguments 315

F: Tcnm exfcnjr. Hfcntn xnj-nj d ytv. We have a plot. Things are growing

Vfnm pfybvftncz . . .	there. Mother tends it . . .
K: Gjvbljhs e;t tcnm?	Do you have tomatoes already?

or in conditions, when the condition hinges on whether something exists,

[197]E yfc d ubvyfpbb pdjyzn hjlbntkzv, tckb e yb[ tcnm ntktajy. F tckb ytn, . . .

At our school they telephone the parents, if they have a telephone. And if not, . . .

[198]Byjulf . . . lf ytn, byjulf vj;yj b regbnm. Tckb xnj-nj gjl[jlbn, tckb tcnm ltymub.

Sometimes . . . Well yes, sometimes I do buy something. If there’s something suitable, if I have any money.

or in contexts in which existence is emphatically asserted:

[199]Y: Ytn, e ytuj ytne vfibys.

B: Y/if crfpfkf, xnj tcnm e yb[ ntgthm vfibyf. <f,eirf jnlfkf bv cnfhsq ajkmrcdfuty.

No, he doesn’t have a car.

Niusha said that they now have a car. Grandma gave them an old VW.

[200]Rfnz regbkf vyt Hj,bypjyf Rhepj. E vtyz tcnm Hj,bypjy, yj z cltkfkf dbl, xnj yt bvt/ yb vfktqituj gjyznbz j, эnjq ryb;rt. Katia bought me Robinson Crusoe. I already have Robinson, but I pretended that I didn’t have the slightest idea about this book.

Écnm is commonly used with b ‘even’, nj´kmrj ‘only’, dc=-nfrb ‘even so’, to= ‘even more’, lƒ;t ‘even’, lheuj´q ‘another’, operators which focus on the positive polarity of possession:

[201]E ytt tcnm lheujt itkrjdjt gkfnmt, tuj jyf yjcbn gj ce,,jnfv. She has another silk dress, she wears it on Saturdays.

[202]E ytt tcnm lf;t ytcrjkmrj ,tks[ djhjnybxrjd. She even has several white collars.

[203]E vtyz nj;t tcnm /vjh.

I also have a sense of humor.

Although there are many contexts in which the use of †cnm is predictable, there are others in which †cnm may or may not be used. A familiar and straightforward contrast is:31

[204]E ytuj cnfhbyyfz vt,tkm.

He has antique furniture [≈ the furniture he has is antique].

[205]E ytuj tcnm cnfhbyyfz vt,tkm.

He has [at least some] antique furniture.

31 Isaˇcenko 1974:57.