impersonal constructions with direct objects

Thu Aug 28 21:41:15 UTC 2008

Hello, Peter--
	I've attached two e-mails you might be interested in.  The first ("Fwd: impersonals") contains a reference to an article on impersonal constructions that may help you answer your question.  The second attachment ("Questions about Russian grammar") is a post I made in 1999 about impersonal dative constructions (for example, ему везёт/emu vezet).  At the end of this e-mail are some responses I received to my query and the e-mail of the person from whom I received them. My tendency from that time until now is to treat them as common in the situations they occur in, but more idiomatic/colloquial now than productive.  Overall, this kind of impersonal sentence without a subject present (except maybe in the instrumental) I associate with the category of voice (залог/mood).  Good luck!

The following are examples I've found/can offer in response to your query:

Меня знобит, тошнит, качает, рвёт.  Menja znobit, toshnit, kachaet, rvet.

Иванова "ушли" с работы.  Ivanova ushli s raboty.

Ивана сильно тряхануло, ударило по голове, толкнуло в спину.   Ivana sil'no tryaxanulo, udarilo po golove, tolknulo v spinu.

Больного трясет, лихорадит, скрючило, бьет.  Bol'nogo tryaset, lixoradit, skrjuchilo, b'et.

Градом побило поля. Сарай зажгло молнией.  Моряков снабдили продовольствием.  Gradom pobilo polja.  Sarai zazhglo molnijei.  Morjakov snabili prodovol'stviem.

Надоумило меня сходить к нему.  Hadoumilo menja sxodit' k nemu.

Other sources I found useful were:
http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/krugosvet/article/1/1b/1009208.htm  
http://www.krugosvet.ru/articles/90/1009066/1009066a2.htm
http://www.hi-edu.ru/e-books/xbook089/01/index.html?part-024.htm
http://rus.1september.ru/articlef.php?ID=200400708

From:  eginzbur at midway.uchicago.edu
vek svobody ne vidat'

From: knighton at morgan.ucs.mun.ca 
"dorogu zaneslo snegom" or "trup uneslo rekoj" (These are discussed briefly in T. Wade, A Comprehensive Russian Grammar pp. 320-321.)

From:  aisrael at american.edu 
Annushka uzhe razlila maslo i Berliozu nepremenno otrezhet golovu).
Tebja ub'et tokom, esli ty ne prekratish' balovat'sja.
Smotrite, ego unosit vniz po techeniju.
K vecheru dorogu zaneset [everybody understands that we are talking about snow], i my ne smozhem vybrat'sja.

Aimee Roebuck-Johnson
English/Russian Language Instructor           
TechTrans International, Inc.
NASA/Johnson Space Center 
2101 NASA Parkway
Mail code AH3
Houston, Texas  77058 
desk:  281/483-0774 
fax:  281/483-4050 

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There are 15 messages totalling 824 lines in this issue.

Topics in this special issue:

  1. Unitaz = "Universal'nyi Taz" = Toilet Bowl (5)
  2. Krasnosel'sk/Krasnosel'skie? (2)
  3. Women's Wages in Russia c. 1880
  4. Question  about Russian Dissertations
  5. Impersonal with accusative d.o. (5)
  6. Funding Opportunities in Russia and Eurasia

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