simple grammar question

[Melissa Smith]

 I would explain it that negative-genitive connection makes her SO 
nonexistent that she can't even be in the nominative case and be the 
subject of the verb. In the other case, the being is really the 
equivalent of "not going", so she retains her subjectivity.

But I'm just a teacher, and my students still have problems!

Melissa Smith
 
On 3/23/10 12:04 PM, John Langran wrote:
> Nola
> I sometimes explain this by translating it as:
> Тогда  её не было в Москве. At that time, there was none of her in 
Moscow
> "She" is not the subject, "none of" becomes the subject, and is neuter.
> 
> John Langran
> www.ruslan.co.uk
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Nola" <oothappam at EARTHLINK.NET>
> To: <SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 2:38 PM
> Subject: [SEELANGS] simple grammar question
> 
> 
> I hope the members of this group will excuse my intrusion with my 
simple 
> grammar question. I have asked two kind and helpful people but still 
can't 
> really understand this, and hope that among you scholars there will be 
> somebody who can explain this in a way that my thick head can 
comprehend-
> It is about  есть\нет, and быть in the past and future.
> У Саши бЫЛА машина. Sasha had a car.
> 
> У Саши не было машины. Sasha didn't have a car.
> 
> Ok-I understand the explanation in this case about было \была. In the 
first 
> sentence, Sasha had a car and it's positive so Sasha is genitive 
because of 
> the У but HAD is была, matching gender of машина. And in second 
sentence, 
> Sasha is in genitive case again, car is now genitive because of 
negative 
> existence,  but было is neuter, because when the existence of 
something in 
> the past is negative, you use the neuter form of быть.
> 
> But see this-------
> 
>  Ольга не была сегодня в магазине. Olga was not in the shop today
> 
> Тогда  её не было в Москве. At that time, she wasn't in Moscow.
> 
> OKAY! What gives here?Both times Olga simply wasn't at a place...but 
in one 
> case  быть matches Olga's gender and in the next it's neuter...I 
cannot see 
> what would be the reason for this.
> 
> Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Nola - thick headed student
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  -------------------Cyrillic encoding:  KOI8-R  or Windows Cyrillic
> 
> 
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------------------------------------

Melissa T. Smith, Professor
Department of Foreign Languages and 
Literatures  
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, OH 44555
Tel: (330)941-3462

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