In Russian, impersonal sentences are sentences that do not have a subject in the nominative case. These are often used to describe situations that arise without anyone’s intentional action. For example:
In Russian impersonal sentences, we often add an “experiencer” (someone who experiences a feeling, emotion, state). The “experiencer” of such a sentence will be in the dative case.
Were you surprised by the literal translation for that second sentence? Learning to use impersonal sentences correctly in Russian can be tricky because there are a lot of situations that we would describe using an impersonal sentence in Russian, but not in English.
In this post, we’ll briefly talk about how to build impersonal sentences, then we’ll look at the most common cases where Russian and English differ in their use of impersonal sentences. Let’s have a look!
How to form an impersonal sentence in Russian?
In Russian, you can form an impersonal sentence by following the rules listed below:
An impersonal sentence does not have a subject in the nominative case.
Most often, the predicate that an impersonal sentence is constructed around will either be:
An adverb for a state or feeling
Жарко.Transcription: ZHARka.Translation: It’s hot.Literally: Hotly.A verb in the 3rd person singular form
Mне хочется путешествовать.Transcription: mnye KHOchitsya pootiSHEstvavat.Translation: I feel like traveling.Literally: For me, it’s desired to travel.
The predicate can be followed by an object, which is most often an infinitive verb.
infinitiveВажно изучать.Transcription: VAZHno EEzuchaty.Translation: It’s important to study.Literally: Importantly to study.If you want to add an “experiencer” of the situation, that experiencer will be in the dative case.
dative caseЕй холодно.Transcription: ye ZHARka.Translation: She is cold.Literally: For her (it is) coldly.Mне хочется путешествовать.Transcription: mnye KHOchitsya pootiSHEstvavat.Translation: I feel like traveling.Literally: For me, it’s desired to travel.
As you can see from the examples above, there are a lot of situations we describe using an impersonal sentence in Russian, but not in English. Let’s have a look, now, at the main situations where you’re likely to need an impersonal sentence in Russian.
When to use impersonal sentences in Russian?
In Russian, you’ll use impersonal sentences in most of the situations we use them in English, but there are some additional uses of this type of sentence in Russian. In the sections that follow, we’ll describe some of the most common uses, but ultimately you’ll get better with practice. Let’s have a look:
Describing physical and emotional conditions
In Russian, we often use impersonal sentences to describe a noun’s temporary emotional state, opinion, or physical state.
Usually, these sentences combine an “experiencer” noun or pronoun in the dative case with an adverb ending in “o.” The adverb describes the state and the noun or pronoun describes who or what is in that state.
dative caseadverb ending in -oЕй грустно.Transcription: yey GROOstna.Translation: She’s sad.Literally: For her (it’s) sadly.Hине в Италии интересно.Transcription: NEEnye v iTAlii intiRYESna.Translation: It is interesting to Nina in Italy.Literally: To Nina (it’s) interestingly in Italy.Here is a list of some Russian adverbs that are often used in impersonal constructions expressing emotion:
Common impersonal adverbs Translation весело transcribed VYEsyelahappy
грустно transcribed GROOsnasad
жарко transcribed ZHArkahot
холодно transcribed KHOladnacold
легко transcribed likhKOeasy
сложно transcribed SLOzhnadifficult
хорошо transcribed kharaSHOgood
плохо transcribed PLOkhabad
приятно transcribed priYATnapleasing
скучно transcribed SKOOSHnaboring
интересно transcribed intiRYESnainteresting
Describing feelings with an adjective vs. an adverb in Russian
Though it’s very common to describe someone’s feelings or state using an impersonal sentence, it’s also possible to use a sentence structure more like the sentence structures we use in English. For example:
nominative caseadjectiveОна — энергична.Transcription: OHna enerGEEkna.Translation: She is energetic.In the present tense, we do not usually use the verb “to be” in Russian.So what’s the difference between that structure and impersonal sentence (dative + adverb)?
Use an impersonal sentence for a temporary state the subject experiences.
dative caseadverbЕлене приятно.Transcription: yeLYEnye priYAtna.Translation: Elena is pleased.Literally: It is pleasant for Elena.She pleased in this moment — a temporary state.Use a subject + adjective to describe a permanent or long-term characteristic.
nominative caseadjectiveЕлена — приятная.Transcription: yeLYEna priYATnaya.Translation: Elena is pleasant.She is a pleasant person in general — an inherent quality.
To say how someone feels about doing something
You can use the impersonal adverbs above to express how someone feels about doing something in Russian. To do this, simply pair the impersonal adverb with an infinite verb representing the cause of the feeling. For example:
dative caseadverbinfinitiveЕй сложно понимать по-немецки.Transcription: yey SLOzhna paniMAT pa niMYETSki.Translation: It is hard for her to understand German.Им приятно видеть старых друзей.Transcription: eem priYATna VEEdyet STArykh drooZYEY.Translation: They are pleased to see old friends.Literally: It is pleasing to them to see old friends.If you want to make a statement about how people generally feel about doing something, just leave off the dative noun or pronoun.
adverbinfinitiveСложно понимать по-немецки.Transcription: yey SLOzhna paniMAT pa niMYETSki.Translation: It is hard to understand German.To express permission or possibility
You can use the impersonal adverbs можно transcribed MOZHna and нельзя transcribed nilZYA, as well as some of their synonyms, to describe:
What someone is or is not allowed to do:
dative caseadverbinfinitiveЕму можно уйти?Transcription: yeMOO mnye YOOtyi?Translation: Can he leave?Literally: (Is it) allowed/possible for him to leave?Ему нельзя вставать после операции.Transcription: yeMOO nilZYA fstaVAT POslye apiRATziyi.Translation: He is not allowed to stand up after the surgery.Literally: (It is) prohibited for him to stand after surgery.Actions that can or cannot be done to someone.
dative caseadverbinfinitiveЕй нельзя доверять.Transcription: yey nilZYA daviryat.Translation: She cannot be trusted.Literally: (It is) not possible for her to be trusted.
To express wants and desires
You can use the impersonal verbs хочется transcribed KHOchetsyameaning to feel like and хотеться transcribed khaTETsyameaning to want with an infinitive verb to talk about what someone wants to do. Remember to use the third person singular form!
dative caseverbinfinitiveMне хочется путешествовать.Transcription: mnye KHOchitsya pootiSHEstvavat.Translation: I feel like traveling.Literally: For me, it desirable to travel.Ей хотелось спать.Transcription: yey khaTYElas spat.Translation: She wanted to sleep.Literally: For her, it was desirable to sleep.As you can see in the example above хотеться expresses a strong desire while хочется is used for more of a preference or whim.
To express a lack of something, using certain negative words
When you use certain negative words to discuss a lack of something, you’ll generally use an impersonal sentence.
Impersonal нечего transcribed NYEchiva → “there is nothing…”
dative casenegative wordinfinitiveМне нечего сказать.Transcription: mnye NYEchiva skaZAT.Translation: There’s nothing for me to say.Impersonal некуда transcribed NYEkooda → “there’s nowhere…”
dative casenegative wordinfinitiveТамаре некуда бежать.Transcription: taMArye NYEkooda beZHAT.Translation: There’s nowhere for Tamara to run.Impersonal некогда transcribed NYEkagda → “there’s no time…”
dative casenegative wordinfinitiveТане некогда готовится к празднику.Transcription: TAnye NYEkagda gaTOvitsa k PRAznikoo.Translation: There’s no time for Tanya to prepare for the holiday.Impersonal негде transcribed NYEgde → “there’s no place…”
dative casenegative wordinfinitiveМне негде сесть.Transcription: mnye NYEgde syest.Translation: There is no place for me to sit.
To describe how someone perceives a situation
You can use an impersonal construction to describe how a situation appeared or seemed to someone. When you do this, the situation someone is perceiving usually begins with что transcribed shtomeaning that. Look at the two examples below:
dative caseimpersonal verbМне казалось, что утром пойдет дождь.Transcription: mnye kaZAlos shto OOTram paiDYOT dozhd.Translation: It seemed to me that in the morning it would rain.Саше приснилось, что его семья переехала в Сочи.Transcription: SAshe prisNEElas shto evo semYA pereYEHALA v SOchi.Translation: Sasha dreamed that his family moved to Sochi.Literally: It appeared to Sasha (in a dream) that his family moved to Sochi.
To sum up
In this post, we discussed how to form and use impersonal sentences in Russian. Here are the points to remember:
Features of an impersonal sentence:
No nominative subject
Usually built around an adverb or 3rd person singular verb
May include an “experiencer” in the dative case
Common uses for impersonal sentences in Russian:
For temporary physical and emotional conditions
To say how someone feels about doing something
To express permission and possibility
To express wants and desires
To express a lack of something
To describe how someone perceives a situation
Ready for the next step? Try downloading the Russian impersonal sentences exercises below!
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