Zero copula and есть: 'to be' and 'there is' in Russian

Она врач. Здесь есть кафе.She is a doctor. There is a café here.

In the present tense, Russian usually has no word for "am / is / are": you simply put the two parts of the sentence next to each other. This is called the zero copula. To say that something exists or is there, Russian uses the word есть, which behaves quite differently from English "is".

Quick shortcut: say who or what someone is, where they are, or what they are like with no verb (Я студент. Он дома. Дом большой.). Say that something exists or is present with есть (В городе есть парк.).

No verb for "to be" in the present

Where English needs am, is, are, Russian leaves the verb out:

• Я студент. (I am a student.)
• Она дома. (She is at home.)
• Мы в парке. (We are in the park.)
• Дом большой. (The house is big.)
• Это моя мама. (This is my mum.)

In the present tense, a noun in such a sentence is in the nominative, as in The nominative case. Pronouns are in Personal pronouns, and adjectives agree with the noun, as in Adjective agreement in the nominative.

The little word это points at something: Это книга. (This is a book.) Это не книга. (This is not a book.) See Demonstrative pronouns.

In writing, a dash often marks the missing verb between two nouns, especially in definitions: Москва — столица России. (Moscow is the capital of Russia.) The dash is a written convention only.

Negatives and questions

A negative puts не before the word it denies: Он не врач. (He is not a doctor.) Она не дома. (She is not at home.) A yes/no question keeps the same word order and is marked by intonation: Ты студент? (Are you a student?) See Negation with "не".

Past and future: the verb returns

The missing verb comes back outside the present. It is быть, and it is used in the past and the future:

• Вчера я был дома. (Yesterday I was at home.) Вчера она была дома. (She was at home.)
• Завтра я буду дома. (Tomorrow I will be at home.)

The past forms agree with the subject (был, была, было, были), as explained in Past tense: the -л form. The future forms are буду, будешь, будет, будем, будете, будут.

Existence and presence with есть

To say that something exists or is available somewhere, Russian uses есть:

• Здесь есть кафе. (There is a café here.)
• В городе есть парки. (There are parks in the city.)
• У нас есть время. (We have time.)

Есть never changes: it is the same for singular and plural, and for every gender. The same word with у + person means "have", as in The genitive case: possession and "у меня есть".

A question with есть asks whether something exists or is available: Здесь есть банк? (Is there a bank here?) A short answer can repeat the word: Есть. (There is.) To say that something is not there, Russian uses нет and the genitive case, as in The genitive case: absence with "нет": Здесь нет банка. (There is no bank here.)

Zero copula or есть?

The two patterns answer different questions:

Compare Книга на столе. (The book is on the table: you already know the book, and you say where it is) with На столе есть книга. (There is a book on the table: you introduce it). Есть is not needed in the first kind of sentence.

You may also meet есть in the set phrase то есть (that is, i.e.).

Common mistakes

• ❌ Я есть студент. → ✅ Я студент. (no verb is needed for "I am a student")
• ❌ Она есть дома. → ✅ Она дома. (to say where someone is, no verb is needed)
• ❌ Это есть моя мама. → ✅ Это моя мама. (это already does the pointing)
• ❌ Дом есть большой. → ✅ Дом большой. (a quality is stated without a verb)
• ❌ Здесь не есть кафе. → ✅ Здесь нет кафе. (the negative of есть is нет, not не есть)

Quick check

How would each sentence look in Russian? Which ones need есть?

1. The book is on the table.
2. There is a café here.
3. She is a teacher.
4. Is there a bank here?
5. Yesterday he was at home.

Key takeaways

• In the present tense, "am / is / are" is left out: Я студент. Она дома. Дом большой.
• Outside the present, быть returns: был, была, было, были and буду, будешь, будет…
• Есть says that something exists or is available (Здесь есть кафе.) and does not change for number or gender.
• Use no verb to say who or what something is, where it is or what it is like; use есть to say that it exists or is there.
• A negative uses не before the word it denies, and нет for "there is no".