Thread: Problem with the Accusative

Take a look at this, please:
— Вы довольно пошлый человек, — возражал Бендер, — вы любите деньги больше, чем надо.
— А вы не любите денег? — взвыл Ипполит Матвеевич голосом флейты.
From "Двенадцать стульев".
The problem is clear enough: "You like money"/"Don't you like money?". In both cases, "money" is the direct object, whereas it is expressed in both nominative and genitive in the passage above.
I have already had the same problem with other inanimate masculine nouns. With feminine nouns, it's easy. But the animacy rule makes the declension of masculine nouns kinda topsy-turvy.
Could anyone please elaborate?!
Thanks.

Originally Posted by Misha Tal

Take a look at this, please:
— Вы довольно пошлый человек, — возражал Бендер, — вы любите деньги больше, чем надо.
— А вы не любите денег? — взвыл Ипполит Матвеевич голосом флейты.
From "Двенадцать стульев".
The problem is clear enough: "You like money"/"Don't you like money?".

I have a gut feeling that I.M.'s phrase is constructed (by authors) deliberately with wrong grammar, to resemble "нет денег" case with negation. it should be "а вы не любите деньги?"

"Вы не любите денег?" sounds to me a bit outdated or regional.

(Corrections are appreciated)

Take out your grammar and read about the direct objects of negated verbs. Hint: the genitive is used. It applies to feminine nouns as well: Я читал книгу. Я не читал книги. (I did not read the book.) Usage is in a bit of a state of flux, has been for a few decades, but there you go.

"Вы не любите денег?" sounds quite regional. Both authors of "The 12 Chairs" were from Odessa, Ukraine, and their language is under strong Jewish "Odessit" influence.

"Вы-таки не любите денег? Та шо вы-таки ховорите?"

Originally Posted by chaika

Usage is in a bit of a state of flux, has been for a few decades, but there you go.

Which way is the usage going these days? Is it leaning toward the accusative case or toward the genitive in negative sentences?

K какому образу словоупотребление ныне идёт? Склоняется к винительному падежу или к родительному в отрицательных предложениях?


Please correct my mistakes.
Пожалуйста исправьте мои ошибки.

I believe accusative is more common now, as uniform in positive and negative sentences. I would say "я не люблю колбасу" ("я не люблю колбасы" now sounds a bit weird). There is some fluctuancy, however, e.g. "принес воду" (acc.) - "не принес воды" (gen.)

Thanks everyone! Indeed, I still have much to learn in the way of grammar. Russian grammar never fails to surprise me!

the gen. & acc. can be used after a negated transitive verb. The gen. is preferred in generalized statements:
Я не вижу стола - I don't see a table (any table, not a specific one.)

Hence, Я не люблю денег would be alright as it's a general item, money in general.

Compare:
- Меня ограбили.
- Мы что, не найдем эти деньги? The money they're talking about