buy · Russian (купить / покупать)

Arguments

Buyer, Goods, Seller, Beneficiary, Price, place · Russian cloth · working claim, revisable

Voice[Buyer] + complement of the root (Goods, accusative) + Seller in у+genitive where a line fills one + Beneficiary as a bare dative where a line fills one + Price in за+accusative where a line fills one + place in в or на plus prepositional where a line fills one

A purchase, on this reading, has a Buyer, the Goods, a Seller when a line fills one, a Beneficiary when a line fills one, a Price when a line fills one, and a place when a line fills one. They are not six equal sisters of купить. Voice adds the Buyer, the nominative subject. The root’s complement is the Goods. Ozhegov and Shvedova, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov’s Большой толковый словарь print the government кого-что on perfective купить, and the filled goods in those articles are accusative: Kuznetsov’s хлеб, билеты, квартиру, собаку, шубу, дом. A bare genitive хлеба is printed once, in the Synodal quotation on English Wiktionary, and it is not printed on купить in Ozhegov and Shvedova, Ushakov, or Kuznetsov. The Seller that Russian Wiktionary prints is у plus genitive: Chekhov у вас, Teffi у вдовы. Ozhegov and Shvedova, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov do not print у on купить. The Beneficiary that Kuznetsov prints is a bare dative, ребёнку, with no preposition. для plus genitive is unprinted in the articles opened. The Price that is printed is за plus accusative: за большие деньги, за деньги, за бешеные деньги. A numeral under за is unprinted. The place Kuznetsov prints is в or на plus prepositional: в булочной, в магазине, на рынке. из and с plus genitive are unprinted. The aspect pair is a lexical label. The drawing is working and revisable. It is not a settled analysis, and it is not a claim about telicity.

What is different from the English gloss. Cambridge prints buy with [+ two objects] in He bought his mother some flowers, and the same line offers He bought some flowers for his mother. The seller in the articles opened is from: I bought my camera from a friend of mine. Russian does not give that seller the preposition from. Where a line fills the seller, the preposition is у plus genitive, the same у that marks a source. English from is not that preposition, and a bare dative is not that seller. Kuznetsov’s dative ребёнку is the beneficiary, and it has no preposition. English for his mother has for. для plus genitive, the preposition a reader might reach for, is unprinted. The English double object has no preposition on his mother. The Russian match of that person, where it is printed, is a morphological dative, not a second bare accusative. On продать the other person is dative and is the buyer. On купить the dative that is printed is not the seller. On kaufen the bare dative is the beneficiary, and on abkaufen that dative is the seller. Russian keeps one lemma, and the seller marking that is printed is у, not a second dative. The price name that is printed is за, not English for. A numeral English for is unprinted in the Cambridge lines opened here.

Places · who wears which marking

No printed line stacks a Seller, a Beneficiary, the goods, and a sum. Chekhov’s oats line has у вас and a quantity, and no price. Teffi’s house line has у вдовы and an accusative, and no price. Kuznetsov’s dative line has ребёнку and собаку, and no seller. The price line has дом and за большие деньги, and no person. The shop line has в булочной and хлеб, and no person.

Printed seller · у plus genitive

✓ купить у вас четвертей пять овса Russian Wiktionary · Chekhov, «Лошадиная фамилия», 1885

buy five quarters of oats from you · у вас is the seller · the oats are a quantity phrase

Printed beneficiary · bare dative, no preposition

✓ К. ребёнку собаку. Kuznetsov · К. abbreviates купить

buy the child a dog · ребёнку is dative · собаку is accusative

Places of Russian buy: introducer, marking, status, English marking
Place	Introduced by (working)	Russian marking	Status	English marking
Buyer	Spec,Voice	nominative subject (Они, я, Ленора, Я)	structural subject · Ozhegov’s and Kuznetsov’s abbreviated К. lines print no nominative · a finite passive that promotes the goods of купить is unprinted	subject of buy
Goods	complement of the root	accusative, government кого-что (хлеб, билеты, квартиру, собаку, шубу, дом, дыни, домик)	structural object · a bare genitive хлеба is the Synodal quotation on English Wiktionary and is unprinted in Ozhegov and Shvedova, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov on купить · Chekhov’s овса is genitive after the measure	object of buy · second object of Cambridge’s [+ two objects]
Seller	у+genitive · revisable · unprinted in three dictionaries	у вас · у вдовы	Russian Wiktionary prints both · Ozhegov and Shvedova, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov print no у · a bare dative is not this seller	from + person (from a friend of mine)
Beneficiary	bare dative · no preposition	ребёнку	Kuznetsov prints the dative beside собаку · English Wiktionary’s template names a dative and does not fill one · для+genitive is unprinted · Ozhegov and Ushakov print no beneficiary	first object of [+ two objects] (his mother) · or for + person
Price	за+accusative · working MeasureP inside the phrase that fills one	за большие деньги · за деньги · за бешеные деньги · за бесценок	oblique · a numeral under за is unprinted · по дешёвке is a set phrase · динариев на двести is на, in the Synodal quotation	Cambridge’s commercial lines opened here do not print a numeral for · the for they print is the beneficiary
Shop / place	в or на plus prepositional · revisable	в булочной · в магазине · на рынке · на аукционе, на распродаже on приобрести	Kuznetsov · из+genitive and с+genitive are unprinted · в театр beside билеты is accusative and is not labeled as the shop	a shop phrase is unprinted in the Cambridge lines opened

Marking map. One case can belong to several heads. Read the line, then the marker.

Nominative of the Buyer. Ushakov’s imperfective prints Kataev: Они отправились покупать дыни. Они is nominative. Russian Wiktionary’s Chekhov line has я, and the Teffi line has Ленора купила. English Wiktionary prints Я хочу́ кое-что́ купи́ть. Ozhegov and Shvedova’s examples are abbreviated К., with no nominative filled. Kuznetsov’s purchase examples are the same abbreviation. The buyer is the subject of the finite verb where a line prints one. It is not the у-phrase and not the dative.
Accusative of the goods. A bare genitive хлеба is not that government. Ozhegov and Shvedova: кого-что. Приобрести в собственность. The examples name no noun of the goods. Ushakov: кого-что. Приобрести за деньги. The filled object in the proverb line is Здоровья, genitive under не, and the thing is health, not a loaf. Kuznetsov sense 1: кого-что. Приобрести за деньги. К. в булочной хлеб. К. билеты в театр. К. квартиру. К. ребёнку собаку. Дёшево к. шубу. К. за большие деньги дом. хлеб, билеты, квартиру, собаку, шубу, and дом are accusative. The imperfective in the same dictionary is что, with П. продукты, одежду, книги. Ushakov’s Kataev line has accusative дыни. Russian Wiktionary’s Teffi line has accusative домик, and the Doncova and Tarasov lines on покупать have обувь and диск. English Wiktionary’s usage template says accusative. The same page’s Synodal quotation, Mark 6:37, prints купить хлеба. хлеба is genitive singular. Ozhegov and Shvedova, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov do not print хлеба on купить. Kuznetsov prints accusative хлеб. Chekhov’s четвертей пять овса is a quantity: овса is genitive after the measure четверть, not the bare хлеба. Ushakov’s Здоровья за деньги не купишь is genitive under не. It is not the affirmative bare genitive of a mass noun. On закупить the genitive is printed beside the accusative. Ozhegov sense 2: что и чего. З. материалы (материалов). Ushakov: Закупить дров на зиму. Kuznetsov: что (чего). З. дров. That genitive is the related verb’s. It is not a line of купить.
The Seller is у plus genitive, and three dictionaries do not print it. Russian Wiktionary, Chekhov: Не могу ли я, голубчик, купить у вас четвертей пять овса? у вас is the person of that line. Teffi, «Страшный прыжок»: купила у вдовы портного хорошенький домик с огородом. у вдовы is the person. портного is genitive on the noun вдовы, the widow of the tailor, not a second object of купила. Ozhegov and Shvedova print К. за большие деньги and no у. Ushakov’s gloss is Приобрести за деньги, and the examples do not print у. Kuznetsov’s six purchase examples do not print у. English Wiktionary’s template names accusative and dative and does not name у. English from matches the Wiktionary source, not a dative and not the government label кого-что. The same у plus genitive is the person-source on украсть. It is not a preposition English from spells.
The Beneficiary that is printed is a bare dative. для is unprinted. Kuznetsov: К. ребёнку собаку. ребёнку has no preposition. The dog is accusative. English Wiktionary’s template is “with accusative ‘something’ and dative ‘for someone’.” The filled examples on that page are Я хочу́ кое-что́ купи́ть and the Synodal купить хлеба. Neither fills a dative noun beside the goods. The нам of разве нам пойти is in the quotation, and the entry does not gloss it as the beneficiary of купить. Ozhegov and Shvedova, Ushakov, and the Russian Wiktionary purchase examples print no dative beneficiary. для plus genitive, including для сына, is unprinted in the articles opened. A string купить сыну подарок is the shape of ребёнку собаку and is not a printed line. English for of a person is the person. The printed Russian form of that person is the dative, not for and not для. A second bare accusative, the shape of his mother with no case ending, is unprinted.
Price is за plus accusative. A numeral is unprinted. по дешёвке is a set phrase. Ozhegov and Shvedova: К. за большие деньги. деньги is accusative plural. No numeral is filled. Kuznetsov: К. за большие деньги дом. The imperfective line is П. за бешеные деньги. Ushakov’s gloss is Приобрести за деньги, and the proverb is Здоровья за деньги не купишь. Russian Wiktionary’s phrase list prints купить за бесценок, купить по дешёвке, and купить задёшево. за бесценок is за plus accusative. по дешёвке is по plus dative, and it is not given a clause. задёшево is an adverb, as are Kuznetsov’s Дёшево and Ozhegov’s Дорого, дёшево. English Wiktionary’s Synodal line prints динариев на двести. на двести is not за. динариев is genitive plural of the unit. A filled за plus a numeral, the shape of a sum in rubles, is unprinted on купить. It is not constructed.
в and на plus prepositional are the place. из and с are unprinted. Kuznetsov: К. в булочной хлеб. булочной is prepositional. The imperfective line is П. в магазине, на рынке. магазине and рынке are prepositional. On приобрести the same dictionary prints П. на аукционе, на распродаже, в магазине. Those nouns are prepositional. К. билеты в театр prints в театр, accusative, beside билеты. The entry does not label в театр as the shop. из plus genitive and с plus genitive, of a shop or of a market, are unprinted. This page does not construct them. Ushakov’s Закупить дров на зиму has на зиму, accusative of a time, on the related verb, and it is not a shop.
What Spanish assigns to le, and what German assigns to the dative of abkaufen, Russian does not assign to the dative of купить. On comprar the selected indirect object is the seller, and the beneficiary is para. On купить the dative Kuznetsov prints is ребёнку, the beneficiary, and the seller that Wiktionary prints is у. On comprare one clitic is glossed both ways. No Russian line glosses one dative as the seller or the beneficiary. On acheter one full à+NP covers both readings. Russian prints the two persons, where they are printed, with two markings, and three dictionaries print neither. On comprar one a-phrase is left as the seller or as para. Russian у is not given that second reading in the Wiktionary quotations. On kaufen the bare dative is the beneficiary, which is the Russian dative’s reading, and on abkaufen the bare dative is the seller, which the Russian dative is not. On продать the dative is the buyer. That dative is the other lemma.

EN ⇄ RU valency strip

Each row lines up one English slot with a Russian slot. The alignment type says what happens to the slot: = (same object status), or shift (from / for ↔ the Russian marker the line prints). Printed dictionary lines come first. Every other sentence is constructed, modelled on a printed line. They show the working alignment, not frequency, and not a bilingual corpus.

English–Russian valency alignment for buy / купить, one row per argument
Slot	EN form	RU form	Align	EN example	RU example
Buyer	SUBJ of buy	nominative	=	I bought my camera from a friend of mine Cambridge	Они Ushakov · Kataev · Ленора купила Wiktionary · Teffi
Goods	OBJ of buy	accusative	=	buy a small car Cambridge	хлеб · дом Kuznetsov · домик Wiktionary · Teffi
Goods as bare genitive	unprinted as a partitive object	хлеба in one quotation · accusative in the explanatory dictionaries	the quotation and the government do not match	—	купить хлеба English Wiktionary · Synodal, Mark 6:37 · хлеб Kuznetsov · accusative
Seller	from + person	у+genitive	shift · from ↔ у · Ozhegov, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov do not print у	I bought my camera from a friend of mine Cambridge	у вас Wiktionary · Chekhov · у вдовы Wiktionary · Teffi
Beneficiary	for + person, or the first object of [+ two objects]	bare dative	= the person · the Russian form has no preposition	He bought some flowers for his mother Cambridge · the slash-mate of the double object	ребёнку Kuznetsov
Beneficiary as для	for + person	unprinted	not the printed beneficiary marking	the same Cambridge for	— для+genitive unprinted
Price as за	unprinted as a numeral for in the Cambridge lines opened	за+accusative	the price name is printed · a numeral is not	—	за большие деньги Ozhegov and Shvedova · Kuznetsov · за деньги Ushakov
Price as на or по	unprinted as a rate	на двести in the quotation · по дешёвке as a phrase	not the printed за of a price name	—	динариев на двести English Wiktionary · Synodal · по дешёвке Russian Wiktionary · phrase list
Shop	unprinted in the lines opened	в or на plus prepositional	the place is printed · из and с are not	—	в булочной · в магазине, на рынке Kuznetsov · — из / с unprinted
Passive of the goods	the goods as subject	a passive label · one clause on закупаться	the label is not a clause of купить	The company was set up to buy and sell shares Cambridge · active · a goods-passive of buy is unprinted in the lines opened	Покупаться, -ается; страд. Kuznetsov · no clause · Закупаются зимние вещи Kuznetsov · закупить

The strip below is a set of small multiples. Each card holds one frame, with English on top and Russian under it. The seller card stays inside the Wiktionary quotations. The person card stays inside Kuznetsov’s dative. The price card stays inside за большие деньги. The place card stays inside в and на plus prepositional.

EN · RU · printed у+genitive

у вас

I bought my camera from a friend of mine.

купить у вас четвертей пять овса

RU · Russian Wiktionary · Chekhov · EN · Cambridge · from

RolesHide roles BuyerSellerGoods

Buyer я Seller from you · у вас Goods five quarters of oats · четвертей пять овса

Move English from is у+genitive · Ozhegov, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov do not print у · the dative is not this seller

EN · RU · printed bare dative

ребёнку

He bought some flowers for his mother.

К. ребёнку собаку.

RU · Kuznetsov · EN · Cambridge · for of a person

RolesHide roles BuyerBeneficiaryGoods

Buyer the abbreviated К. Beneficiary for the child · ребёнку Goods a dog · собаку

= the person matches · the Russian form is a bare dative · для is unprinted · a second bare accusative is unprinted

EN · RU · printed за

за большие деньги

I bought a house for a large sum.

К. за большие деньги дом.

RU · Kuznetsov · Ozhegov and Shvedova print К. за большие деньги with no noun · EN gloss constructed

RolesHide roles BuyerGoodsPrice

Buyer the abbreviated К. Goods a house · дом Price for a large sum · за большие деньги

= за is the price name · not a person · a numeral under за is unprinted · для of a person is unprinted

EN · RU · printed в+prepositional

в булочной

I bought bread at the bakery.

К. в булочной хлеб.

RU · Kuznetsov · EN gloss constructed · the shop is prepositional

RolesHide roles BuyerGoodsPlace

Buyer the abbreviated К. Goods bread · хлеб · accusative Place at the bakery · в булочной

Move в+prepositional is the shop · хлеб is accusative, not хлеба · из and с are unprinted

Examples

Argument difference. English can package the beneficiary and the goods as two bare objects, He bought his mother some flowers, or put that person in for, and it puts the seller in from. Russian prints one accusative, the goods, in the government кого-что. The seller phrase that Russian Wiktionary prints is у plus genitive. The beneficiary phrase that Kuznetsov prints is a bare dative. для is unprinted. Ozhegov and Shvedova and Ushakov print the accusative government and за, and they print neither the у-phrase nor the dative. On kaufen the dative is the beneficiary, and on abkaufen the dative is the seller. On продать the dative is the buyer, and the seller is the subject. That seller is not the у-phrase of купить, and the buyer of продать is not the dative of ребёнку.

Dictionary frames and lines · checked · quoted as printed

сов. 1. кого-что. Приобрести в собственность. Дорого, дёшево к. К. за большие деньги. К. по случаю (случайно). · несов. покупать Ozhegov and Shvedova · ozhegov.info and Gufo print the same article · no у · no dative · no shop · no numeral

совер. (к покупать), кого-что. 1. Приобрести за деньги. Здоровья за деньги не купишь. · «Всё куплю, сказало злато.» Ushakov · Pushkin · Здоровья is genitive under не · no у · no dative beneficiary

несовер. к купить. «Они отправились покупать дыни.» Ushakov · Kataev · nominative Они · accusative дыни · no seller · no price

св. 1. кого-что. Приобрести за деньги. К. в булочной хлеб. К. билеты в театр. К. квартиру. К. ребёнку собаку. Дёшево к. шубу. К. за большие деньги дом. Kuznetsov · accusative goods · dative ребёнку · в булочной prepositional · в театр accusative, unlabeled · no у

нсв. (св. купить). 1. что. П. продукты, одежду, книги. П. в магазине, на рынке. П. за бешеные деньги. · Покупаться, -ается; страд. Kuznetsov · покупать · no dative · no у · the passive label has no clause

Не могу ли я, голубчик, купить у вас четвертей пять овса? Russian Wiktionary · Chekhov, «Лошадиная фамилия», 1885 · у+genitive · quantity, not a bare accusative

купила у вдовы портного хорошенький домик с огородом Russian Wiktionary · Teffi, «Страшный прыжок» · у вдовы · accusative домик · портного is on the noun · no price

купить за бесценок, купить по дешёвке, купить задёшево Russian Wiktionary · phrase list · no clause · perfective, imperfective покупать

Даже в самые бедные годы я старалась не покупать обувь из искусственной кожи. · зачем покупать диск целиком? Russian Wiktionary · покупать · Doncova · Tarasov · accusative · no seller · no dative · no price

to buy, to purchase [with accusative ‘something’ and dative ‘for someone’]. · Я хочу́ кое-что́ купи́ть. · разве нам пойти купить хлеба динариев на двести English Wiktionary · the template names a dative and the examples do not fill one · Synodal Bible, Mark 6:37, 1876 · хлеба genitive · the entry prints no English translation of the verse

(кого) что. Стать владельцем чего-л., купить что-л. П. дом, дачу, машину. П. на аукционе, на распродаже, в магазине. П. за большие деньги. П. совсем даром. · несов. приобретать · Приобретаться, -ается; страд. Kuznetsov · приобрести · place prepositional · price за · no у · no dative

кого-что. Стать владельцем, обладателем чего-н. П. дом. · несов. приобретать Ozhegov and Shvedova · приобрести · no seller · no price · no place

что и чего. Купив, запастись. З. материалы (материалов). · несов. закупать Ozhegov · закупить sense 2 · accusative and genitive in the parentheses · sense 1 is кого-что, З. продукцию

Закупить дров на зиму. Закупить провизию к обеду. Ushakov · дров genitive · на зиму is a time · к обеду is not a person

что (чего). З. всю продукцию. З. дров. З. провизию к обеду. · Закупаются зимние вещи. Kuznetsov · закупить · the passive clause has the goods as subject · no seller

He bought his mother some flowers / He bought some flowers for his mother. · I bought my camera from a friend of mine. · buy a small car. Cambridge · buy · [+ two objects] is the entry’s label · the slash is the entry’s

501 Russian Verbs was not opened. No frame is taken from it. not opened

Strings below are constructed, modelled on the printed lines. They are not spontaneous-speech citations and not dictionary lines. Пат continues the named-participant series. A name does not spell a role.

✓ Пат купил ребёнку собаку.

RolesHide roles BuyerBeneficiaryGoods

Buyer Пат Beneficiary ребёнку Goods собаку

constructed · modelled on Kuznetsov’s К. ребёнку собаку · Пат is the substitution · the dative and the accusative are the entry’s

✓ Пат купил дом за большие деньги.

RolesHide roles BuyerGoodsPrice

Buyer Пат Goods дом Price за большие деньги

constructed · modelled on Kuznetsov’s К. за большие деньги дом · no numeral is added

✓ Пат купил хлеб в булочной.

RolesHide roles BuyerGoodsPlace

Buyer Пат Goods хлеб Place в булочной

constructed · modelled on Kuznetsov’s К. в булочной хлеб · accusative хлеб, not genitive хлеба

* Пат купил сына подарок.

RolesHide roles PersonGoods

Person сына Goods подарок

constructed · two bare objects · the printed person beside the goods is dative ребёнку · English his mother has no case ending · сыну подарок is not a printed line

✓ хлеб Kuznetsov · goods · accusative · not хлеба
✓ у вас Wiktionary · Chekhov · seller · у+genitive
✓ у вдовы Wiktionary · Teffi · seller · accusative домик
✓ ребёнку Kuznetsov · beneficiary · bare dative
✓ за большие деньги Ozhegov and Shvedova · Kuznetsov · price · not a person
✓ в булочной · на рынке Kuznetsov · place · prepositional · not из or с
✓ хлеба English Wiktionary · Synodal · genitive · unprinted in Ozhegov, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov
✓ дров Ushakov · Kuznetsov · закупить · genitive beside accusative · not a line of купить

What the passive shows

A passive would be an operation on the same places. It would not add a participant. Ozhegov and Shvedova, Ushakov, Kuznetsov, and English Wiktionary print the participle купленный in the headword or the conjugation. It is not given a clause, and it is not given a telicity reading. Kuznetsov prints Покупаться, -ается; страд. on the imperfective, with no example. The same label on приобрести is Приобретаться, -ается; страд., with no example. The one passive clause in the articles opened is on the related verb: Закупаются зимние вещи. The goods are the subject. No seller and no price are in that clause. A finite passive of купить that promotes the goods, and a passive that keeps a seller or a beneficiary, are unprinted. Nothing further is constructed.

The other senses stay off the purchase frame. Ozhegov and Shvedova’s second sense is Привлечь на свою сторону (подкупом, обещаниями), with Лестью к. кого-н. Ushakov’s matching limb is Приобрести расположение взяткой. Kuznetsov’s second sense is подкупить, with Суд куплен. The card sense is К. туза and Ushakov’s Купить козыря. Kuznetsov’s third sense, чем, is Мать была куплена откровенностью сына. The bathing homonym покупать ребёнка is a different verb. Those lines stop at the citation. Cambridge’s She'll never buy that story is the English believe sense. It is not given a Russian clause here.

Derivations · working sketches, revisable

Each sketch is a working drawing, not a locked analysis. The drawing gives the Buyer to Voice, the Goods to the root, a Seller to у+genitive where a line prints one, a Beneficiary to a bare dative where a line prints one, a Price to за where a line prints one, and a place to в or на plus prepositional where a line prints one. Open one sketch at a time. Which theta role is the object is the revisable note Causative templates and argument selection. This page does not edit that note.

Voice · the Buyer is the external argument

Constructed · the finite verb · one external argument

[TP Пат
  [VoiceP Пат Voice                     ← Buyer = Spec,Voice
    … купить … ]]

✓ Пат купил дом. constructed · the goods are Kuznetsov’s

The external argument is the Buyer. English keeps that one subject on buy. A finite passive of the goods of купить is unprinted. On продать the external argument is the Seller, not this Buyer. The seller of купить, where a line prints one, is у plus genitive.

Seller у · Beneficiary dative · Price за · place в

One accusative · one source preposition · one bare dative · working, revisable

[VoiceP я Voice
  [VP √куп-
     [Theme четвертей пять овса ]
     [PP у [ вас ]]]]                   ← Wiktionary · Chekhov
                                          ← Ozhegov, Ushakov, Kuznetsov: у unprinted

[VoiceP К. Voice
  [VP √куп-
     [Theme собаку ]
     [Dat ребёнку ]]]                   ← Kuznetsov
                                          ← no preposition
                                          ← для unprinted

[VoiceP К. Voice
  [VP √куп-
     [Theme дом ]
     [PP за [ большие деньги ]]]]       ← Kuznetsov
                                          ← not a person
                                          ← a numeral unprinted

[VoiceP К. Voice
  [VP √куп-
     [Theme хлеб ]
     [PP в [ булочной ]]]]              ← Kuznetsov · prepositional
                                          ← хлеб accusative
                                          ← из / с unprinted

The Seller phrase and the Beneficiary phrase are not one marker. у is the seller in the quotations that print it. The dative is the beneficiary in the line that prints it. за of большие деньги is the price. в of булочной is the place. для, из, and с are unprinted.

✓ купить у вас четвертей пять овса Wiktionary · Chekhov · seller

✓ К. ребёнку собаку Kuznetsov · beneficiary

✓ К. за большие деньги дом Kuznetsov · price name

* Пат купил сына подарок. constructed · two bare objects · unprinted

English counterpart · from, for, and the double object · Portuguese a · Spanish le · Italian gli · French à · German datives

Working · no English buy page is opened · Portuguese is comprar · Spanish is comprar · Italian is comprare · French is acheter · German is kaufen

[VoiceP I Voice
  [VP √BUY
     [Theme my camera ]
     [PP from [ a friend of mine ]]]]     ← Cambridge
                                          · Russian у+GEN
                                          · not a dative

[VoiceP he Voice
  [ApplP his mother Appl                  ← Beneficiary · bare object
    [VP √BUY
       [Theme some flowers ]]]]           ← Cambridge [+ two objects]
                                          · Russian ребёнку
                                          · a second bare accusative is unprinted

[VoiceP he Voice
  [VP √BUY
     [Theme some flowers ]
     [PP for [ his mother ]]]]            ← the same Cambridge line
                                          · Russian dative, no preposition
                                          · для unprinted
                                          · a numeral English for is unprinted

Cambridge’s from is the seller. Russian spells that person as у plus genitive, in the quotations that print it, and three dictionaries do not print the phrase. Cambridge’s for of a person, and the first object of [+ two objects], are the beneficiary. Russian spells that person as a bare dative. для is unprinted. Spanish le is the seller, and Spanish para is the beneficiary. Italian gli is glossed both ways. French à covers both readings of a full noun. Portuguese a is left as the seller or as para. German kaufen spells the beneficiary as a bare dative. German abkaufen spells the seller as a bare dative. Russian does not.

Layer-by-layer parallel: English buy, Russian купить, Portuguese comprar, Spanish comprar, Italian comprare, French acheter and German kaufen
Layer	buy (EN) · no page	купить	comprar	comprar	comprare · acheter · kaufen
Spec,Voice	Buyer	Buyer · on продать this layer is the Seller	Buyer · no Portuguese sell page	Buyer · on vender this layer is the Seller	Buyer · on vendere, vendre, and verkaufen this layer is the Seller
Beneficiary	bare first object, or for + person	bare dative · ребёнку · для unprinted · a second bare accusative unprinted	para+NP · the a-phrase also left as para · lhe unprinted	para+NP · not the same le as the Seller	Italian dative clitic, glossed per or da · French à or pour · German dative on kaufen
Seller	from + person	у+genitive in the Wiktionary quotations · unprinted in Ozhegov, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov · not the dative	a+NP or de+NP · the a-phrase has a second reading	selected a+NP or le · de+NP unprinted	Italian da+NP · French à+NP or de+NP · German bare dative on abkaufen
Goods	object	accusative · bare genitive хлеба only in the Synodal quotation	direct object	direct object	direct object · German accusative
Price	unprinted as a numeral for in the lines opened	за+accusative · a numeral unprinted · на двести is the quotation	por + a price name · a sum unprinted	por on the transaction class · a + a rate	Italian a or per named · French pour or à · German für + a sum
Shop	unprinted in the lines opened	в or на plus prepositional · из and с unprinted	na loja unprinted · em is the apartment	en+NP · intransitive in the line opened	Italian in or a · French chez · German bei, unranked

On купить the subject is the buyer. A seller phrase, where a quotation prints one, is у plus genitive. A beneficiary phrase, where Kuznetsov prints one, is a bare dative. The analogy with English from and for is the added person-phrase. It is not a claim that a beneficiary and a seller are one role.

Notes

Working paper · October 2026 · Russian micro-entry · Beyond Index 2

Buying in Russian is not one dative. Buyer (Voice, nominative), Goods (complement of the root, accusative, government кого-что), Seller in у+genitive where a quotation fills one, Beneficiary in a bare dative where a line fills one. для+genitive is unprinted. A bare genitive хлеба is the Synodal quotation on English Wiktionary and is unprinted in Ozhegov and Shvedova, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov. Price is за plus accusative. A numeral under за is unprinted. The place that is printed is в or на plus prepositional. из and с plus genitive are unprinted. English buy X from Y is from. English buy something for someone is for, or a bare first object. Spanish le is the Seller and Spanish para is the Beneficiary. Italian gli is glossed both ways. French acheter à leaves a full noun ambiguous. Portuguese a is left as the seller or as para. German kaufen puts the beneficiary in a bare dative. German abkaufen puts the seller in a bare dative. On продать the dative is the buyer.

RU micro-entry live Beyond Index 2 у seller · dative beneficiary PT comprar live IT comprare live ES comprar live FR acheter live DE kaufen live

Sense × language: buy · Russian (купить / покупать). The purchase sense is the page. The bribe sense, the card sense, and the bathing homonym stay off the frame. приобрести and закупить are cited where a dictionary prints the purchase. No English buy hub. Geometry neighbors: buy · comprar, buy · comprare, buy · comprar, buy · acheter, and buy · kaufen. Converse: продать. No Index 2 Russian cell lists this verb.

Places
EN ⇄ RU strip
Examples
Voice
Derivations
Hierarchy
Geometry
Open items
Corpus and sources

Working paper. Russian micro-entry, the sixth language of buy. Dictionary frames were read on Ozhegov and Shvedova (купить, приобрести), on Gufo’s Ozhegov (купить, закупить), on Ushakov (купить, покупать, закупить), on Kuznetsov’s Большой толковый словарь (купить, покупать, приобрести, закупить), and on Russian and English Wiktionary, with Cambridge for English buy.

Constructed examples. Dictionary lines are marked as printed. Every other full clause is marked constructed. The bare double object is starred because the filled person-marking beside the goods is a dative. для, из, с, and a numeral under за are unprinted on купить and are not constructed. хлеба is cited from the Synodal quotation and is not rewritten as an accusative.

Arity: several places, not one flat verb. Index 2 does not list купить. Surface count can name a buyer, the goods, a seller, a beneficiary, a price, and a place. The lexicon does not list those as co-arguments of one flat V. Voice adds the Buyer. The root takes the Goods. у adds a Seller where a quotation fills one. A bare dative adds a Beneficiary where a line fills one. за adds a Price where a line prints one. в or на adds a place where a line prints one. The aspect pair is the dictionaries’ label. No telicity claim is made from the participle.

What this page does not do. It does not open an English page of buy. It does not edit kaufen, acheter, comprar, comprare, or comprar beyond the language list. The bribe sense and the card sense stop at the citation. 501 Russian Verbs was not opened.

Hierarchy

Not a flat grid of six sisters, and not one case copied from the English gloss. Voice adds the Buyer. The root takes the Goods. у+genitive adds the Seller where the line is Chekhov’s у вас or Teffi’s у вдовы. A bare dative adds the Beneficiary where the line is ребёнку. за of a price name adds a Price. в or на plus prepositional adds the place. The drawing is working and revisable.

What Russian changes, against English from, is that the seller preposition which the quotations print is у, the preposition of a source, and that Ozhegov and Shvedova, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov do not print it at all. What Russian changes, against English for, is that the beneficiary has no preposition: the printed form is the dative ребёнку, and для is unprinted. What Russian shares with the English double object is a person with no preposition beside the goods. The Russian person has a dative ending. A second bare accusative is unprinted. The printed Russian price name has no numeral twin in the Cambridge lines opened here. The aspect labels сов. / несов., св. / нсв., and совершенный вид / несовершенный вид name the pair купить / покупать. They are not a claim about an endpoint.

Geometry · buy beside comprar, comprar, comprare, acheter, and kaufen

English buy. Beneficiary as the first object of [+ two objects], or in for. Seller in from. A numeral for is unprinted in the lines opened. Believe sense buy that story, informal. No English page is opened.
купить / покупать. Nominative buyer. Accusative goods, government кого-что. Bare genitive хлеба only in the Synodal quotation. Seller in у+genitive where Wiktionary prints it, and unprinted in Ozhegov and Shvedova, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov. Beneficiary as a bare dative. для unprinted. за of a price name. A numeral unprinted. в or на plus prepositional. из and с unprinted. приобрести prints a direct object, a prepositional place, and за, and no seller. закупить prints accusative and genitive.
comprar. Seller in a or de. Beneficiary in para. One a-phrase left as the seller or as para. Russian у is not given that second reading, and the Russian beneficiary has no preposition.
comprar. Selected a+NP or le of the Seller. para+NP of the Beneficiary. Russian у is the seller, and the Russian dative is not that le.
comprare. Full Seller da+NP. Dative clitic glossed per or da. Russian prints the seller on у and the beneficiary on the dative, and does not gloss one marker both ways.
acheter. à+NP of the Seller or of the Beneficiary. Russian does not put both readings on one phrase.
kaufen. Accusative goods. Bare dative beneficiary, the Russian dative’s reading. Price für + a sum. On abkaufen the bare dative is the seller. Russian does not make that split. On продать the dative is the buyer, and the seller is the subject.

Open items

у in Ozhegov and Shvedova, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov. Unprinted on купить. The source is the Russian Wiktionary quotations. Not supplied from outside those quotations.
для+genitive, including для сына. Unprinted. The printed beneficiary is dative ребёнку. Not constructed.
A bare genitive хлеба in Ozhegov, Ushakov, or Kuznetsov. Unprinted on купить. Kuznetsov prints accusative хлеб. The genitive is the Synodal quotation on English Wiktionary. Chekhov’s овса is genitive after a measure. Ushakov’s Здоровья is genitive under не. The genitive on закупить is материалов and дров. Not copied onto купить as a second government.
A numeral за+sum. Unprinted on купить. The filled price names are за большие деньги, за деньги, за бешеные деньги, and за бесценок. динариев на двести is на. Not constructed.
из+genitive and с+genitive of a shop. Unprinted. The printed place is в булочной, в магазине, на рынке, and, on приобрести, на аукционе and на распродаже. в театр is accusative beside билеты and is not labeled as the shop. Not constructed.
Seller, beneficiary, goods, and a sum in one clause. Unprinted. Chekhov has no price. Teffi has no price. Kuznetsov’s dative line has no seller and no price. The price line has no person. Not constructed as a stack.
A finite passive of the goods of купить. Unprinted. The passive label has no clause. Закупаются зимние вещи is the related verb. Not constructed.
A dative glossed as the seller. Unprinted. Kuznetsov’s dative is ребёнку. The seller in the quotations is у. On продать the dative is the buyer. Not collapsed.
501 Russian Verbs. Not opened. No frame is supplied from it.
A numeral for on English buy. Unprinted in the Cambridge lines opened here. Not supplied from outside those lines.

Corpus filenames and sources

Dictionary frames: Ozhegov and Shvedova, купить and приобрести, as ozhegov.info prints them, and the same купить article as Gufo prints it; Gufo’s Ozhegov закупить; Ushakov купить, покупать, and закупить; Kuznetsov’s Большой толковый словарь, купить, покупать, приобрести, and закупить; Russian Wiktionary купить and покупать; English Wiktionary купить; Cambridge buy. Constructed clauses put a printed marker on a named buyer. Index 2 does not list this lemma. 501 Russian Verbs was not opened.

Ozhegov and Shvedova · купить ozhegov.info · купить · gufo.me · Ozhegov · купить · кого-что · К. за большие деньги · несов. покупать · no у
Ozhegov and Shvedova · приобрести ozhegov.info · приобрести · П. дом · несов. приобретать · no seller
Ozhegov · закупить gufo.me · закупить · что и чего · З. материалы (материалов)
Ushakov · купить gufo.me · Ushakov · купить · Приобрести за деньги · Здоровья за деньги не купишь · no у
Ushakov · покупать gufo.me · Ushakov · покупать · Kataev · Они отправились покупать дыни
Ushakov · закупить gufo.me · Ushakov · закупить · Закупить дров на зиму · провизию к обеду
Kuznetsov · Большой толковый словарь · купить gufo.me · купить · в булочной хлеб · ребёнку собаку · за большие деньги дом
Kuznetsov · покупать gufo.me · покупать · в магазине, на рынке · за бешеные деньги · Покупаться; страд.
Kuznetsov · приобрести gufo.me · приобрести · на аукционе, в магазине · за большие деньги · no у
Kuznetsov · закупить gufo.me · закупить · что (чего) · З. дров · Закупаются зимние вещи
Wiktionary · купить ru.wiktionary.org · купить · Chekhov · у вас · Teffi · у вдовы · imperfective покупать
Wiktionary · покупать ru.wiktionary.org · покупать · Doncova · обувь · Tarasov · диск
English Wiktionary · купить en.wiktionary.org · купить · accusative and dative in the template · Synodal хлеба · на двести
Cambridge · buy dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/buy · [+ two objects] · for his mother · from a friend of mine
Portuguese buy · comprar · a seller or para · lhe unprinted
Spanish buy · comprar · le seller · para beneficiary
Italian buy · comprare · gli glossed per or da
French buy · acheter · à seller or beneficiary
German buy · kaufen · dative beneficiary · abkaufen dative seller
Russian sell sell · продать · dative buyer · seller is the subject

Records the nominative Buyer and the accusative Goods of купить. Records that a Seller phrase, where a quotation prints one, is у+genitive, and that Ozhegov and Shvedova, Ushakov, and Kuznetsov do not print it. Records that the Beneficiary Kuznetsov prints is a bare dative, and that для is unprinted. Records за of a price name, and a numeral as unprinted. Records в and на plus prepositional, and из and с as unprinted. Records хлеба as the Synodal quotation, not as the government of the explanatory dictionaries. Does not open an English page.