NEED TO
LEARN THE
CYRILLIC ALPHABET FIRST?
It's not hard at all.
There are no indefinite or definite articles in
Russian.
ДОМ means 'house', 'a house' or 'the house' depending on context.
This is one of the things that Russian speakers have the hardest time
getting right when speaking non-Slavic languages such as English.
One of the trickiest things about learning to speak
Russian well is
that it isn't predictable where the accent of a word goes.
In books written for foreigners learning Russian, the accent is
sometimes provided for above the letter 'é', but this is hard to
do on webpages, so I use the apostrophe after the accented syllable
to indicate this.
(In the word парла'мент, the accent is on the second syllable
pahr-LAH-myent)
To make things worse, the accent shifts sometimes in different forms of
the same word.
глаз (eye), глаза' (eyes)
(These are very useful to know when declining and
conjugating in
Russian)
After these consonants, ы becomes и:
г к х ж ч ш щ
After the following consonants, a я
becomes an а and a ю becomes у:
г к х ж ч ш щ ц
After these consonants, an unaccented
о becompes an е:
ж ч ш щ ц
There are three genders of noun in Russian - masculine, feminine and
neuter.
Masculine nouns usually end in a consonant, but sometimes in -й and -ь.
Feminine nouns usually end in an -а, but sometimes in a
consonant+я, ия, and -ь.
Neuter nouns end in -о, -е, ие, and -мя.
Note that nouns ending in -ь can be masculine or feminine.
DECLENSION OF MASCULINE NOUNS
*The Accusative of masculine nouns is the same as the nominate when
designating things, but the same as the genetive when designating
people or living beings.
Masculine nouns end in a consonant, and sometimes in -й or -ь
N -consonant -й -ь
G
-а
-я -я
D -у
-ю -ю
A N or
G
N or G Nor G
I
-ом
-ем -ем
P
-е
-е -е
PLURAL
N -ы
-и -и
G -ов
-ев -ей
D -ам
-ям -ям
A N or G N or G N or G
I -ами
-ями -ями
P
-ах
-ях -ях
DECLENSION OF FEMININE NOUNS
Feminine nouns end in -а, consonant+я, ия and ь.
N -а
-я
-ия -ь
G -ы
-и
-ии -и
D -е
-е
-ие -и
A -у
-ю
-ию -ь
I -ой
-ей
-ей -ью
P -е
-е -ии
-и
PLURAL
N
|
-ы
|
-и
|
-ии
|
--и
|
G
|
-0*
|
-я
|
-ий
|
-е'й
|
D
|
-ам
|
-ям
|
-ям
|
-я'м
|
A
|
N or G
|
N or G
|
N or G
|
N or G
|
I
|
-ами
|
-ями
|
-ями
|
-я'ми
|
P
|
-ах
|
-ях
|
-ях
|
-я'х
|
DECLENSION OF NEUTER NOUNS
Neuter nouns end in -о, -е, -ие and -мя (вре'мя-time, бре'мя-burden,
се'мя-seed, пла'мя-flame)
N
|
-о
|
-е
|
-ие
|
-мя
|
G
|
-а
|
-я
|
-я
|
-ени
|
D
|
-у
|
-ю
|
-ю
|
-ени
|
A
|
same as N
|
same as N
|
same as N
|
same as N
|
I
|
-ом
|
-ем
|
-ем
|
-енем
|
P
|
-е
|
-е
|
-и
|
-ени
|
PLURAL
N
|
-а
|
-я
|
-ия
|
-ена'
|
G
|
-0*
|
-ей
|
-ий
|
-ён
|
D
|
-а'м
|
-я'м
|
-ям
|
-ам
|
A
|
-а'
|
-я'
|
-я
|
-а'
|
I
|
-а'ми
|
-я'ми
|
-ями
|
-а'ми
|
P
|
-а'х
|
-я'х
|
-ях
|
-а'х
|
Almost 200 masculine nouns form the
plural with an accented -а instead of a -ы.
and some soft masculine nouns use a -я instead of an -и.
лес (forest), леса'
ве'чер (evening), вечера'
дом (house), дома'
учитель (teacher), учителя'
Some masculine hard and soft nouns and
neuter nouns ending in -о have an irregular plural ending in -ья with
the genitive form in -ев or -ей.
брат (brother) - братья' - бра'тев
стул (chair) - стулья' - стульев
друг (friend) - друзья' - друзе'й
муж (husband) - мужья' - муже'й
сын (son) - сыновья' - сынове'й
Masculin nouns in -анин or -янин take
-е in the plural:
Some masculines plural form is the
same as the singular:
раз (time), во'лос (hair), сапог (boot), солда'т (soldier)
There are six cases in Russian.
This corresponds to the subject of a sentence. This
is the form that you find in the dictionary.
In the sentence 'The boy is here' or 'The boy sees the girl.' the word
'boy' is in the nominative.
This is primarily the case used to denote 'of
something' or 'belonging
to someone'
In the sentence 'This boy's book is interesting. 'boy' is in the
genetive and so is the qualifyer 'this' as it relates to the boy.
In 'The president of the United States' 'of the United States' is in
the Genetive.
There are quite a number of prepositions that require the following
noun and any adjectives relating to it to take the genetive case as
well.
без (without), близ (near), для (for), из (from),
до (to, up to, until), от (from), возле, о'коло, подле (next to)
прежде (before, in front of), против (against), ради (because of), у
(at sb's house, with)
Adverbs of quantity
the following words designating amounts take the genetive
ма'ло (a little, few), мно'го (much), немножно (a little), несколько (a
few), сколько? (how much?), столько (so much)
Partitive Genetive
When wanting to refer to an indefinite amount of a noun that cannot be
counted, the genetive is used to mean 'some'
I want some water. Я хочу' воды'.
Дайте нам хлеба. Give us some bread.
Some masculine nons have special genetives for this use чай-чаю (tea,
some tea), сыр-сы'ру (cheese, some cheese), таба'к-табаку' (tobacco,
some tobacco), суп-су'пу (soup, some soup)
This case corresponds to the indirect object and
answers the question
'to whom?', 'to what?'
In the sentence 'Give the book to the boy'. 'To the boy' is in the
Dative.
Also required for the preposition к (ко) - to, towards, up to.
к теа'тру - toward the theater (not going inside)
the preposition по
The Dative is required after some verbs as well.
(ве'рить / поверить,-believe, помогать/помо'чь-help, обеща'ть-promise)
-This is first and foremost the case of the direct
object of a
sentence, unless in the negative where the genetive is used.
-Also required with some prepositions
a whole series of prepositions that take the locational case normally,
take the accusative instead when the location isn't stable, but when
motion toward the place is meant.
at a concert (locative), to the concert (accusative)
-In some expressions
в сре'ду - on Wednesday
в два часа'- at two o'clock
-when used without a preposition, it designatesthe
means or tool with
which something is done
Я пишу' перо'м. I write with a pen.
-The following prepositions require the instrumental case:
с, со (with), за (behind, for), под (under), над (above), перед (in
front of, before), между (between)
NOTE: 'с, со' can also take the genetive case, but means 'from' in that
case.
The following prepositions take the prepositional
в, во - in (when a permanent position is meant) в москве'-in Moscow
in some expressions of time в январе'-in January
на -
о, об(о) - about
по - after
при - with, in the presence of
DIMINUTIVES
Russians are very fond of using diminutive forms of nouns to express
affection, fondness or cuteness.
Masculine nouns can take the endings -ик, -ек, -ок, -ец
(бра'тец-little brother from брат)
(домик-little house, from дом)
Feminine nouns take -ка, -ица, -очка, -ечка, енька, -ушка
маме'нька (Mommy from ма'ма)
Neuter nouns take -цо, -ошко, -ышко, -юшко
око'шко (little window from окно')
AUGMENTIVE FORMS
These are less common, but are used to indicate large size.
Masculine and neutral nouns use the suffixes -ище, -ина, feminine nouns
-ища
до'мище- huge house (from дом)
ручи'ща - big fat hand (from рука')
Adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. They
are also declined in the six cases.
hard adjectives
Nom. но'вый
но'вая но'вое но'вые
Gen. но'вого
но'вой но'вого но'вых
Dat. но'вому
но'вой но'вому но'вым
Acc. N or
G но'вую но'вое N
or G
Instr. но'вым
но'вой но'вым но'выми
Prep. но'вом но'вой
но'вом но'вых
If the adjective ending is accented, the endings in he N sing are -о'й,
-а'я and -о'е
soft adjectives
N си'ний си'няя си'нее си'ние
G си'него си'ней си'него си'них
D си'нему си'ней си'нему си'ним
A N or G си'нюю си'нее N or G
other soft adjectives домашний -яя, -ее domestic, после'дний
last, средний middle
DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES 'this' and 'that'
this, these
|
this m.
|
this f.
|
this n.
|
these pl.
|
N
|
э'тот |
э'та |
э'то |
э'ти |
G
|
э'того
|
э'той
|
э'того
|
э'тих
|
D
|
э'тому
|
э'той
|
э'тому
|
э'тим
|
A
|
N or G
|
э'ту
|
э'то
|
N or G
|
I
|
э'тим
|
э'той
|
э'тим
|
э'тими
|
P
|
э'том
|
э'той
|
э'том
|
э'тих
|
that, those
|
that m.
|
that f.
|
that n.
|
those pl.
|
N
|
тот
|
та
|
то
|
те
|
G
|
того'
|
той
|
того' |
тех
|
D
|
тому'
|
той
|
тому'
|
тем
|
A
|
N or G
|
ту
|
то
|
N or G
|
I
|
тем
|
той
|
тем
|
те'ми
|
P
|
том
|
той
|
том
|
тех
|
In a simple sentence where there is a subject and the verb 'to be'
followed by an adjective, Russian has a shortened form for the
adjective.
(He is sick. They are rich.)
This form is never used when it precedes the noun it describes.
(A sick man, the rich people)
There is a slight difference in meaning between the short and the
longer form.
The short form implies a temporary state.
Он бо'лен. He is sick (but will soon be back to his healthy self)
Он больно'й. He's sickly. He's in a poor state of health.
Она краси'вая. She's beautiful. (always)
Она краси'ва. She's looking lovely.
COMPARATIVES
When the adjective precedes the noun it describes, the comparative is
usually formed by just adding the adverb бо'лее before the adjective.
It is also formed with the suffix -ее (-ей) added to the stem of the
adjective
у'мный- у'мнее (smart-smarter)
бе'дный-бе'днее (poor-poorer)
Here are some more irregular forms:
бога'тый-бога'че (rich-richer)
коро'ткий-коро'че (short-shorter)
просто'й-про'ще (simple-simpler)
бли'зкий-бли'же (close-closer)
далёкий-да'льше (far-further)
дорого'й-доро'же (expensive-more expensive)
дешёвый-деше'вле (cheap-cheaper)
SUPERLATIVES
Several forms
-The most common is to add са'мый before the adjective
-using suffixes -ейший (or -айший)
-using the prefix най- added to the comparative
у'мный (smart)
the smartest can be 1) са'мый у'мный 2) умнейший or
3) найумне'йший
DECLENSION OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS
N
|
кто? who?
|
что? what?
|
никто' nobody
|
ничто' nothing
|
G
|
кого'?
|
чего'?
|
никого' |
ничего' |
D
|
кому'?
|
чему'?
|
никому' |
ничему' |
A
|
кого'?
|
что?
|
никого' |
ничто |
I
|
кем?
|
чем?
|
нике'м |
ниче'м |
P
|
о ком?
|
о чём?
|
ни о ко'м |
ни о чём |
There are three endings for Russian verbs in the
infinitive.
-ть , чь, -ти
This is the dictionary form of the verb that i renered by 'to -' in
English. It is used after an auxilliary very such as 'I want to go'
Я хочу' идти'.
There are two conjugations in Russian
ЧИТАТЬ (to read) and
я чита'ю, ты читаешь, он читает, мы читаем, вы читаете, они' чита'ют
ГОВОРИТЬ (to talk, to speak)
я говорю', ты говори'шь, он говорит, мы говори'м, вы говори'те, они'
говоря'т
IRREGULAR VERBS
Есть (to eat)
ем, ешь, ест, еди'м, еди'те, едя'т
Хоте'ть (to want)
хочу', хо'чешь, хо'чет, хоти'м, хоти'те, хотя'т
This is only one of two forms of the past tense. It
changes based on
whether the subject is masculine, feminine, neuter or plural.
I was reading is Я чита'л if a man is speaking, but Я чита'ла if it's a
woman.
We were reading is Мы чита'ли.
(neuter nouns have an ending in -ло)
These forms for the verb говори'ть (to speak, to say) are говори'л
(m.), говори'ла (f.), говори'ло (n.), говори'ли (pl.)
The future also has two forms, this one is the
imperfective.
It is formed by using the conjugated form of the verb for 'to be' in
the future tense followed by the verb in the infinite.
I will read
Я бу'ду чита'ть.
you will read, he will etc.
ты бу'дешь чита'ть, он бу'дет чита'ть, мы бу'дем чита'ть, вы бу'дете
читать, они' бу'дут читать
The other form of future tense is the perfective form. It is declined
in the same way as a present, but with a future meaning.
The perfective form of "read" is прочита'ть
So "I will read" can also be
прочита'ю, прочитаешь, прочита'ет, прочита'ем, прочита'ете, прочита'ют
Please read the section of Perfective verbs to understand the differnce
in meaning between the two forms.
This is formed by the past tense with the word Бы afterwards.
I would read - Я читал бы.
She would read - Она читала бы
They would read - Они' читали бы
The imperitive has two forms as well. In the
imperfective it is merely
a question of adding a -й (or -йте) to the stem for the first
conjugation or a и' (or -и'те) to the stem of the second.
Read! - Читай! (singular), Читайте! (plural)
Speak! - Говори! (singular), Говори'те! (plural)
REFLEXIVE VERBS
Reflexive verbs imply that the action is being done to oneself.
To wash (oneself), to get dress (dress oneself)
In the plural they sometimes can be translated as "one another)
We met (one another)
They are formed buy adding the suffix -ся after a consonant and a -сь
after a vowel.
одеваться (to dress oneself)
я одева'юсь, ты одева'ешся, он одева'ется, мы одева'емся, вы
одева'етесь, они одева'ются
in the past он одева'лся, она' одева'лась
Some verbs just take the reflexive form when there is no direct object,
or when a passive is implied.
Шко'ла начина'ется в во'семь. School starts at eight.
Книга пишется актёром. The book is being written by the actor.
Some impersonal verbs take reflexive forms as well.
They often express a state of mind.
Мне хо'чется спать. I feel like sleeping.
Мне ка'жется, что она' уста'ла. It seems to me that she is tired.
Мне нра'вится этот фильм. I like this movie. (This movie is pleasing to
me)
The Slavic languages have two verbs instead of one. You will have to
get used to learning pairs of words for most verbs (don't worry too
much - they're usually recognizable.)
There is a subtle difference in the meaning between the Imperfective
and the Perfective aspects though, and it will take a while to 'get it'
My advice is to not worry about it too much at the beginning.
The Imperfective is the only one of
the two that exists in the present
tense.
OK, so here's the theory. You'll have to think about this often, and
there is no one entirely satisfactory explanation.
The Imperfective focuses on the action. (Think of a video of it being
done. Watch it happen.)
The Perfective is about the result of the action. (Think of a snapshot
after it is finished.)
Sometimes both aspects are possible - with a different nuance. This is
particularly true in the past tense.
Last summer I was reading "War and Peace" every day at the beach.
(Imperfective) - Just picture me there in the sun turning the pages.
Last summer, I finally read "War and Peace." (I finished it)
(Perfective) See me closing the book with a satisfactory look on my
face.
or
They spent three months fixing the plumbing. (a long drawn out process)
After three months, they got the plumbing working.
As I said earlier, the perfective is usually related to
the
imperfective form.
-In the easiest case, it's just a matter of adding a prefix писать /
написать
some common prefixes that make a verb perfective по-, вс-вы, за-, на-,
про, рас-, с-, у-
-dropping a syllable in the middle закрывать / закрыть (close)
-a vowel change объясня'ть / объясни'ть (explain)
-someimes an entirely different word
говори'ть / сказа'ть (say)
брать / взять (take)
класть / положи'ть (put, place)
PRESENT ACTIVE PARTICIPLES
These participles are formed by taking the 'they' form of the present
tense, dropping the final -т, and adding -щий, -щая, -щее
They act as an adjective, but are often best translated by a relative
clause
читающий учени'к - the pupil who is reading
говоря'щаяучи'тельница - the teacher who is speaking
PRESENT PASSIVE PARTICIPLES
These are formed by taking the "we" form of the present and adding the
endings -ый, -ая, -ое
They also act as adjectives.
люби'мая книга - a favo(u)rite book
PAST ACTIVE PARTICIPLES
These are formed from the infinitive stem + -вший, -вшая, -шее
accent on the last syllable bfore the ending
чита'вший - someone who was reading
говори'вшая - the woman was was speaking
PAST PASSIVE PARTICIPLE
These are formed in different ways:
1) If the infinitive stem ends in -а, -я or -е, add -нный, -нная, -нное
2) If the infinitive stem ends in -и, the и is dropped and changed to
the same vowel as in the "I" form of the present tense, + -енный,
-енная, -енное
3) Monosyllabic verbs drop the final -ь and add -ый, -ая, -ое. The
accent varies.
There are short forms of the passive participles
люби'мый - люби'м, люби'ма, люби'мо, люби'мы
взя'тый - взят, взята', взя'то, взя'ты