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Particles. Sentence Structure Part II Posted by bota on Oct 15, 2020
We continue our quest of making sense of sentence structure in Russian. While Part I covered the basics of the subject and verb placement, this blog focuses on the smaller but equally important parts of the sentence. It may seem a bit more obvious where to place a word if it’s a verb or a…
Was Yoda Russian? (Sentence Structure in Russian. Part I) Posted by bota on Oct 5, 2020
“Do or do not. There is no try.” While Yoda’s OSV (object-subject-verb) word order may seem a bit unusual, the Russian translation of the quote doesn’t sound all that strange or other-worldly, all because the Russian sentence structure is flexible. So, please do try, because learning about the nuances of word order variations in Russian…
A day in a Russian kindergarten Posted by bota on Sep 24, 2020
“Зо́лушка” (“Cinderella”), “Ска́зка” (“Fairy Tale”), “Одува́нчик” (“Dandelion”), “Улы́бка” (“Smile”), “Слонёнок” (“Baby Elephant”). At first, these might seem like random words strung together, but in Russia, if they are preceded by “Де́тский Сад” (“kindergarten”) these names evoke some of the sweetest, most carefree days of one’s childhood. And what’s there not to love about kindergarten days?…
Let’s dig deeper into the Russian verbs for gardening Posted by bota on Sep 17, 2020
September is a busy month if you are a gardener in Russia. Many are spending their weekends busy на да́че, reaping the fruits (and vegetables) of their spring sowing and getting their gardens ready for the winter. We’re going to get our hands dirty by digging into verbs related to gardening (садово́дство и огоро́дничество) and…
We’re not in Kansas anymore Posted by bota on Sep 4, 2020
Somewhere between me reading Greek myths and then diving headfirst into The Chronicles of Narnia, I remember being perfectly lost in the lore of the “Волше́бная Страна́” (Magic Land) created by the great Soviet author Alexander Volkov (Александр Во́лков). You might be thinking, Volkov who? Fear not, my friend, for I’m here to tell you…
Examining a Russian spice rack. Part II Posted by bota on Aug 28, 2020
In the second part of examining a Russian spice rack, we will explore the most common спе́ции (spices) used in baking recipes across Russian households. At the end of the post is a playlist of Russian words to help you practice pronouncing them. For starters, let’s cover the most basic baking ingredients: Са́хар (Sugar) is…
Examining a Russian spice rack. Part I Posted by bota on Aug 18, 2020
There are a number of припра́в, пря́ностей, и спе́ций (spices) that are considered standard in any Russian household, whether you are многоде́тная семья́ (a family with lots of kids) or зако́нченный холостя́к (a long-time bachelor). This blog will focus on spices commonly used for savory dishes, while Part II will cover spices used for baking…