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Трое в лодке: Collective Numerals in Russian Posted by Maria on Sep 8, 2016
If you look at the Russian translation of Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in A Boat, you may be surprised to read “Трое в лодке, не считая собаки.” Why “трое” and not “три”? In my last post on forms that don’t exist in Russian, I briefly touched upon the category of collective numerals. Since they have…
Other Missing Forms in Russian Posted by Maria on Sep 1, 2016
Last time, were talked about some verb forms that don’t exist in Russian and some ways around these limitations. However, “missing” forms are not limited to verbs. Let us look at three other cases. These examples may not be immediately practical for beginner learners, who are welcome to check out our basic Russian posts. Dream On…
Verb Forms That Don’t Exist in Russian Posted by Maria on Aug 29, 2016
Quite naturally, most of the time, we talk about what can be said in Russian on this blog. However, surprisingly, there are also things you cannot say. Here are a few missing verb forms and ways to work around them, where possible. Победить Ask any Russian what you cannot say in Russian, and, chances are, they will…
Russian History: 25th Anniversary of Coup Attempt in USSR Posted by Maria on Aug 23, 2016
August 20 marks the 25th anniversary of an attempted coup in Russia and the USSR. Many news outlets have published their accounts and analysis of this event. Let us read some of the coverage. Background Ironically, many in Russia, especially young people, have a fuzzy understanding of the events, as demonstrated in the video…
Expressions with себя in Russian Posted by Maria on Aug 15, 2016
You may remember the word себя, oneself. Apart from its independent usage, forms of this word are also used in several handy expressions. Себя Overview Себе is a reflexive pronoun pointing back to the subject of the sentence. The primary meaning of себя is “myself, yourself,” etc., depending on the subject. Он не узнал себя в…
Ten Posts For Beginners To Help You Ease Into Russian Posted by Maria on Aug 11, 2016
You may have noticed that our blog’s been covering some of the more intricate aspects of the Russian language and culture, from movie quotes to concepts specific to Russian. We are always happy to support our advanced readers — but we don’t want to forget about beginners, either! If you are new to learning Russian, here…
Popular Children’s Poems in Russian — Part II Posted by Maria on Aug 8, 2016
We are continuing from last week’s post about children’s poetry. The poems (стихотворения) in this and the previous post are likely to ring a bell to most people who grew up in Russian-speaking households. I will cite two short poems and excerpts from longer poems and will point out interesting structures and vocabulary. Агния Барто…