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One Hard-Working Russian Word Posted by yelena on Oct 18, 2011
Do you know that in Russia the expression “birthday suit” translates as «костюм Адама» if talking about a male and «костюм Евы» if talking about a woman. But «фиговый листок» means exactly the same thing, a fig leaf, in its proverbial sense. Just be careful with the stress or you end up saying “worthless leaf”…
Even More Curious то же and так же Posted by yelena on Oct 14, 2011
Learning Russian can be frustrating. But in the end, it’s so worth it! This photo, taking years ago in St. Petersburg, is not really related to anything in this post. But it’s good memories for me, so I thought I’d share. When it comes to me writing grammar posts, I either don’t do them or…
The Curious Case of Russian Words Тоже and Также Posted by yelena on Oct 13, 2011
I got to learn something new about rats thanks to your comments. Now it’s pay-back time. Plus I loved this movie when it came out. Rats can be so cute! When it comes to grammar, being a native speaker of a language is a double-edged sword. Sure, native speakers tend to automatically select just the…
Back from the Surgery Posted by yelena on Oct 11, 2011
Looks like I missed a whole week on the blog. I apologize for that, but I do have a great «оправдание» [excuse]. «Дело в том» [The case is] that I had «операция» [a surgery]. As far as surgeries go, it was a minor one. Still, I am still bed-ridden. Since I’ve been busy recovering for…
How to Talk Like a Russian (Pet) Posted by yelena on Sep 28, 2011
Ever wondered what do Russian animals say and how they say it? Well, consider this video your pronunciation guide and this post – the not-so-boring and definitely non-mandatory reading. I have a bi-lingual cat (here’s his picture). Seriously, my cat is a genius. Not only does he understand everything we tell him whether in Russian…
What Would Yoda Say? Posted by yelena on Sep 23, 2011
Have you ever wondered how to start or finish a sentence to make it sound right? Have you ever asked yourself “Should I start with a subject, an object, or a verb? What if I mess up your word order? Would that make me sound silly? Would it turn my hard-thought sentence into something…
Ten Little Words – Part 2 Posted by yelena on Sep 16, 2011
As promised, here’s the second part of David’s excellent post about the only ten neuter Russian nouns that end in -мя. Meanings and connections of the words After this digression you couldn’t be blamed if you’ve forgotten the list of «–мя» nouns, but now we’ll go through their meanings and their connections, this time in…