Archive for 'language'
“В” Or “На” with Places and Events in Russian — Part II Posted by Maria on Feb 1, 2017
Last time, we looked at the expressions for various events and places with в or на. Let’s look at a couple more categories. Like last time, I will be listing the prepositional case for location (“in the theater”); remember to use the accusative case for direction (“to the theater”). Entertainment Venues With В Many entertainment…
“В” or “на” with Places and Events in Russian — Part I Posted by Maria on Jan 25, 2017
Phrases with prepositions to refer to a place or event are fairly frequent in all levels of Russian. At the same time, these structures are not quite regular, which can be frustrating even for experienced learners. Many cases are determined by convention more than logic, but we’ll try to group these expressions according to the…
5 Distinct Types of Food Establishments in Russia Posted by Maria on Jan 17, 2017
I’ve noticed in the Anglo-American world, the word “restaurant” has been used to describe many kinds of establishments, from upscale eateries to fast-food joints. I would like to concentrate on the connotations of different Russian words for describing places serving food and why they are not interchangeable. Ресторан — Sit-Down Restaurant Ресторан has traditionally referred…
5 New Year’s Resolutions To Help You Learn Russian In 2017 Posted by Maria on Jan 5, 2017
Perhaps some of our readers have made resolutions for the new year. Along with career and fitness goals, would you like to learn Russian or improve your current level? Maybe it’s not the first time you’ve tried to do so, but things did not always work out in the past. Here are five areas that…
Not Just Swimming: 3 Main Senses of Плавать in Russian Posted by Maria on Dec 15, 2016
Плавать is a verb that means either swim or sail in Russian. It is interesting in many ways. As a verb of motion, it has two distinct imperfective aspect forms. In addition, it has useful metaphorical applications. 1. Water Travel You may remember that verbs of motion have not one but two imperfective forms. Плыть/плавать…
Words for Eating in Russian Posted by Maria on Dec 8, 2016
Most learners will know the word есть, to eat. However, there are many other synonyms of this word, some of which are not very commonly used. Recognizing them can greatly enrich your Russian vocabulary. Есть This is the word most people will know. Note the irregular conjugation: я ем мы едим ты ешь вы едите…
Mutually Beneficial: Russian Words With Взаимо- You Need To Know Posted by Maria on Dec 6, 2016
Взаимо- is a useful root that lets you create compound words with the sense of “mutual” or “two-way.” This post will list some common words made with that root. First, взаимо- is related to the adjective “взаимный,” “mutual.” Сохрани́ть доброжела́тельность, чу́вство взаи́много уваже́ния, любви́ ― о́чень сло́жная шту́ка. (Keeping that friendliness, the feeling of mutual respect and…