Changing Your Ways – Variations of Менять Posted by Maria on Sep 17, 2015
We have looked at expanding your vocabulary by adding prefixes to verb roots. Now I would like to suggest looking at variations of a very popular verb – меня́ть. This verb means to change (perfective – поменять). Из-за плохо́го поведе́ния ему́ за во́семь лет пришло́сь меня́ть шко́лу 11 раз. (Because of his poor behavior…
Sewing in Russian Posted by Maria on Sep 10, 2015
Perhaps some of our readers like to make their own clothes. If that’s the case, let’s review some of the basic sewing vocabulary to help you talk about your craft in Russian. Although sewing (шитьё, to sew – шить) is in the title of the post, other methods of making clothes include вяза́ть (на спи́цах) and вязать крючко́м…
Translating Russian Что: What, When and Why Posted by Jenya on Sep 9, 2015
The feeling of confusion about a particular word is undoubtedly familiar to any foreign language learner. Thanks to one of our readers, one of this pesky Russian words have been brought to my attention. What might that word be? Ironically, it is none other than the word “what” itself :-). Translation of the word что…
Moscow’s Seven Sisters Posted by Jenya on Sep 2, 2015
Rumor has it that after the Russian Army aided in the defeat of the Nazi’s, Joseph Stalin believed that the world would wish to visit Moscow. During this brief period, Moscow did not have any skyscrapers like you’d see in New York, Chicago, or any place else. Call it the male ego, keeping up with…
Basic Russian: Uses of Что Posted by Maria on Aug 31, 2015
We have been asked by one of our readers to explain the uses of что. This seemingly simple word has several applications. We will go over the most common uses of this word. Forms The primary meaning of что is “what.” Dictionaries will tell you that it is technically a местоименное существительное, a “pronominal noun.”…
Expand Your Vocabulary: Verbs With Prefixes – Играть Posted by Maria on Aug 27, 2015
A couple of weeks ago, we looked at combining prefixes and verb roots to expand your Russian vocabulary. One of the verbs that I was asked to cover was игра́ть. This is an excellent suggestion for a versatile and useful verb to have in your arsenal. The primary meaning of играть is, as you…
Tetris: Not Just For Fun? Posted by Jenya on Aug 26, 2015
Which activity, if performed for three minutes, can reduce your cravings for sex, alcohol, drugs, food, and cigarettes? If you guessed playing Tetris, you’re correct! We’ve all heard about Tetris, many of us have played it, but few know much about it. Today’s post is all about Tetris and its potential benefits. Even if you…