Tag Archives: русская грамматика
«Класс!» – On the Importance of Calling Things by their Proper Names Posted by josefina on Feb 17, 2010
There are days when «словарь» [the dictionary] is not you best friend. It might still be «друг» [a friend] of yours, «но не самый лучший друг» [but not the very best friend]. Why is that? Because on these particular days the dictionary fails to explain certain words to you. Or explains them in such a…
«Кем быть?» [Who to be?]: The beginner’s guide to using the verb «быть» in both future and past tenses but leaving it out of the present tense altogether Posted by josefina on Feb 5, 2010
It is imperative for everyone to learn to be happy about the smaller things in life. An example of a small thing that can (and should!) bring happiness into everyone’s life is the fact that Russian verbs only have «три времена» [three tenses]: «настоящее время» [present tense], «прошедшее время» [past tense] and «будущее время» [future…
The Return of «ибо»! Posted by josefina on Feb 2, 2010
When in Moscow it is a rule to go for a stroll «на Красной площади» [on the Red Square], «ибо это делают все» [because everybody does that] «и туристы, и провинциалы» [both tourists and people from the provinces]. «Провинциал» means ‘provincial, backwoodsman; unsophisticated person’. The female version of the word is «провинциалка». When I first…
Russian Cases: «с чем?» [with what?], or «творительный падеж» [the instrumental case] Posted by josefina on Jan 24, 2010
«Что это?» [what is this?] This is «книжный шкаф С ПОЛНЫМ СОБРАНИЕМ сочинений Владимира Ильича Ленина» [a bookshelf WITH (THE) COMPLETE COLLECTION of works by Vladimir Il’ich Lenin]. But in order to answer the question «сколько в нём томов?» [how many volumes are there in it (lit. ‘in him’ since the noun ‘collection’ in Russian…
«С праздником!» or: How to Congratulate Russian Style Posted by josefina on Nov 5, 2009
Yesterday was the 4th of November and «выходной день в России» [a day of rest, day off, holiday in Russia]. Yes once again it was time to celebrate the mysterious «День народного единства» [(People’s) Unity Day]. There’s no need to pretend that Russians don’t look at this strange holiday in pretty much the same way…
Russian Word of the Week: «Домашний» [Homey, Domestic; Indoor] Posted by josefina on Oct 17, 2009
Have you ever wondered what the difference between the noun «дом» and the adverb «дома» is? Read and compare the use of the words in the following sentence: «Для большинства людей это просто достаточно старый, деревянный дом» [To most people this is just a rather old, wooden house], «а для некоторых он же – дома»…
How to Make Russians Do as You Say, or Mastering «повелительное наклонение» [imperative] Posted by josefina on Sep 22, 2009
This peculiar note I came upon on the wall of the restroom at the university today and couldn’t help but to share it with you, first and foremost because it is packed with information necessary for today’s grammatical note: «повелительное наклонение единственного числа» [imperative in singular]. «Если не сможешь сделать это аккуратно – лучше не…