Tag Archives: particles
ЖЕ: particle or conjunction? Posted by bota on Dec 14, 2020
ЖЕ [pronounced “zhe”, see here for audio] can be either a particle or conjunction. Either way, it is written separately from the words it modifies and can add a lot of “flavor” to your Russian. ЖЕ as a particle The main function of this particle is to either intensify the word before, or show the…
Asking Questions in Russian with Ли Posted by Maria on Jan 9, 2020
Did you know Russian had a particle for asking questions? Furthermore, that same word can be used as a conjunction in dependent clauses and reported speech! Let’s talk about the main uses of ли. Yes or No Questions Ли can be used in yes or no questions. As you may remember, Russian does not use…
3 Kinds of Negation in Russian Posted by Maria on Mar 7, 2018
Are you tempted to use the infamous “nyet” in front of any word to make your sentences negative? Do you get confused between не, ни, and нет? Then read on to learn some common uses of these words. 1. Нет Negation of the Entire Sentence This is probably the most famous and the easiest of…
Add Emotion to Your Russian: Emphatic Particles (Part II) Posted by Maria on Mar 2, 2017
Last time, we looked at three particles used for emphasis in Russian. These particles convey the speaker’s attitude and make your speech and writing much more lively. Let us look at a couple of other particles. Ведь Ведь is used to reinforce a viewpoint or to show that, although it contradicts previously presented information, it…
Add Emotion to Your Russian: Emphatic Particles (Part I) Posted by Maria on Feb 22, 2017
Whenever I read English translations of Russian literature, they strike me as rather matter-of-fact. This may be because Russian often not only describes reality but also expresses the author’s attitude towards it. One way of doing that is through particles (частицы). Take a look at this excerpt from the story “Записки на чинаровых листьях” (“Notes…