Tag Archives: Russian grammar
Travel Plans and Verbs of Motion Posted by yelena on Jun 28, 2012
Remember this post about useful Russian driving and road rage words? Can you believe it, уже конец июня (it’s the end of June already)! Как быстро время летит! (How time flies!) For many of our US readers, next week will be spent travelling and celebrating and then travelling some more. Which means getting delayed or…
Russian Verb of the Week: портить/испортить Posted by Natalie on Jun 22, 2012
«Доброе утро, дорогие читатели!» [Good morning, dear readers!] «Это я, Наташа» [It’s me, Natasha (my name is Natalie, but you can call me Natalie or Natalia or Natasha – I’ll answer to just about any form of my name).] «Я вернулась» [I have returned] and I am starting a new series of posts in which…
Instrumental Case Revisited Posted by yelena on Jun 19, 2012
A couple of days ago, вечером (in the evening), I sat down с фотоальбомом (with a photo album) in my hands. I love looking through old pictures, especially those снятые моими родителями (taken by my parents). For some reason I have lots of photos from when I was младенцем (a baby) and then again, в…
Can’t Run Away from Verbs of Motion Posted by yelena on Jun 15, 2012
Are you confused by the Russian verbs of motion? When to use which and what verbal aspect to choose? I found that the best way of figuring out the correct usage of verbs of motion is to practice-practice-practice. So let’s practice using the pair of verbs бегать and бежать, both meaning “to run”. To make…
«Надеть одежду, одеть Надежду» Posted by Rob on Jun 11, 2012
“To put on clothes and to clothe Nadezhda” Maybe you recognize the title of today’s post — it’s a classic mnemonic device to help distinguish between the verbs надеть and одеть. Rest assured that it’s not only foreign students who have trouble with the two; do a Google search and you’ll find plenty of Russians…
Test Time – Check Your Knowledge of Russian Language Posted by yelena on May 25, 2012
It’s the end of the school year in Russia. The good news is that летние каникулы (summer school break) is about to start. The bad news is that first there are some экзамены (exams) that need to be passed. Of course, if you studied hard all year or, say, took time зазубрить (here: to cram)…
Woman’s Work – Part 2 Posted by yelena on Mar 19, 2012
I am pretty sure that most Russians over 30 are familiar with the opening lines of Gianni Rodari’s poem Чем пахнут ремёсла (What jobs smell like): У каждого дела Запах особый (Each trade Has its special smell) This short poem mentions quite a few jobs, all using masculine nouns – маляр (painter), стекольщик (windows installer)…