![\"letter](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/letters-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Kristian Strand<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n Many Russian prepositions (\u043f\u0440\u0435\u0434\u043b\u043e\u0301\u0433\u0438<\/strong>) only have one letter, a consonant at that. These include:<\/p>\n Their pronunciation depends on what follows them. If the following word starts with a voiceless<\/a> (\u0433\u043b\u0443\u0445\u043e\u0301\u0439<\/strong>) consonant sound like [\u0444] or [\u043f], the preposition will be voiceless, too. In other words, \u0432 will sound like [\u0444], \u043a like [\u043a], and \u0441 like [\u0441].<\/p>\n If the following word starts with a voiced (\u0437\u0432\u043e\u0301\u043d\u043a\u0438\u0439<\/strong>) consonant sound like [\u0434] or [\u0433], the preposition will be voiced, too.<\/p>\n This pattern does not apply when the second word starts with a sonorant<\/a> (\u0441\u043e\u043d\u043e\u0301\u0440\u043d\u044b\u0439<\/strong>) sound ([\u043c], [\u043d], [\u043b], [\u0440], [\u0439]) or [\u0432].<\/p>\n Sometimes an extra sound is added to a preposition so that it’s easier to pronounce. If the following word starts with \u0432 or \u0444 + another consonant, \u0432 turns into \u0432\u043e:<\/p>\n In that case, treat the preposition like an extra syllable tacked onto the beginning of the next word.<\/p>\n Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France Any word that starts with two consonants will be preceded by \u0441\u043e instead of \u0441:<\/p>\n There are also pronouns that include a vowel (\u0433\u043b\u0430\u0301\u0441\u043d\u044b\u0439<\/strong>) and form a complete syllable (\u0441\u043b\u043e\u0433<\/strong>). They include:<\/p>\n Normally, these vowels are not stressed and are pronounced together with the word that follows. They are referred to as proclitics<\/a> (\u043f\u0440\u043e\u043a\u043b\u0438\u0301\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/strong>).<\/p>\n Photo by Mikhail Vasilyev<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n Note that, in some cases, the stress may <\/em>be on the preposition; these cases are described in Russian here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Which of these cases are challenging for you? Is there a song or saying that helped you remember some of them?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you ever struggled to pronounce these odd-looking one-letter prepositions in Russian? Especially if that letter was a consonant? The trick is to stop enunciating them and to attach them to the word that follows. Let’s break it down case by case. One-Consonant Pronouns Many Russian prepositions (\u043f\u0440\u0435\u0434\u043b\u043e\u0301\u0433\u0438) only have one letter, a consonant at…<\/p>\nOne-Consonant Pronouns<\/h2>\n
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Additional Sounds<\/h2>\n
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![\"Palace](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/versailles-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Stephanie LeBlanc<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\n
One-Syllable Pronouns<\/h2>\n
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![\"cat](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/cat-1024x640.jpg\")
![\"cat](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/04\/cat-350x219.jpg\")