I hope my last post about frequently made mistakes did not scare anyone from learning Russian. Not only are mistakes a natural part of the learning process, but native speakers make them, too! In fact there are several points of the Russian language that native speakers struggle with so much that they can’t always tell what is right.<\/p>\n
As in many other languages, certain verbs go with certain nouns in Russian. This is known as collocation<\/a> and is the source of pain for many a learner. You are supposed to say \u043d\u0430\u0434\u0435\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c<\/strong> (to put on) with a clothes item, and \u043e\u0434\u0435\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c<\/strong> (to dress) with a person, but you will hear \u043e\u0434\u0435\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c<\/strong> with a clothes item much more often.<\/p>\n Perhaps you have a hard time determining the gender of certain loanwords in Russian (e.g., \u043a\u0435\u043d\u0433\u0443\u0440\u0443<\/span><\/strong> – m, \u043a\u0430\u043d\u0430\u043f\u0435<\/span><\/strong> – neuter). You may be surprised to know that one of the most common Russian words – \u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0444\u0435<\/strong> – is routinely “placed” in the neuter gender (instead of the masculine). This usage is so pervasive that some dictionaries have already allowed it<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gender for Russian words is pretty straightforward, except when it comes to words ending in a soft sign. How can you explain that \u0444\u043e\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044c<\/strong> is feminine, while \u0442\u044e\u043b\u044c<\/strong> is masculine? Russians struggle with the same problem, so don’t feel bad.<\/p>\n Russian numbers is notoriously difficult to decline<\/a>, to the point where TV announcers often get them wrong. So, don’t get upset if you can’t quite get that \u0434\u0432\u0443\u043c\u044f\u0441\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u0438 \u043f\u044f\u0442\u044c\u044e<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u0441\u044f\u0442\u044c\u044e \u0441\u0435\u043c\u044c\u044e<\/span><\/strong> (257 in the instrumental case) right!<\/p>\n There are multiple patterns of genitive plural<\/a> in Russian, and if you sometimes have a hard time deciding, you’re not alone! Russians, too, often use these forms indiscriminately or incorrectly. There are even mnemonic tricks<\/a> to remember some forms, such as “\u0427\u0435\u043c \u0434\u043b\u0438\u043d\u043d\u0435<\/span>\u0435, \u0442\u0435\u043c \u043a\u043e\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0447\u0435<\/strong>” for \u0447\u0443\u043b\u043a\u0438 and \u043d\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0438 (the longer item \u0447\u0443\u043b\u043a\u0438<\/span><\/strong> – stockings – has a shorter genitive form – \u0447\u0443\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u043a<\/strong>, while the opposite is true for \u043d\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0438<\/span><\/strong> – \u043d\u043e\u0441\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0432<\/strong> – socks).<\/p>\n What other errors did you hear Russian speakers make?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I hope my last post about frequently made mistakes did not scare anyone from learning Russian. Not only are mistakes a natural part of the learning process, but native speakers make them, too! In fact there are several points of the Russian language that native speakers struggle with so much that they can’t always tell…<\/p>\n2. Gender of foreign-origin words<\/h3>\n
3. Gender or words ending in a soft sign (-\u044c)<\/h3>\n
4. Declension of numerals<\/h3>\n
5. Genitive form of plural nouns<\/h3>\n