Russo 1

Dialogues:
Grammar:
A: Hi! How's it going?

B: What's up?
Informal vs. Formal Forms of Address
(Introduction)
No Verb To Be in the Present Tense
Russian to English: Fixed Expressions
Note: The English transcription given in square brackets below the Russian text is a very rough guide that will be used until
the entire alphabet is presented. Listen carefully to your instructor and the recordings for the exact pronunciation.
Dialogues
A.
Vra
. e?
e.
, , . ( walks away) !
, ! ?
Nina, hi! Whats up?
e . e?
Dont ask. And with you?
e.
Nothing. (Everything is pretty much OK.)
[Nichev.]
9
Nna
Yra
Whats up?
[Ne sprshivay. A u teby?]
Yra
Well, OK, see you later. (Misha walks

away) Jerk!
[Nna, privt! Chto slshno?]
Nna
Sorry, Im in a hurry. Later.
[Nu, ldno, do svidniya. (Misha walks away) Nakhl!]
Yra
So-so.
, e . .
Good. And with you? (How about you?)
[Izvin, mne nkogda. Pok.]
Vra
Misha, hi! Hows it going? (How are

things?)
[Tk seb.]
Msha
, ! e?
[Khorosh. A u teby?]
Vra
Hi! Hows it going?
[Msha, privt! Kak del?]
Msha
! ?
, e . .
Sorry, Im in a hurry. Later.

10
[Nu, ldno, do svidniya. (Nina walks away) Nakhlka!]
1-1
Well, all right, see you later. (Nina walks

away) Jerk!
1-
Vocabulary
[privt]
hi (used only with friends and family)
e?
[kak del?] two words

one stress
hows it going? how are things?
[khorosh]
good; well
e?
[a u teby?]
and you? (lit: and by you?)
[tk sebe] two words

one stress
so-so (this is somewhat negative)
[izvin]
excuse (me); pardon (me); sorry
[mne nkogda]
Im in a hurry; I have to run (lit: to me there is no time)
[pok]
(see you) later
[nu]
well...
[ldno]
OK, all right (sign of agreement)
[do svidniya] two

words one stress
good-bye; see you later
[nakhl]
rude person who does not think of others; jerk (male)
[chto slshno? ]
whats up?; whats new? (lit.: what is audible?)
[ne sprshivay] two

words one stress
dont ask
[nichev]
nothing ( also has an adverbial meaning not bad, OK.)
10
[nakhlka]
female version of
1-2
1-
(Numbers following words and phrases below refer to lines in dialogue)
1.
Informal vs. Formal Forms of Address (Introduction)

! (1)
uses hi, an informal greeting, with her friend . Russian, like many languages, distinguishes
between formal and informal forms of address. Saying to your professor would roughly be the same as
saying Hey, man, whats up?, (not too advisable). We will see an example of a formal form of address in Lesson
3. Until then, speak Russian only to your friends.
1.
Russian Has No Verb To Be in the Present Tense

(1); (6)
Note that in e?, the Russian equivalent of the question Hows it going?, there is no verb; the sentence
consists of just = how and e = things; matters. In Russian the present tense of the verb be (am, are, is) is
not expressed. Some other examples:
how
1
Are
?
things?
What
Is
?
audible (Whats new?)
Misha
Is
.
(a) jerk.
This explains why you may hear Russian speaking English say, I teacher. My husband engineer.
The (zero) symbol will be used throughout this book to indicate the absence of a word or ending.
1-3
1-
1.
Russian to English: Fixed Expressions

so-so (3); good-bye (5)
The dialogues and texts in this book contain numerous fixed expressions. In some cases the meaning of the
phrase can be predicted more or less from the sum of the parts, e.g., = until + = meeting (which is
similar to the French au revoir). In other cases no such addition is possible, e.g., = so; thus + e = to
oneself, yet together means so-so, not great.
Below are expressions from the dialogues roughly in order of predictability of meaning:
Predictable
what
Somewhat
predictable
until
Not predictable
by
to me
so
+
+
+
+
+
?
audible
meeting
?
you
there is no time
self
whats up?
good-bye
with you?
Im in a hurry
so-so
Just be aware that (obviously!) learning Russian is not simply a matter of translating English words into Russian
words and vice versa.
Actually, Russian is not that different from English, and in many cases a literal word for word translation will
result in a grammatical sentence but not always. We will be sure to alert you in such cases.
NOTE ON CHAPTER ONE:

DONT PANIC! Within the next two weeks you will be presented with no small amount of
material. But here are some things to bear in mind during this time:
The main goal of Chapter One is to master the Russian alphabet and sound system. The
test for Chapter One will be almost exclusively on this.
Practice everything you hear out loud in order to get accustomed to the sounds and
intonation of the Russian language. By doing this, all the rules on spelling and sounds,
which need to be memorized at the beginning, will soon become second nature.
We also wanted to include some useful words and expressions (like asking how things are
going or saying that someone is a jerk) and at least some basic grammatical concepts just
to get you started. If theres anything you dont understand about grammar, rest assured
that it will be reviewed and practiced thoroughly in later chapters.
Dont give up! If you can get past Chapter One, you can accomplish anything in this class
and in life.
1-4
Dialogue:
Hi! How's it going?
Spelling/Sounds: The Russian alphabet - Part I
Group I: Letters that look and sound (roughly)
the same as English
Group II: Letters that look like English but
represent a different sound
Group III: Letters that look different than English
The following dialogue is basically the same as Dialogue A in Lesson 1, with three new words in lines 1, 2 and 3. Be sure to
listen to the recording very carefully.
Dialogue
! ?
Vera
:
! e?
Great! How about you?
e.
Not bad.
[Neplkho].
4
Misha
:
Hi, Misha! Hows it going?
[Prekrasno!. A u teby?]
Vera
:
, ! e?
[Zdrstvuy, Msha! Kak del?]
Misha
:
Hi! Hows it going?
, e . .
Sorry, Im in a hurry (= I have no time).

Later

5
Vera
[Nu, ldno, do svidniya. (Msha walks away) Nakhl!]
Well, OK, see you later. (Msha walks

away) Jerk!
Vocabulary
[zdrstvuy] (first [v] is silent)
hi (not quite as informal as [privt])
[prekrsno]
great; superb(ly)
[neplkho]
not bad
2-1
2-
2.
Spelling / Sounds
The Russian lphabet - Part I
All of the following descriptions of Russian pronunciation are approximations. First and foremost, listen
carefully to your instructors in class, and, perhaps more importantly, the speakers on the recordings, and do your
best to imitate them.
2..1 Group 1: Letters that look and sound (roughly) the same as English
Listen and repeat:
RUSSIAN LETTER APPROXIMATE SOUND
a as in father
/e
e as in bed
ye as in yes
(Well explain later how to predict which to use)
k as in skin
m as in mom
o as in born
t as in stop (with the tongue against the upper teeth)
Now some real words (dont worry about the meanings, though a few are cognates):
(act), (there), (who), e (by whom), (by that), (male cat), (checkmate), (tome)
TWO IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. Unstressed vowels: When / and / are not stressed, their pronunciation gets reduced
to the sound roughly the same as the last sound in sofa. Unstressed / gets reduced to the
ee in keep, but slightly shorter. More details on vowel reduction in Lesson 9.
2. Word-Initial E/: At the beginning of the word (and a few other places) / is pronounced
[ye] as in yet. Much more on this later.
Listen and repeat (keeping in mind the above two notes):
(mom), (coma), ([of a] male cat), (I eat), e ([in a] volume), e ([about] electric
current), e ([about] mother), (tomato), (theme) (comet)
2-2
Spelling / Sounds
Lesson 2
2..2 Group 2: Letters that look like English but represent a different sound
Listen and repeat:
v as in victory
n as in no (tongue against the upper teeth)
r as in run (but trilled)
s as in set (also: as in ice)
u as in lunatic
no exact English equivalent (roughly ch as is Bach or Scottish Loch)
Listen and repeat:

/
(here is), (century), (cotton padding), ([to] you), (eyelid), (veto),
(ate the apple)
/
(no), (Anna - as in Anna Karenina), (window), (vein or Vienna), (she/it),
(ton), (the state), (the Neva river in St. Petersburg)
/
(river), (the city), (Vera, which means faith), (except), (mouth),
(novel; romance), (rocket), (thief)
/
(secret), (juice), (nose), (Moscow), (Senate), (north),
(as in Karl), (forty), (Soviet; advisory council)
/
(vinegar), (duck), (coward), (arm), (hurrah), (here), (flour),
(torture), (course)
/
(choir), (ear), (tail), (dry), (Texas), (monk), (moss),
(hut), (horse collar) (horseradish - also used as a euphemism, similar to fudge! in
English)
Do Oral Exercise 1 in the Homework (page 2-6) now!

2-3
2-
Spelling / Sounds
2..3 Group 3: Letters that look different than English (Part 1 today; the rest tomorrow)
Listen and repeat:
b as in bed
g as in gun
v as in victory (only in the combinations - / -, which is a
grammatical ending. We saw this in .)
d as in day (with the tongue against upper teeth)
1) o as in born
2) yo as in your
(Well explain later how to predict which to use.)
zh as in Zhivago (also: s as in pleasure)
z as in zoo
i as in machine
y as in toy
l as in leave
p as in spin
Listen and repeat:
/
(brother, not brat, though depending on your brother...), (bomb), (tobacco), (Bach),
(marriage; junk), (banana), (bar place to drink), (dog), (the state)
/
(sin), (thunder), (gene), (lip), (rude), (leg/foot), (the composer),
(the country), (the state), (stew)
Pronounced as [v] in the combinations - / - at the end of a word:
(him/his), ([of] that), ([of] loud), ([of] concrete-adj.), (him)
/
(house; building), (fashion; style), (Eves partner), (drama), (the country),
(the city), (bottom), (tree), (doctor), (water), (two),
2-4
Spelling / Sounds
Lesson 2
/ (this letter is always stressed in the word)

(carried), ([to] aunt), ([of] sisters), (wiped off), (is lying), , (Goethe),
(carpet), (oats), (electrician), (screwdriver)
Examples with a preceding [y] sound:
(my), (your), (ones own), (her)
/
(wife), (beetle), (Geneva), ([of] wives), (heat), (horror), (already),
(victim), ([subway] token), (genre), (toad), (important)
/
(zebra), (goat), (the state) (zone), (law), (curtain), (Cossack),
(Hudson), (star), (umbrella)
/
(the country), (the country), (the state), (vampire), (the animal),
(version), (whiskey), (the country), (thread), (not a crook)
/
(iodine), (York), (Yokohama), (yoga), (my), (May), (cowboy),
(Russian), (40th US president), (Kuwait), (the city)
/
(lemon), (42nd US president), (Vladimir, not John), (Uncle Joe),
(Christmas tree), (summer), (magazine), (soldier), (Sweet Home),
(the state)
/
(Peter), (corpse), (the artist), (Plato), (the writer, author of
), (point), (psycho), (truth; the newspaper), (the country), (Easter)
RUSSIAN~STAR WARS CONNECTION?

Some people with way too much time on their hands have noticed some secret connections
between Russian and several Star Wars characters:
The robot C3PO is derived from (

), the Russian spelling of USSR though this doesnt explain the O at the
end.
Chewbacca is a variant of , the Russian word for dog.
Jabba (the Hutt) is a variant of , the Russian word for toad.
And, of course, theres the whole evil empire theme. Sorry, no Russian~Jar Jar connection,
that we know of.
Do Oral Exercise 2 in the Homework now!
2-5
2-
Exercise 1

Circle the word you hear:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Exercise 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
2-6
2-
Exercise 3
Write the English equivalents to the following Russian words. (Hint many are
proper nouns):
1.
_____________________________
2. e
_____________________________
3.
_____________________________
4.
_____________________________
5.
_____________________________
6.
_____________________________
7. e
_____________________________
8. _____________________________
9.
_____________________________
10. A
_____________________________
11.
_____________________________
12.
_____________________________
13.
_____________________________
14. _____________________________
15.
_____________________________
16.
_____________________________
17.
_____________________________
18.
_____________________________
20.
_____________________________
19. _____________________________
2-7
Dialogues: A: Leave me alone; : Get lost!

Spelling/Sounds: The Russian Alphabet - Part II
- Group IV: The rest of the letters
Grammar:
Dictionary forms of words
No articles in Russian
Informal vs. Formal forms of address (contd)
Stating/asking names
Gender (Introduction)
Russian first names
Dialogues

Leave me alone
In a bar
e. e . ?
Hello. My name is Lena. Whats your name?
[Zdrstvuyte. Meny zovut Lna. A kak vas zovt?]

e:
e e. ( leaves)
Leave me alone. ( leaves)
[Otstnte ot meny]
:
(walks up to e)
(Walks up to Seryzha) [Kto to? On krasvaya

5
. e ?
(Walks up to )
Whos that? Shes a attractive young woman.
Whats her name?
dvushka. Kak yey zovt?]

e:
? !?
Good looking? Are you joking!?
[Krasvaya? Ti shtish!?]
Get lost!

In a bar
e. e . ? Hello. My name is Borya. Whats your
[Zdrstvuyte. Meny zovt Brya. kak vas zovt?] name?
e e. ( leaves)
[Otstnte ot meny]
Get lost! ( leaves)
(walks up to ) ?
(walks up to Lra) [Kto to? On krasviy
. e ?
pren. Kak yev zovt?]
(Walks up to )
Whos that? Hes an attractive guy. Whats
his name?
? !?
[Krasviy? Ti shtish?]
Good looking? Are you joking!?
10
11
3-1
3-
Spelling / Sounds
Vocabulary
[v bre]
in a/the bar
st
[zdrstvuyte] (1 is silent)
Hello (Formal)
e + (first name)
[meny zovt]
My name is (lit.: they call me )
? (Formal)
[kak vas zovt? ]
e ? (Informal)
[kak teby zovt? ]
e e!
[otstnte ot meny]
Leave me alone! (lit.: stand away from me)
[kto to?]
Whos that/this?
[on]
she
[dovlno]
quite, rather, pretty (adv.)
[krasvaya]
attractive; good-looking (feminine)*
[dvushka]
girl; young woman
e ?
[kak yey zovt? ]
Whats her name? (lit.: how do they call her?)
[ti shtish? ]
are you joking? (Informal)
[otvyazhs]
get lost! (This is very rude.)
[on]
he
10
[krasviy]
attractive; good-looking (masculine)*
10
[pren]
guy
10
e ?
[kak yev zovt] (in this word

is pronounced [v])
Whats his name? (lit.: how do they call him?)
Whats your name? (lit.: how do they call you?)
*Well discuss the question of grammatical gender at length later in the course.
3-2
Spelling / Sounds
3.
Lesson 3
The Russian Alphabet - Part II
3..1 Group 4: The rest of the letters (all look different than English)
Listen and repeat:
f as in fan
ts as in its (also: zz as in pizza)
ch as in cheap (but with the tongue higher and more forward. Try to
smile when pronouncing )
sh as in shoot (but farther back in the mouth. Imitate the sound of a

cappuccino maker) try to stick out your chin as if daring someone to
hit you
also sh as in fresh sherbet, (this consonant is longer and higher in the

mouth than ) Try to smile when pronouncing . ( vs. will be
contrasted in the next lesson.)
( )
( )
the ugly vowel sound: The closest English sound is the i in bit. Try to
pronounce [u] as in lunatic, but keep your lips unrounded. Best advice:
Listen closely to the recording!
Soft sign (not a separate sound. More on this letter in Lesson 5)
e as in bet (this letter does not normally appear in native Russian

words)
1) u as in tune
2) yu as in Yuma (well explain later how to predict which to use)
Hard sign (not a separate sound. More on this letter in Lesson 5)
1) a as in father
2) ya as in yacht (well explain later how to predict which to use)
Listen and repeat:

/
(telephone; telephone number), (factory), (torch), (physics),
(photographer), (pound [weight]), (the state either syllable can be
stressed), (Germany or Kentucky), (Flaubert), ($100)
3-3
3-
Spelling / Sounds
/
(price), (center), (cynic), (quote), (icepick in head),
(zinc), (color), (cement), (circus), (process; trial)
/
(the city), (devil; damn it!), (summer house), (hour), (tea),
(canoe), (receipt), (turtle), (the country), (miracle)
/
(driver), (Chinese city), (Bill to his friends), (shock), ,
(boss), (closet), (school), (chance), (scarf), (hockey puck; also
used to encourage sports team: Lets go!!)
/
(cabbage soup), (cheek), (pike [fish]), (brush), (snapping sound),
(shield), (ticklish), (still; yet), (I will forgive)
/ (Listen carefully to this ugly vowel sound)
(you), (we), (you), (white), (smoke), (hole), (bald),
(ski), (torture), (soap), (fish), ([he] opened), (cheese),
/ (As mentioned above, this letter does not normally appear in native Russian words)
(element), (echo), (emigrant), (test), (expert),
(electricity), (economics), ([movie] screen), (Tom to
his friends), (the city in Canada) (happy ending)
/
(subject; plot), (turban), (sense of smell), (nuance),
([Broadway] musical), (backpack), (shot glass), (people), (bureau),
(I love)
(Jupiter), (my), (hope you have a sense of ), (anniversary),
(lawyer), (Jurrasic)
/
(beside), (pulling), (nanny), (aunt), (uncle), (time),
(name), (village)
(Yankee), (army), (apple), (clearly), (England),
(biology), (my), (Russia)
Do Oral Exercise 1 in the Homework now!
3-4
Grammar
3.
Lesson 3
The Dictionary Form of Words

(1)
If you look in a Russian dictionary you wont find a word e. Instead youll find bar, which is the
dictionary form. The ending changes depending on the function the word performs in the sentence. In this case
the ending -e indicates location, after the preposition in. For now, just memorize e together. Were going
to spend practically the rest of the year studying the various forms nouns (adjectives, and pronouns) take
depending on their function.
3.
No Articles (A/n, The) in Russian

(1)
The two Russian words are translated by three English words in a bar. In a different context, it could very
well mean in the bar. Russian does not have grammatical articles (a/n, the), which is why you may hear a
Russian say Where is car? and other assorted phrases lacking articles. (Actually, learning to use articles is very
difficult, so dont make fun of foreigners.)
3.
Informal vs. Formal Forms of Address (Contd))

vs. (2)
In Lesson 1 the friends greet each other with hi and in Lesson 2 with , which also is
translated as hi. In this lessons dialogues, and say e hello to (not very sympathetic)
strangers. Russian, like many other European languages (French, Spanish, Italian, German, Czech, Polish, etc.)
distinguishes between informal and formal forms of address.
Use informal forms of address (, ) when speaking to friends, classmates, relatives, animals,
God, and children (roughly) under the age of 13-14 (puberty). For everyone else (professors, unfamiliar persons
over age 13-14) use formal forms of address (e). Using the wrong form (especially the informal
with a professor or other adult) can be a real faux pas.
In fact, there is quite a large variation among Russians in their choice of informal vs. formal forms. Some adults
address (even long time) friends with the formal (especially if the relationship is professional), while other people
use the informal with complete strangers (drunks especially like to do this). (When tells to get lost,
she uses the informal form in order to really diss him.)
3-5
3-
3.
Stating / Asking Names

; ? (2, 7)
Here we see another example of a fixed expression, and another example of how important it is not to translate
phrases word for word. Literally, these two phrases break down as follows:
/ /
Me / Her / Him
/ / /
How
you (Frml/Infrml) / her / him
(they) call
Sasha.
(they) call?
My / Her / His name is Sasha.
Whats your / her / his name?
If youve studied Spanish or French or German or Italian (or just about any other language) youre probably
already aware that this very common statement/question often cannot be translated literally into English.
When asking your classmates their names (which youll be doing a lot in the next few days), use the informal
form: K e ?
Remember, the normal word for what is , which we saw previously. It is only in this fixed expression (and a
few others) that what is translated as .
Form questions and give answers:
Example:
you (informal) /
her /
? .
? .
1. you (formal) /
2. him /
3. you (informal) /
4. her /
5. him /
6. you (informal) /
7. her /
8. you (formal) /
3-6
Grammar
3.
Lesson 3
Russian First Names
Pick out a Russian first name for yourself (as well as 2 - 3 back-ups in case someone steals your
name before you can claim it). Youll address each other using the diminutive.
MALE NAMES
FEMALE NAMES
Full Name
Common
Diminutive(s)
Approximate
Meaning
Full Name
Common
Diminutive(s)
Approximate
Meaning
defending men
defending men
defender
white
east
sublime (unattested)
brave
resurection
flower (unattested)
favor; grace
warrior
flower (unattested)
strong; healthy
(same as full name)
doctor
strong; heatlhy
(same as full name)
faith
ruler
bring victory
victor
strong; healthy
rule with greatness
foreign
rule with glory
victor
ruler of all
calm
great glory
possess good
noble
noble
farmer
far off (unattested)
keep vigil
light; torch
continued
MALE NAMES
FEMALE NAMES
Full Name
Common
Diminutive(s)
Approximate
Meaning
Full Name
Common
Diminutive(s)
Approximate
Meaning
God is my judge
oath of God
plenty from the land
(same as full name)
Jehovah is gracious
noble
of Zeus
Jehova is gracious
(same as full name)
life
God is Jehova
(unattested)
constant
peace
lion
(same as full name)
ruler; queen
3-7
3-
appearance of a lion
hospitable
who is like God?
sea gull (unattested)
(same as full name)
victor
Lydia (region in
Asia Minor)
victor
lily
small; humble
love
rock
favor of the people
rose
pearl
Roman
(same as full name)
marine
servant (unattested)
bitter (unattested)
crown
(same as full name)
mistress of the house
become glorious
hope
gift of God
native
same as
(same as full name)
(unattested)
hold the heel
(same as full name)
Ukrainian form of
hospitable
prosperous; happy
Apollo
easy; relaxed
light; bright
wise
date palm tree
(unattested)
downy-bearded
(unattested)youthful
3-8
3-
Exercise 1

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Exercise 2
List the names in the order they are read just write the number next to the
name. Not all names will be read:
(first man in space)
3-9
3-
Exercise 3
Give the English equivalent.
1.
____________________________
2.
____________________________
3.
____________________________
4.
____________________________
5. e
____________________________
6. e
____________________________
7.
____________________________
8. - ____________________________
9.
____________________________
10.
____________________________
11.
____________________________
12.
____________________________
13. ee
____________________________
14.
____________________________
Exercise 4
Indicate how would address the following people:
your best friend
your Russian teacher

a clerk at the post office
your friends younger brother
a cop who stopped you for speeding
your classmates

3-10
Dialogues:
A: Thats our cat

: That's a tree!
Grammar:
Frozen constructions
Word order in Russian (Introduction)
Spelling/Sounds: The Russian alphabet
Dialogues
Thats our cat
and his wife (who does not speak) are looking at a . walks up to them.
:
What is that?
Its a photograph.
? ?
Whos that? Is that you?
e, e . . a. No, thats not me. Thats our cat. Her name is

Murka (Purrer).
, . ? ?
Oh, Im really sorry. And whos this? Is this

your mother?
e, e . e.
No, thats not my mother. Thats my wife.
, , ! ?
Oh, Im really sorry! And is this your son?
e, ! !
.
No, thats not our son. Thats our dog! Her

name is Belka (Whitey).
Thats a tree
and her husband (who does not speak) are looking at a . walks up to them.
:
10
What is that?
11
Its a photograph.
12
e?
Is that your sister?
13
14
e, e e. . No, thats not my sister. Thats my husband.

His name is Kolya.
.
15
. ? ?
Oh, Im sorry. And whos that? Is that your

brother?
16
17
e, e . .
.
No, thats not my brother. Thats our daughter.

Her name is Lyuba.
18
, ! ?
Oh, Im really sorry! And is this your father?
19
e, e ! !
No, thats not my father! Thats a tree!
4-1
4-
Lesson 4
1
1
2
2
3
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
6
6
7
7
8
8
12
13
13
15
15
16
18
19
?
[X] (person or thing)
e
e [X] (person or thing)
a
( is a male cat)
!
Vocabulary
what
whats this/that?; what are those?
this/that/it is (a)[X]
photograph
you (informal singular)
no
this isnt/thats not/these are not [X]
I (or me as in Its me)
our (feminine)
cat
oh!
your (feminine informal goes with )
mother (Russians often say and it doesnt sound sappy)
my (feminine)
wife
your (masculine formal goes with since is addressing two people)
son
our (masculine)
dog (Chewbacca from Star Wars is supposedly related to this word)
sister
my (masculine)
husband
your (masculine informal goes with )
brother (just think of brat)
daughter
father (Russians often say and it doesnt sound sappy)
tree
4-2
4.
Lesson 4
Frozen ' Constructions

? (e) X (person / thing)
By now weve seen that some words change form depending on gender:
MASCULINE
FEMININE
Nouns:
(Lessons 1-2)
Adjectives:
(Lesson 3)
Possessives:
, , ,
, , ,
(Lesson 4)
In Lessons 3 and 4, weve seen several constructions containing the word , which is roughly equivalent to
that/this/it/these (depending on the context), and which never changes in form. These constructions, while
very common, can be quite tricky. Its best to memorize a few patterns and there really arent that many. Here
are the ones weve seen so far. (We have varied the English translation this/that/it, though, given the correct
context, all three are possible.)
QUESTION
POSSIBLE RESPONSES
Who is this?
Its me.
This is Sasha.
Thats (my) father.
What is that?
Thats a cat.
Its a photo.
Its a bar.
&
, .
&
, .
Is that your bother?
?
Is this a tree?
Yes, thats my brother.

Yes, this is a tree.
'
e, e , .
'
e, e , .
No, its not my brother, its my mother.

No, thats not a tree, thats Zhenya.
Well refer to this form as frozen . (Makes a nice dessert.)
Answer the question based on the prompt provided. Answer yes/no questions with no and
then say who/what the person/thing is :
Example:
? ( e)
? ( )
e.
e, e , .
1. ? ( )
2. ? ()
3. ? ( )
4. ? ()
5. ? ()
6. ? ( e)
7. ? ( )
8. ? ()
9. ? ()
10. ? ( )
11. ? ()
12. ? ()
4-3
4-
Lesson 4
Note: I / me is not capitalized in Russian (unless, of course, its at the beginning of a

sentence):
.
Its me.
e , .
Thats not me, thats my brother.
e!
Im a good-looking guy!
Remember, Russians are very humble (except for the person who uttered the last example), so theres no
need to capitalize I.
4.
Word Order in Russian (Introduction)

? vs. ?
Note that for variety, and , having gotten fed up with asking ? change the word order to
? with no real change in meaning. Word order in Russian is much more flexible than in English. We wont
see why this is so until Chapter 3, so for now just take our word on this.
More oral practice

(Todays lesson has less oral practice because of a rather large writing assignment.)
Try to say the word before it is pronounced. You may notice that several of the vowels get
reduced. Well cover this is greater detail in a few lessons. For now do your best to imitate the
pronunciation of your instructor and the speakers on the recording. (Words will be read from left
to right.)
4-4
4-
4.
- The Russian Alphabet (in the official order)
Repeat the names of the letters. Note that the italicized letters , , are quite different from their nonitalicized forms.
Letter

Italic

Name of letter
English equivalent
a as in father
b
v
g (v)
d
/ ye
o / yo
zh as in Zhivago
z
i as in machine
y as in yes
k
l
m
n
o as in born
p
r (trilled)
s
t
u as in lunatic
f
(ch as in Bach)
ts as in its
ch as in cheap
sh as in shoot

()
4-5
(back in mouth)
sh as in fresh sheets
(long & forward in mouth)
hard sign (see Lesson 5)

i in bit
soft sign (see Lesson 5)
e as in bet
u / yu
a / ya
4-
Writing Russian For Class
"
Exercise 1
Copy each letter 4-5 times. And be sure to pay attention to the notes!
Note: both and must start with a hook
4-6
Note: and start at the top, finish at the bottom!
4-7
Note: touch the bottom line in all 3 places
4-
No capital - never at the beginning of a word
No capital - never at the beginning of a word. Note: Do not close up the middle of the first part, like a 6
No capital - never at the beginning of a word
"
Exercise 2
Copy the following words and phrases:
(lemon)
(the writer)
(the composer)
(write in your name).
check this out: (you deprive)
4-8
Dialogues: A: Hes a lawyer; : Shes a doctor

Grammar: Informal vs. Formal forms of address (contd)
Nouns denoting people that dont change
with gender
Personal pronouns
Spelling/Sounds: The basic sounds of Russian
- Hard vs. soft
- What is a basic sound?
- Paired consonants: 1 letter for 2 basic sounds
- Vowels: 2 letters for 1 basic sound
- The soft sign
Dialogues
Hes a lawyer
(Still looking at the )

:
. , .
All right (= OK). So thats you?
2
3
, . .
e. .
Yes, thats me. And thats my younger brother

Grisha. He lives in Atlanta. Hes a lawyer.
e?
And those are your parents?
5
6
. . , Yes. Thats my father. His name is Vadim Son . . of-Peter*, and thats my mother. Her name is
-e, e.
Galina Daughterof-Aleksandr*. They live in
New York, in Queens.

*(Well explain these son-of / daughter-of forms in an upcoming lesson.)
Shes a doctor
(Still looking at the )

:
. , ?
All right. So, thats you and your husband?
. .
Yes. We were in Moscow.
10
e?
And thats your sister?
11
12
. e .
e. .
Yes. Thats my older sister Ira. She lives in

Washington. Shes a doctor.
Vocabulary
good, well, OK, all right (indicates speaker understands)
so (lit.: that means )
yes
younger (masculine)
lawyer
he/she lives
your (informal plural)
parents (always plural in Russian)
they
they live
5-1
5-
Grammar
you (formal singular or plural)
and
were (pl; more on the Past Tense of be in 10.IV)
Moscow
11
older (Fem)
12
doctor
5.
Informal vs. Formal Forms of Address (cont'd)

vs. (1, 6)
addresses with , the informal 2nd person singular, while uses the formal with , which
means that he is not on close terms with her. Only is used when addressing more than one person, regardless
of formality. So, even when talking to your two best friends, you must use . Also note the corresponding
differences in possessive forms and in the name formula:
SINGULAR
Informal
you
your (masculine)
your (feminine)
you (plural)
Whats your name?
PLURAL
Formal
e ?
Informal & Formal
Well discuss the endings of the possessive forms a little later in the chapter.
5.
Nouns Denoting People That Dont Change With Gender

(11)
In Lesson 1, we saw two words for jerk ( masculine, - feminine), depending on the gender of the
jerk. Not all such nouns distinguish gender. Respected professions and titles tend not to have separate forms
for masculine and feminine, and normally end in a consonant, which is grammatically masculine:
He
She
is a doctor.
He
She
is a professor.

e.
Pasha
Masha
My brother
My sister
5-2
is a lawyer.
is a physicist.
Grammar
5.
Lesson 5
Personal Pronouns
Here are the personal pronouns:
Listen and repeat:
SINGULAR
PLURAL
1st pers.
(lower case!)
we
2nd pers.
you (informal)
you (Formal)
3rd pers.
he/it
it
she/it*
they
* Throughout the book we will use the order Masculine-Neuter-Feminine strictly for grammatical reasons.
Translate into Russian:
1. They live in Atlanta.
2. He is a rather good-looking guy.
3. I am a lawyer.
4. She is a doctor.
5. Are you (informal) joking?
6. We were in Washington.
7. Where is it (the tree)?
8. Were you (plural) in Moscow?
5-3
5-
5.
Spelling / Sounds
The Basic Sounds of Russian
This is a very important section. Understanding how the basic sounds of Russian are represented in the spelling system will
help you immensely throughout the rest of the course. Please take your time going through these explanations. If there is
anything that is the slightest bit unclear, jot it down and ask about it in class. Even if youre not entirely sure what it is that
you dont understand, just write a big ? next to that section and ask about it. Dont be shy; if something is even a bit unclear
to you, we can guarantee that you are not alone.
5..1 Hard vs. Soft Consonants

In the presentation of the alphabet, for each consonant we gave just one sound: = [b], = [d], etc. Actually,
this is not the full picture. For twelve consonant letters (, , , , , , , , , , , ) there are two basic
pronunciations:
1. SOFT (or FRONTED or PALATALIZED) consonants When pronouncing a soft (or palatalized)
consonant, you should arch the forward/middle part of your tongue (right behind the tip, but not the tip itself)
toward the part of the palate that is located about 1-2 inches behind your front teeth (see diagram). (This is
sometimes referred to as secondary articulation: in addition to the regular position of the tongue/teeth/lips, the
front/mid part of the tongue is raised and moved forward.)
2. HARD (or PLAIN or NON-PALATALIZED) consonants When pronouncing a hard (or plain) consonant,
the foward/middle part of the tongue is not raised.
In the diagram below, the shaded area shows the position of the tongue when pronouncing hard (as in ),
while the dotted line shows the position of tongue when pronouncing soft (as in ). Note that the tip of
tongue is in the same position for both sounds; it is the position of the forward/middle of the tongue that creates
the softness.
Position of Tongue for Hard (Shaded) Versus Soft (Dotted Line)
Palate
5..1
The Smile of Palatalization
A neat tip: When pronouncing soft consonants, it may help if you smile. Smiling helps to raise the
tongue into the proper position.
5-4
Spelling / Sounds
Lesson 5
Were going to be using a special notation to represent the basic sounds or words. To represent a soft consonant
well write the letter followed by a raised soft sign ; hard consonants have no :
hard [l]
soft [l]
hard [b]
soft [b]
hard [d]
soft [d]
hard [r]
soft [r]
There is a reason for this choice of notation: when a soft consonant is not immediately followed by a vowel (i.e. at
the end of the word or before another consonant) you actually do write after the consonant: , e
Below well discuss how to spell soft consonant followed by vowel.
5..2 What is a Basic Sound?

By basic sound we mean that (hard [l]) is a distinct, unique sound, which is as different from (soft [l]),
another basic sound, as it is from or , or or , (4 more basic sounds), etc. That is:
and are two completely1 distinct basic sounds (as are and , and , and , etc.)
In fact many words differ only in the quality [hard vs. soft] of a single consonant. To a Russian, became
(with ) sounds as different from steel (with ) as, say, ship does from sheep to a speaker of English.
(And as a matter of fact, many non-native speakers of English cannot hear any difference between ship and sheep,
while to a native speaker the difference is overwhelmingly obvious.)
5..3 Paired Consonants: 1 letter for 2 Basic Sounds

The 12 consonant letters (, , , , , , , , , , , ) are often called paired consonants because each
consonant represents a pair of basic sounds: hard and soft.
These 12 letters actually represent 24 basic sounds. So, when you see one of these consonants how do you know
whether to pronounce it hard or soft? The quality of the consonant (hard or soft) is indicated by the following
letter (if any). There are four things that can follow a consonant, as seen in the following chart:
What Can Follow a Consonant:

(using and as examples)
1.
2.
3.
4.
A vowel
Another consonant:
A soft sign:
Nothing (at the end of a word):
,
(see below for details about the use of )
So, if someone shows you the following word ( - where the letter following the is covered for some
reason hey, it could happen) and asks you to pronounce the third letter (), your answer should be: I cant tell.
It could be or . Uncover the next letter, if any, and Ill tell you. In order to answer this question ( or ), we
first need to look at how vowels work.
Obviously, they are not COMPLETELY different: does sound more like than it does or . Still, the point is that
they are not just variations of one sound; theyre distinct sounds.
5-5
5-
Spelling / Sounds
5..4 Vowels: 2 letters for 1 basic sound

Vowels work exactly the opposite as (paired) consonants. That is, instead of there being 1 letter for 2 basic
sounds (e.g. can represent either [] or []), there are 2 vowel letters for 1 basic sound. There are 10 vowel
letters (/, /, /, /, /) for 5 basic vowel sounds, {A}, {E}, {I}, {O}, {U}.
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE ON NOTATION: From now on, when representing a basic
vowel sound for example in noun, adjective or verb endings we will write basic vowel
sounds UPPER CASE LATIN LETTER inside curly brackets. (Basic consonant sounds will
be written with lower case Cyrillic letter ) This will really make a lot of things much easier to
understand. Trust us.
Why do you need 10 vowel letters if there are only 5 basic vowel sounds? Because each vowel letter represents
not only a basic vowel sound ({A} vs. {E} vs. {I} vs. {O} vs. {U}) but also the quality (hard or soft) of the
preceding consonant. Thus, vowel letters perform double duty. We will refer to a vowel as either hardindicating or soft-indicating. Remember, despite what you may have heard, there are no hard or soft vowels,
only hard or soft consonants.
BASIC VOWEL HARD-INDICATING

SOUND
VOWEL LETTERS
{A}
{E}
*
{I}
{O}
{U}
SOFT-INDICATING
VOWEL LETTERS
/**
* The letter is not found after consonants in native Russian words.

** The letter is written e when not stressed (and becomes indistinguishable from Soft-indicating {E}).
(Much more on this in Lesson 6.)
Lets look at examples of all the vowels after both hard and soft consonants:
Basic
sound
{A}
{E}
{I}
Following a HARD consonant

is spelled
example
+ {A}=
+ {E} =
+ {I} =
Following a SOFT consonant
as in
is spelled
example
+ {A}=
as in
e
+ {E} =
+ {I} =
{O}
+ {O} =
+ {O} =
+ {O} = e
e2
{U}
+ {U} =
+ {U} =
Well explain in Lesson 6 why the second letter of e is really {O}.
5-6
Spelling / Sounds
Lesson 5
2 IMPORTANT FACTS TO REMEMBER ABOUT BASIC SOUNDS:

1. It is very important that you dont think of, say, as plus soft {A}. It's actually soft
plus basic {A}. (This may seem a bit backwards, but its really the way things are.)
Once you have become accustomed to this notion, you will have conquered a major aspect
in the workings of the Russian sound system.
2. As youve heard on the recordings by now, the basic sound of a word very often does NOT
match its pronunciation. The main reason for this fact is the reduction of unstressed
vowels (as we mentioned in Lesson 2). This and other factors affecting pronunciation will
be covered in detail in Lessons 9 and 10.
5..5 The Soft Sign

In the previous section we saw that the hardness/softness of a consonant can be indicated by the following vowel
letter. But what if a consonant is not followed by a vowel, i.e.:
1) when a consonant is followed by another consonant; or
2) when a consonant is word-final.
In these cases, if the consonant is soft, you must use a soft sign : (refrigerator) (soft //);
(soft //). If the consonant is hard, no special letter is needed: (hard //); (hard //):3
A HARD consonant:
is spelled
before a
consonant
with no
special
letter
at end of the
word
example
+ =
at end of word
=
A SOFT consonant:
as in
is spelled
with a
example
As in
+ =
at end of word =
The hard sign , which was used before the Spelling Reform of 1918 to indicate a hard consonant at the end of a word,
is so rare today that you dont even have to worry about it. Its like that wacky cousin that everyone in the family
pretends doesnt exist. (At most well see three words throughout this whole course that have a ).
5-7
5-
Spelling / Sounds
Now lets look at some real words and see their basic sounds representions. Be sure to go through this carefully.
SPELLING
BASIC SOUNDS
SPELLING
BASIC SOUNDS
{O}{A}{A}
{O}{I}
{E}{A}
{E}{A}
(rap music)
{E}
{O}{I}{E}{I}
{I}{E}4
{I}{I}
{I}
{I}{O}
{I}{A}
{O}{U}
{E}{O}
{E} {A}
{O}{A}
{E}
(moon)
{U}{A}
{E}
{U}{A}
{I}
{A}{A}{A}
{O}{A} {E}
(believe)
{E} {E}
{A}{O}{A}
{O} {I}
{A}
Question:
This whole system seems backwards. Why are there 10 vowel letters for just 5
basic vowel sounds, and just 12 consonant letters for 24 consonant sounds?
Why not have 24 consonants letters for 24 basic consonant sounds and 5 vowel
letters for 5 basic vowel sounds?
Answer:
Excellent question. The short answer is: Youre right. Your system makes
more sense, but theres nothing anyone can do about it now.
The longer answer involves various historical changes in the language, which
you dont need to worry about.
Question:
Above you said that a vowel letter, besides representing a basic vowel sound,
indicates the quality of the preceding CONSONANT. What if the vowel is not
preceded by a consonant, say at the beginning of the word, or after a vowel?
Answer:
Another superb question. Glad to see youre paying close attention.

We wont answer this question in full yet. For now well say that Hardindicating vowels (but not Soft-indicating Vowels) at the beginning of a word
are pronounced plain, just the pure vowel sound: .
Secondly, you generally do not find a Hard-indicating vowel after another
vowel (but a vowel followed by a Soft-indicating vowel is all over the place).
The question of what happens to a consonant directly preceding a soft consonant (here, the directly precedes //) is
somewhat complex (i.e., as to whether the preceding consonant also softens even though no is written). We wont
explore this question further (this year).
5-8
Spelling / Sounds
Lesson 5
Listen carefully and repeat. When pronouncing a soft consonant, you should automatically
smile (a result of pushing your tongue forward and up). First the hard consonant will be read,
then the soft (follow from left to right - 3 consonants per row.) This is a fairly long, but VERY
IMPORTANT exercise. As we said above, the distinction between hard vs. soft consonants in
Russian is fundamental.
Listen carefully and repeat (this exercise contains mostly nonsense syllables):
Hard vs. soft consonant at the end of a word:
Now listen to these pairs of real words that differ only in the quality of one consonant:
HARD
SOFT
(checkmate; mat; swearing)
(mother)
(onion)
(trap door)
(nose)
(he carried)
(paws)
(mistake)
(he ate)
(fir tree)
(mayors)
(measures)
(he became)
(steel)
(into the hall)
(he took)
5-9
5-
Exercise 1
Circle the word you hear (Hard and soft are mixed up here, so be careful):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
"
Answer the following questions about the Russian sound system:
Exercise 2
1) Why can it be said that vowel letters in Russian perform double duty?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
2) What is the basic sound represented by the third letter in ? Explain your answer.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
5-10
5-
"
Exercise 3
1. ?
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate personal pronoun:
, ___________ .
2. ? , ________ .
3. __________ ? (Lesson 3)
4. e . __________ e.
5. .
__________ .
6. ________ ? , _________.
"
Exercise 4
Part 1: From real spelling to basic sound. What are the basic sounds in the following real words.
(Remember, before you can determine the hardness/softness of any consonant):
Examples:
{O} {O} {I} {I}

{I}
1. e
______________________________ 2.
______________________________
3. e
______________________________ 4.
______________________________
5.
______________________________ 6.
______________________________
7. e
______________________________ 8.
______________________________
9.
______________________________ 10.
______________________________
Part 2: From basic sound to real spelling. Spell the following words based on their basic sounds:
Examples:
{I}
{I}
1. {E}{A}
____________________ 2. {A}{A}{I}
____________________
3. {E}{E}{O}
____________________ 4. {I}{A}{E}
____________________
5. {O}{O}{O}
____________________ 6. {U}{I}
____________________
7. {O}{A}
____________________ 8. {O}{O}{O}
____________________
9. {U}{A}
____________________ 10. {I}{O}
____________________
5-11
Dialogues:
A: She's probably a genius

: He's probably a genius
Grammar:
Word order (contd)
Possessives
Basic negation in Russian
Location endings: - vs. - vs. no
change
Spelling/Sounds: Spelling {O} 3 ways: , ,
Dialogues
, ,
Shes probably a genius
(Still looking at )
:
1
2
. .
, e e.
3
4
e, ee. No, you mixed everything up again. Thats my

younger sister and her husband, And thats
e e . .
OK. I understand everything. Thats your

older brother and thats his wife.
(those are) their children.
e ?
6
7
e. e. Their son is an engineer. He lives in Boston.

Their daughter doesnt work. Shes a student at
. .
Where do their children live?
Princeton.
e? e e! , , . (At) Princeton? Very impressive! Shes

probably a genius.
, ,
Hes probably a genius
(Still looking at )
:
. .
e, e .
OK. I understand everything. Thats your

older sister and thats her husband
12
e, ee.
e e. .
No, you mixed up everythng up again. Thats

my younger brother and his wife. And thats
(those are) their children.
13
e ?
Where do their children live?
14
15
16
. , Their daughter is an computer programmer. She

lives in California, in San Francisco. Their son
-. e e.
e.
doesnt work. He goes to (school at) Princeton.
17
e? e e! , , . (At) Princeton? Very impressive! Hes
9
10
11
probably a genius.
Vocabulary
everything
(I) understand
his
6-1
6-
again
ee/
(you) mixed up (masc/fem) (Another past tense form note the -- in both
forms. More on this later.)
her (possessive); hers
their; theirs
children (Use only the plural for now; the singular is from a different word.)
engineer (M/F)
(s/he) works
(s/he) is a student at; goes to (school at); studies at
e e
very impressive! wow! not bad!
probably
genius
14
computer programmer (M/F)
[
6.
Word order (contd)

(1); ee (3)
Note that in Russian the direct object can come before the verb, while in English, it must follow the verb: I
understand everything. It would sound strange in Russian to put after the verb, though technically it would
not be grammatically incorrect. Generally (but not always), little words, especially pronouns, precede the verb.
We wont offer any grand theory of word order here; we just want you to pay attention to the differences between
Russian and English.
6.
Possessives
Weve already seen that the endings of , , , , etc. change depending on the ending of the noun
they are modifying ( vs. e). The 3rd person possessives (e his, e her, their) never
change, regardless of the gender or number of the noun they modify1:
MASC:
FEM:
NEUT:
PL :
e e
(armchair)
And, as well see later, regardless of the Case of the noun they modify as well.
6-2
BUT:
Grammar
Lesson 6
Transform the following phrases as shown in the example:
Example:
my sister
his father
e.
e .
1. my mother
2. her son
3. their parents
4. my husband
5. her husband
6. their son
7. our son
8. your (sg) older sister
9. his older brother
10. my dog
11. her dog
12. our (male) cat
13. our children
14. her children
15. your (pl) parents
16. your (sg) younger brother
6.
Basic Negation in Russian

e e (4)
Negation consists of putting the negative particle e in front of the word or phrase that you wish to negate. In the
most common case the structure is:
SUBJECT
e
e
VERB
e
He doesnt work.
I dont understand.
Note that theres no need for a helping verb, as in English: He does not work; I am not
sleeping.
You can also negate something besides the verb. For instance, if someone says , I understand
everything, the thing you want to negate is : [ ] I dont understand everything. Youre not
negating the fact that you dont understand, but that you dont understand everything. Simply put directly in
front of the element you wish to negate:
AFFIRMATIVE
ELEMENT BEING NEGATED
[e ].
e.
[e e].
[e2] .
e.
[e e].
NEGATIVE
[e ].
[ ] .
Negated adjectives and adverbs are often spelled as one word. Dont worry about it for now.
6-3
6-
Negate the following sentences:
Example:
e .
e e .
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. e.
10. .
11. .
12. .
6.
Location Endings on Nouns

- vs. - vs. no change
Most nouns expressing location end in -e ( e, e, -e, e). However, if

the dictionary form of a word ends in -, -, or -e, the Location ending is -:
For most nouns (those ending in a consonant, -a, or -o):

DICTIONARY FORM
LOCATION ENDING
MASC:
, -
FEM:
, (room)
NEUT:
(armchair), (place)
LOCATION FORM
, -
,
,
For nouns ending in -, -, or -:

DICTIONARY FORM
LOCATION ENDING
MASC:
(cafeteria)
FEM:
(Russia),
NEUT:
e (building)
LOCATION FORM

6-4
Grammar
Lesson 6
Finally, in the dialogue we saw - when we expect -e. The reason is:
Foreign nouns ending in -, -, -, -e do not decline

That is, they dont change their ending to reflect their function in the sentence. Therefore the dictionary form is
the only form that exists. Some others like this are:
-, , , , , e, , 3, , -
Put the following places in their Location form according to the example:
Example:
().
1. ()
2. ()
3. ()
4. ()
5. ()
6. ()
7. ()
8. ()
9. ()
10. ()
In most foreign words, a consonant preceding the Soft-indicating vowel e is not pronounced soft, i.e., it is pronounced as
if the following letter were .
6-5
6-
Spelling / Sounds
Spelling {O} 3 ways: , ,
6.
In the vowel table in Lesson 5 you may have noticed that unlike the other 4 basic vowel sounds, which have two
possible spellings ({A} = /, {E} = /e, etc.), {O} has THREE possible spellings: after hard consonants and
either or e after soft consonants. The letter appears only under stress. When not under stress, loses
the two dots, making it seemingly indistinguishable from the e used to represent soft-indicating {E}.
Question:
If you see an unstressed letter e, how can you tell whether its a softindicating {E} or an unstressed soft-indicating {O}?
Answer:
You cant sort of. You need to find an instance where the vowel is stressed.
If its really {O}, then when under stress the two dots will re-appear and
youll pronounce a real /o/ sound. If the letter is really {E}, then even when
under stress the two dots wont appear and youll pronounce a /e/ sound.
So, where could we possibly find an instance where the vowel is stressed? As youll soon discover, stress in
Russian can move around, such as between the singular and plural forms of a noun (and a few other places).
Look at e sister (sg). Is the second letter basic {E} or {O}? From this one form its impossible to tell, but
knowing that the plural is tells us that the vowel is really an {O}: {O}{I}.
What about e matters, affairs? The singular is , which indicates the second letter is {E}, otherwise it
would have been .
What if the letter e is never stressed, like you? In that case, well just say that the e in this word is basic
{E}; since the vowel is NEVER stressed, theres no proof that its really {O}.
Here are some more examples of unstressed letter e with their true identities being unmasked by showing
another form. (Some words weve seen already; dont worry about the others for now.)
BASIC {E}
Word
BASIC {O}
Proof
Word
Proof
singular is
plural is
singular is
plural is
under stress its still e
similar noun ending is
this e is never stressed
similar verb ending is
ee
these es are never stressed
ee
similar adj. ending is e
We will be sure to identify any hidden {O}s as we introduce new vocabulary.
6-6
Spelling / Sounds
6-7
Lesson 6
6-
"
Exercise 1 Answer the following questions about the spelling of {O}:
a) How does the spelling of {O} differ from that of all other basic vowel sounds?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
b) Under what circumstances can you not say for certain what the basic vowel sound is?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
c) How is it sometimes possible to remedy the problem in (b)? Provide an example.

___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
6-8
6-
"
Exercise 2 Negate the following sentences:
1. .
______________________________________________________________________________________
2. .
______________________________________________________________________________________
3. .
______________________________________________________________________________________
4. .
______________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 3 Translate into Russian:
1. Where does his sister live?

______________________________________________________________________________________
2. Our son goes to Princeton (University).
______________________________________________________________________________________
3. Their parents dont live in Atlanta, they live in Albania ().
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
4. Is that your younger brother?
______________________________________________________________________________________
6-9
Dialogue:
Grammar:
Youve got the wrong number.

Numerals from 0 -12
Phrases for the phone
Spelling/Sounds: Unpaired consonants and spelling
rules
- Mixed Hard or Soft - Depending on
following vowel: , .
- Inherently hard or soft consonants: ,
, ; , ,
- Spelling rules
- Spelling {O} after inherently hard/soft
consonants
Dialogue
e e
Youve got the wrong number
Hello?
, ?
Hello, may I speak to Dima?
e e .
Youve got (= dialed) the wrong number.
7-4-2-9-0-8-5?
Is this 7-4-2-9-0-8-5?
e, 6-1-3-5-2-0-4
No, its 6-1-3-5-2-0-4
e.
Sorry (= Excuse me).
Vocabulary
hello? (Used only when answering phone. Also note that many Russians
pronounce both s soft //.)
+ first name in {U}
may I speak to (See grammar)
the wrong (lit.: not that - masculine)
telephone number
dialed (past plural) (best to memorize the phrase: e e .)
7.
Numerals from 0 12
(There is a listening exercise for the numbers on the next page.)
0
1
7
8
e
e
(related to dual)
(related to tricycle)
10
(related to decade)
4
5
ee
11
12
7-1
7-
Spelling / Sounds
Some spelling hints / mnemonics for the numbers:
Think of ee four as an -sandwich: an between two slices of e.

All of the numbers 5 end in a .
Dont forget the two s in . Incidentally, 11-19 all end in -,
which is equivalent to -teen.
Question:
Why is it e? I expected .
Answer:
Our most sincere apologies. Just learn it.
Listen and repeat:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0
Some college level math. No calculators (this isnt the SAT).

+ ;
;
= e (actually, theres a fancy word for equals, which well ignore for now)
Example:
1. 2 + 7
5. 6 + 4
64=2
e ee e .
2. 5 1
6. 11 3
3. 8 + 3
7. 12 0
4. 12 7
8. 2 + 3
Last note on numerals: Even though weve already seen a hint of the plural (, ), you cannot simply
put a number in front of a plural noun. It will be a while before you can say things like 5 golden rings.
7-2
Grammar
7.
Lesson 7
Some Telephone Phrases
a) Answering a phone ?
You can only use when answering a phone. Otherwise, to say hello use (e) or (but
you cant use () or to answer a phone).
b) Asking for someone
/ / ?
For now its best to memorize this construction: + first name in {U}. (You can only do this with first
name that end in {A} which is why we only let you pick first names that end in {A}. Pretty sneaky.)
?
Can I speak to Zhann?
Can I speak to Inna?
Can I speak to Vitya?
Can I speak to Borya?
So, for now you cannot call and ask for , unless you call him . (Not recommended.)
c) Reciting phone numbers

Actually, the dialogue is not 100% realistic. Russians usually recite phone numbers as follows:
245-65-19: 245 (two hundred forty-five) 65 (sixty-five) 19 (nineteen)
756-90-06: 756 (seven hundred fifty-six) 90 (ninety) 06 (zero six)
There does, however, seem to be a trend among Russian immigrants to mimic the American way of pronouncing
each digit. Also, its not completely unheard of for a Russian to say each number, though its not the norm.
7-3
7-
7.
Spelling / Sounds
Unpaired Consonants and Special Spelling Rules
You may have noticed in our discussion of paired (hard vs. soft) consonants in Lesson 5 that several consonants
were not mentioned. Thats because these consonants do not have two basic pronunciations. They are either
always hard or always soft. There are two groups of unpaired consonants: 1) mixed hard and soft, and 2)
inherently hard or soft.
7..1 Mixed hard or soft (depending on the following vowel): The Velars , ,
The consonants , , are known as the velars (since they are pronounced toward the velum, in the back top of
the mouth).
In front of the vowels {A}, {O}, {U} the velars are always pronounced and written hard, that is, written with the
vowel letters a,, o,, and , respectively. Thus, you should always write only // and never //;
only // and never //; only // and never //.1
Listen and repeat:
{A}
{O}
{U}
(Canada), (cabbage), (necktie), (character), (book),

(cat), (milk), (city), (to say), (choir),
(to buy), (from where), (lip), (to stroll), (thin), (hooligan)
In front of the vowels {E} and {I} the velars are pronounced and written soft, i.e., with the vowel letters e and
, respectively. So, as expected, write only // and never //; only // and never //
Listen and repeat:
{E}
{I}
(by whom) (kefir), , , (diagram; chart), (about a/the fly)

(cinema) (Russian), (guitar), (strict), (sly), (flies)
The Velar Consonants , ,
Hard before {A}, {O} and {U}
Soft before {E} and {I}
Write and say only a, o and
Write and say only e and
The above are often given as spelling rules (see below for real spelling rules), but its really a matter of
pronunciation. Still, be careful never to spell or say any of the velars with the wrong vowel.
One final note about the velars:
The velars can never precede ; there is no , , .
1
2
This applies to native Russian words. In foreign words its possible to have just about any combination: (Goethe),
(Curacao).
Again, foreign words can violate this rule: (Lewis Carroll), (John Hancock).
7-4
Spelling / Sounds
Lesson 7
7..2 Inherently Hard or Soft Consonants

The consonants that are either inherently hard or inherently soft are the hushers (, , , ), and
.
1)
Inherently hard consonants , ,
, , and are always pronounced hard (tongue down and somewhat back) regardless of the following vowel
letter or soft sign.
2)
Inherently soft consonants , ,
, , and are always pronounced soft (tongue higher and forward) regardless of the following vowel letter.
ALWAYS HARD
ALWAYS SOFT
, ,
, ,
Question:
If is always hard, how can there be a after it, as we saw in the word
? Is this an exception?
Answer:
Very sharp eye. Here the is meaningless and actually misleading. Its
just a spelling convention (sort of like the way you have to write u after q
in English). It only happens with the second person singular ending on verbs
(and a few other places) and has no effect on pronunciation. (We have had
several native speakers who instinctively heard a hard consonant and kept
forgetting to write a soft sign after in forms like until we
threatened to take off 25 points for this mistake.)
Youll also find a after inherently soft consonants, e.g., thing.
Again, it has no effect on the pronunciation.
In basic sound representation we will write a non-raised after , ,
, , simply to indicate the correct spelling of the word: >
{U}{I}.
7..3 Spelling Rules For Inherently Hard/Soft Consonants

For historical reasons only certain vowels can be written after the inherently hard/soft consonants.
After , , , , * write only:

(never )
(never )
(never *)
(never )
*After , both and can be found. Sometimes the choice between and after is rather arbitrary,
as we can see in these two last names: (with ) versus (with ). In other places, there
are rules, which well discuss later on.
Later on well also discuss the spelling of + vowel.
7-5
7-
Spelling / Sounds
Because of the above rules, the spelling of vowels after these consonants can be downright
misleading: it means you have no choice but to write the soft-indicating vowels , after
inherently hard , , and the hard-indicating vowels , after inherently soft , .
Dont be misled - the spelling does not reflect the pronunciation. Its a common mistake of
young Russian schoolchildren (and forgetful Princeton students), who hear soft , and then
write the letter , not , not .
Examples of words with misleading spellings:
SOFT-INDICATING VOWEL AFTER INHERENTLY

HARD CONSONANT
HARD-INDICATING VOWEL AFTER INHERENTLY

SOFT CONSONANT
(it really sounds like [])
(often) (it really sounds like [])
e (pole) (it really sounds like [])
(to spare) (it really sounds like [])
(circus) (it really sounds like [])
(miracle) (it really sounds like [])
Pronounce the following words (ignoring the sometimes misleading spelling of vowels):
a) Permanently hard consonants:
(chess), (pole), (he sewed), (shock), (noise)
(toad), (token), (he lived), (fresh), (crook)
(kingdom), (center), (gyspy), (clatter), (candied fruit)
b) Inherently soft consonants:
(often), (through; within), (clean), (shoulder), (miracle)
(to spare), (cheek), (cabbage soup), (still; yet), (pike)
Finally, lets compare inherently hard with inherently soft . In addition to the place of articulation
(tongue low and back for , high and forward for ), there is also (supposed to be) a difference in length.
Generally, is about 1 times longer than . (At least thats what all the books on phonetics written by
Russians say. You can judge for yourself.)
c) Compare hard and long, soft (mostly nonsense sounds below):
/
/
/
()/
/
/
/
/
()/
/
7-6
Spelling / Sounds
7..4 Spelling {O} after inherently hard/soft consonants

Spelling {O} after the hushers can get complicated, but there is one crucial rule:
No unstressed o after , , , , . Instead write e.3
Again, foreign words can violate this rule, as seen in (unstressed o after ).
7-7
Lesson 7
7-
Exercise 1
Example:
82
4+5
Write out the following equations in Russian:
.
.
1.
9+1
________________________________________________________________________
2.
8+4
________________________________________________________________________
3.
3+2
________________________________________________________________________
4.
11 5
________________________________________________________________________
5.
70
________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 2
Answer the following questions about unpaired consonants:
a) Which consonants are mixed with respect to hardness/softness? Before which vowels are they hard? soft?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
b) What are the inherently hard consonants?

___________________________________________________________________________________________
c) What are the inherently soft consonants?

___________________________________________________________________________________________
d) Which vowel letters may appear after inherently hard/soft consonants?

___________________________________________________________________________________________
7-8
7-
Exercise 3
Cross out the impossible spellings, write the word correctly, and explain the
problem:
Examples:
(OK)
(. Cant write after )
1.
___________________ __________________________________________________________
2.
___________________ __________________________________________________________
3. ___________________ __________________________________________________________
4.
___________________ __________________________________________________________
5.
___________________ __________________________________________________________
6. e
___________________ __________________________________________________________
7.
___________________ __________________________________________________________
8.
___________________ __________________________________________________________
9.
___________________ __________________________________________________________
10.
___________________ __________________________________________________________
11.
___________________ __________________________________________________________
12.
___________________ __________________________________________________________
13. ee ___________________ __________________________________________________________

14.
___________________ __________________________________________________________
15. ___________________ __________________________________________________________

16.
___________________ __________________________________________________________
17.
___________________ __________________________________________________________
Exercise 4
Examples:
Underline the misleading spellings following the unpaired consonants:
(OK: you do expect a Soft-indicating letter after )

(because is inherently soft, but is a hard indicating vowel)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8. e
9.
10.
11.
12.
7-9
Dialogues:
A: Heres your tea

: Heres your coffee
Grammar:
The Past Tense: a first look
Russian to English (contd): Sentence
structure
Spelling/Sounds: The consonant sound [y]
Dialogues
Heres your tea
( )
(In a restaurant)
, .
Tea, please.
Here you go.
. (starts to drink)
Thank you. (starts to drink)
5
6
e . e. ? This isnt tea. This is coffee. What did I say? I

said tea. Do you understand, tea!
. ee: !
7
8
e. -.
ee.
Excuse me. I dont understand Russian very

well. Im an American.
e, .
Oh, excuse me, please.
10
e. .
Dont worry about it. Heres your tea.
11
Thank you.
12
Youre welcome.
Heres your coffee
( )
(In a restaurant)
13
e, .
Coffee, please.
14
Here you go.
15
. (starts to drink)
Thank you. (starts to drink)
16
e e. . ?
e. ee: e!
This isnt coffee. This is tea. What did I say? I

said coffee Do you understand: coffee!
19
e. -.
e.
Excuse me. I dont understand Russian very

well. Im an American.
20
e, .
Oh, excuse me please.
21
e. e.
Dont worry about it. Heres you coffee.
22
Thank you.
23
Dont mention it.
17
18
8-1
8-
Spelling / Sounds
Vocabulary
e (No at the end of the word in Russian!)
restaurant
tea
1) please
2) here you go (service worker giving something to customer)
3) youre welcome
thank you (there is no way to shorten this word, despite the best
efforts of American students)
coffee (Masc note the gender!)
said (Past Tense, Fem)
ee
(you sg-Formal / pl) understand
poorly
I understand Russian (dont leave out the hyphen!)
ee
American (noun, Masc; note: not capitalized)
10
here: dont worry about it; its nothing (lit.: nothing; cf. Lesson 1)
[noun]
(handing something to someone) heres your[noun]
16
said (Past Tense, Masc)
19
American (noun, Fem; note: not capitalized)
23
(response to ) dont mention it (lit.: There isnt anything

(to thank me) for)
[
8.
The Past Tense (a first look)

/? (5, 16)
Weve seen several instances of the Past Tense already: were (plural), ee mixed up (masculine)
For now just note two things:
1. he consonant as a past tense marker.
2. he ending changes depending gender and number (- = masculine sg, - = feminine sg, - = plural)
The Past Tense (a first look)
SINGULAR
MASCULINE (, , ): -
FEMININE (, , ): -
ee
ee
(*note: stress shifts to ending)
There will be a more in-depth explanation of the past tense in Chapter Two.
8-2
PLURAL
(, , ): -
ee
Grammar
Note that always takes a plural form of the verb, even when its Formal-singular:
You (guys) mixed up everything.
Lesson 8
You (stupid professor) mixed up everything.
Change the form of the verb based on the cue (*Careful with word order: full nouns follow the
verb, pronouns precede):
Example:
? ()
? ()
?
?
1.
? (, said to a nice policeman, , e, , e )
2.
ee. (, , , , , said to , said to )
3.
/ ee. (, , , said to e, e, )
8.
Russian to English (contd): Different Sentence Structure

- (7)
Heres a perfect example of how a word-for-word translation just wont work. Literally means I poorly understand in Russian, though its best translated as I dont understand Russian very well.
As we said before, theres no sure way to predict which phrases and sentences are directly translatable and which
arent. Just keep your eyes and ears open for this type of thing.
8-3
8-
8.
Spelling / Sounds
The Consonant Sound [y]: or Soft-indicating Vowel
Like English, Russian has the consonant sound [y] as in yes, boy, etc. There are two basic ways to spell this [y]
sound in Russian. One way is straightforward: just use the consonant letter . The other way is a bit more
complex: using (certain) soft-indicating vowels.
How the sound [y] is represented
1) Using consonant letter . is seen mostly at the end of a syllable following a vowel, in which case its
close to the y in English boy, they, but with a real tug on that y at the end. It can also appear syllableinitially in foreign words: -.
Listen and repeat the following words (Be sure to give a good tug when pronouncing ):
, , , (cowboy), (big), (bad), , , e (drink!), e,

(dance!), e (beat!), (yoga), -,
2) Using a soft-indicating vowel , e, , but not
Our previous discussion of soft-indicating vowels was limited to cases in which the vowels were immediately
preceded by a consonant. When a soft-indicating vowel , , , (but not ) is not immediately preceded by a
consonant, the consonant sound [] is pronounced (but not written) before the vowel sound. For instance, not
immediately preceded by a consonant is a single letter representing two sounds: [] + {A}. As we see in the chart
below (and dont forget to do the oral exercise!), there are three places where a soft-indicating vowel are not
preceded by a consonant, and are pronounced with an preceding sound:
Listen and repeat:
THREE PLACES WHERE SOFT-INDICATING VOWELS , , , , DO NOT IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW A

CONSONANT AND ARE PRONOUNCED WITH AN INITIAL SOUND
1) At the beginning of a word
, e (hawk), (he ate), (to ride), (fir),

(capacity), (humor), (youth)
*Word-initial - is not pronounced with a preceding : ,
e, (first name)
2) Following any vowel
, , (to arrive), (he left), (he gives), ,

(ones own),
3) Following a or
(swine), e (hug), e (family), (he ate up),

(s/he sews), (scope), (I drink),
(adjutant)
Thus, if someone shows you the words or or (with the letter, if any, before the soft-indicating
vowel covered) and asks you whether there is a sound in the word, your answer should be: I cant tell as it is. I
need to see the preceding letter, if any, to determine whether there should be a pronounced before the vowel. If
that letter is anything except a consonant, then there is a sound before the vowel sound.
So, in addition to the basic vowel sound, soft-indicating vowels represent either:
1) Softening of immediately preceding consonant: (, ). Our notation: C{V} (any soft consonant +
any vowel)
2) The presence of sound: (, , ). Our notation: {V}
8-4
Spelling / Sounds
Lesson 8
More Examples of Basic Sounds

VOWEL
LETTER
SOFT CONSONANT PLUS {VOWEL}

example
PLUS {VOWEL}
as in
example
as in
+ {A}
+ {A}
, ,
+ {E}
+ {E}
, , e
+ {O}
+ {O}
, ,
+ {U}
+ {U}
, ,
While this explanation of the sound may be a bit complex, remember, its all a matter of pronunciation. In all
the instances described above, Russians really do pronounce a [] sound (and they certainly dont know any of
these rules).
We are now able to represent the basic sounds of any word in the entire language. Lets look at some more
examples some with the sound [], some without.
{O}
{O}{A}
{E}{E}
{I}{A} (no // before})
{O}{O}
{A}
{O}{O}{A}{I}{A}
{A}{I}
{I}{U}
{O}{I}{A}{U}
{O}{I} (no // before )
{U}{I}{E}
{E}{O}
{I} (no [] before )
{U} {I}
{E}{O}
{O}
{O} {A}
{O}{O}
{E}{O}
(The previous word, , indicates that the underlying (noun)

ending is {O}.)
{O}{E}
{I}{O}
{O}{O}{O}{E}
{O}{I}{A}{O}
(The previous word e indicates that the underlying

(adjectival) ending is {O}{E}.)
1
2
(The previous word, , indicates that the underlying

(verbal) ending is {O}.)
Here we write as a full letter rather than (indicator of preceding softness), because, as you recall, is inherently a
hard consonant. Recall our convention to use an unraised after inherently hard or soft consonants.
The same as above applies here for , which is inherently soft.
8-5
8-
Spelling / Sounds
Question:
If word-initial - does not represent a sound, how can we distinguish the

basic sound representation of words beginning in vs. ? In other words,
what spelling does, say, {I}{A} represent, or ? This problem
does not come up in distinguishing initial - (which has no sound) vs. e(with sound) or - (no sound) vs. - (with sound), etc.
Answer:
Superb, really fantastic question. Take a look at a Russian dictionary. There

are no words that start with the letter . None. Zilch. Problem solved.
[] vs. soft consonant

Finally, many students have an especially hard time hearing this sound when it occurs in one-syllable words.
Compare the pronunciations (with and without sound):
Listen and repeat:
WITHOUT [] SOUND
WITH [] SOUND
(drunk; inebriated)
(he sat down)
(he ate up)
(s/he pours)
(miracle)
(whose)
* remember: pronounced //
8-6
8-
"
Exercise 1
Examples:
Determine which words have a sound. Explain how the sound is represented.
e Soft-indicating {E} in initial position

Soft-indicating {A} after a vowel
Soft-indicating {U} after a
the consonant letter
e no // sound
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
e (think!)
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
-
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
ee
_____________________________________________________________
8-7
8-
"
Exercise 2
Example:
Transcribe the following words in terms of their basic sounds:
{O} {A}{A}
{I}{A}{E}
1.
__________________________________ 2.
__________________________________
3.
__________________________________ 4.
__________________________________
5.
__________________________________ 6. e _________________________________
(this word shares the same ending as 5)
7.
__________________________________ 8. e
__________________________________
(this word shares the same ending as 7)
9. e
__________________________________ 10.
__________________________________
11. __________________________________ 12. _______________________________
"
Exercise 3
Provide an appropriate response to the following (as a full sentence, if possible):
1.
________________________________________________________________________
2.
. _____________________________________________________________________________
3.
4.
e .
5.
6.
_________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
8-8
Dialogues:
A: Its on the bed; : Its in the fridge;

: Its on the couch; : Theyre on the
table
Grammar:
Another location ending: -
The direct object (a first look)
Plural of nouns (a first look)
More on gender and pronouns
A different set of verb endings
Spelling/Sounds: Vowel reduction
.
:
Dialogues
e
Its on the bed
(in a hurry) ! e . e
? e e ?
(in a hurry) Ugh! Im in a hurry. Where is my

camera? You didnt happen to see my camera?
-e, e .
I think its (lying) on the bed.
. e e ?
No, (its) not here. Where the devil is it?
Its in the fridge
5
6
(in a hurry) ! e . e ?
e e ?

vodka? You didnt happen to see my vodka?
-e, e.
I think its in the fridge.
. e e ?
No, (its) not there. Where the devil is it?
Its on the couch
10
e e ?

coat? You didnt happen to see my (over)coat?
11
-e, e e.
I think its (lying) on the couch.
12
. e e ?
No, (its) not here. Where the devil is it?
.
:
e
13
14
Theyre on the table
e e ?
(in a hurry) Ugh! Im in a hurry. Where are

my keys? You didnt happen to see my keys?
15
-e, e .
I think theyre (lying) on the table.
16
. e e ?
No, (theyre) not there. Where the devil are

they?
9-1
9-
Vocabulary
(expresses dismay)
camera
e e/
you didnt (happen to) see (Masc/Fem)
-e
I think; in my opinion (dont leave out the hyphen!)
it is (lying, in a flat position)
on
(Fem)
bed (not to be confused with the French word for necktie)
on the bed
here
(adds emphasis to preceding word; a good English equivalent is: the devil )
vodka
refrigerator
there
overcoat
11
sofa; couch
13
key
15
keys - plural (*note stress is on ending)
they are (lying, in a flat position)
table
on the table (*note stress is on ending)
9.
Another Location Ending: -

(3)
Note that for the noun o bed instead of the expected location ending -e, the ending is -: .
(This only happens in Feminine nouns ending in -.) Well examine this group of nouns in Lesson 12.
9-2
9.
Lesson 9
The Direct Object (A First Look)

? (6)
When the noun phrase is used as a direct object (of the verb see), the endings on both words
change from -{A} to -{U}: . This change occurs only with Feminine singular nouns. All the other
noun phrases, (Masc sg), (Neut sg) (pl) are the same whether they
are used as subject or direct object. We will discuss this in detail in Lesson 23.
9.
The Plural of Nouns (A First Look)

(13)
Many plural nouns end in -{I} (, , ). The spelling depends on the hardness/softness of the
preceding consonant or spelling rule. More on forming the plural in Lesson 15.
9.
Question:
I dont understand why the in is soft. Since the is hard in all the
singular pronouns , , , shouldnt the plural end in -?
Answer:
Youre right. However, there are some historical reasons (which are not really
worth going into) why the form is . But we will see this unexpected
softening in a few more forms of the plural.
More on Gender and Pronouns
In Lessons 4 and 5 we saw that the 3rd person personal pronouns ( he, she, they) are used to replace
proper nouns (i.e., people):
Masc: e ? e.
Wheres Misha? Hes at a club.
Fem:
e . .
This is my sister Natasha. Shes a doctor.
Pl:
e?
Where do your parents live?

They live in Chicago.
.
These same pronouns, plus the Neuter pronoun , can also be used to replace things as well.
The choice of pronoun (, , , ) depends on the gender of the noun being replaced (which, as weve
explained, is determined by its ending1):
As you may have figured out, endings reflect the grammatical gender and number of the nouns. Well be explaining
gender in full very soon.
9-3
9-
GENDER/
NUMBER
PRONOUN
Masc (sg)
(a consonant), e.g., , , ,
e ? .
{A}, e.g., , ,
Fem (sg)
Neut (sg)
Plural
e ? e.
(all genders)
FOR NOUNS ENDING IN:
{O}, e.g., , (window), e (heart), (rifle)

e ? e.
{I}, e.g., ,
e ? .
Note that when describing a thing, these pronouns must be translated into English differently than when
describing a person:
PERSON
THING
= she
= they (i.e., those people)
= they (i.e., those things)
= he
= it
So, before you can translate , , , , you need to know whether it is a person or a thing being referred
to. If someone asks you how to translate, e.g., , your answer should be: I need context. Is the pronoun
referring to a person or a thing?
MASCULINE
e ?
e ?
> e ?
FEMININE
e ?
e ?
NEUTER
> e ?
no proper nouns
e ?
9-4
> e ?
PLURAL
e ?
e ?
> e ?
Lesson 9
Answer the questions using the correct pronoun (you dont even need to know the meaning of
the noun):
Example:
e ? (e )
e ? ( e)
.
e.
1. e ? (e )
2. e ? ( )
3. e ? ( e)
4. e ? ( e)
5. e ? (e e)
6. e e? ( )
7. e e ? ( ee)
8. e e? ( eee)
9. e ? ( )
10. e (book)? (e )
11. e (beer)? ( e)
12. e ? ( -e)
13. e ? (e )
14. e ? (e )
Replace the noun with the a pronoun as in the example. Be sure to supply the correct
preposition and the correct form of the noun:
Example:
e ? ()
e ? ()
e.
.
1. e ? (-)
2. e ? (e)
3. e ? ()
4. e ? ()
5. e (letter)? ()
6. e e ? ()
7. ? ()
8. ? ()
9. ? ()
9.
Person and Verb Endings (A First Look)

- vs. -; e- vs. e-
We previously saw different endings for different persons (singular vs. plural) in the Present Tense with the verb
live. The verb be (in a lying position) has different set of endings. Compare:
3RD SINGULAR
3RD PLURAL
live
be (lying)
// e
Verbs change in the Present Tense for person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and number (singular, plural). Weve seen instances of
almost every one in the dialogues, but we are not going to show the whole verbal paradigm just yet. For now, we
just want you to be aware that the verb live has different endings than be (in a lying position).
9-5
9-
Supply the correct form of the correct verb (as well as the correct preposition and Location
ending):
Example:
()
()
e
e .
1. ( Rome)
2. ()
3. e (e)
4. ()
5. (fish) ()
6. ()
7. ()
8. (book) ()
9. ()
10. ()
11. (e)
12. e ()
9.
Vowel Reduction
In Lessons 5 - 8, we learned about basic sounds in Russian and how they are represented in the spelling. But if
youve been listening carefully to the recordings, youve probably noticed that quite often the actual
pronunciation of a Russian word does not match its basic sounds. We will be spending the remainder of
Chapter 1 covering factors affecting Russian pronunciation.
In the presentation of the alphabet we mentioned that when a vowel is not stressed its pronunciation may be
reduced. In examining the rules for vowel reduction, we will look at vowel letters, rather than basic vowel
sounds. Therefore, for example, an unstressed letter e that is actually basic {O} will be pronounced the same as
unstressed basic {E}: the e in (which is {O}) is pronounced the same as the e in (which is {E}).
The following is a fairly general description of vowel reduction; there are many more details about specific
vowels in specific positions that we will not cover right now.
We will use square brackets [] to indicate actual pronunciation (as opposed to basic sounds).
One final note: We realize there are a lot of details here, and we dont expect you to memorize all of them. The
goal is to be aware of vowel reduction, and to eventually make it an automatic part of your Russian speech.
9..1 Unstressed letters and

1) In word-initial position or in the syllable immediately preceding the stressed syllable these letters are
pronounced [a] as in father. In these positions the letter a has more or less the same sound as it does in
stressed position, though it is shorter and not as articulated.
Where a and o reduce to [a]:
1ST LETTER
1 SYLLABLE BEFORE STRESS
sounds like []
sounds like []
sounds like []
sounds like []
9-6
Lesson 9
2) Elsewhere (either more than one syllable before stress or after stress) and are pronounced as a schwa
[], like the a in sofa:
Where a and o reduce to []:
> 1 SYLLABLE BEFORE STRESS
AFTER STRESS
sounds like []
sounds like []
drum
sounds like []
sounds like []
Thus, the word has all possible pronunciations of the basic vowel {O}: []
9..2 Unstressed letters and

Note: Since the letter a after permanently soft consonants and is pronouned as if it were the letter ,
the following reduction rules apply to unstressed and as well.
Unstressed and both reduce to roughly the sound between [] and []. At the end of the word the sound
is closer to [], while elsewhere its closer to [].
Where and (a) reduce to ~[]:
WORD-FINAL AND
sea
sounds like []
building
sounds like []
kitchen
sounds like []
sounds like []
When or are word initial, dont forget to pronounce a [] sound!
Where and (a) reduce to []:
WORD-INITIAL (//)
ELSEWHERE
sounds like []
sounds like []
sounds like []
sounds like []2
Our experience shows that students often fail to reduce the letter e to [], most probably because it is already
rather close to that sound. If you want to sound like a Russian, dont forget about the reduction of unstressed e.
Recall from Lesson 7 that is an inherently hard consonant, therefore the soft-indicating vowel after it is
pronounced as if it were a Hard-indicating vowel: [].
9-7
9-
9..3 The other vowel letters ( ): No vowel reduction

The basic pronunciation of the other 6 vowel letters ( ) remains the same whether stressed or
not. We should note that when these letters are not stressed, they do tend to be pronounced less forcefully than
when under stress.
STRESSED
UNSTRESSED
(no unstressed )
Summary of vowel reduction in Russian (for reference)
BASIC
UNSTRESSED
SOUND
VOWEL
LETTER(S)
{A}
{A}
(, )
[]
{E}
[]
{O}
{O}
(like e from {E})
WORD-INITIAL
> 1 SYL. BEFORE

STRESS; AFTER
BEFORE STRESS
STRESS
1 SYLLABLE
[a]
WORD-FINAL
[]
[]
[]
[]*
[a]
[]
[]
[]
[]
*One detail we omitted: When unstressed word-final e represents {E}, it gets reduced all the way to []. This
is rather subtle, and you probably will not hear the difference in any case.
Vowels that do not change their basic quality (but are shorter when unstressed)
{E}
no reduction
{I}
no reduction
{O}
(always stressed)
no reduction
{U}
no reduction
9-8
Lesson 9
Again, we certainly do not expect you to memorize each and every one of these pronunciation rules. The key is to
be aware of vowel reduction, and also listen very carefully to your instructor and the speakers on the audio
recordings.
9-9
9-
"
Exercise 1
Example:
Write in the blanks the actual pronunciation of the underlined vowels.
1.
_____
_____
//
//
//
_____
2.
_____
3. (raw) _____
4.
5.
6. (to spare) _____
7.
_____
9.
"
_____
_____
Exercise 2
Example:
8.
10.
_____
_____
_____
_____
Replace the nouns with pronouns (dont touch phrases like e, etc.):
1. .
_________________________________________________________________________________
2. e e.
_________________________________________________________________________________
3. e ?
_________________________________________________________________________________
4. e ?
_________________________________________________________________________________
5. e.
_________________________________________________________________________________
6. e ?
_________________________________________________________________________________
7. .
_________________________________________________________________________________
8. !
_________________________________________________________________________________
9-10
9-
9.
_________________________________________________________________________________
10. e.
_________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 3
Example:
Replace the noun with the a pronoun as in the example. Be sure to supply the
correct preposition:
e ? ()
e ? ()
e.
.
1. e ? ()________________________________________________
2. e wine? ()
________________________________________________
3. e books? ()
________________________________________________
4. e ? ()
________________________________________________
5. e e e? ()
________________________________________________
6. e ? ()
________________________________________________
"
Exercise 4
Fill in the blank with the correct form of the correct verb:
1. e ______________________ e.
2. ____________________________ e.
3. _______________________ .
4. e _________________________ ?
5. ___________________________ .
9-11 -
Dialogue:
Grammar:
Even my ears hurt

Phrasal verbs
Omitting obvious possessives
The verb hurt
The verb be in the past tense
Spelling/Sounds: Voiced and voiceless consonants
Dialogue
e
Even my ears hurt
( runs into , who isnt looking very sharp)

:
, ! ?
Hey, Vitya, whats up?
! .
Ugh! I dont feel well.
Whats wrong with you?
4
5
. . . e
.
My stomach hurts. My head hurts. Everything

hurts. Even my ears hurt.
! ! ?
Your ears hurt! You are really something. How

is that possible?
T.I.1 .
I was at T.I. yesterday.
Enough said. (lit.: Everything is clear)
Vocabulary
I dont feel well (lit.: I badly myself feel)
whats (wrong) with you?
stomach
hurts; aches (3sg; only 3rd person is used with this verb)
head
even
ears (sg. is )
hurt; ache (3pl)
youre really something (lit.: well, you give this is an extremely common and
colloquial expression. Its almost impossible to translate.)
how is that possible; what do you mean?
yesterday
clear; understandable
Most Russians recognize Latin letters and use them in abbreviations for which there is no Russian equivalent, e.g., IBM
PC, www, NB, SOS.
10-1
10-
10.
Phrasal Verbs
e (2)
The verb feel (sick, well) consists of 2 parts 2 feel and e self. Leaving out e, which a lot of
American students tend to do, is like saying Everyone was laughing John instead of Everyone was laughing at
John. (Actually, this phrasal verb requires a third component, an adverb, e.g., , )
Also note: In English we would most likely say I dont feel well, while in Russian its much better to say I feel
bad(ly).
10.
Omitting Obvious Possessive Pronouns

, , (4-5)
In Russian possessive pronouns (my, his, your) are often omitted, especially when its obvious whose stomach /
head / sister / husband / is being described.
10.
The Verb hurt

;
(4-5)
The verb hurt has the same verb conjugation as be (in a lying position):
3RD SG: -{I}T
3RD PL: -{A}T
be (in a lying position)
hurt
VERB
This verb is used only in the 3rd person to indicate that a part of the body hurts. To ask someone else if anything
hurts them, use the following construction:
BODY PART(S)
(as we saw in Lesson 1)
by you
hurts
head
hurt
ears
what
by you
hurts?
= Does your head hurt?

= My ears hurt.
= What hurts (you)?
This is the 1st person singular form. The form changes for other persons. More on conjugation in Lesson 16.
10-2
Grammar
Lesson 10
Use the body parts list below to form sentences according to the example. (The new body parts
listed are not active vocab, yet.)
Example:
? , .
1. (arm)
2.
3.
4.
5. (legs)
6. (eye)
7. (shoulders)
8.
9. (nose)
10. (throat)
11. (arms)
12.
10.
The Verb be in the Past Tense

(7)
Unlike in the Present Tense, there is a form of the verb be in the Past. The stem is +, onto which is added
either - / - / - / - depending on the gender and number of the subject. Note that the stress moves to the
end only for the Feminine:
Past Tense of be
SINGULAR
PLURAL
MASCULINE
(, , )
FEMININE
(, , )
NEUTER
()
(ALL GENDERS)
(, *, )
* The plural form of verbs is used with , even when its Formal-singular.
Transform the sentences as in the example, supplying the correct form of to be in the Past
Tense:
Example:
(-)
(e)
e -e.
e ee.
1. e ()
2. ()
3. ()
4. (Masc) ()
5. ()
6. ()
7. (Fem.) (ee)
8. ()
9. ()
10. (e)
11. (e)
12. (Fem) (-)
13. ( think!)
14. ()
10-3
10-
Spelling / Sounds
Final installment on the Russian sound system
10.
Voiced (Vibrating) and Voiceless (Non-Vibrating) Consonants
10..1
The throat test
Close your eyes, put your fingers on the sides of your throat and pronounce the sound over and over. Pay
attention to the movement of your lips, teeth, and tongue. You should feel a vibration near your vocal chords.
Now quickly switch to a series of the sound . Everything (lips, teeth, tongue) should be exactly the same, except
that the vibration is gone. Vibrating consonants are referred to as Voiced consonants, non-vibrating as
Voiceless. There are 6 such Voiced/Voiceless pairs: (do the throat test with the other 5 pairs its the most fun
youll have this lesson):
VOICED
VOICELESS
Why are we telling you all this? In some cases a voiced consonant will be pronounced voiceless, and vice versa, a
voiceless consonant will be pronounced like its voiced counterpart. These assimilations occur automatically for
Russian speakers (actually, except for language teachers, the vast majority of Russians are not aware of these
sound changes), but for English speakers they must be learned and practiced. English also has some instances of
devoicing: have to is normally pronounced and occasionally written hafta, where v devoices to [f].
10..2
Where devoicing / voicing occurs
1) Devoicing (voiced > voiceless)

A voiced consonant loses its vibration:
1) at the end of a word
2) Directly preceding one or more voiceless consonants (including prepositions that end in a voiceless
consonant, which are pronounced together with the following word):
(Hardness / softness of the consonant plays no role. Final soft voiced consonants devoice and remain soft)
Listen and repeat

AT THE END OF A WORD
3
4
DIRECTLY PRECEDING 1 OR MORE

VOICELESS CONSONANTS
> []
e (bread), (coffin), (dove),

(grief)
rare
> []
(the writer), , (blood),

(love)
(second), e,
(tomorrow), ,
> []
(enemy), e (snow), , (friend)
rare
Remember: neither nor occur in Russian.

Recall that , are inherently hard consonants.
10-4
Spelling / Sounds
AT THE END OF A WORD

> []
>
[]
Lesson 10
DIRECTLY PRECEDING 1 OR MORE

VOICELESS CONSONANTS
e, (lunch), (city), e
(notebook), (horse)
, (baggage), (knife)
(spoon)
Recall that both and are permanently hard

consonants, and so a has no influence on
pronunciation:
(lie), e (wide open)

> []
(jazz), (mayonaise), (frost),

(prince), (connection)
(French)
2) Voicing (voiceless > voiced)

A voiceless consonant becomes voiced directly preceding one or more voiced consonants. Voicing occurs
MUCH less frequently that devoicing
Listen and repeat

> []
e (Afganistani)
> []
(backpack), (exam)
> []
(to do/make), e, (favor)
> []
, e
> []
(magic, arch.)
These two rules (Voiced > devoiced and vice versa) can be simplified into a single rule for your convenience:
In a group of consonants, the final consonant determines the voicing for the whole cluster.
Exceptions (what did you expect?)

Before () voiceless consonants DO NOT become voiced:
Listen and repeat

voiceless does not become voiced [] before the
(Swedes) (voiceless does not become voiced [] before the
(quota) (voiceless does not become voiced [] before the
(ones own) (voiceless does not become voiced [] before the
10-5
10-
Exercise 1
Fill in the correct form of the verb hurt:
1. _____________________________ .
2. (shoulders) ________________________ .
3. ____________________________ .
4. (leg) ____________________________ .
5. _____________________________ .
6. ____________________________ .
Exercise 2
Fill in the correct form of the past tense of be:
1. e ______________________ ? (talking to your brother)

2. e ______________________ ? (talking to your wife)
3. _________________________ ?
4. ______________________ e.
5. e __________________________ e.
6. ___________________________ .
7. ____________________________ e.
8. ____________________________ ee.
9. _________________________ -e. (give appropriate form)
Exercise 3
Example:
Circle any consonant that is not pronounced the same way it is written and then
indicate correct pronunciation (Not all words contain misleading consonants):
//
1.
______
2.
______
3.
______
4.
______
5.
______
6.
______
7.
______
8.
______
9.
______
10.
______
10-6
10-
Exercise 4

1. Whats wrong with you? I dont feel well.

________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Wheres my coat? Did you happen to see my coat?
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Coffee please.
Here you go.
Thank you.
Youre welcome.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
10-7
Dialogue:
Grammar:
What a nightmare!
Translating Russian course
Chapter 1 - Review (Lessons 1-10)

Vocabulary from Lessons 1-11
What a nightmare!
, . e?
Hi, Grisha, Hows it going?
. e?
Everythings OK. How about you?
e . .
Dont ask. Everythings terrible.
e? ?
Why? What happened?
e. .
!
Nothing. Its just my Russian course. What a

nightmare!
e !
Tell me about it!
why
happened (implies something negative)
(its) just; simply
course; class
Russian course (lit.: course of Russian language In Russian you cannot put the
adjective Russian in front of the word to express Russian course.
The same applies for Russian professor, which is .)
nightmare (from the French cauchemar)
!
7
what a nightmare!
tell me about it; you can say that again (lit.: dont say that)
11-1
11-
REVIEW OF LESSONS 1-10

The Sound System of Russian in a Nutshell
(5..3)
Basic sounds: Paired (hard vs. soft) consonants 1 consonant letter for 2 basic sounds
The letters can each represent two entirely distinct sounds, one hard (lower in mouth) the other soft
(higher in mouth). The difference is expressed in the spelling by the following vowel, either Hard-indicating ( ) or
Soft-indicating ( e /e ).
At the end of a word hardness vs. softness is indicated by presence or absence of a : vs. .
(5..4)
Basic Sounds: Vowels 2 vowel letters for 1 basic sound
There are only 5 basic vowel sounds in Russian, which we will represent as {A}, {E}, {I}, {O}, {U}. 10 vowel letters are used
to indicate both the basic vowel sound and the quality of the preceding consonant (hard/soft, as well as the presence of ).
(5.)
Our notation: Representing basic sounds
Consonants are
written in Cyrillic, while vowels are written {A}, {E}, {O}, etc. In our notation, after a soft consonant we
write raised ( = {A}); after a hard consonant nothing is written ( = {A}). After inherently hard/soft
consonants, we will not use : husher = {I}{A}{I}.
(5.)
Basic Sound Pronunciation
Because of vowel reduction, inherently hard or soft consonants, as well as voicing/devoicing of consonants (see more below)
our representation of a words basic sound often differs from its pronunciation.
SPELLING
(6.)
BASIC SOUND
PRONUNCIATION
{O}{O} {O}
{O}{O}{E}{I}
{E}{O}
[]
[]
[]
Spelling {O}: 3 Ways
There are 3 vowel letters used to spell {O}: after hard consonants, (stressed) or e (unstressed) after soft consonants
and the hushers.
To determine whether the unstressed letter e is soft-indicating {E} or {O} you need to find an instance in which the e is
stressed either in the same word (singular vs. plural) or a related word (noun, adjective, verb with the same ending).
SPELLING
Stressed:
Unstressed:
BASIC SOUND
(pl)
{O}{I}
{O}{O}
{I}{O}
(sg)
(same ending as )
(same ending as )
{O}{A}
{}{O}
{A}{O}{A}{O}
11-2
Chapter 1 - Review
(7.)
Lesson 11
Spelling rules: Unpaired consonants
a) Group 1: (the velars)

These are the fake spelling rules, where the spelling simply reflects the pronunciation of these consonants before the various
vowels. Say and write only:

HARD
{A}: / /
{O}: / /
{U}: / /
SOFT
{E}: e / e /e
{I}: / /
Foreign words may contain unacceptable combinations.
b) Group 2: (inherently hard) // () (inherently soft)

These are the real spelling rules, in which the spelling sometimes does not reflect the pronunciation:

WRITE ONLY:
{A}: / / / /
{E}: e / e / e / e / e
{I}: / / or / /
{O}: stressed (generally): / / / /
unstressed: e / e / e / e / e
{U}: / / / /
Again, foreign words can violate these rules.
Because of these rules, you get misleading spelling combinations in Russian: (Soft-indicating vowel following
an inherently hard consonant); (Hard-indicating vowel following an inherently soft consonant).
(8.)
The spelling of the consonant sound []
Spelled 2 ways:
a)
The consonant letter

b) When a Soft-indicating vowel (, e, , but not ) is not immediately preceded by a consonant. There are 3 such
cases: 1) at the beginning of a word (e); 2) after any vowel (); 3) after a hard sign or soft sign ( I drink,
detour).
HOW [Y] IS REPRESENTED
SPELLING
BASIC SOUND
The consonant
{O}
, , , at beginning of word
{U}{O}
, , , after vowel
{O}{A}
, , , Vowel after or
{U}
11-3
11-
(9.)
Vowel reduction
Vowel reduction applies to vowel letters and not necessarily to the basic sound the letter represents.
The vowel letters and are pronounced [a] either in initial position or 1 syllable before stress. After the stressed
syllable or more than one syllable before stress they are reduced to schwa [].
Unstressed letter e and (and a after , ) are pronounced schwa [] in final position. Elsewhere they reduce to
[] ([] if word-initial).
Examples:
SPELLING
PRONUNCIATION
reduced a, word-initially
[]
[]
reduced a,
(drums)
[]
[]
reduced e, (a) word-finally
( is {O})
[]
[]
reduced e, (a)
[]
[]
The vowel letters , , , , , do not undergo vowel reduction.
(10..2)
Voiced/voiceless consonants
VOICED:
VOICELESS:
Voiced consonants becomes voiceless:

1) at the end of a word: e pronounced [].
2) before a voiceless consonant: pronounced []; pronounced [].
Voiceless consonants becomes voiced before a voiced consonant (with the exception of ): pronounced
[], but in remains voiceless.
Grammatical idbits
(1.I, 3.IV, 5.I) Formal and Informal Forms of Address
When addressing one person, a distinction is made between formal and informal forms. Use the informal for friends (the
same age as you), children, animals, and God.
INFORMAL
personal pronoun:
possessives:
Whats your name?
greetings:
, , etc.
?
,
11-4
FORMAL
, , etc.
?
Chapter 1 - Review
(3.)
Lesson 11
Dictionary forms of words
Nouns (and modifiers) have different endings depending on their function in the sentence. Dictionaries list nouns in the
singular in the subject of the sentence form:
DICTIONARY (SUBJECT) FORM
OTHER FORMS WEVE SEEN
(Location)
(Location)
(Direct object)
(Plural)
Modifiers (adjectives and possessives) are listed in the Masculine singular.
DICTIONARY FORM
OTHER FORMS WEVE SEEN
(Feminine)
(Plural)
(3., 6., 9.) Gender and number in nouns, possessives/demonstratives, and adjectives
All nouns, possessives, and adjectives are marked for gender and number. As a general rule (to be revised), Masculine nouns
end in a consonant (, ), Neuter nouns end in - (), and Feminine nouns end in -a (). The
plural ending for Masculine and Feminine nouns is -{I} ():
PLURAL
SINGULAR
MASCULINE
NEUTER
FEMININE
(MASC & FEM)
- (consonant)
-{I}
Endings for possessives and adjectives that weve seen so far:
PLURAL
SINGULAR
Masculine
Neuter
Feminine
(Masc & Fem)
Possessives:
Adjectives:
(havent seen yet)
(havent seen yet)
11-5
11-
(4.)
Frozen constructions
There are several very common phrases which involve the frozen (unchanging) form . It is best to learn the patterns,
rather than to try to figure out the exact translation of :
QUESTIONS
RESPONSES / STATEMENTS
, .
, , .
, .
, .
(4., 6.) Word order

For reasons well discuss at length in the next chapter, word order in Russian is freer than in English:Both ? and
? are possible, with no significant change in meaning.
(5.)
Personal Pronouns
SINGULAR
PERSON
1st
2
nd
(6.)
rd
PLURAL
(informal)
(pl & informal sg)
Negation
Put the negative particle in front of the word to be negated: , ; .

Sometimes attaches directly to the adjective: .
11-6
Chapter 1 - Review
Lesson 11
(6., 9.) Location endings

(Used after the prepositions in; at and on; at.)
DICTIONARY FORM
Most nouns: -
Ending in -, -, -: -.
Foreign nouns ending in -, -,

-, -: no change.
Some nouns in -: -
(7.)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
(8.)
LOCATION FORM
Numbers 0-12
( sandwich)
(starting here, all numbers end in a -)
7
8
9
10
11
12
(11-19 suffix is -)
The Past Tense

PLURAL
SINGULAR
Masculine
-
(//)
(9.)
Feminine
-
(//)
Neuter
-
()
All genders
-
(//)
Some Present Tense Endings
Note that there are two sets of endings for the Present Tense. For now, well simply refer to them as Present Tense 1 and
Present Tense 2:
PRESENT TENSE 1
rd
3 singular

PRESENT TENSE 2
rd
3 plural

11-7
rd
3 singular

3rd plural

11-
(1., 10.) The verb be in Russian

There is no Present Tense of the verb be: . I am an American.
A hyphen is sometimes used: . My brother is a lawyer.
In the Past Tense, the stem is +, to which is added the appropriate Past ending. The stress moves to the ending for the
Feminine Singular only:
SINGULAR
PLURAL
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
All forms
(10.B) Omitting obvious possessives

Possessives are often omitted when describing body parts (as well as family relations): My stomach hurts.
11-8
11-
"

Class will consist of a review of everything. Bring any questions about anything.
Exercise 1 We STRONGLY suggest that you spend around 20-25 minutes listening to all the
previous dialogues. Make sure you know all the vocabulary listed at the end of this review
lesson.
Exercise 2 Represent the basic sounds in the following words:
Example:
e
e
{I}{E}{A}
{E}
1.
____________________________________________
2.
____________________________________________
3.
____________________________________________
4.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
5.
6.
7.
(same verb ending as in 4)
____________________________________________
ee
____________________________________________
(same adj. ending as in 6)
8.
____________________________________________
9.
____________________________________________
10.
____________________________________________
11.
____________________________________________
12.
e
(same noun ending as in 11)
"
1.
____________________________________________
Exercise 3 Answer the following questions.
What sound is represented by the third letter in the word ? Explain your answer.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
2.
What is the second basic sound in the word ? Explain your answer.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
11-9
11-
"
Exercise 4
Correct the violations of spelling rules (not all words have violations):
1.
_________________________________ 2.
_________________________________
3.
_________________________________ 4. _________________________________
5. _________________________________ 6.
_________________________________
7. _________________________________ 8.
_________________________________
9.
_________________________________
"
_________________________________ 10.
Exercise 5
Explain any misleading spelling combinations (inherently hard consonants

followed by a Soft-indicating vowel, or vice versa)
1.
_________________________________ 2.
_________________________________
3.
_________________________________ 4.
_________________________________
5. _________________________________ 6.
_________________________________
7.
_________________________________ 8.
_________________________________
9.
_________________________________ 10.
_________________________________
"
1.
Exercise 6
Translate into Russian (Before doing this exercise, you may want to look over the
dialogues in lessons 1-11 to review fixed expressions):
Hi, whats new? Dont ask.

___________________________________________________________________________________
2.
My younger sister is a lawyer. Her husband is a doctor.

___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
3.
Whats your name? My name is (appropriate response).

___________________________________________________________________________________
4.
Tea, please. This isnt tea, this is coffee. What did I say? I said tea!
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
5.
Thank you. Dont mention it.

___________________________________________________________________________________
11-10
Vocabulary: Lessons 1 - 11
Nouns and Pronouns
5
8
8
3
4
3
9
5
6
5
10
6
4
9
4
3
4
6
4
6
4
10
6
6
8
9
4
11
9
11
11
4
4
1
1
7
3
3
5
4
9
3
ee
e
e
e
e
!
(Fem)

lawyer
American (noun, masc; note: not capitalized)
American (noun, Fem; note: not capitalized)
bar
brother (just think of brat)
club
in a/the club
vodka
doctor
everything
you
head
genius
tree
sofa; couch
daughter
girl, young woman
tree
children
his
her (possessive); hers
wife
stomach
engineer
their
coffee
key
keys (*note stress is on ending)
cat
nightmare (from the French cauchemar)
what a nightmare!
bed (not to be confused with the French word for necktie)
on the bed
course; class
Russian course (lit.: course of Russian language)
mother
husband
jerk, rude person (male)
jerk, rude person (female)
telephone number
he
she
they
father
overcoat
guy
6
8
5
4
4
9
4
4
9
10
9
e
e
e
4
8
4
4
computer programmer
restaurant
parents (always pl in Russian)
sister
dog
table
on the table (*note stress is on ending)
son
you (informal)
refrigerator
ears (sg. is )
camera (this word has secondary stress on the first o: it
sounds like /o/)
photograph
tea
what
I (me as in: Its me)
Verbs
5
10
10
5
5
9
9
6
8
6
6
8
8
11
6
11-11
e
e
ee/
ee
were (pl)
hurts; aches (3sg; only 3rd person is used with this verb)
hurt; ache (3pl)
he/she lives
they live
they are (lying, in a flat position)
it is (lying, in a flat position)
(you) mixed up (masc/fem)
(you - sg-formal / pl) understand
(I) understand
(s/he) works
said (Past Tense, Masc)
said (Past Tense, Fem)
happened (implies something negative)
(s/he) is a student at; goes to (school at)
Adjectives, Possessives, and Adverbs
5
, , ,
10 e
10 e
3
4
, , ,
6
4
, , ,
7
e
6
11
4
, , ,
2, 5
1
7
9
8
e?
!
X
e e
.
1
e
5
1

9
e
2
3
e
5
1, 4
,
3
3
1
10
3
1
e/ ?
?
e ?
e?
?
?
your (pl or Formal sg)
3
1
7
9
11
8
e + (first
name)
e
+ 1st name in -
My name is (lit.: they call me )
Im in a hurry; I have to run (lit: to me there is no time)

May I speak to
yesterday
on
even
tell me about it; you can say that again (lit.: dont say that)
quite, rather, pretty (adv.)
(response to ) dont mention it (lit.: There isnt
here
anything (to thank me) for)
1
e
dont ask
attractive; good-looking (Feminine)
4
e
no
attractive; good-looking (Masculine)
1, 8
1) not too bad
younger (masc)
2) dont worry about it; its nothing (lit.: nothing)
my (fem.)
6
e e
very impressive! wow! not bad!
probably
1
,
well,
our (masc)
10 !
you are really something!
4
!
oh!
not bad
3
!
get lost!
the wrong (lit.: not that)
3
e e!
Leave me alone! (lit.: stand away from me)
8
1) here you go (worker giving something to customer)

again
2) please
poorly
3) youre welcome
(its) just; simply
1
(see you) later

9
-e
I think; in my opinion (dont leave out the hyphen!)
there
11 e
why
your (masc., informal)
1
hi (used only with friends and family)

good, well, OK, all right
8
thank you (there is no way to shorten this word, despite the

best efforts of American students)
1
e
so-so (this is somewhat negative)
9
e e/
did you (happen to) see (Masc/Fem)
Expressions & Misc.
3
?
are you joking? (Informal)
how about you? (lit: and by you?)
4
?
Whats this/that?; What are those?
hello? (only used when answering phone)
1
?
whats up?; whats new? (lit.: what is audible?)
(expresses dismay)
10 ?
whats (wrong) with you?
(handing something to someone) heres your X; Heres a X for 4
X (person or thing) this/that/it is (a) X
you.
4
e X (person or
this isnt/thats not (a) X
Youve got (= dialed) the wrong number
thing)
10
clear; understandable
I cant complain (lit: (its) a sin to complain)
10 e
I dont feel well
yes
good-bye (lit.: until meeting)

8
- I understand Russian (dont leave out the hyphen!)
(adds emphasis to preceding word)
hi (informal; = [privt]) *first [v] not pronounced
Hello
so (lit.: it means )
excuse me; pardon me; Im sorry
Im really sorry ( lit.: for the sake of God adds
emphasis to the apology)
Whats his/her name?(lit.: how do they call him/her?)
Whats your name? (Formal/ (Informal)
hows it going? how are things?
how is that possible; what do you mean?
Whos that/this?
OK; all right
11-12
SLA101 : Answer Key
"
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
{A}{I}{O}
{O}
{O}{A}
{I}{O}
{O}{I}{A}{O}
e
(same verb ending as in 4)
{O}{O}{E}
{O}{O}{O}{E}
e
ee
(same adj. ending as in 6)
{U}{A}
{U}
{I}{A}
{O}{O}
{A}{I}{O}
e
(same noun ending as in 11)
"
1.
Exercise 2 Represent the basic sounds in the following words:
Exercise 3 Answer the following questions.
You cant tell it could be or , depending on the next letter (if any). If the next letter is a hardindicating vowel (, , , , ) or another consonant, or , then its . If the next letter is a softindicating vowel (, , , , ) or , then the basic sound is .
2.
You cant tell if the second letter is anything except a consonant either a vowel or /, then
represents a [] sound in addition to the basic vowel {A}. (If were the first letter in the word it would
also represent a [] sound.) If the second letter is a consonant, then represents {A}, in addition to
indicating that the consonant is soft but no [] sound.
"
1.
3.
5.
7.
9.
Exercise 4
Correct the violations of spelling rules (not all words have

violations):
OK
OK
OK
2.
4.
6.
8.
10.
"
Exercise 5
Explain any misleading spelling combinations (inherently hard

consonants followed by a Soft-indicating vowel, or vice versa)
IH inherently hard / IS inherently soft / SI soft indicating / HI hard indicating

1.
IH + SI
2.
IS + HI
3.
IH + SI
4.
IH + SI
5.
OK
6.
OK
7.
OK
8.
IS + HI
9.
IH + SI
10.
OK
"
1.
Exercise 6
Translate into Russian (Before doing this exercise, you may want
to look over the dialogues in lessons 1-11 to review fixed
expressions):
+ Hi, whats new? Dont ask.

+ , ? !
2.
My younger sister is a lawyer. Her husband is a doctor.

. .
3.
+ Whats your name? My name is (appropriate response).

+ () ? / / / .
4.
Tea, please. This isnt tea, this is coffee. What did I say? I said tea!
, . , . ()? () !
5.
+ Thank you. Dont mention it.

+ . .
Dialogues:
Grammar:
A: Whose book is this?; : Whose

horse is this?; : Whose pencil is
this?; : Whose beer is this?
The anatomy of nouns and possessives:
Stem + Ending
Gender of nouns ending in -
Wimpy possessives and bossy nouns
, , whose
Forming possessives from first names
in -{A}
From now on we will bold new vocabulary as it is introduced in the dialogues
Whose book is this?
( takes a book)
:
e? .
What are you doing? Thats my book.
? .
What are you talking about? Its mine.
, ? ?
Mom, whose book is this? Mine or Galyas?
e e . !
Its not yours and its not Galyas. Its my

book!
Whose horse is this?
( takes a horse outside a saloon)

:
e? .
What are you doing? Thats my horse.
? .
, ? ?
Dad, whose horse is this? Mine or Lyoshas?
e e . !
Its not yours and its not Lyoshas. Its my

horse!
Whose pencil is this?
( takes a pencil)
:
e? .
What are you doing? Thats my pencil.
10
? .
11
, e ? ?
Mom, whose pencil is this? Mine or Dimas?
12
e e . !
Its not yours and its not Dimas. Its my

pencil!
Whose beer is this?
( starts drinking a beer)

:
13
e? .
What are you doing? Thats my beer.
14
? .
15
, . ?
Dad, whose beer is this? Mine or Sonyas?
16
e e . !
Its not yours and its not Sonyas. Its my beer!
12-1
12-
do/make; are doing/making (-form)
book
what are you talking about?
+ (): e, ,
whose (M, F, N) (Well explain what the (e) means in an upcoming lesson.)
or
horse (F)
pencil
13
beer
Other Nouns you should learn:
Masculine
magazine
dictionary
Neuter
soap
cookie
rifle
[
12.
Feminine
newspaper
bedroom
Feminine in -
mouse
door
The Anatomy of Nouns and Possessives: STEM + ENDING
Every noun and possessive in Russian consists of a Stem (which must end in a consonant, C) + an Ending
(which must begin in a vowel, V). Some nouns and possessives have a zero ending (-), i.e. consist of just a
stem and therefore end in a consonant.
There are exactly 3 possible endings for singular nouns and possessives: -, -{A}, -{O}1. The various spellings
of the ending (C or C; or ; or or e) depend on: 1) the quality (hard or soft) of the final
consonant of the stem; 2) stress (for vs. , as well as vs. e); 3) spelling rules (covered in Lesson 7)
As weve already discussed, Russian nouns and possessives (and adjectives next lesson) are marked for gender
(and number also next lesson). There are 3 genders in Russian: Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter, which you
can usually determine based on the ending of the noun. The only nouns whose you cant tell for sure are those
that end in . Still, there are some clues even for these nouns, which well discuss later.
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
(Consonant or )
{A} or
{O}
When you see a noun or possessive that ends in -e, what you really have is the ending {O}, leaving aside forms like e,
which impart a different meaning (location).
12-2
Grammar
Lesson 12
Examples of stem + ending

Nouns:
GENDER
STEM
(MUST END IN C)
MASC
+
+
NEUT
ENDING
(MUST BEGIN IN V)
e (+{O} is spelled e/)
-{O}
+
+
FEM
FULL WORD
+
+
-{A}
- ()
Possessive share the same endings as noun (so far):
Possessives:
GENDER
STEM
(MUST END IN C)
ENDING
(MUST BEGIN IN V)
MASC
FEM
NEUT
+
+
12-3
FULL WORD
-{A}
( + {A} = )
-{O}
( + {O} = /e)
e
12-
12.
The Gender of Nouns Ending in -
How can you determine the gender of a noun ending in -? Two answers: Sometimes you can tell, sometimes
you cant.
ALWAYS MASCULINE
(based on meaning)
ALWAYS FEMININE
(based on form)
CANT PREDICT
If the noun refers to a

profession, in which case the
word will often end in -.
There are quite a lot of these.
If the noun ends in HUSHER

(, , , ) + -.
Need to memorize gender

when you learn the noun. (We
suggest you write it into your
vocab index cards in phrases
with modifiers of the correct
gender)
e (teacher)
e (leader)
e (writer)
e (driver)
rye
e thing
, (ruble) (M)
, e (F)
(Not surprisingly, is
Feminine. Also, abstract nouns
tend to be Feminine:
(love), (life))
Eventually, combinations like and should start sounding better to you than
and .
So, anytime we give you a cant-predict noun well indicate the gender.
12-4
Grammar
12.
Lesson 12
Wimpy Possessives and Bossy Nouns
Wrd like , , , , etc. are always Feminine. Theyre just born that way and they
never change. The same holds for , , , etc. being born Masculine and , ,
, etc. being born Neuter.
Possessives (and adjectives), on the other hand, are not born any particular gender they just agree with the
noun they are modifying. So if someone asks you how to say our in Russian, you have to break the news to them
that there are several answers: (), (e), e (). For some reason, dictionaries only list
the first of these, the Masculine singular (not very politically correct, we know). Perhaps the best answer to give
would be: + plus appropriate ending, but that tends to be a bit hard to express. Still, keep in mind that
possessives (and all adjectives) are wimps they just take on whatever form theyre told to by the noun.
Were
Feminine!
Were
Masculine!
Whatever
you say, sir!
Whatever you
say, maam!
Were
Neuter!
Whatever you say,

your Neuter-ness!
** Remember: the 3rd person possessives (e, e, ) NEVER change, regardless of gender and number:
No,
Feminine!
Were
Masculine!

//
No,
Neuter!
/ /
Your point
being ?
12-5
12-
Put the possessive in the correct form (depending on the gender of the noun). (Note that you
dont need to know the meaning of the noun, just the gender based on the ending):
Example:
(my)
1. (our)
2. (your pl)
3. (his)
4. (their)
5. ee (her)
6. (my)
7. (apple) (my)
8. (your sg)
9. (her)
10. ee (TV) (our)
11. (his)
12. (my)
13. (your sg)
14. (her)
15. e (heart) (my)
16. (his)
12.
/ / whose
Here are the Masculine, Neuter, and Feminine forms of the question word whose:
STEM
ENDING
FULL WORD
- (Masc)
-{O} (Neut)
e
({O} = /e)
-{A} (Fem)
({A} = )
For now, its best to just memorize the three forms. Well explain later on why the Masculine begins with -,
while the Neuter and Feminine begin with -.
Every form of whose except the dictionary form (Masculine) begins with the letters -.
With e, , we find another frozen construction e ?, ?,

? Note that while the is frozen, the question word e, , still agrees with the noun.
AGREEING FORM OF
/ +
FROZEN
NOUN
agree in gender
12-6
Whose pencil is this/that?
Whose beer is this/that?
Whose book is this/that?
Grammar
Lesson 12
Form a question as seen in the examples:
Example:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12. (sausage)
13.
14.
15. ee
16.
12.
Forming Possessive From First Names in {A}

(3)
Now that we know how to ask to whom something belongs, heres how to answer. To form a possessive from a
first name (which MUST end in {A} dont worry, we only let you pick names that end in {A}), you should:
1) Nuke the -{A}
2) Add the suffix --
3) Add the appropriate ending to match the

noun modified (-, -{A}, -{O})

e

e

--
--
--
Katyas husband
Katyas beer
Katyas sister
Mishas father
Mishas coat
Mishas wife
Zinas pencil
Zina's ear
Zinas book
For some reason, students often want to add the soft endings (, ) to these forms. Use the hard endings (, )
Form sentences using possessives:
Example:
()
1. e ()
2. ()
3. ()
4. ()
5. ()
6. (e)
7. ()
8. ()
9. ()
10. ()
11. ()
12. e ()
13. ()
14. e ()
15. ()
16. ()
12-7
12-
Form questions and provide answers as seen in the example:
Example:
(his)
()
? e .
e ? .
1. (your sg)
2. e (his)
3. (their)
4. ()
5. (my)
6. (her)
7. (your sg)
8. (purse) (my)
9. (apple) (his)
10. (our)
11. (her)
12. (gold) ()
13. ()
14. (pen) (my)
15. (their)
16. (your pl)
12-8
12-
"
Exercise 1
Identify (when possible) the gender of a noun. Write ?? if you cant be sure this
applies only to words we have not had. You should know the gender of all the words weve had:
Example:
M
F
N
??
1.
______
2.
______
3. e
______
4. e
______
5. e
______
6.
______
7. e
______
8.
______
9.
______
10.
______
11. e
______
12.
______
13.
______
14.
______
15. ee
______
16. e
______
17.
______
18.
______
19.
______
20.
______
"
Exercise 2
Example:
Form questions and answers as seen in the example:
(my)
()
? .
? .
1. (his)
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. (soap) (your Formal)
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. ()
________________________________________________________________________________________
4. (car) (our)
________________________________________________________________________________________
5. (apple) (her)
________________________________________________________________________________________
6. ()
________________________________________________________________________________________
7. (my)
________________________________________________________________________________________
12-9
12-
8. ()
________________________________________________________________________________________
9. e (your Informal)
________________________________________________________________________________________
10. purse ()
________________________________________________________________________________________
11. (their)
________________________________________________________________________________________
12. (our)
________________________________________________________________________________________
12-10
Dialogues:
Grammar:
A: He's a bad actor; : She's a bad

singer; : What an awesome building!
Adjectives:
- Hard and soft stems
- End-stressed adjectives
- Adjectives with
Hes a bad actor
( and are watching ee. changes the channel)

:
e? e e .
.
What are you doing? Thats Keanu Reeves for

heavens sake. Hes a big star.
? , e, .
So what? Hes an average, no, hes a bad

actor.
? e ,
.
What are you talking about? Hes a very good,

talented actor.
Shes a bad singer
( and are watching . changes the station)

:
:
e? e .
.
? , e, e. So what? Shes an average, no, shes a bad
What are you doing? Thats Britney Spears for

heavens sake. Shes a big star.
singer.
9
10
? e ,
e.
What are you talking about? Shes a very good,

talented singer.
What an awesome building!
( and are watching ee. changes the channel)

:
11
e? e .
What are you doing? Thats Philip Johnson for

heavens sake.
12
? , e, e
.
So what? Hes an average, no, hes a talentless

(no-talent) architect.
13
14
15
? ee e
What are you talking about? His last building
e ee. e e! is really interesting. What an awesome
(excellent) building!
16
17
ee? e? .
.
13-1
Interesting? Awesome (Excellent)? Youre

joking. Its just a nightmare.
13-
Big
star (either the ones in the sky or in People magazine)
so what?; who cares?; big deal!
(note: soft )
average; fair; nothing special; middle
Bad
actor
good (note stress is on second syllable, unlike the adverbial form )
Talented
e
e (e)
singer (female)
12
talentless; no-talent
13
actress
singer (male)
Architect
14
(note soft )
last; final
14
Building
15
Interesting
15
awesome; excellent
13-2
Grammar
13.
Lesson 13
Adjectives
13..1 Hard and Soft Stems

Just as some nouns are born masculine (), neuter () or feminine (), some adjectives are born
hard (+, e+) while others are born soft (+, +). In general, there are not very many
soft-stem adjectives, though their forms are spelled exactly as predicted.
There are a lot of adjectives whose stems end in a spelling-rule letter: the velars , , and the hushers , , ,
. Dont accidentally write the wrong vowel letter after them (a very common mistake)!
To adjective stems (all ending in a consonant ) the following endings (beginning with vowel) are added. Note
that while the endings themselves remain the same, the spelling varies depending on:
1) the quality of the final consonant of the stem (hard + vs. soft +); and
2) spelling rules (see Lesson 7 for review)
Adjectives (Singular)
STEM
ADJECTIVE
TYPE
MASCULINE
-{I}
NEUTER
-{O}e
FEMININE
-{A}
HARD
VELAR
HUSHER
SOFT
Just as with possessives (see 12., 12.), the endings on the adjectives depend solely on the noun they are
modifying:
MASCULINE
NEUTER
FEMININE
13-3
13-
Pay attention to the agreement of adjective and noun. A long, but important exercise:
Example:
1.
2. e
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
13..2 End-Stressed Adjectives: ,

When the stress falls on the ending, all masculine adjectives take the ending -. Here there are no spelling
variations. The spelling of the feminine and neuter adjectives will be - and -e, respectively. (There are no soft
end-stressed adjectives.) Also, you cannot predict which adjectives will be end-stressed; ya gotta memorize it.
End-stressed Adjectives
STEM
NEUTER
MASCULINE
-
FEMININE
e e !
Note on all adjectives: Try not to confuse adjectival endings with the noun endings, especially the endings found
on possessives. Even though (, , ) have an adjectival meaning, the endings are the same as for nouns.
Make an exclamation about the following nouns using the adjective :
Example:
(bad)
e e !
1. (good)
2. (talentless)
3. e (talented)
4. (good)
5. e (talented)
6. (attractive)
7. (interesting)
8. (excellent)
9. (big )
10. e (interesting)
11. (big)
12. (bad)
13. (good)
14. (bad)
15. (bad)
16. (delicious)
13-4
Grammar
Lesson 13
Give a contradictory response. Read aloud both the question and the response:
Example:
?
e?
e, .
e, e.
1. e?
2. ?
3. e ?
4. e?
5. ?
6. e?
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
13..3 Adjectives with

If Lesson 8 we saw that with plural verb is used, whether you are addressing one person or 100 people:
You (100 guys) mixed up everything.
You (one stupid professor) mixed up everything.
With adjectives, however, you must use a singular form when addressing just one person in :
() .
You (Vera) are very beautiful (attractive).
() .
You (Vladmir) are talentless.
(When is used to address more than one person, use a plural form of the adjective, which we will learn in
Lesson 15.)
Translate into Russian. Assume that you are speaking to one person with whom you use .
1. You (male) are very talented.
2. You (female) are very talented.
3. You (male) are very interesting.
4. You (female) are very

interesting.
5. You (female) are very

attractive.
6. You (male) are very attractive.
13-5
13-
"
Exercise 1

Add the appropriate endings. Write in for a zero-ending and add stress marks
where appropriate. (Dont confuse adjective and noun endings. Be sure to read
the entire sentence before you start filling things in!):
1. _____ ________ e _________ .

2. ___________ ___________ e!
3. _________ ___________ ___________ e.
4. __________ _______________ _______!
5. _________ e______________ _______!
6. ______ __________ (song) e ____________ .
7. _________ ____________ e _____________ .
8. _________ __________ e e e____________ .
9. __________ ________ e e ___________ .
10. -e, __________ ________ ___________ .
11. ________ e ______________ e_______
12. _________ e e_____________ _______!
13. (male) ____________.
14. (female) ___________.
"
Exercise 2
Insert an adjective (in the correct form) of your choice:
1. e _____________________________________________ .
2. ________________________________________ e.
3. ____________________________________________ .
4. _____________________________________________ e.
5. ____________________________________________ .
6. ________________________________________ e.
7. ___________________ (your choice) ______________________________________ e.
8. _____________________________________________ .
13-6
13-
"
Exercise 3

Give your opinion. Try to spell out some names in Cyrillic (and dont forget to fill
in the endings):
1. -e, _________________________________________________ ________ .

2. -e, _________________________________________________ ________ .
3. -e, _________________________________________________ ________ e.
4. -e, _________________________________________________ ________ e.
5. -e, _________________________________________________ ________ hypothetical
6. -e, _________________________________________________ ________ .
7. -e, _________________________________________________ ________ .
8. -e, _________________________________________________ ________ .
13-7
Pay attention to the agreement of adjective and noun. A long, but important
exercise:
Example:
1.
4.
7.
10.
13.
16.
19.
22.
25.
28.

e

e
ee

e e
e
e
.
2.
5.
8.
11.
14.
17.
20.
23.
26.
29.
e e
e e
e
e
e

ee e
e e

e
3.
6.
9.
12.
15.
18.
21.
24.
27.
30.

e
e

ee

Dialogues:
Grammar:
A: That backpack is old; : This beer

is warm; : That pen is brand new
Frozen vs. the demonstrative
- Forms of the demonstrative
- Meaning
...
That backpack is old...
e ? e .
. e e ?
Wheres my backpack? It was lying on the bed.

Its a really good backpack. Where IS it?
, e.
There it is, on the sofa.
4
5
e, e . , No, thats not my backpack. That backpack is

old, but mine is brand new.
.
...
This beer is warm...
6
7
e ? e.
e e . e e ?
Wheres my beer? It was in the refrigerator.

Its really good (tasting) beer. Where IS it?
, .
There it is, on the table.
9
10
(touches the side of the bottle) e, e

. e,
e.
(touches the side of the bottle) No, this isnt my

beer. This beer is warm, but my beer was really
cold.
11
...
That pen is brand new...
12
13
e ? e .
. e e ?
Wheres my pen? It was lying on the table. Its

my favorite pen? Where IS it?
14
, e.
There it is, on the book.
15
16
e, e . ,
e .
No, thats not my pen. That pen is brand new,

but mine was really old.
1
3
4
6
7
10
11
12
13
/ /
backpack; rucksack
there (it is)
this (one here); that (one there)
old
completely; really; totally
new ( best translates as brand new)
refrigerator
tasty; delicious
warm
cold (related word: )
pen
favorite
14-1
14-
14.
Frozen vs. the Demonstrative / /
We have seen the following phrases containing frozen , which does not change form regardless of the
gender or number of the noun referred to:
QUESTIONS
RESPONSES / STATEMENTS
Whats this/that?
This is/Thats vodka.
Whos this/that?
This is/Thats Mishas father.
& , .
Is this/that your pen?
Yes, this is/thats my pen.
?
Is this/that your younger son?
'
& , . '
Yes, this is/thats my younger son.
e ?
Whose camera is this/that?
This is/Thats Grishas camera.
e .
Whose beer is this/that?
This is/Thats her beer.
Whose dog is this/that?
This is/Thats Ritas dog.
e, .
No, this is/thats Veras pen.
e, .
No, this is/thats not my older son.
The demonstrative is used to modify a particular noun. This word does reflect the gender (and number) of
the noun it is modifying. Here are the forms for the singular:
Forms of the Demonstrative (Singular)
MASCULINE
NEUTER
FEMININE
Note that neuter demonstrative and frozen look exactly the same. You should be able
to tell from context which one it really is.
Question:
I cant figure out the stem. From the neuter and feminine it looks like +, but
from the masculine it appears to be +.
Answer:
Youre right again. Actually, the Masculine should be just , but that
seemed too short, so they tacked on an extra syllable. In the other forms you
dont need this extra syllable, so you just add endings onto the stem +.
14-2
14-
14..1
Meaning of
The demonstrative / / can be translated by several different (and seemingly contradictory) words in
English. For now, well just look at one possible meaning. Often means / / this noun here (or, as
some would say, this here noun) and is often contrasted with another noun (as seen in the dialogue).
Compare:
DEMONSTRATIVE , ,
FROZEN
This (here) backpack is new. /
(here as an answer to ?)
This/That is a new backpack. /

Its a new backpack
This (here) beer is warm. /

That (there) beer is warm.
This/That is warm beer. /

Its warm beer.
This (here) pen is old. /

That (there) pen is old.
This/That is an old pen /

Its an old pen.
That (there) backpack is new.
Masc
e
Neut

Fem
The phrases with the demonstrative strongly imply that another backpack / beer / pen exists (about which the
person will shortly comment), while the phrases with frozen are complete sentences and dont imply the
existence of another similar item.
State that your noun is different from this here (that there) noun:
Example:
(cold)
e, e.
1. (cold)
2. (warm)
3. (old)
4. (good)
5. (good-looking)
6. (talented)
7. (old)
8. (car) (good)
9. (tasty)
Review of / / . Form both question and answer:
Example:
pen (my)
? .
1. backpack (my)
2. pencil ()
3. daughter (our)
4. beer ()
5. pen (your pl.)
6. newspaper ()
7. camera (her)
8. horse (his)
9. rifle ()
10. cat (your pl.)
11. door (their)
12. magazine ()
13. book (his)
14. dictionary (my)
15. dog ()
16. soap (your sing.)
14-3
14-
Use of the adjective . Object to someones dissing your favorite noun. (Note the
difference in the response about things vs. people):
Examples:
(not tasty)
ee .
? e .
(no-talent singer)
- .
- ?
1. (ugly)
2. (average actor)
3. wine (not tasty)
4. (bad actor)
5. (bad)
6. (average)
7. (no-talent
singer)
8. ee (not tasty)
9. (no-talent actress)
10. (bad)
11. car (average)
12. (no-talent
singer)
14-4
14-
"
Exercise 1
Example:
Provide a contrast:
, .
1.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
6.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
7.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
8. e
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks and answer as truthfully as you want:
1. _____ ________ __________________________________________________.

2. _____ ________ ___________________________________________________ .
3. _____ ________ ____________________________________________________.
4. _____ ________ e ____________________________________________________.
5. _____ ________ _____________________________________________________.
(We know that none of you here have ever tried beer, so just pretend)
6. _____ ________ _________________________________________________.

7. _____ ________ e _______________________ ______________________________.
your town/university
14-5
14-
"
Exercise 3

Translate into English:
1. e . , .
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. e ? .
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. e . e .
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
"
1. Where is my favorite pen? Its lying on the table.

________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. This (here) beer is warm. What a nightmare!
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Excuse me. Is this your backpack? Leave me alone.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Whose book is this? Its Ninas book.
________________________________________________________________________________________
14-6
Dialogues:
Grammar:
A: Where are my glasses?

: What are those buildings?
The plural of nouns
Nouns and stress
The plural of possessives and
The plural of adjectives
The many uses of
Where are my glasses?
2
3
e ? e .
eee . e e.
e e ?
Where are my glasses? They were (lying) on

the bed. Theyre my only (pair of) glasses .
Theyre very expensive. Where ARE they?
-e, e .
I think theyre (lying) on the table.
(Looks on the table) e. e

, e , .
(Looks on the table) No, here there are just my

keys, old magazines, and your letters.
What are those buildings?
(Touring -)
:
e e?
What building is that?
Thats the Hermitage
e ?
And what are those buildings?
10
, .
On the left is the Academy of Sciences and on

the right is the university.
11
12
e, ee. ,
.
No, you mixed everything up. The Academy of

Sciences sis on the left and Clio is on the right.
1
2
2
5
6
7
8
10
10
10
10
ee
(eye)glasses (always plural)
on the right; to the right
only; sole (Related to but be sure to write e and not o)

expensive; dear
only; nothing but; just
letter (See below for explanation of stress mark.)
which (one); what (kind of) (See grammar explanation.)
Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg
on the left; to the left
Academy of Sciences (Note that only the first word in an official title is capitalized
in Russian.)
university (Actually, in the USSR there were very few universities. Most
institutions of higher learning were called . Since 1991 many former
have changed to )
15-1
15-
15.
The Plural of Nouns
We saw the plural of nouns previously in words like , , and . Now lets look at the complete picture.
Masculine and Feminine Plural Nouns:

-{I} ( - / -)
SINGULAR
PLURAL
spelling-rule letters but

)
**a (Masc)
(note stress)
SOFT
1 (Fem)
**
**
(note stress)
(note stress)
FINAL CONSONANT
OF STEM
HARD (except all
SPELLING-RULE
LETTER (except )
(dictionary form)
ENDING
-{I}
*In our discussion of the spelling rules we mentioned that after both and can appear ( /
). In fact, in grammatical endings, only (never ) is written after .
** See below for explanation of stress notation in these nouns.
hange the nouns to plural (Weve deliberately included nouns you havent seen, but they all
follow the rules):
Example:
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. (ticket) .
5. .
6. (tie) .
7. .
8. .
9. .
10. (envelope) .
11. (cow) .
12. e .
13. (bottle)
14. (glass)
15. (paper) .
Actually, when forming the plural you dont need to worry about the gender of nouns ending in -. The ending for both
Masc/Fem is -.
15-2
Grammar
Lesson 15
Neuter Plural Nouns

-{A} (- / -)
SINGULAR
FINAL CONSONANT
OF STEM
PLURAL
(dictionary form)
HARD (including
spelling rule letters)
* (window)
* (heart)
(field)
(dress)
SOFT
ENDING
-{A}
2 (note stress)
(note stress)
(note stress)
*See below for explanation of stress notation.
15.
Nouns and Stress
There are two basic stress patterns in nouns:

1) Fixed stress: Stress is predictable throughout all forms of the noun. A noun can have fixed stress on either
the stem or the ending. With Feminine and Neuter nouns there is no problem; the stress is always on the same
vowel in all forms. With end-stressed Masculine nouns, however, the stress may appear to move. For
example, the plural of is . It appears that the stress has shifted from the a to the .
In fact, the stress has simply remained on the last possible vowel (lpv) in both forms. Well indicate lpv
stress with a stress mark following the stem: , , . (As far as we can tell, there are
no Feminine nouns in that have lpv stress.)
2) Shifting stress: Stress changes in various forms of the noun. For now, well only consider a shift in stress
occurs between the singular and plural, which we will indicate with an over the vowel that is stressed in the
singular: The dictionary form implies plural .

The table below has examples of nouns with the different types of stress patterns, and the notation we will be
using to indicate which stress pattern a noun has.
STEM STRESS
NOTATION:
on the stressed
vowel
sg
pl
MASC:
NEUT:
FEM:
FIXED STRESS
SHIFTING STRESS
END STRESS
after last consonant (for lpv)
sg
=
(very few)
(very few)
pl
over stressed vowel of the

dictionary form
sg
pl
bridge
* =
*Note that when the stress shifts from the ending in singular to the stem, the hidden basic {O} is
revealed: . The same thing is found in : ~.

2
We actually saw this in Lesson 1 in the phrase ? e (matters, affairs) is the plural of .
15-3
15-
Unfortunately, there is no good way to predict which nouns have shifting stress. However, here is one guideline:
given that there are very few end-stressed Neuter and Feminine nouns, if stress is on the ending in the singular in
a Neuter or Feminine noun, then most likely this is a shifting-stress noun, i.e., stress will shift to the stem in the
plural.
When you write your vocabulary notecards, it is very important that you include and memorize the stress patterns
for all nouns (dont worry - this will soon be the case for all verbs too!)
You may not believe it, but this is only the tip of a rather nasty iceberg concerning the stress in nouns. But the
good news is that we wont pursue this topic any further.
Change the nouns to plural (Weve deliberately included nouns you havent seen, but they all
follow the rules):
Example:
1. (window) .
2. .
5. .
4. (armchair) .
3. e (dress) .
6. .
7. ee (dorm) .
8. e (sea) .
9. (seat) .
10. e .
11. .
12. .
15.
The Plural of Possessives and
The possessives , , , , act like Masculine/Feminine nouns in the plural, all taking the
ending {I} even when they modify plural Neuter nouns. All four possessives have stems that happen to end in
either a soft consonant or spelling-rule letter, so the plural ending for all of them is spelled -. In addition, even
though the demonstrative / / this/that has a hard , the plural is these/those, with the softening (just
as the in / / softens in the plural: ):
Possessives and : Plural

-{I} (All genders)
SINGULAR
PLURAL
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
( softens)
ENDING
-{I}
Recall that 3rd person possessives (e, e, ) never change, not for gender or for number.
15-4
Grammar
15.
Lesson 15
The Plural of Adjectives
Plural Adjectives (All genders):

-{I}e (- / -)
FINAL CONSONANT
OF STEM
HARD (not including
SINGULAR
PLURAL
(All genders)
spelling rule letters)
, -, -
, -, -
SOFT
, -, -
, -, -
SPELLING RULE
LETTER
, -, -
, -, -
-
-
Some examples of possessives and adjectives with nouns (in random order):
SINGULAR
PLURAL

e e

e

ee
e
e e

ENDING
-{I}
e
e
3
e

ee
ee
e

e
Change to the plural. Note that frozen is unchanged throughout, while the pronoun must
change:
Example:
.
.
1.
3. e
2. e
4. ee
5. e (ring)
6.
7.
8.
9. e
10.
11.
12. e e
13.
14.
15. e e
16. e
17. e e (bicycle)
18. e
Note -e- drops out in this word. More on this phenomenon in the next chapter.
15-5
15-
15.
The Many Uses of
15..I
What a(n) [noun]!
Earlier we saw , -, - used in exclamations with the meaning What a(n) [noun]!:
!
What a nightmare!
What a beautiful building!
can be used in the plural () as well: What [nouns]!
What jerks!
e !
What beautiful buildings!
Form an exclamation using the adjective (the singular of unfamiliar words is given):
Example:
beautiful buildings
e e !
1. bad actors
2. talentless singers (F)
5. excellent actresses
6. warm gloves (e) 7. old buildings
8. beautiful mice
9. jerks (M)
10. jerks (F)
12. cold rooms ()
15..II
3. expensive glasses
11. average backpacks
4. interesting magazines
Which [noun]?, What (kind of) [noun]?
Another (actually more common) use of , etc. is in forming the questions Which [noun] is that? or What
kind of [noun] is that? Once again we find a frozen construction, with the frozen placed between
and the noun:
QUESTION
?
?
e ?
e ?
INTERPRETATIONS
POSSIBLE RESPONSES
1) Which magazine is this/that?
1) .
2) What kind of magazine is this/that?
2) .
1) Which book is this/that?
1) .
2) What kind of book is this/that?
2) , .
1) Which beer is this/that?
1) .
2) What kind of beer is this/that?
2) e .
1) Which glasses are those?
1) (for reading)
2) What kind of glasses are those?
2) e, e e .
15-6
Grammar
Lesson 15
Form questions and provide answers according to the example:
Example:
glasses (new)
book (e )
e ? e .
? e
1. refrigerator (old)
2. magazine ( )
3. beer (warm)
4. newspaper ()
5. soap (very tasty)
6. glasses (expensive)
7. photograph (interesting)
8. building (excellent)
9. vodka ()
15.. III
Which [noun] is [persons]?
can also be used in other constructions. Situation: You see more than one thing and want to determine
which one of them belongs to someone: Which [noun] belongs to [person]? Notice the difference in word order.
Here the noun immediately follows :
QUESTION
POSSIBLE RESPONSES
? Which magazine is yours?
. My magazine is (the one) on the left.
e ee ?
ee . Your cookie is (the one) on the right.
Which cookie is mine?
? Which book is Galyas?
. Galyas book is (the one) on the left.
e ? Which glasses are yours?
. My glasses are (the ones) on the right.
Form questions and answers according to the example:
Example:
book (his, on the left)

glasses (mine, on the right)
e? .
e ? .
1. keys (mine, on the left)
2. books (Lenas, on the right)
3. cookie (hers, on the left)
4. camera (Slavas, on the right)
5. backpack (mine, on the left)
6. pen (Vikas, on the left)
7. glasses (mine, on the right)
8. book (their(s), on the left)
9. pencil (Zinas, on the right)
15-7
15-
"
Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks:
SINGULAR
NOUN
(w/ stress notation)
"
1.
PLURAL
__________________________
_________ __________________________
________ ___________________________ _______________________________

_______________________
_________ __________________________
___________ ________________________
_____________________________
____________________ _______________
___________________________
Exercise 2
Put these phrases into the plural. Dont forget to change the verb endings!
(arm) .
____________________________________________________________________________________
2.
!
____________________________________________________________________________________
3.
ee .
____________________________________________________________________________________
4.
.
____________________________________________________________________________________
5.
.
____________________________________________________________________________________
6.
e .
____________________________________________________________________________________
7.
e ?
____________________________________________________________________________________
8.
e .
____________________________________________________________________________________
15-8
15-
"
Exercise 3
Example:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Form questions using and then give 2 different types of answers (Try your
best to use Cyrillic if your answers contain English names):
? . / .
Q:
_______________________________________________________________________________
A1:
_______________________________________________________________________________
A2:
_______________________________________________________________________________
Q:
_______________________________________________________________________________
A1:
_______________________________________________________________________________
A2:
_______________________________________________________________________________
Q:
_______________________________________________________________________________
A1:
_______________________________________________________________________________
A2:
_______________________________________________________________________________
Q:
_______________________________________________________________________________
A1:
_______________________________________________________________________________
A2:
_______________________________________________________________________________
15-9
Dialogue:
Grammar:
Are your sisters home?

Addressing adults: First name +
patronymic
st
1 conjugation: Present Tense
- Stem + ending
- -+ stem verbs
st
- Other 1 conjugation verb types: +,
+, +
- Meanings of the Present Tense
Are your sisters (at) home?
? ?
Are your sisters (at) home? What are they

doing?
2
3
e , e
ee e.
Veras reading a magazine, and Mashas doing

(her) homework.
e e?
And what are you doing today?
5
6
? e e.
. .
Me? Nothing special. Im reading (some)

letters and listening to the radio. And then
were going to the movies.
, , walks in
7
8
, ,
ee?
Hello, Irina, daughter of Vadim, how are you

doing?
9
10
e, . , . Hello, Yura. Everythings OK, thanks. And

?
you?
11
I cant complain.
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
11
+
+
ee e
e
e e
+

+
ee?

+...
(at) home
do; make
read
homework assignment (note soft on adjective)
today (Note that the is pronounced [], just like in , .)
nothing special (Another as [] in .)
listen to (no need for a preposition in Russian!)
radio
then; after that
go
here: to
the movies (This is a foreign noun, which never changes its form.)
hello; good afternoon (lit.: good day)
get along; be doing
How are you doing? (This is a pretty standard polite question in Russian.)
I cant complain (Literally this fixed expression means sin to complain.)
sin
complain
16-1
16-
16.
Addressing Adults: First Name + Patronymic

(7)
In addition to using the form with s mother , addresses her as , i.e., by

her full first name (See Lesson 3 for list) plus what is known as a patronymic (e), which is based on the
fathers first name. (Sorry, no such thing as a matronymic yet.)
To form a patronymic, take the fathers full name and then add the ending -{O} for men, -{O} for women:
FATHERS FIRST NAME
MALE
FEMALE
-{O}
-{O}
e ( drops out)
(stress is on end)
If the fathers first name ends in a single consonant + -, then the ending becomes -e / -e.
FATHERS 1ST NAME
MALE
FEMALE
ending in a single + :
ee
ee
16-2
Grammar
Lesson 16
Irregular forms (for reference):
FATHERS FIRST NAME
MALE
FEMALE
( pronounced )
Ask the following people how they are doing. Their fathers name is in parentheses:
Example:
(e)
, e, ee?
1. ()
2. ()
3. e (e)
4. ()
5. ()
6. ()
7. ()
8. ()
9. (e/)
10. ()
11. ()
12. ()
16-3
16-
Present Tense 1st-Conjugation
16.
16..1
Stem + Ending
Like nouns, verbs can be broken down into stems + endings. However, unlike nouns and adjectives, not all verb
stems end in a consonant, and not all verb endings begin in a vowel. In describing how verbs conjugate (form the
present, past, imperative, infinitive, etc.) we will classify them by their stems. Verb stems will end with +. First
lets look at one set of endings for the present tense:
1st-Conjugation Present Tense Endings
SINGULAR
1st ()
-{U}
2nd ()
3rd (//)
16..2
PLURAL
1st ()
-{O} (-/)
-{O} (-/)
2nd ()
-{O} (-/)
-{O}
3rd ()
-{U}
(-/-)
(-/)
(-/-)
-+ Stem Verbs
By far the most common verb type in Russian are -+ stem verbs. Once you learn this verb type, you will be
able to conjugate thousands of Russian verbs.
We have already seen the following -+ stem verbs:
+
ee+
+ +
do;make
work
get along
read
listen to
understand
mix up
ask
When we add the 1st-conjugation endings to -a+ stems, they look like this:
Present Tense: -+ Stems

Person /
Number
1sg
2sg
3sg
Ending
-{U}
Pronoun
+ do; make
+ read
+ give
//
- {O}
- {O}
1pl
2pl
- {O}
-{O}
3pl
-{U}
Absolute take-to-the-bank rule: For all 1st-conjugation verbs, in order to form the -form
just add a - to the -form: > . Except for a possible difference in stress, there are no
exceptions. None.
16-4
give
Grammar
Question:
I thought you said these verbs are -+ stem. Wheres the ? I dont see any
in , , etc.
Answer:
You should know better than that. All of the verbs do contain an . Its after
the --, and is spelled by a soft indicating vowel, either e, or . So the
basic sound is as follows:
16.
Lesson 16
{E}{A}{U} ({U} is spelled )

{A}{O}{A}{O} (unstressed {O} is spelled )
{A}{O} (stressed {O} is spelled )
Question:
What do you mean by the -{O}- ending in e and e? I dont

see no stinkin o.
Answer:
Youre really slipping. Dont forget that an unstressed letter e may be {O}.
Granted, the forms e and e dont reveal the underlying {O}, but
the form sure does. Its really {O}. So, anytime the Present Tense of a
1st-conjugation verb is stressed on the ending, for the , /, , forms,
you will get . But dont write if the stress is on the stem!
1st-Conjugation = Up-to-Snuff
As a (stupid but quite effective) mnemonic device, you can call these 1st-conjugation verbs Up-to-Snuff verbs.
The phrase Up-to-Snuff contains the three vowels ({U}-{O}-{U}) of the 1st-conjugation in the same order they
occur in the verbal paradigm:
Up {U}
to {O}
Snuff {U}
(this e is {O})
(this e is {O})
(this e is {O})
(this e is {O})
16-5
16-
16.
More (Non -+ Stem) Up-to-Snuff Verbs
Other 1st-conjugation (Up-to-Snuff) verb types: + go, + live, + call

These are verbs whose stems do not end in -+ but which have the same Present Tense up-to-snuff endings as
verbs like + and +. For now we wont give these verbs an official name. Just note that all the stems
ends in a consonant, just like the -+ stems.
Present Tense: 1st-conjugation (Up-to-Snuff)

(-+ stems and others)
PERSON / NUMBER
1sg
2sg
3sg
1pl
2pl
3pl
STEM
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
ENDING
-{U}
-{O}
-{O}
-{O}
-{O}e
-{U}
16-6
WORD
Grammar
Lesson 16
Question:
What a minute. Why are the final consonants of the stems + , + and
+ hard only before endings beginning with -{U}: () / () /
(), but then the or are soft everywhere else, when the ending
begins with {O}: , , ? Whats with this switching
between hard and soft?
Answer:
Youre back on track. Really good observation. Yes, the softening before all
the endings beginning in {O} is unexpected, but weve seen other cases of
unpredictable softening, as in , {A}, {O} but {I}. Just be happy to
know that this is the case with the entire Russian verb system: all consonants
capable of softening do so before endings beginning with {O}.
16..4
Meanings of the Present Tense in Russian
Good news! Russian has just one Present Tense. In other words, all of the following English sentences are
rendered by the single Russian sentence:
RUSSIAN
ENGLISH
I read a magazine [every morning].

I am reading a magazine.
I have been reading a magazine [for 3 hours].
I do read a magazine [every day].
Listen and repeat:
Example:
, e, e, e, ee,
1. +
2. +
3. +
4. +
5. +
6. +
7. +
8. +
9. +
10. +
11. +
12. + (buy)
Produce the form that is called for on the tape. This is a long, but very important exercise.
Example:
+ (, )
e , .
1. + (, , , , , e , e, )
2. + (, , e, , , , , ` e, e)
3. + (, , , , , , , )
4. + (, , , , , , , )
5. + (, , , e, , , , )
6. + (, , , , e e, , , )
7. e + (, , , , , e, e e)
8. + (, , , , , , , )
9. + (, , , e , e , e, , )
10. +? (, , , , e e, , , e)
16-7
16-
Now try some verbs youve never seen before. Dont forget to note where the stress is.
(Remember, if the stem ends in a consonant other than , the endings for the and -forms
do not soften the consonant.)
Example:
e+ take
+ know
+ take
e,
,
,
e,
e,
,
1. +
2. + (wait)
3. + (think)
4. + (help)
5. e+ (take)
6. e+ (notice)
7. + (run)
8. + (get up)
9. + (wash)
10. + (begin)
16-8
16-
Exercise 1
Example:
Form the patronymic for the following:
()
()
e, !
e, e!
(You only need to write e once)
1. ()
______________________________________________________________
2. ()
"
" ______________________________________________________
3. e ()
"
" ______________________________________________________
4. ()
"
" ______________________________________________________
5. ()
"
" ______________________________________________________
6. ()
"
" ______________________________________________________
7. ()
"
" ______________________________________________________
Exercise 2
Fill in the verb chart. Pay attention to where the stress is!
Exercise 3

16-9
16-
1. We are going to the movies.

______________________________________________________________________________________
2. What is Ninas brother doing? (Best word order: What (is) doing Ninas brother?)
______________________________________________________________________________________
3. I understand everything.
______________________________________________________________________________________
4. My sisters are listening to the radio.
______________________________________________________________________________________
5. What are you doing? Nothing special.
______________________________________________________________________________________
16-10
Dialogues:
Grammar:
A: Whos that man?; : Whos that

woman?; B: Who are those people?
Nationalities and capitalization
Irregular plural nouns
st
1 conjugation: some more verb types:
+, +, +
Whos that man?
e?
Whos that man?
, .
I think its Veras husband.
e?
Whats he doing?
4
5
e , e
e .
Hes drinking French wine, dancing, and

singing Russian songs.
Whos that woman?
Whos that woman?
, e.
I think its Yuras wife.
e?
Whats she doing?
e , e
ee .
Shes drinking Russian beer, dancing, and

singing American songs.
10
Who are those people?
11
Who are those people?
12
, .
I think its Tanyas brothers.
13
What are they doing?
14
e ,
e .
Theyre drinking English beer, dancing, and

singing French songs.
15
man; person; human being (plural is - see below)
think
that (conjunction)
drink (See grammar explanation for more details on this verb type)
French (Students often fail to write the . Try not to forget.)
wine
dance (See grammar explanation for more details on this verb type)
sing (See grammar explanation for more details on this verb type)
17-1
17-
song (soft stem: {A})
woman (approx. over the age of 30)
10
American
11
people (plural of e; related to German leute)
12
brothers (irregular pl of )
14
English (Note two sets of )
[
17.
Nationalities and Capitalization

(4), (5), etc.
Of course, you remember not to capitalize I. (Russians are very humble, unlike...). Dont capitalize
nationalities, either adjectives or nouns:
17.
At home I read Russian journals.
John is an American.
Some Irregular Plural Nouns

> (11), > (12)
As in English, a lot of common nouns (especially related to people itself a perfect example) are irregular. For
now learn these two nouns. (Also, find your index card for and update it).
Singular
Plural
(related to German leute)
Change everything you can to plural (dont forget about some stress changes):
Example:
.
e.
.
.
1. e ?
2. e .
3. e?
4. e e? think!
5. .
6. e e. think!
7. e.
8. e.
9. e?
17-2
Grammar
Lesson 17
Some More Up-to-Snuff (1st-Conjugation) Verb Types
17.
+, +, +
New verbs in this lesson:
+ is another -+ verb. Ho hum.

+ and + are exactly like -+ verbs except theres a different vowel before the . Recall in Lesson
10 we had e, the present tense stem of which is +, similar to +. Remember that
the stress mark appearing after the stem in + indicates the stress is on the ending: , , .
What about +? Theres no vowel in this stem! It may seem a bit odd, but it adds the regular endings and
gives the expected forms anyway: +{U} (because {U} is spelled ); +{O}
({O} is spelled /). So, + is like an -+ verb but with a instead of an a before the stem final .
Present Tense: 1st conjugation (Up-to-Snuff)

+, +, +
Person /
Number
1sg
Ending
Pronoun
-{U}
+ sing
+ dance
+ drink
//
2sg
3sg
- {O}
-{O}
1pl
-{O}
2pl
-{O}
3pl
-{U}
Listen and repeat:
Example:
, , , , ,
1. +
2. +
3. +
4. +
5. e +
6. + (beat; hit)
7. + (close)
8. + (clean up)
17-3
17-
Produce the form that is called for on the recording (A long, but very important exercise):
Example:
+ (, , etc.)
, , etc.
1. + e (, , , , , , , )
2. + e (, , , , , , )
3. + (, , , , , , , )
4. e + (, , , , ,
, , )
5. + e e ( , , , , ,
?, ?, )
6. +, ( , , , , , , ,
, )
17-4
17-
"
Exercise 1

Put as much as you can into the plural (not everything can change):
1. e ?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. e?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. e .
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. e e -.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
5. e e ?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
6. .
_____________________________________________________________________________________
7. ?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
8. e ee ? (Think, do you need to change ee ?)

_____________________________________________________________________________________
17-5
17-
"
Exercise 2
Fill in the verb charts (There are some unfamiliar verbs, but that shouldnt make a
difference):
e
+
+ lead
e+ bother
+ open
"
Exercise 3
1. We are drinking American wine and singing French songs.

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
2. The English women are reading a Russian magazine.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
17-6
Dialogue:
Grammar:
Are your brothers home?

2nd conjugation: Present Tense
- When combining stem + ending
results in truncation
- Verb classes: -+, -e+, -+
nd
- 2 conjugation and stress
Expressions with languages
Are your brothers (at) home?
? ?
Are your brothers (at) home? What are they

doing?
2
3
ee,
e .
Dima is watching TV, and Nikita and his

girlfriend Varya are standing on the balcony and
smoking.
e?
And what are you doing?
5
6
? e e.
. .
Me? Nothing special. Im studying Chinese

vocabulary (= words). At school were
studying Chinese.
? e e!
Youre studying Chinese? Wow!
e -?
Do you speak Chinese?
e, - -
.
No, I speak a little bit of French and I know

Spanish fairly well.
10
watch
ee
TV
girlfriend
stand
balcony
smoke
study; learn (We saw: He studies at Princeton)
Chinese (adj)
(Plural )
word
school
language; tongue (We saw the Phrase: Russian (language)

course.)
speak; talk (We saw: ? What are you talking about?)
a little bit; just a bit
French (adj.) (See grammar explanation concerning the form -.)
10
know
10
Spanish (adj)
18-1
18-
18.
Present Tense 2nd-Conjugation (Guitar) Verbs
18..1
When combining stem + ending results in truncation of final letter of stem
Before we look at the Present Tense endings for the 2nd-conjugation (Guitar) verbs (the last two lessons covered
just 1st-conjugation Up-to-Snuff verbs), lets look a little more at how endings are added to stems. Thus far (with
all nouns, adjectives, and 1st-conjugation verbs) we have seen basic addition: everywhere we have simply added
the endings all of which have begun with a vowel to the stems all of which, so far, have ended with a
consonant. In other words, the combination C + V is a harmonious one:
This could be the beginning of
a beautiful relationship.
C+V
harmony:
+ -{A}
+ -{O}e
+ + -{U}
+ + - {O}
+ - {O}
But what happens if the stem ends in a vowel, i.e. (V + V)? Here you get TRUNCATION, where the stem vowel
is replaced, kicked out, 86ed, tossed by the vowel in the ending.
and stay out!
Beat it!
/V + V
chaos:
e
/ + + -{U}
/ + + -{I}
/ + + -{A}
Why are we bringing this up here? Because all the stems of the 2nd conjugation (Guitar) verbs end in a vowel. So,
when these stems combine with endings beginning with a vowel, V
/ + V truncation will occur throughout the
Present Tense.
18..2
2nd-Conjugation (Guitar) Endings
Recall that we dubbed the 1st-conjugation endings Up-to-Snuff because the vowels found in the endings follow
the pattern {U} () {O} (, , , ) {U} (). To help you remember the vowel sequence
for the 2nd-conjugation, we suggest you think of Guitar, because, as you might expect, the pattern is {U}-{I}-{A}.
Present Tense endings, 2nd conjugation
SINGULAR
st
PLURAL
st
1 ()
-{U}
1 ()
-{I}
2nd ()
-{I}
2nd ()
-{I}
rd
3 (//)
rd
-{I}
3 ()
-{A}
Note that the endings are quite similar to 1st conjugation only the vowels are different (but not in the form).
18-2
Grammar
18..3
Lesson 18
2nd conjugation (Guitar) verb classes: -+, -e+, --+
There are only three types of 2nd-conjugation (Guitar) verbs (based on the final letter(s) of the stem):
1) -+, e.g., + (i.e., the final letter of the stem is )
2) -e+, e.g., + (i.e., the final letter of the stem is )

3) + (where stands for any of the permanently hard or soft consonants , , , , 1), e.g., e+,
+ listen, + shout, + squeal, + (remember: {A} is spelled ). Well refer to this group
as -+ verbs. Every other verb class besides -+, -e+, -+ is 1st-conjugation.
We have already seen the following 2nd-conjugation (Guitar) verbs:
-+ verbs
-e+ verbs
+ smoke
+ talk; speak
+ study; learn
--+ verbs
+ look
e+ see
+ sit; be in a sitting position
e+ lie; be in a lying position

+ stand; be in a standing position
Question:
I still dont see how you can determine the stem. The forms youve listed
above dont appear in any dictionary, what with the crazy + and the like.
Answer:
Just trust us. Yes, the form + is not found in a dictionary, but it is OUR
form, from which youll be able to predict every other form of the that verb. A
little later on well talk about dictionary forms and why they are inferior.
Present Tense, 2nd Conjugation (Guitar) Verbs

(Note truncation due to the V
/ +V combination)
PERSON / NUMBER
STEM
ENDING
/ +
/ +
/ +
2sg
/ +
/ +
/+
3sg
//
/ +
/ +
/+
/ +
/ +
/+
2pl
3pl
1sg
-{U}
-{I}
-{I}
-{I}
/ +
/ +
/+
-{I}e
/ +
/ +
/ +
-{A}
1pl
WORD
There is only 1 verb in -+, but its obscene.
18-3
18-
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT 2nd CONJUGATION: Remember that the -form ending
for the 2nd-conjugation (Guitar) is -{A}: , , . Do NOT attempt to use
the 1st conjugation -{U} (as many Russian students tend to do by mistake). A Russian
standing near by is likely to short circuit.
2nd-Conjugation (Guitar) Verbs and Stress
18..4
The 1st-conjugation verbs weve learned so far (Lessons 16 and 17) all have fixed stress in the Present Tense. 2nd
-conjugation verbs can also have fixed stress. Stress can be fixed on any syllable of the verb: + = always 1st
syllable: , , ; + = always last syllable: , , 2, etc.
However, some 2nd-conjugation verbs have shifting stress in the Present Tense. Dont get stressed: the shifting
pattern is always the same: from the ending in the 1st person singular (-form) to the stem in all other forms. As
with nouns, we will indicate shifting stress with the symbol above the end syllable: + = ,
, ... . On your verb index cards, DONT FORGET to include stress pattern.
FIXED STRESS
+
+
SHIFTING STRESS
Listen and repeat:
Example:
+
+
1. +
6. + (be silent)
5. +
9. + (repair)
, , , , e,
, , , , e,
2. e+
10. e+ (hold)
3. +
4. + (shout)
7. +
8. + (believe)
11. + (remember)
12. e+ (decide)
Produce the form that is called for on the recording (Another long, but very important exercise):
Example:
+ e (, , etc.)
, .., etc.
1. + - (, , , , , e , e, )
2. e+ e (, , e, , , , e, e)
3. + (, e, , , , , , )
2
Technically, stress in verbs like + is still on the stem, since the is still part of the stem. But remember, this
stem vowel gets cut when the verb endings are added. The result is that the stress winds up being on the ending after all:
/ + + -{U} .
18-4
Grammar
Lesson 18
4. + ee (, , , , , , , )
5. e + (, , e, , , , , )
6. + (, , , , e e, , e e, )
7. + (, , , , , , , e e)
8. + (, , , , , , , )
The Chameleon: Keep changing the phrase using each newly given word. Sometimes the
subject will change, sometimes the verb). As you will hear on the recording, word order is
flexible in Russian. Your answer is not wrong if the order does not match the recording.
Example: + (, , +)
e ?
Start with + ?
1.
2.
6.
7.
5.
8. +
4. +
ee
9.
3.
10.
11.
12. +
13.
14.
15.
16.
17. +
18.
19.
20.
21. +
22.
23.
24. + e
25.
26.
27.
28. +
-
29.
30.
18.
Talking About Languages

e -? (8)
Back in Lesson 7 the poor caf worker said: - I dont understand Russian well.
With the verbs + speak, + read, + understand you need that little - (dont forget to
write the dash; lots of students do), to which you add the name of the language (the adjective minus the final -):
With +, +, +: -X
ADJECTIVE
ADD - & REMOVE -
USE WITH +, +, +
English
- in English
+ - speak English
Russian
- in Russian
+ - read Russian
French
- in French
+ - understand French
Spanish
- in Spanish
+ - speak Spanish
Chinese
- in Chinese
+ - read Chinese
German
- in German
+ - understand German
18-5
18-
For the verbs + study; learn and + know, however, you simply leave the language adjective as is
(including the final ) and optionally add the noun language.
With +, +: X
ADJECTIVE
ADD (OPTIONAL)
USE WITH +, +
English
() English (language)
+ () study; learn English
Russian
() Russian( language)
+ () know Russian
French
() French (language)
+ () study; learn French
Spanish
() Spanish (language)
+ () know Spanish
Chinese
() Chinese (language)
+ () study; learn Chinese
German
() German language
+ () study; learn German
Transform the sentence as in the example:
Example:
/ + / French
/ + / English
-.
.
1. / e + / Spanish
2. / + /Russian
3. / e + / English
4. / + / Russian?
5. / + / French?
6. / + / Russian
7. /
+ / English
8. / + / Chinese
18-6
9. / + / German
18-
Exercise 1 What are the 3 types of 2nd conjugation (Guitar) verbs? Give an example of each.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 2
Fill in this 2nd-conjugation (Guitar) verb table just as you did for the 1st
conjugation:
18-7
e+
18-
Exercise 3
Example:
Answer the questions as truthfully as if you wish:
e -?
or:
or:
, -.
e, e -.
-, e .
1. ( e) -?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. ? (Keep the verb in the Past: Masculine Ending - / Feminine -)
______________________________________________________________________________________
3. e -?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. e -?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 4
Put in a verb that makes sense:
1. ________________________ ? ____________________________ .
2. ___________________________ e _______________________________ .
3. __________________________ e .
4. _________________________ _______________________ e .
5. , _________________________ , __________________________________!
18-8
Dialogue:
Grammar:
You are so strange!

Another use of
nd
2 conjugation: V+V truncation and
consonant mutation
The Infinitive
- Forming the Infinitive
- Uses
!
:
You are so strange!
e! e e
ee.
You are so lazy! You sit and watch TV all day.
4
5
? , ee.
ee.
?
So what? Im sitting and watching TV. I like to

sit and watch TV. So what should (I) do?
6
7
e . , , ,
.
I dont know. (You ought to) study, work, read,

cook (prepare) dinner.
e, e . But you know that I cant cook (= I cook very

e?
poorly). And what are you doing?
1
2
11
? . e
.
Me? Im ironing (my) pants. I really like to

iron pants.
12
, . !
Yes, I see (that). You are so strange!
10
lazy
e e
all day (Learn this as a fixed phrase for now.)
sit; be in a sitting position (as opposed to sitting down)
like; love
(one; you) has to; ought to; must
study (Well discuss the later on.) This verb means spend time studying,
(reading, doing homework, etc.) and never takes a direct object like + does
prepare; make; cook
dinner
but, however
10
iron
10
pants (always plural)
12
see
12
strange
19-1
19-
19.
Another Use of
(1); ! (12)
In addition to the uses illustrated in Lesson 15, is used to constructions such as You are so [adjective]! He
is such a [Noun}! The structure is shown below. Note that both and the adjective agree in gender and
number with the PERSON (the subject). If you add another noun after the adjective, and the adjective will
agree with the NOUN. (Lit: How kind he is the difference between this and )
PERSON
ADJECTIVE (& NOUN)
He is so kind!
Masha is so strange!
They are so lazy!
Olga is such an excellent doctor!
agreement with person
agreement with noun
Make comments about people according to the prompt:
Example:
(kind)
1. (F) (kind)
2. (old)
3. (lazy)
4. (attractive)
5. (smart: )
6. (excellent student
)
7. (kind person)
8. (bad student)
9. (good students)
19-2
Grammar
19.
Lesson 19
2nd-Conjugation: : V
/+V Truncation and Consonant Mutation
Some consonants in a verb stem cannot take the shock of seeing their vowel neighbor to the right
unceremoniously lopped off by the vowel from the ending. Being paired up with the 1st person ending -{U} just
adds insult to injury and the stem consonant MUTATES into another consonant.
1. Add the -form Present Tense ending -{U} to
the verb stem. (Because of the /V+ V
combination that results, vowel truncation
occurs as expected):
Hey, stem vowel, ! Youre

no longer needed. Im the head
vowel in charge now!
e+ {U}
2. The consonant that is now at the end
of the stem undergoes mutation:
Oh, the agony! E and I were so
close. I cant take this. Im
mutating. What a world! Ahhhhh!!!
+ {U}
+ {U}
This mutation occurs only in the -form. When any other ending is added, no such mutation occurs:
Yo, stem
vowel,
scram!
e+ {I} /{A}
Hey {I}, {A}, youre not so
bad. I think Ill stick around.
+ {I} /{A}
English also has consonant mutation, but we dont normally represent it in spelling. If you say did you at
normal conversational speed, most likely it comes out didja, where [d] mutates to [j]. The same sort of thing
happens with got you!, which can even be spelled gotcha! ([t] mutates to [ch]). English also has [d] [zh]
mutation in pairs like decide decision, collide collision, etc.
19-3
19-
Here are the mutations weve seen so far:
NO MUTATION:
EXAMPLE:
MUTATION
2nd conj., Present 1sg only
Remaining Present Tense
/ +{U}
/ +{U}
/ +{U}
For consonants that are formed with the lips (known as the Labials), instead of changing into a different
consonant, an is added before the -form ending is attached. So far were seen the following stems with labial
mutations:
/ +{U}
/ +{U}
We'll see two more labial consonants ( and ) fairly soon.
Question:
Why didnt we see consonant mutation last lesson with e/ +{U} and
/ +{U}? Dont these consonants mutate?
Answer:
Not every consonant CAN mutate. The consonants and dont mutate. As
for - verbs, the final stem consonant ALREADY is mutated, and once
you mutate, you dont feel like doing it again.
EXAMPLE:
NON-MUTATING
CONSONANTS
2
/ +{U}/
- doesnt mutate
- doesnt mutate
- already mutated
CONJ., ALL OF PRES. TNS.
(as well as )
/ +{U}
(as well as )
+{U}
(as well as )
/ +{U}
(as well as )
/ + +{U}
- already mutated
ND
/ +{U}
(as well as )
(as well as )
Listen and repeat. There are several new verbs, but they work exactly like similar verbs you
know:
Example:
+ (catch)
e+
, , , , e,
, , , , e,
1. +
2. + (give a gift)
3. + (receive)
4. e+
5. e+ (offend)
6. ee+ (hate)
7. + (rob)
8. + (yell)
10. + (leave)
11. + measure
12. + (phone)
doesnt mutate!
9. + (lead)
19-4
Grammar
Lesson 19
Chameleon:
Example:
+ (, , +)
e ?, ?, .
Start with +
1.
2.
3.
4. +
5.
6.
7.
8. +
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14. +
15.
16.
17.
18. +
19.
20.
21.
22. +
23.
24.
25.
26.
27. +
28.
29.
30.
19.
The Infinitive
; ;
19..1 Forming the Infinitive

The most common Infinitive ending is -.
This ending, along with the Past Tense endings (-, -, -, -), begin in a consonant, so lets see how to add a
consonant ending to a verb stem:
Taking what weve seen with the Present Tense, where V+C combines harmoniously, while V+V causes havoc,
we can now make a more general statement about attaching endings to stem:
Opposites Attract (and combine harmoniously), Likes Repel (leading to truncation and possible mutation)
OPPOSITES ATTRACT: C+V, V+C

(and combine peacefully)
LIKES REPEL: V
/ +V, C/ +C
(leading to truncation and possibly mutation)
Vowel endings (e.g., nouns and adjective endings; Present Tense verb endings)
+{U}
+{I}
+{A}
+{I}
+
+
e+
+{U}
+{E}
+{O}
+{A}
/ +{U}
/ +{U}
e/ +{I}
e
/ +{A}
Consonant endings (e.g., Infinitive ending . Well discuss the Past Tense shortly)
e
(no stress shift in the Infinitive)
/ +
/ +
/ +
19-5
19-
Question:
What about the Infinitive for + go ? Is it ? How about +? What

could the Infinitive of that verb be?
Answer:
You know, you ask a lot of questions. No, the Infinitive of the stem + is not
, but thats a good guess, its . (Dont ask; just memorize it for now).
The Infinitive of verb types like + and + are also forms we dont
expect. We wont tell you what they are right now. Well keep you in
suspense until the next lesson.
19..3
Uses of the Infinitive
Infinitives are normally translated as to talk, to understand, etc., and generally appear in the same environment as
they would in English:
ee.
I like to watch TV.
(You) have to study / (You) must study*
*Note that when the word must is used, you lose the to in English: You must study. This isnt an issue in Russian,
where the Infinitive is a single word.
Form an Infinitive as in the example
Example:
1. +
2. + ee
3. +
4. +
8. + ee
e
5. + (sleep)
6. + e
7. +
9. e+ e
10. +
11. +
12. + (play)
13. +
14. e+ (fly)
15. + (stroll)
16. +
Chameleon (Keep the Present Tense of + as a constant):
Example:
(+, )
Start with: .
1.
2.
5.
6.
9.
10. + ee
3. + ee
e
4.
7. +
8.
11.
12.
19-6
19-
"
Exercise 1

Fill in this verb table:
e+
e+
Infin.
"
Exercise 2 Fill in this verb table:
+
Infin.
19-7
19-
"
Exercise 3 List 3 things you like or dont like to do. Then list 3 things that a sibling or parent
likes or doesnt like to do. Do not use the verbs drink, sing, dance they each
have a nasty infinitive form.
Example:
-.
e .
1. ________________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________________
1. ________________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________________
19-8
Dialogues:
Grammar:
A typical day
Expressing when youre not impressed
The Past Tense
The suffix -
Double-stem verbs
Verbs and stress
A typical day
, ?
Misha, what did you do yesterday?
5
6
? . ,
, , ,
, , ,
, .
.
What did I do? Nothing special. I read, wrote

(some) letters, strolled in the park, studied,
ironed (my) pants, smoked, stood on (my) head,
sat and watched TV, made dinner. A typical
day.
And what did you older sister Nadya do?
8
9
10
11
,
, .
- ,
.
Nadya sat on the sofa and drank bad cheap

German beer, sang Chinese songs. She listened
to the radio for a while and then she did (her)
homework.
12
13
?
? ?
And your younger brothers Vitya and Yura?

What did they do? Where were they?
14
15
16
17
-.
, ,
, , .
They were in NY. There they strolled in the

park, drank good, expensive French wine,
watched (saw) an Italian film, spoke German,
smoked, and sang Russian songs.
18
Wow!
3
4
write (Present Tense isnt what you expect. Use in Past only for now)
take a walk; stroll (This is a regular + verb, but instead of , theres .)
park
a typical day (See grammar explanation about this construction.)
{+ / +}
drink (See grammar explanation about bizarre notation.)
cheap
German (This strange word is related to the word mute - because the Slavs
[not just Russians] who encountered the Germans thought they didnt know how
to speak correctly)
{+ / +}
sing (See grammar explanation about bizarre notation.)
16
Italian (Note that there is a and not an following the .)
16
film; movie
20-1
20-
20.
[Noun] [Noun]: A Typical [Noun]

e e (9)
The structure [Noun] [Noun] gives the meaning a typical X; nothing to write home about; no great shakes,
etc.
.
A typical book.
Average beer, nothing special.
Just ordinary students.
(Never said about Princeton students, .)
20.
The Past: An of a Tense
Examples of the Past Tense weve seen in previous lessons:

/ !
I said (M/F) tea!
We were in California.
e .
It (M) was lying on the table.
It (N) was in the refrigerator.
The Past Tense is pretty easy in Russian. There arent that many exceptions, as there are in English.1 All the
endings begin in --, so its our second consonant ending (the first one was the Infinitive ending -).
SINGULAR
PLURAL
MASC (, , )
FEM (, , )
NEUT ()
ALL (, , )
-2
The distinction in the Present between person (, , ) is replaced in the Past Tense by gender and number.
So, if someone shows you the form in isolation, you cant tell if it refers to , , or . The only
thing you know is that the subject is one female.
Think about practically any common English verb, and well bet you 20 to 1 that it has an irregular Past Tense: see/saw,
know/knew, do/did, drink/drank, buy/bought, go/went, ad infinitum.
Note that softens unexpectedly in the plural: -, just like in : (hey it rhymes what a great
mnemonic).
20-2
Grammar
Lesson 20
Since the Past Tense endings begin with a consonant, we get the same results as we did when forming Infinitives:
V+C (harmony)
SINGULAR
STEM
MASC (, , )
PLURAL
FEM (, , )
NEUT ()
ALL (, , )
e+
C/ +C (truncation of final stem consonant)
SINGULAR
MASC (, , )
PLURAL
FEM (, , )
NEUT ()
ALL (, , )
/+
/ +
/ +
*Note the shift in stress in the verb +
in the Feminine form. See below for more details on verbs and stress.
Give the Past Tense / / forms of the following verbs:
1. +
2. +
3. +
4. +
5. +
6. +
20.
The Verbal Suffix -

+ (3)
Weve seen a few verbs so far that have the verbal suffix -: + study +... be a student.
Whenever the letter immediately preceding the is a VOWEL, .
C
e.g.,
, ,
, , ,
V
e.g.,
, ,
, ,
So, you get - in the and forms of the Present Tense, and in all forms of the past except the Masculine.
We will discuss the actual meaning(s) of this suffix in a later chapter.
20-3
20-
Chameleon:
Start with: .
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. Past Tense
8.
9.
10. +
11. (F)
12.
13.
14. Present Tense
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
20.
Stress Patterns in Verbs
Just as with nouns, verbs can have either fixed stress (indicated by ) or shifting stress (indicated by ).
20..1
Fixed stress
Stress is the same throughout the Present, Past, and Infinitive. It can be on any syllable:
Fixed stress:
1ST CONJUGATION
+
2ND CONJUGATION
+ put
PRESENT TENSE
1sg
2sg
3pl
PAST TENSE
Masc
Fem
Pl
INFINITIVE

20..2
Shifting stress
With very few exceptions, shifting stress is limited to either the Present or the Past, i.e., with very few exceptions,
a verb will not have shifting stress in both tenses.
So how can we tell when the refers to the Present Tense and when it refers to the Past? Below is a simple and
(usually) foolproof rule3:
3
We will need to modify this later on, but for now this rule will be enough.
20-4
Grammar
Lesson 20
Any 1st conjugation verb with an means shifting stress in the PAST
(Stress shifts from the stem to the ending in the Feminine form only)
Any 2nd conjugation verb with an means shifting stress in the PRESENT
(Stress shifts from the ending in the 1sg to the stem in all the other forms)
Stress for the Infinitive is wherever the stress mark is written
All you need to memorize is WHICH verbs have shifting stress. This should be included on your index cards for
each verb.
Shifting stress:
1ST CONJUGATION
+
2ND CONJUGATION
+ sail
PRESENT TENSE
NO SHIFT
SHIFT to stem in 2sg to 3pl
1sg
2sg
3pl
PAST TENSE
SHIFT to ending in Fem
NO SHIFT
Masc
Fem
Neut
Pl
INFINITIVE

Past Tense. Listen and repeat:
Example:
+ ()
+ ()
1. + ()
2. + ()
3. + ()
4. + ()
5. + ()
6. + ()
7. + ()
8. + ee () (M)
10. + ()
11. + ()
20-5
9. + ()
12. + ()
20-
Change the sentences into Past:
Example:
() e e?
e?
1. e e e .
2. e .
3. (F) e e e ee.
4. (sleep).
5. () -.
6. e ee ?
7. e.
8. () .
9. .
10. ee e?
20.
Double-Stem Verbs: {+ / +} drink ; {+/ +} sing
You may not have known it (or cared), but we are using what is known as the One-Stem Verb System. The idea
is that, given a single form, the stem, you can predict every possible form of a verb. Basically it works very well
otherwise we wouldnt be using it.
Some verbs, however, dont fit into this system as nicely. For these verbs you really need two stems, one stem to
which you attach vowel endings (the Present Tense and other stuff), and another stem to which you attach
consonant endings (the Infinitive, the Past, and other stuff). Well call these Double-Stem Verbs. (Very
original.)
The good news is that the stem to which vowel endings are attached (almost) always ends in a consonant, so you
(almost) always have harmonious C+V, and the stem to which consonant endings are attached (almost) always
ends in a vowel, giving harmonious V+C.
+
C Stem (ends in consonant)

used with endings beginning with a vowel (e.g., Present), yielding C+V
V Stem (ends in vowel)
used with endings beginning with a consonant (e.g., Past, Infinitive), yielding V+C
Our notation: Double-Stem Verbs will appear in curly brackets { / }, with the consonant stem (used to form the
Present Tense) on the left and the vowel stem (used to form the Past Tense and Infinitive) on the right.
Some Double-Stem Verbs:
{+ / +} drink
{+ / +} sing
See all the forms on the next page.
20-6
{+ / +} call
Grammar
Lesson 20
Double-stem verbs
Person /
Number
Ending
Pronoun
{+ / +}
C STEM (used with V endings):
{+ / +}
drink
sing
{+ / +}
call
PRESENT TENSE
1sg
-{U}
2sg
- {O}
3sg
- {O}
//
1pl
- {O}
2pl
- {O}
3pl
-{U}
V STEM (used with C endings):
PAST TENSE
Masc
, ,
Fem
, ,
Neut
Pl
, ,
INFINITIVE
-
Question:
What can you conclude about the Present Tense conjugation (1st or 2nd ?) of all
double-stem verbs, given the fact that the stem to which vowel endings are
attached ends in a consonant?
Answer:
(This answer to be filled in by you and answered in class)

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Put the double-stem verbs in the correct form. Begin with the Present Tense:
1. {+ / +} (, , , , , , Past, , , , -, , )
2. {+ / +} (, , , , , , , Past, , , , -, , )
3. {+ / +}(close) (, , , , , , , Past, , , , -, , )
20-7
20-
"
Exercise 1

Answer the following questions about verbs and stress:
1. What is the pattern for shifting stress in the Present Tense? Provide an example.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the pattern for shifting stress in the Past Tense? Provide an example.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Which type of verbs (conjugation type) NEVER has shifting stress in the Past Tense?
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 2
Stem:
Mark stress on the following verbs:
Conjugation:
PRESENT
PAST
20-8
20-
"
Exercise 3

Fill in either - or -:
1. __________
2. _________ .
3. _______ .
4. ___________!
5. _____________?
6. (for a long time)

__________.(complained)
7. _____________.
8. (usually)
_____________.
"
Exercise 4
Put the following sentences into the Past:
1. .
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. ? (think about the verb)
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. ?
________________________________________________________________________________________
4. .
________________________________________________________________________________________
5. .
________________________________________________________________________________________
6. .
________________________________________________________________________________________
7. .
________________________________________________________________________________________
8. () -?
________________________________________________________________________________________
9. .
________________________________________________________________________________________
20-9
20-
"
Exercise 5
Stem:
Fill in the table:
{+ / + }
{+ / +}
PRESENT
PAST
20-10
{+ / + }
Dialogue:
Grammar:
Nothing to write home about

Another expression for when youre
not impressed
Verb agreement with , , and
Relative clauses
-{O}+ verbs
Nothing to write home about
eee e?
Who was at the party yesterday?
e:
, , .
Misha, Lyosha, Styopa.
Which Styopa?
e:
4
5
. e, e
e.
Styopa Arkhipov. The guy who never bathes.
, , . A e ?
Oh yeah, I remember. Who else was there?
e:
, , .
Galya, Vika, Oksana.
Which Oksana?
e:
9
10
e. , e
.
Oksana Semyonova. The girl/woman who

smokes all the time.
11
, , . ? ? Oh, yeah, I remember. Was there any music?

Did yall dance?
e:
12
13
, . , e
e e .
Yeah, (we) danced. There were some musicians

there who used to play in the group DDT.
14
? ?
How was the music? Did they play well?
e:
15
. .
Nothing to write home about.
here: at (followed by Location ending)
ee
party
who, which; that (See grammar explanation.)
never (Note that the verb is also negated with e. More on negation later.)
{+... / +...}
bathe; wash oneself
remember
/ ?
who / what else?
all the time; continuously (lit: without end)
11
music (Note that the is hard!)
12
musician
13
previously; used to; before (in previous times)
13
play
13
group (Can refer to any group, including a rock group.)
15
nothing to write home about
21-1
21-
21.
Another Expression For When Youre Not Impressed

e (16)
Unfortunately not everything in this world is peachy keen. So, the more ways to say that something is nothing to
write home about or nothing special the better. Weve already learned the phrases and [Noun]
[Noun]. The expression e indicates that an event / thing was not as good as expected.
Listen and repeat:

e .
Dinner was nothing special.
can also be used as an adverb (as can ):

? + e ./ T . How did Madonna sing? +Nothing to write home about.
? + e . / T
21.
How are you doing in school? + So-so.
Verb Agreement With , , and

eee? (1)
always takes a Masculine Singular verb ending, even if you know that the subject in the answer will be a
female or more than one person:
?
Who was there? (Even if you know that the answer will consist of >1 person.)
?
+ .
Who was smoking here? (said by Principal Skinner in the girls bathroom)
, ?
+ , .
Who drinks milk, yall?
+ Liza was
+ Yes, we drink milk.
If the subject is or , the verb is in the Neuter Singular:
What was in the refrigerator? (Even if you know that the answer will
consist of many items.)
Everything was (lying) on the table.
Form questions and give answers. Youll need to look at the answer to decide whether to ask
or .
Example:
was at the party (we)
eee? eee.
1. was listening to the radio (I fem.)
2. understands Russian (my parents)
3. lives on the moon () (my cat)
4. was (lying) on the sofa (our keys)
5. likes to study (Sashas brothers)
6. is making dinner (my father)
7. is going to the movies (we)
8. works in (Katyas sister)
9. was lying on the bed (your (pl.) kids)
10. was (lying) on the table (my book)
11. mixed everything up (that talentless

lawyer)
12. was in the refrigerator (her glasses)
21-2
Grammar
21.
Lesson 21
Relative Clauses:
e, (4); , (9); , e (13)
In case you dont remember, a relative clause is a clause headed by relative pronoun (who, which, that) that
modifies a noun. Relative clauses let you combine two sentences that share a common noun into one.
1) The man knows all about relative clauses. 2) The man does not bathe regularly.
common noun
{The man who does not bathe regularly knows all about relative clauses.}
1) Otto is reading a book, 2) The book was written by C. Montgomery Burns.
common noun
{Otto is reading a book that was written by C. Montgomery Burns.}

Unlike English, which uses three relative pronouns (who for animate nouns and which or that for inanimate
nouns), Russian has just one: . , which is always preceded by a comma, behaves like a
regular adjective, and agrees in number and gender with the noun it modifies.
Masc
, ,
.
The guy who is standing on the balcony goes to

Princeton.
Neut
, e e.
This is the beer that was in the refrigerator.
Fem
, ,
.
The woman who works at the bar never bathes.
Plural
e , e ?
Where are the books that were (lying) on the table?
In English it is often possible to omit the relative pronoun who, that, which, while in Russian cannot
be left out:
, , .
The letter (that) I was reading is on the table.
, ,
-.
The actors (who are) working in a restaurant, speak German

well.
Merge the second sentence into the first using the correct form of :
Example: e. e.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
e, .
e e? e ee.
. .
. e e e.
. e.
. .
e , e . e e.
e . .
e ? .
e ee ? e .
. e .
. e e.
e -. eee.
21-3
21-
21.
-{O}-Stem Verbs
There is an important class of 1st-conjugation (Up-to-Snuff) verbs that we will refer to as -{O}+ verbs. (Since
they're not -, -, or - verbs, they have to be 1st-conjugation.) In the Past Tense and Infinitive (i.e., before
Consonant endings) the stem ends in {O}+ (which can be spelled either or depending on either the
hardness/softness of the preceding consonant or whether the preceding consonant is a spelling rule letter. No
stems happen to have .)
In the Present Tense (and in other verb forms that begin with a vowel) the {O}+ changes to {U}+ (spelled
either or ). Add the Present endings the same way as with -+ verbs: the and the vowel in the ending are
spelled as a single Soft-indicating vowel.
You may recall that when we originally presented the verb dance, the form was given as +. In fact, the
verb dance is an {O}+ stem verb. The Past and Infinitive stem is +. (So that in + really is
basic {O} but you cant write unstressed o after .)
We also had the expression feel well/bad /. As predicted, the Past and Infinitive
stem is +.
-{O}+ verbs
Person /
Number
Ending
Pronoun
feel
dance
Present Tense: Stem ends in {U}+

1sg
-{U}
2sg
- {O}
3sg
- {O}
//
1pl
- {O}
2pl
- {O}
3pl
-{U}
Past Tense / Infinitive: Stem ends in {O}+
Masc
, ,
Fem
, ,
Neut
Pl
, ,
Infinitive
21-4
Grammar
Question:
Lesson 21
{O}+ verbs have what sure seem to be two different stems, so why not list
them as double-stem verbs: {+ / +}?
Also, why are these called -{O}+ stems and not -{U}+ stems.
Answer:
First question: Technically, we could list -{O}+ stems as double-stem verbs.

What makes -{O}+ verbs different from other double-stem verbs is that there
are hundreds of -{O}+ verbs, all of which conjugate the same.
-{O}+ verbs are productive; you can create new verbs with this suffix.
Many of these new verbs are derived from foreign words. Try to guess the
meanings of the following new -{O}+ verbs:
+
+ ()
+
+
+
+
As for the second question, again, you have a good point. However, since the
Infinitive is what is listed in all dictionaries, and since -{O}+ is used by
nearly everyone else, well stick to tradition in this one case.
Chameleon:
1. . (, , , , Past Tense, , , ?, (first masculine, then feminine)

2. . (, ?, , , , Past Tense: , ? (masculine), )
3. . (, ?, , Present Tense1, , , )
The forms are Present but its really the Future! A lot more on this later on.
21-5
21-
"
Exercise 1

Put in verbs that make sense:
1. _________________________ eee e?
2. _______________________________ -?
3. _________________________________ ?
4. _____________________________________________?
5. ______________________________________________ ?
6. e ___________________________________________ e?
7. _____________________________________________ e?
"
Exercise 2
Combine the following pairs of sentences into one using a relative clause:
1. e. e .
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. ee. e .
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. e e . .
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. e ? e .
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5. e e. -e.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
21-6
21-
6. e . e.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
7. ee. .
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 3
Finish the sentences as you wish:
1. , e e ,
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. e ,
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. , e,
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. ,
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 4
Translate from English into Russian:
1. I used to drink all the time.

_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. Mishas younger sister likes to dance. She dances pretty well.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. People who drink French wine never bathe.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
21-7
Dialogue:
How do you say 'cheat-sheet' in Russian?
Chapter 2 - Review (Lessons 12-21)

cheat-sheet -?
How do you say cheat-sheet in Russian?
cheat-sheet -?
How do you say cheat-sheet in Russian?
2
3
Cheat-sheet - .
?
Cheat-sheet in Russian is . Why

are you asking?
()
.
Because tomorrow there is a Russian exam.
. , .
I see. (All is clear.) Good luck (on the exam)
(Appropriate response)
-?
how do you say X in Russian?
cheat-sheet; notes to cheat from

(Cultural note: In general, cheating is not uncommon in Russian schools, and is
not considered as serious an offense as it is in the US. That doesnt mean you can
use on your exams.)
ask (someone something) Weve seen what is the imperative of this verb in the
expression ! Dont ask!
because
tomorrow
()
test
()

Russian test (Its best to memorize this as a set phrase for now. Note that its
different from Russian professor, which is .)
good luck (Literally Neither down nor the feather. Supposedly said to hunters
to encourage them to get the animal itself, and not the down or feather.)
Required response to , . (Literally Go to hell/the devil! You

canand mustsay this to anyone who wishes you good luck, including your
professor, parents, etc.)
22-1
22-
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW: LESSONS 12-21

Nouns and modifiers
Stems and endings
Throughout the rest of the course we will break down most words into a stem plus an ending.
For all nouns, possessives, demonstratives, and adjectives the stem ends in a consonant (C), while the ending begins in a
Vowel (V) (or is ).
The ending is simply added to the stem, with predictable spelling rules applying:
STEM
(ends in C)
ENDING indicates gender & number
RESULT
(begins in V or -)
NOUNS
+
-{I} (Plural)
-{A}
-{I} (Plural)
+
+
-{O}
-{A} (Plural)
-{I} (Plural)
N/A
POSSESSIVES /
+
+
+
-
(Masc)
-{O}
(Neut)
-{A}
(Fem)
-{I}
(Pl)
+ ( drops)
**
*unexpected extra syllable; **unexpected softening
ADJECTIVES
+
+
+
+
+ (soft)
-{I}/- -{O}
(Masc)
(Neut)
-{A}
(Fem)
-{I}
(Pl)
We will follow tradition and list modifiers in the Masculine Singular (since every other form is 100% predictable).
22-2
Chapter 2 - Review
Lesson 22
Gender and number of nouns, possessives/demonstratives, and adjectives

All nouns, possessives/demonstratives, and adjectives are marked for gender and number. The gender of a noun is fixed (and
usually obvious from the ending), while adjectives and possessives/demonstratives take the appropriate ending to agree with
the noun in gender and number.
In the chart below, adjective endings appear on the left; noun and possessive/demonstrative endings on the right:
SINGULAR
Masculine
-{I}/-
PLURAL
Neuter
-
-{O}
Feminine
-{O}
-{A}
-{A} / -
-{I}
-{I}
(Neut pl nouns: -{A})

Notes:
Two irregular Plural nouns: e
Even though they feel like adjectives, possessives like , , , , , , , etc., and the
Demonstrative take noun endings.
The 3rd person possessives e, e, never change, regardless of the gender or number of the noun modified:
// . // ? // . // .
Gender of nouns ending in -

Sometimes the gender is predictable (between Masculine and Feminine), other times its not:
ALWAYS MASCULINE
ALWAYS FEMININE
CANT PREDICT
If the noun refers to a profession,

a common suffix is -:
If the noun ends in a Husher + -:
Others (abstract nouns tend to be

Feminine):
(teacher), (writer)
(night), (mouse),
(thing), (rye),
, (M)
, , (life) (F)
Stress patterns of nouns (Introduction)

There are two basic stress patterns in nouns:
1) Fixed stress: Stress is fixed on one syllable throughout all forms of the noun, either on the stem or on the ending.
2) Shifting stress: Shift in stress occurs, usually between the singular and plural.
22-3
22-
NOTATION:
STEM STRESS
on the stressed
vowel
sg
NEUT:
SHIFTING STRESS
END STRESS
following the word (mostly Masc):
stress goes on last possible vowel
pl
MASC:
FEM:
FIXED STRESS
sg
pl
bridge
sg
(very few)
over stressed vowel of the

dictionary form
(very few)
pl
One pattern to pay attention to: If a Neuter or Feminine noun is end-stressed in the singular, most likely it shifts stress to the
stem in the plural (e.g., if the singular is , , then we can assume that the plural will be and ,
respectively).
Possessives from first names in -{A}

Nuke the {A} and add the suffix -- plus the appropriate noun ending:
FIRST NAME
POSSESSIVE STEM
+
+
+
+
EXAMPLES

Frozen vs. demonstrative , , ,

In the following common phrases on the left the word is fixed, and does not change regardless of the Gender or Number
of the nouns involved. Its best to memorize these. On the right are sentences with the demonstrative (this [these] here / that
[those] there) , , , .
FROZEN
?
.
Whats this/that?
Its a book.
DEMONSTRATIVE , , ,

.
That guy goes to Princeton.
?
Whos that?
. Its/Thats my professor.
This wine is really expensive.
?
.

.

This book is brand new.
Whose backpack is this?
Its Lizas backpack
. Which/What kind of book is that? .

Its a new book.
Its War and Peace.
22-4
Those young women speak

Russian.
Chapter 2 - Review
Lesson 22
Uses of
What (a/an) X!
!
What a nice looking cat!
What a big building!
What an expensive car!
What talentless architects!

Which X?, What (kind of) X?
Which OR What kind of actor performed in the film?
Which OR What kind of beer is he drinking?
Which OR What kind of book was on the table?
? (
, )
Which OR What kind of people go to Princeton?
Which X is Ys (with a possessive)

?
Which camera is yours?
Which letter is Sashas?
Which book is mine?
Which pants are Grishas?

so X; such (a/an) X!
He is such a hunk!
Katya is such a talented musician!
You are such a good doctor!
You guys are so strange!
Patronymics
In formal situations address a person by his/her full first name plus patronymic.
FATHERS 1ST NAME
PATRONYMIC
add -{O} for a man, -{O} for a woman
/
If fathers name ends in 1 consonant + -, ending is -/-
Exceptions
/
/
/
/
22-5
22-
Verbs
Stem + ending
All verbs will be listed by their stem: +, + , +. Unlike nouns and adjectives, whose stem always ends in a
consonant, verb stems may end in either a consonant or a vowel. Also, unlike noun and adjective endings, which always
begin in a vowel, verb endings may begin in either a consonant or a vowel.
Basic Rules of Combination
OPPOSITES ATTRACT (HARMONY)

Stem
C
+
+
V
+
+
Ending
V
Result
-{U}
-{O}
Stem
C
/
/+
/+
C
-
-
LIKES REPEL (TRUNCATION)

+
>
-
-
V
/
+
<
Ending
C
/+
/+
Result
V
-{U}
-{I}
Present Tense: 1st conjugation (Up-to-Snuff)

There are 2 conjugations for the Present Tense, commonly referred to as 1st and 2nd conjugation. The verb stem tells you to
which conjugation a verb belongs. All verbs except -+ stem, -+ stem, and --+ stem verbs are 1st conjugation.
All of the 1st conjugation verbs weve seen so far have stems that end in a consonant, and allow harmonious C+V
combination. The 1st conjugation verb classes that weve seen so far are -+ stems, consonant stems, and -{O}+ stems (of
course -+ stems themselves end in a consonant, but they form a huge class of 1st conjugation verbs):
consonant stems:
+>
-{O} stems:
+
Person/
Number
Ending*
Pronoun
-+ stems:
+
1sg
2sg
3sg
-{U}
-{O}
- {O}
//
1pl
2pl
3pl
- {O}
- {O}
-{U}
* 1st conjugation endings which begin with {O} will always be spelled or e. After hard consonant stems (+, +, the
and forms are spelled with a hard-indicating : , .
Mnemonic: For all 1st conjugation verbs, just add a to the -form to get the -form: > .
Present Tense: 2nd conjugation (Guitar)

There are 3 types of 2nd conjugation verbs: -+ stems, -+ stems, and --+ stems, where stands for , , , , .
Since the stems of all 2nd conjugation verbs end in a vowel, we get chaotic V
/ +V in the Present Tense.
22-6
Chapter 2 - Review
Lesson 22
Person/
Number
Ending*
Pronoun
-+ stems:
+
-+ stems:
+
--+ stems:
+
1sg
2sg
3sg
-{U}
-{I}
-{I}
//
1pl
2pl
3pl
-{I}
-{I}
-{A}
* 2nd conjugation endings will always be spelled with vowels , , and (unless the Spelling Rules dictate otherwise).
Consonant mutation for some 2nd- conjugation (Guitar) verbs

In some cases, in addition to V
/ +V truncation, the preceding consonant mutates in the 1st singular only:
EXAMPLE:
MUTATION
2nd conj., Present 1sg only
NO MUTATION:
Remaining Present Tense
/ +{U}
/ +{U}
/ +{U}
/ +{U}
/ +{U}
Past Tense
(No distinctions based on conjugation types)
SINGULAR
VERB STEM
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
All genders
(, , )
(, , )
()
(, , )
V+C:
+
+
e+
+
PLURAL
HARMONY
C/ +C: TRUNCATION OF VERB-STEM CONSONANT
/+
/ +
/ +
22-7
22-
Verbs and stress

Fixed stress:
1ST CONJUGATION
+
2ND CONJUGATION
PRESENT TENSE
1sg
2sg
3pl
PAST TENSE
Masc
Fem
Pl
INFINITIVE

Shifting stress:
Any 1st conjugation verb with an means shifting stress in the PAST (Stress shifts from the stem to the ending in the
Feminine form only).
Any 2nd conjugation verb with an means shifting stress in the PRESENT (Stress shifts from the ending in the 1sg to the
stem elsewhere: 2sg to 3pl).
Stress for the Infinitive is wherever the stress mark is written.
1ST CONJUGATION
2ND CONJUGATION
{+ / +}
PRESENT TENSE
NO SHIFT
SHIFT to stem in 2sg to 3pl
1sg
2sg
3pl
PAST TENSE
SHIFT to ending in Fem
NO SHIFT
Masc
Fem
Pl
INFINITIVE

22-8
Chapter 2 - Review
Lesson 22
The Infinitive
The infinitive ending is -. When attached to verb stems ending in a vowel, harmony results; when attached to a verb stem
ending in a consonant, truncation occurs:
V+C (HARMONY)
<
+
+
e+
+
C
/ +C (TRUNCATION)
/ +
/ +
>
/ +
Uses of the infinitive:
After the verb + and the modal word :

.
I like to sit on the couch and watch TV.
You have to study. (Generalized you)
20.IV Double-stem verbs

For double-stem verbs, we will list the Present Tense stem on the left and the Past Tense/Infinitive stem on the right
Person /
Number
Ending
Pronoun
C STEM (used with V endings):
{+ / + }
{+/ +}
{+ / + }
PRESENT TENSE
1sg
2sg
3sg
-{U}
-{O}
-{O}
//
1pl
2pl
3pl
-{O}
-{O}
-{U}
V STEM (used with C endings):
PAST TENSE
Masc
Fem
Neut
Pl
-
-
-
-
, ,
, ,
, ,
INFINITIVE
-
22-9
22-
21.IV -{O} verbs

There is a large group of verbs that have the Past Tense/Infinitive stem in -{O}. In the Present Tense, this verbal suffix
changes to {U}, to which are added regular 1st conjugation endings:
Person /
Number
Ending
Pronoun
+
feel
+
complain
+
dance
STEM: -{U}+
PRESENT TENSE
1sg
2sg
3sg
-{U}
-{O}
-{O}
//
1pl
2pl
3pl
-{O}
-{O}
-{U}
STEM: -{O}+
PAST TENSE
Masc
Fem
Neut
Pl
-
-
-
-
, ,
, ,
, ,
INFINITIVE
-
Technically -{O}+ verbs are really double-stem verbs. For sake of convenience, and because there are so many of them we
will list the Past Tense/ Infinitive stem.
20.III
Spelling the verbal suffix - / -
e.g., , ,
, ,
e.g., , ,
, ,
Well discuss the meaning(s) of this suffix later in the course.
22-10
Chapter 2 - Review
Lesson 22
Miscellaneous grammar points

18.II
Speaking/understanding a language
After the verbs +, +, + you use - followed by the Masculine Singular adjective of the language
minus :
-?
Who here speaks Russian?
-?
-, .
Do you understand English?

I read German well, but I dont speak (it) well.
With the verbs + and + use the full adjective in the Masculine Singular and optionally the noun language:
().
().
Misha is studying Chinese.

My sister knows Italian well.
Note: Just like the personal pronoun , the names of the languages or nationalities are NOT capitalized.
20.I, 21.I
Expressing when youre not impressed
The construction X X is used to express: a typical X, nothing special. Also, indicates you were expecting more.
? .
? .
21.II
Is that a good book? Its so-so.

How was the concert? Nothing to write home about.
Agreement with , , and
With , the Masculine Singular is used, even if you know the answer involves a female or more than one person.
?
?
Who was on the balcony?

Whos sitting on the sofa?
Compare with and , which take a Neuter Singular verb:

?
.
21.III
What was (lying) on the table?

Everything was on the bed.
Relative clauses
A relative clause is used to combine two sentences about the same noun into one. The relative pronoun is used,
which must agree in gender and number with the noun in the main clause.
1) .
2) .
1) .
2) .
1)
2) .
1) !
2) -.
, , .
, .
, , .
, -.
22-11
22-
Exercise 1 Fill in the correct endings and add stress marks where needed:
1. e __________ _____________________ _____________________ (pl)?
2. _____________ e____________ e e________ ____________.
3. _____________ _________________ ________________________.
4. _______________ ________________ ___________ ______ (sg).
5. _____________ (whose) ____________ ____________________ (pl)?
Exercise 2 Fill in the tables:
{+... / +...}
*Verb type
Pres.
/
Past
Infinitive
* Possible verb types: 1st conjugation regular, 1st conjugation double stem, 2nd conjugation
22-12
22-
+ >
+ (shout)
*Verb type
Pres.
/
Past
Infinitive
* Possible verb types: 1st conjugation regular, 1st conjugation double stem, 2nd conjugation

1.
Where is my favorite pen? Its lying on the table.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2.
I go to Tilson. My older sister goes to Dempsey.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3.
This is not my tea. This (here) tea is cold, but my tea is warm.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
22-13
22-
4.
What did Masha do yesterday?

Nothing special. She listened to the radio and read a French magazine. A typical day.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
5.
May I speak to Galya? You have the wrong number.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
6.
Hello, Vera (daughter of Maksim). How are you? Everything is good.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
7.
I like to lie on the sofa and sing.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
8.
Are you parents at home?

Yes, theyre standing on the balcony and smoking.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
22-14
Nouns & Pronouns

13
13
18
19
17
21
17
12
12
21
16
17
12
13
13
12
16
12
21
12
17
21
21
12
12
19
15
20
13
17
12
12
15
18
12
14
16
14
12
18
12
18
ee
(F)
ee e
ee
Academy of Sciences
actor
actress
architect
balcony
pants (always pl)
brothers (irregular pl of )
party
wine
door
newspaper
group (rock or otherwise)
homework assignment (soft )
woman (approx. over the age of 30)
magazine
star
building
pencil
the movies
book
who, which
horse (F)
people (plural of e; related to German Leute)
music
musician
soap
mouse
dinner
(eye)glasses (always plural)
park
singer (male)
singer (female)
song
cookie
beer
letter
(girl)friend
rifle
pen
radio
backpack; book-bag
dictionary
word
bedroom
TV
22-15
20
17
12
22
22
e
e, , ,
university
refrigerator
movie; film
man; person; human being (plural is )
whose (M, F, N)
cheat-sheet
test
Russian test
14
18
, , ,
Hermitage museum
this (one here); that (one there); these ones; those ones
language
Verbs
19
19
18
19
20
17
12
19
18
21
16
18
19
21
21
20
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
<
+
{+ / +...}
+
<
+
16
17
17
19
16
18
22
18
17
18
16
{+ / +}
{+ / +}
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
see
iron
speak; talk
prepare; make; cook
stroll
think
do; make
spend time studying
know
play
go
smoke
like; love
bathe; wash oneself
remember
write (Present Tense isnt what you expect. Use in Past only
for now)
get along; be doing
drink
sing
sit
listen to (no need for a preposition in Russian!)
watch
ask
stand
dance
study; learn
read
Expressions & Misc.
Adjectives & Adverbs

17
17
13
13
14
20
15
15
13
18
20
e
e
15
18
19
14
20
14
13
13
13
13
16
21
16
15
14
15
13
14
19
13
15
14
17
14
13
(note: soft )
e
e
(note: soft )
18
American
English
talentless
big
tasty; delicious
inexpensive; cheap
expensive; dear
only; sole
interesting
Spanish (adj)
Italian (Note: theres only 1 in this word and a after the
)
which (one); what (kind of), what a (noun)!; how (adjective)!
Chinese (adj)
lazy
favorite
German (this strange word is related to the word deaf;
mute)
new
cool; awesome; excellent
very
bad
last; final
then; after that
previously; used to
today
on the left; to the left
completely; really; totally
on the right; to the right
average; nothing special
old
strange
talented
only
warm
French
cold (related word: )
good (note stress is on second syllable, unlike the adverbial
form )
a little bit; just a bit
22-16
21
16
19
14
20
16
16
21
12
12
16
e
()
e e
e e

(/)
ee?
22
?
()
e
21
21
21
22
16
19
19
13
12
22
18
17
all the time; continuously (lit: without end)

to (the movies)
all day
there (it is)
a typical day; nothing out of the ordinary
hello; good afternoon (lit.: good day)
(at) home
(what/who) else
and
or
How are you doing? (This is a pretty standard question in
Russian)
how do you say X inRussian?
at (party)
nothing to write home about
never (Note that verb is also negated with e. More on this in
Chapter 3)
good luck
(required response)
nothing special
(one; you) has to; ought to; must
but
so what?; who cares?; big deal!
what are you talking about?
because
speak, read, understand French/Russian/English
, !
!
e e
?
?

- / / -
that (conjunction)
Dialogues:
Grammar:
A: Youre drinking my vodka; : Youre

drinking my milk; : Youre drinking my
juice; : Youre feeding my horse
Tag questions
nd
2 conjugation and consonant mutation
(contd): Labials
The notion of Case
The Nominative Case
The Accusative Case of nouns,
possessives, and
- Forms; - Uses
- Masculine first names in -{A}
Case and word order
Youre drinking my vodka!
e?
What the heck are you doing!?
e, ? .
Are you blind or something? Im drinking

vodka.
3
4
e e. !
. !
Im not blind. Youre drinking my vodka! Your

vodka is (standing) over there. Idiot!
, .
Oh, Im really sorry.
e.
Dont worry about it.
Youre drinking my milk!
e?
e, ? .
Are you blind or something? Im drinking milk.
9
10
. !
. !
Im not blind. Youre drinking my milk! Your

milk is (standing) over there. Idiot!
11
, .
12
e.
Youre drinking my juice!
13
e?
14
e, ? .
Are you blind or something? Im drinking juice.
15
. !
. !
Im not blind. Youre drinking my juice! Your

juice is (standing) over there. Idiot!
16
, .
17
e.
Youre feeding my horse!
18
e?
19
e, ? .
Are you blind or something? Im feeding (my)

horse.
20
21
. !
. !
Im not blind. Youre feeding my horse! Your

horse is (standing) over there. Idiot!
22
, .
23
e.
23-1
23-
e (note: end-stressed)
blind
or something? (a tag question)
(over) there
idiot; fool (said about a woman)
milk (cognate)
10
idiot; fool (said about a man)
14
juice
19
<+
feed
[
23.A
Tag Questions: ... ?

e, ? (2)
The phrase following questions adds incredulity (didnt think youd see that word today, did you?),
something like or something?
Listen and repeat:

, ?
e, ?
e e, ?
Are you joking (or something)?

Are you blind (or something)?
Dont you understand? Can it really be that you dont
understand?
Is she an American? (I thought she was French.)
e, ?
Express incredulity about the following. Use the form. (Dont worry if your answer doesnt
match exactly):
Example:
Your roommate is studying AGAIN
e, ?
1. Your friend is drinking YOUR vodka.

2. Your roommate says she has a date with Brad Pitt (ha ha).
3. You think you see cigarette smoke coming from your 10-year-old brothers room.
4. Your roommate is ironing his pants AGAIN.
5. You think you smell beer on your conservative roommates breath.
6. Your roommate refuses to bathe.
23-2
23.
Lesson 23
More Consonant Mutations: Labial Consonants (, , , , )
The verb <+ (feed) is the third example of an inserted in the 1st sg Present. We previously saw 1) >
(</+ {U} ) and 2) > (/ +{U} ). All three consonants (, , ) are
pronounced using the lips, and are referred to as labial consonants. The other labials are and . (We wont
see any verbs with this year, but they also > in the -form of the present tense.)
LABIAL
MUTATIONS
>
>
>
>
EXAMPLE:
2nd conj., 1sg pres. tns.
NO MUTATION:
Remaining pres. tns.
</+{U}
/ +{U}
<
+ {U}
</+{U}
To review other mutations, see Lesson 19.
Chameleon:
1. <+
2.
3.
4. +
5.
6.
7. +
8.
9.
<
11.
12.
<
10. + (will buy)
23-3
23-
23.
The Notion of Case (or How to Write a Ransom Note in Russian)
If you kidnapped someone named Tanya and wanted to send a ransom note (in English) using words cut out of a
newspaper, you could use any of the following instances of the word Tanya:
(1) Tanya prefers double-stem verbs.
(2) Only no-talent singers respect Tanya.
(3) I dreamt about Tanya again last night.
Each time its simply T-a-n-y-a. The reader of the ransom note couldnt tell whether Tanya had been the subject
of the sentence [sentence (1)], the direct object of a verb [sentence (2)], or the object of a preposition [sentence
(3)].1
Russian kidnappers are not as lucky. For each of the three examples above (plus a few more), the form/ending of
- which is a noun - is different. So if the Russian kidnappers snatched Tanya and they wanted to write (in
Russian): We will harm Tanya if you dont pay us, - where Tanya is the direct object of the verb harm - they
would have to find a sentence in the newspaper in which Tanya was also a direct object. In the other two
sentences (subject of the sentence or object of preposition) Tanya would have a different ending. This is what is
known as Case - the function (subject/direct object/object of preposition, etc.) of a noun (along with its modifiers)
appears as part of the word.2
There are six Cases in Russian, which we will not enumerate for you at this time (we like to maintain an element
of surprise). A great deal of this course from now on will focus on these Cases, both their forms and uses.
So
WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF CASE!

23.
The Nominative Case ( )
So, what Case have nouns, pronouns, etc. been in all this time? Usually theyve been in the Nominative Case,
whose main function is to indicate the subject of the sentence. Weve already learned the Nominative forms in
both the singular and the plural, e.g., , . The dictionary form of
nouns that we talked about in before is actually the Nominative Case.
Also, remember the location endings we learned Chapter One? This is called (not surprisingly) the Locative or
Prepositional Case. We will learn more forms and uses of this Case later.
Now lets look at the Accusative Case, which is used to mark direct objects (among other things).
1
2
Actually, there is one possible form of Tanya in English that the kidnappers could not use: Tanyas hair is really from
one of those spray cans. (unless they cut out the s.)
The only place English distinguishes Case with varying forms is in personal pronouns: he vs. him vs. his; she vs. her vs.
her(s); I vs. me vs. my/mine, etc.
23-4
23.
Lesson 23
The Accusative Case ( ) of Nouns
23..1 Forms
Accusative Case: Singular Nouns, Possessives,
NOMINATIVE
ACCUSATIVE
MASCULINE
- (Same as Nominative) (consonant / -)

NEUTER
-{O} (Same as Nominative) (- / - (rare for nouns) / )

e
ee
e

e
ee
e
FEMININE
-{U} (- / -)

FEMININE NOUNS IN
- (Same as Nominative) (always -) (Modifiers take -{U})

e

We saw the Accusative of Feminine nouns in the 'Telephone' dialogue: M / ? We still have
not had Feminine Accusative Adjectives, so we cant yet say I want cheap Russian vodka.
Remember: the 3rd person possessives NEVER change form, even with nouns in the Accusative Case: e/e/
, , ,
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT MASCULINE NOUNS IN THE ACCUSATIVE: The

Accusative of Masculine nouns is the same as the Nominative ONLY for inanimate nouns, i.e.,
a thing as opposed to a person or animal. Animate Masculine nouns (people and animals) get
their own special ending. So, at this point we do not know how to say I loathe my Russian
professor. Well cover this in Chapter 4. Hopefully by then your feelings will have changed.
23-5
23-
23..2
Uses of the Accusative Case
The most common use of the Accusative Case is for marking the Direct Object of a transitive verb3:
{}
{}
{}
{ }
{subject}
Nominative
[ ].
[ ].
[ ]?
[ ].
[Direct Object]
Accusative
We will see further uses of the Accusative Case in the next few lessons.
Listen and repeat. Pay attention to the new endings (for Feminine):
1. (, , , (novel), (article), e)
2. (, , e, , , (water), )
3. ( , , , e, , , )
4. e ? ( , e, e , e, )
Insert the possessive or demonstrative in the correct form:
Example:
(my)
(that there)
.
.
1. e . (my, your-sg, our, Iras, his, their, that there, your-pl, Kolyas)
2. . (my, her, our, their, Genas, your-sg, that there, your-pl)
3. . (his, her, your-sg, Veras, my, their, our, this here, Vikas)
23..3
The Accusative of Masculine first names in -{A} ?
A refinement of the above note about Masculine animate nouns: As we just mentioned, the Accusative ending for
Masculine animate nouns is different from the ending for inanimate nouns. However, Masculine first names
ending in -{A} (which we forced all the males in the class to select) behave just like regular Feminine nouns and
take -{U} in the Accusative:
Vera loves Misha.
e .
Natasha doesnt love Kolya.
For those who never paid attention in high school English, a transitive verb (like see) is one that takes a Direct Object
(John sees Bill), while an intransitive verb (like go) does not (John went; John went Bill is not grammatical).
23-6
Put the following nouns/phrases into the Accusative:
Example:
1.
2.
Lesson 23
(this here book)?
...? (juice, vodka, Misha, Mishas dog, my book, Vika, beer, that sofa, this
photograph, Svetas mother, Kolya)
(our refrigerator, his magazine, that song, Vera, his sister, this pencil, their wine,
Borya, her horse, your-sg milk, Seryozha)
23.
Case and Word Order
Compare the English sentences:
Lassie bit Timmy Timmy bit Lassie
Obviously these sentences have different meanings. In English the meaning is revealed by word order. Changing
the word order changes the meaning of the sentence. In English normally you have Subject > Verb > Direct
Object. The form of a noun in English doesnt change if its the subject versus the Direct Object versus the object
of a preposition, etc. So, if we cut out the word Timmy and asked you whether he had been the subject (the
biter or the Direct Object (the bitee), you couldnt tell.
Since in Russian you can tell the function of the noun by the form of the word (its Case), the order in which the
words appear is not as important. So, for the single English sentence Masha loves Gena, you can have several
equivalents in Russian:
.
.
.
.
.
.
Masha loves Gena.
Is there any difference in meaning when you change word order? The answer is yes: Different word orders
normally result from emphasizing different elements of the sentence. But the rules pertaining to word order in
Russian can be quite complex, and we wont spend a lot of time focusing on this question.
To be honest, in speech the most common word order in Russian is Subject > Verb > Object, just as in English.
In writing, however, many strange and exotic word orders occur all over the place. So, you are going to need to
bust out of the Subject > Verb > Object mindset.
23-7
23- -
"
Exercise 1
Example:
Identify the case of the nouns and modifiers in the sentences. Be careful! There
is not always going to be Subject-Verb-Direct Object word order:
.
Nom
Acc
.
Acc
Nom
1. e .
_______________________
2. e .
__________________________________
3. e .
________________________
4. e .
________________________
5. .
____________________
6. .
_________________________
7. .
________________________
8. .
________________________
9.
(article) .
________________________
10 .
______________________
23-8
"
Exercise 2
Example:
23- -
Rewrite as in the example. Dont forget to change the possessive pronoun.
e , ?
, .
1. e , ? (Think about what possessive to use!)

__________________________________________________________________________________
2. e ee, ?
__________________________________________________________________________________
3. e e , ?
__________________________________________________________________________________
4. e , ?
__________________________________________________________________________________
5. e , ?
__________________________________________________________________________________
6. e , ?
__________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 3
Put the nouns in the Accusative. (You dont know most of these nouns, but it
makes no difference you know the forms):
1. ( er) ________________________________________.
2. () ____________________________________________.
3. ( e dress) _____________________________________.
4. ( breakfast) ________________________________________.
5. () ____________________________________________________.
6. ( ) ____________________________________________.
7. (e ) __________________________________________________?
23-9
Dialogues:
Grammar:
A: What kind of bread do you want?; :

What kind of wine does Misha want?; :
What kind of car do you want?; : What
kind of horse do they want?
The irregular verb + want

- Forms - Uses
The Accusative Singular of adjectives
Regular adjectives vs. possessives/
demonstratives
What kind of bread do you want?
e e?
e, e We want black bread, and our parents want

.
white (bread).
What kind of bread do you want?
What kind of wine does Misha want?
e e?
What kind of wine does Misha want?
e e e .
He wants French red wine.
What kind of car do you want?
e?
What kind of car do you want?
7
8
e , e
. ee.
I want a really expensive, dark blue German

car. A Mercedes.
e e.
Dont hold your breath.
What kind of horse do you want?
10
What kind of horse do y'all want?
11
, e .
We want a big brown horse.
1
1
2
3
5
6
7
9
11
e
e, , etc.
(soft!)
e e
e
bread
want (Irregular verb; See grammar explanation.)
black
white
red
car
(navy) blue
dont hold your breath (lit.: hold (your) pocket wider)
brown
24-1
24-
<
24.
An Important Irregular Verb: + Want
Forms
Present Tense
SINGULAR
PLURAL
st
nd
2 pers.
3rd pers.
1 pers.
Whats so strange about the Present Tense of <+ want (leaving aside the stress pattern)? Look at the singular
endings versus the plural. Think about this because your instructor will ask you in class.
Note that mutates to . What do you think the -form of + answer is?
Infinitive and Past Tense

Stem is <+ (normal: V+C)
PAST
INFINITIVE
Masc
, ,
Fem
, ,
Neut
Pl
, ,
Uses of the verb <+

As in English, you can combine the Present and Past of this verb with:
1) an Infinitive:
-.
.
.
I want to live in NY.

We wanted to sing Russian songs.
Kolya does not want to study.
2) a Direct Object:
.
e .
We want a large bedroom.

Lilya wanted French wine.
Conjugate based on the prompt:
Example:
(, )
e . .
1. e e (, , , e, , , , )
2. e ( [], , , , , , , [])
3. e e (, , , , , , , )
24-2
Grammar
24.
Lesson 24
Accusative Singular Adjectives
As you might have expected, for Masculine (inanimate) and Neuter adjectives, the Accusative is the same as the
Nominative. Feminine Accusative adjectives, however, have a different ending than Nominative.
NOMINATIVE
ACCUSATIVE
MASCULINE
*Same as Nominative: -{I} (-/-),
e

NEUTER
Same as Nominative: -{O} (-/-)
e
e e
ee ee
ee window
e
e e
ee ee
ee
FEMININE
-{U} (- / -)

**
Notes:
* Again, remember that this applies ONLY to Masculine inanimate nouns (and their accompanying adjectives).
We still cant say phrases like I saw your older brother.
** Note that even though feminine nouns in - do not change in the Accusative, their accompanying modifiers do.
Listen and repeat:
1. (, , , e,
e, , )
2. e (ee, ee, e, ee, e,

e, e)
3. e (, , , a, e)
24-3
24-
Insert the adjective in the correct form:
Example:
(Russian)
1. (cold, bad, Russian, warm, expensive, old)

2. e (interesting, new, Russian, French, bad, favorite, Spanish)
3. e (new, Russian, German, bad, interesting, old, expensive)
24.
Regular Adjectives vs. Possessives/Demonstratives
Do not mix up the endings of regular adjectives, which have adjectival endings ( ,
ee , , ) with those of possessives/demonstratives, which take
noun endings1 (- , e (={O}) , , , )
NOMINATIVE
ACCUSATIVE
adjective ending
adjective ending
poss./
adjective
noun
poss./
adjective
noun
both use noun ending
both use noun ending
Answer the question:
Example:
e? (your new)
1. e ? (my old; her red, their white; this here black; Veras new)
2. e? (your German; his old; Slavas Russian)
3. e e e? (our new; his big; her old; Lenas white)
4. ? (your, our, his, her, their, Dashas, Shuras)
These modifiers take noun endings in the Nominative and Accusative only, but adjective endings in other Cases. More on
this later.
24-4
24-
"
Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks and put the verb want in the PRESENT tense in the doubly
underlined blanks. Write if no ending is needed:
___________, ________ _______________.
1. e
2. ________ (what)
?
______________ _______________.
3. ______ ___________
?
___________, __________________ _____.
4. _______ e______
e_________ ________.
5. ___________ ____________
"
__________ _______________.
Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks and put the verb want in PAST tense tense in the doubly
underlined blanks. Write if no ending is needed:
e _____ ___________ (sing.)
1.
2.
e _____________.
3. ______ ________
_______________.
4.
________________.
5.
"
, ________ e_______ ______ !
Exercise 3
Example:
Change the sentences as in the example:
, ()
, .
1. , ()
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. , ()
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. e ee ()
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. e, ()
24-5
24- -
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5. , ()
_______________________________________________________________________________________
6. ()
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 4
Fill in the blanks with the correct endings. Add stress marks where necessary:
1. ________ _________ ?
2. __________ (whose) ___________ ?
3. e e __________ (his) _______________.
4. e __________ ___________ ?
5. ________ _____________ _____________ __________
"
Exercise 5
Answer the questions as honestly as you wish:
1. e?
___________________________________________________________________________
2. e e? (Hypothetical)
___________________________________________________________________________
3. e e?
___________________________________________________________________________
4. e e?
___________________________________________________________________________
24-6
Dialogues:
Grammar:
A: You never do anything

: No one bought anything
Review of fixed expressions
Negation (contd)
- Negating question words
- Russian: a multiple negative language
- Translating - words: A problem with
English
- Masculine verbal agreement with
and .
Expressing PERSON and I, you and
PERSON, etc.
e e e
You never do anything
e?
What are you doing?
e.
Nothing.
e e e.
You never do anything.
e e e! e.
And you dont know anything! Leave me alone.
e e
Nobody bought anything
e ?
Where were you?
When.
, . .
Today, of course. Its already late.
Nowhere.
9
10
e e. ?
You and Galya went shopping (were at the

store). What did you buy?
11
e.
Nothing.
12
, ?
And Galya, what did she buy?
13
e e .
No one bought anything.
14
Thank goodness. (Thank God.)
Informal form of , which we had in Lesson 3.
when
of course (Notice that the is pronounced , similar to )
already
late (The is silent between the and .)
nowhere; anywhere
you and Galya (lit.: you (pl) with Galya) (Note the voicing of the to [].)
store (false cognate)
10
buy
13
no one
14
thank goodness; thank God; thats good (lit.: glory to God)
25-1
25-
25.
Multiple Negation in Russian

! (4); e e . (13)
25..1
Negating Verbs and Question Words
Back in Lesson 6 we learned that basic negation involves simply placing the negative particle e in front of the
element you wish to negate (usually the verb):
e .
e e, e.
I dont know.
They dont live in Princeton, but in Trenton.
You can also negate a question word, such as , , e, , etc. In this case add (dont confuse with
e1) to the question word:
Q WORD
+Q WORD
2
what
who
when
e where
e nothing (Nom/Acc)
(Nom); (Acc) no one
never
nowhere
none at all
no ones
not at all; in no way
Now add the verb phrase. We still need as well (We know - there ends up being more than one negative
particle in a single sentence. Well explain below). Keep the e in front of the verb phrase. As a rule, it is better
to move all the -words to the front, before the [e + verb phrase]. This gives you the following word order:
SUBJECT +
+ Q WORD
VERB PHRASE
.
No one likes to study.
offend . He didnt want to offend Masha in
You dont know anything!
any way.
1
2
. I never saw your new car.

.
Her parents dont work anywhere.
and - are very easily confused, even more so since they are pronounced virtually the same (they are normally
unstressed and, as you remember, and both reduce to //).
does exist, but its use is rather limited.
25-2
Grammar
Lesson 25
Listen and repeat. Note that due to vowel reduction, you cant really hear any difference
between e and -:
QUESTION
NEGATIVE RESPONSE
1.
e?
e e.
2.
e e .
3.
e .
4.
e ?
e .
5.
Answer the questions in the negative:
Example:
e ?
e?
e e .
e e.
1. ?
2. ?
3. e e ?
4. ?
5. ?
6. ?
7. e?
8. e e?
9. e ?
10. ?
25..2
Russian is a Multiple Negative Language
Many textbooks refer to Russian as a double negative language. But, as weve seen, Russian is a multiple
negative language. You can pile as many -words in front of the [e + verb] phrase as youd like (as long as the
sentence still makes sense):
e e .
e e .
No one bought anything anywhere.

He never says anything.
Add water and negate these freeze dried sentences:
Example:
/ / +
e e .
1. / / +
2. / / / +
3. / e / / / +
4. / / +
25-3
25-
25..1
Translating - words: A problem with English
In the table in 25..1 we translated the Russian - words as no- words in English ( = nothing, =
no one, = nowhere). but then most of the sentences that followed show the English equivalents of the words beginning with any- ( ! = You dont know anything!). Technically, this could also
be translated You know nothing. This is a problem with English; fortunately, in Russian negative question words
are always -.
To make matters more complicated, the English any- can be used in non-negated constructions as well, e.g., Did
you see anything? Anyone could have done this. This is a totally different usage of any than in negative
sentences, and is expressed in Russian in a way which we havent learned yet. For now, every case of any- will
be in a negative sentence.
Compare these negative responses in English vs. Russian. Note how the one word responses in English differ
from complete sentence responses: 3
QUESTION
NEGATIVE RESPONSE
What did you buy?
e e ?
Where did you see Vera?
e Who likes warm beer?
e.
Nothing.
e e .
I didnt buy anything.
Nowhere.
e e .
I didnt see Vera

anywhere.
No one
e e . No one likes warm

beer
When does he read

the paper?
Never
e .
He doesnt ever read

(OR: never reads) the
paper.
Whenever you see an English sentence that contains a negative question word, first make everything that you can
negative and then translate the sentence into Russian:
REGULAR ENGLISH
SENTENCE
WITH EVERYTHING
NEGATED
REGULAR RUSSIAN
SENTENCE
I dont see anything >
I dont see nothing >
e e .
No one likes Ira >
No one doesnt like Ira >
e .
No one ever drinks anything >
No one never doesnt drink nothing >
e e .
This is not intended to be a study of negation in English, but rather a warning about the dangers of word for word
translation. But in case youre curious how the English works, the general rule is: no- is used unless there is a preceding
negative particle (like not, -nt).
25-4
Grammar
Lesson 25
1. I dont see anything.

2. Zina didnt see Ira anywhere.
3. He never complains.
4. No one ever speaks Japanese.
5. No students like to study.
6. No one ever understands anything.
25..4
Verbal Agreement with and
We saw in Lesson 21 that always takes Masculine Singular verb endings. The same is true of :
e .
e e .
No one knew.
We also saw that always takes Neuter Singular verb endings. The same is true of when used as a
subject.
e .
e .
Nothing is (lying) on the table.

Nothing was (lying) on the bed.
For the time being, do not use the verb to be in negative constructions. Saying sentences like
No one is home and Nothing was in the refrigerator in Russian is a bit more complex than it
seems and will be covered in a later chapter.
Form questions and answer in the negative:
Example:
bought an expensive German car
e ?
e e .
1. wants to study
2. understands Russian
3. lives on the moon ()
4. saw Mashas sister
5. sang a Russian song
25-5
25-
25.
Expressing Vera and I; You and Misha, etc.

(9)
Expressing plural subjects such as Vera and I, you and Misha, Katya and Dima, etc., is not as simple in Russian
as in English. In Russian you (often) cannot simply put between two names (John and I; You and Mark, etc.).
Instead, you must use the preposition c with.. With this preposition, the ending on first names in -{A} gets
changed to -{O}: c , . (This is another Case, the name and details of which
are not important right now.)
1. To express [Name] and I, you need the plural pronoun , the preposition with, and then the name of the
person with the ending -{O} e.g., Lyova and I, Katya and I. The verb that
follows this subject noun phrase agrees in the form of the pronoun, in this case 1pl.
2. To express you and [Name], the pronoun used is instead of , e.g., you and Galya,
you and Gena. Again, the verb agrees with the pronoun, so it appears in the 2pl.
Well discuss a little later on how to treat phrases like she and Masha, he and my sister, Dima and Tanya, Nina
and Vera, etc. It can get rather complicated./
(PRO)NOUN + + NAME IN -{O} + VERB PHRASE
/ .
Vera and I go / went to Princeton.
/ ?
Are / Were you and Misha watching

this film?
verb agrees with pronoun: 1pl

verb agrees with pronoun: 2pl
Note that, for now, the -{O} ending applies only to first names that end in -{A} (just like the possessives
, , , etc.). You cannot yet say sentences like My brother and I went to Tahiti.
1. Masha and I are going to the movies (the cinema).

2. What did you and Galya do yesterday?
3. Yesterday Ira and I strolled in the park.
4. Why are you and Gena watching TV?
5. Kira and I were at the store (went shopping).
6. Why did you and Kolya buy American vodka?
25-6
25-
"
Exercise 1

Answer the following questions in the negative (dont forget both negation
elements):
1. e -e?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. e?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. ?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. e e?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 2
Make up 3 questions and answer them in the negative (the more negative
elements the better):
1. _______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
25-7
25- -
"
1.
Exercise 3
Fill in the blanks with the proper forms. Add stress marks where necessary:
_________________________________________ ______ .
(Vanya and I)
2.
_________________________________________ _____ ?
(you and Dima))
3.
_________________________________________ ____ ____ .

(Shura and I)
4.
_________________________________________ ____ .
(you and Katya)
"
Exercise 4
1. I dont see anything anywhere.

_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. Masha didnt buy anything. Thank God.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. No one ever sang anything.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. No students like to study.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5. You never do anything.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
25-8
Dialogue:
Grammar:
I cant stand Heavy Metal!

The Cluster Buster (Introduction)
The Accusative plural of nouns,
possessives, and adjectives
Conditional sentences
- Uses of
- Placement of
-!
I cant stand Heavy Metal!
( returns home. e.)

:
? ?
Whats in the bag? What did you buy?
ee .
Green towels.
3
4
e ee? e ,
.
Why green? You knew after all that I wanted

yellow towels.
5
6
e, e . ,
.
No, I didnt know. If I had known I would have

bought yellow towels.
e ?
What else did you buy?
-.
(Some) CDs.
e?
What did you get? (Which ones?)
10
-.
Heavy Metal.
11
e e, e e !
You know that I cant stand Heavy Metal!
12
13
, e .
If I had known that, I wouldnt have bought

these CDs.
e ()
bag
green
towel
yellow
if (conditional, + Past)
conditional particle (+ Past)
(-)
CD
10
Heavy Metal
11
e e (/)
()
I cant stand (+ ACC)

I can (this verb is somewhat irregular; just learn this one form for now)
[
26-1
26-
26.
The Cluster Buster Vowel

? (1)
The dictionary form of the word bag is . However, in the first line of the dialogue we see the location
phrase in the bag. Notice that the is gone. So, the stem of bag is +, which contains, even for
Russians, the unacceptable consonant cluster at the end of the word. In comes the Cluster BusterVowel1 to
the rescue. In other forms besides the Nominative, when an ending beginning with a vowel is attached, no Cluster
Buster Vowel is needed. For now, the only place youll see a Cluster Buster Vowel is Masculine Nominative
Singular forms. (Well see Cluster Buster Vowels in other forms in later chapters.)
FYI:
English also has Cluster Buster Vowels:
wonder ~ wondrous; disaster ~ disastrous; doctor ~ doctrine; miraculous ~ miracle
Since you cant really predict which forms contain a Cluster Buster, well let you know with our notation of
writing the Cluster Buster vowel in parenthesis after the word: (), (), (). The most
commonly found Cluster Busters Vowels are , e and . Once in a blue moon youll see .
Now we can see that has the Cluster Buster . The stem is +, which has no vowel at all. So in the
Masculine Nominative Singular an e is inserted. No Cluster Buster is needed in the Feminine, Neuter or Plural:
, , , and Feminine Accusative .
As a general rule, its not uncommon to have a Cluster Buster Vowel before the consonant .
Listen and repeat:
SINGULAR
PLURAL
SINGULAR
PLURAL
1. ()
2. ()
3. ()
4. () gift
6. () mouth
8. ()
some
10. () ceiling
5. () wallet
7. ()
9. ()
Question:
Why is it that when the Soft-indicating Cluster Busters Vowels , and

drop out, sometimes the preceding consonant remains soft, as indicated by
(e.g., /) and sometimes not (e.g., /)?
Answer:
Very good question. Its a bit complicated. For now you need to just
memorize what happens for each individual noun.
Also known as fill vowel or fleeting vowel.
26-2
Grammar
26.
Lesson 26
The Accusative Plural
Were happy to announce that the Accusative Plural is exactly like the Nominative Plural (except, again, for
animate nouns both Masculine and Feminine people and animals), so we cant yet say sentences like I see the
professors, their wives, and the rhinoceroses.
Accusative Plural
Nouns, Possessives, & djectives
NOM SG
NOM & ACC PL
MASCULINE/ FEMININE (Inanimate)
Same as Nom Pl:
poss./
-{I}
adj.
-{I}
noun
-{I}
poss./
-{I}
adj.
-{I}
noun
-{A}
NEUTER
Same as Nom Pl:
Put the English cues into the Accusative Plural:
1. (white towels, old CDs, black pants, expensive watch , good dictionaries)
2. (Russian songs, old songs, new songs, English songs, Italian songs)
3. (my letters, his books, these newpapers, interesting magazines, her articles )
Change the direct object from singular to plural:
Example:
1.
3.
5.
7.
9.
11.
13.
15.
ee .
e ?
.
.
e e ?
e?
e e.
e (skirt).
e e e?
2.
4.
6.
8.
10.
12.
14.
16.
26-3
ee .
(shirt).
.
?
.
.
e e e .
e e .

?
26-
26.
Conditional Sentences: Past Tense +

, (5)
26..1
Uses of
The particle is used together with the Past Tense of the verb:
1) To soften wishes, normally with the verb +:

e.
We would like to study at (go to) Princeton.
e.
Masha would like to work in Paris.
e ee.
No one would want to live in Chernobyl.
For now keep the phrase of // + together.
Soften the wish:
Example:
1. (M) .
2. e e.
3. e e .
4. e .
5. (F) .
2) To indicate a hypothetical situation. This is normally expressed in two clauses:
BOTH CLAUSES THAT CONTAIN MUST HAVE THE VERB IN THE PAST TENSE
Note that these sentences with do not express Past Tense.
, ee .
If I had known, I would have bought green towels.
-e,
- .
If Zhanna lived in NY,

she would read the New York Times.
e , .
If there had been French wine there, I would have

drunk (it).
Also note that only the main verbs must appear in the Past. The verb in the subordinate clause is in whatever
tense the context calls for.
[ ] ,
{e }, .
Main clause
verb obligatorily in Past
subordinate clause
Lower Main Clause
verb in this case in Present
26-4
If I knew why he smokes, I would say.
Grammar
26..2
Lesson 26
Placement of and
is a phrase you never want to break up. It always appears at the beginning of a clause, and is normally
followed by the subject.
Giving exact rules for the position of (as opposed to ) is a bit more complicated. very often
appears as the second element in the clause, though it is not unusual for to come either directly before or after
the verb but dont put between the negative particle and the verb. (We suggest you stick to the second
position its the safest place for .) Here are some examples of the different positions of :
,
. (second position)
,
. (preceding verb)
If Tolya went to Harvard, he would never study.
,
.. (following verb)
You can reverse the order of the and clauses:
,
.
,
.
Tolya would never study if he went to Harvard.
,
.
(In case youre interested, the placement of is the kind of thing that linguists study. Now thats what we call
F-U-N.)
Combine the sentences and make them conditional:
Example:
e. e e
e, e .
1. e. -.
2. . e ee.
3. e e. e .
4. , e . .
5. , e . .
6. e. e .
7. e . e e.
8. e. e.
9. . e e.
26-5
26- -
"
Exercise 1
Change the direct object to plural:
1. .
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. e e e.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. . (think!)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. . (Even though weve never seen this noun, you can tell what the Nominative is!)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5. e (dress).
_______________________________________________________________________________________
6. (here: take) e .
_______________________________________________________________________________________
7. e e . (stress!)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
8. .
_______________________________________________________________________________________
9. (closed) e.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
26-6
26- -
"
Exercise 2
Make the sentences conditional:
1. e. e .
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. e . e e.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. . e.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. ee. ee .
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5. . -.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
6. e . e.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
7. e. e (about you).
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
26-7
Dialogue:
Grammar:
Im not looking at anyone

The Accusative of personal pronouns
Prepositions and Case
The - at the beginning of (), (),
()
Prepositions and negation
Im not looking at anyone
( )
(In a park)
-e, e e.
I think that guy is looking at you.
? e.
What are you talking about? Hes not looking

at me.
? ?
Then who is he looking at? At Masha?
e. e e.
No. Nobody ever looks at her.
, .
Hes definitely looking at us.
(they walk up to him)
(they walk up to him)
7
8
e? e ?
e e ? e e.
Who are you looking at? At me or at him. Why

are you looking at us? We dont know you.
9
10
e? e .
e . e.
What are you talking about? I wasnt looking

at you. Im not looking at anyone. Im blind.
11
, e, .
Oh, were really sorry.
<+ (/)
look at (+ accusative)
you (accusative of )
me (accusative of )
who(m) (accusative of )
()e
her (accusative of )
exactly; definitely; without a doubt
us (accusative of )
()e
him (accusative of /)
yall; you (accusative of )
28-1
28-
28.
Accusative Personal Pronouns
We actually saw the majority of the accusative pronouns when we learned how to ask/state someones name.
(Thats because they call is a transitive verb, i.e. it takes an accusative direct object.) Recall the forms:
/ ?
e .
e ?
.
lit.: How do they call you?

lit.: They call me Sasha.
lit.: How do they call him?
lit.: They call her Lara.
Heres the entire list of accusative pronouns:
NOMINATIVE
(avoid
ACCUSATIVE
I
you
he; it
she
we
you (formal; pl)
they
who
no one
what
nothing
e
e
()e
()e
()
me
you
him; it
her; it
us
you (formal; pl)
them
who(m)
no one
what
nothing
for now)
Question:
Whats the deal with the () at the beginning of all the 3rd person pronouns:
(), (), ()?
Answer:
Well get to that below, but thanks for asking.
Complete the sentences. You may want to listen to the whole thing first and then go back:
(me, you (sg), them, him, us, her, yall, Vera, my wife, Goshas daughter,
whom?, no one, what?, nothing)
28-2
28.A.1
Lesson 28
Pronouns Can Replace Things As Well As People
How should the phrase be translated? Most English speakers first instinct is I cant
stand him. This is certainly correct, but it could also be I cant stand it, where the pronoun has replaced a
(masculine gender) thing (, , ), not a person. You need to get used to the fact that it is not
(necessarily) neuter in Russian; it just depends on the inherent gender of the noun.
Note the animacy does not affect accusative pronouns. So, while we still cant say I loathe my Russian professor,
we can say I loathe him as well as I loathe it (the CD).
While were talking about pronouns, we should also remind you that the strong tendency is for pronouns to
precede the verb (whereas full nouns often follow the verb). Again, its not wrong to say , but this
word order would sound odd to a Russian. There would have to be some reason to put the pronoun after the
verb.
Replace the direct object with a pronoun:
Example:
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?
8. .
28.
Prepositions and Case

vs. e e
In addition to marking the direct object following a transitive verb ( ), the accusative can
also be found on nouns following certain phrasal verbs (verb + preposition). In the dialogue we see <+
look at, which governs (a technical term) the accusative case. Earlier we saw the same preposition
governing another case, the locative (indicating location): . The book is on the table; e
. I am lying on the bed.
So, how can you tell what case a preposition will take? Basically, theres no perfect way to predict. A single
preposition can have several different meanings, and govern several different cases. Its no better in English, as
seen here with the preposition for:
I bought a blue dress for Monica.
I went there for a week.
He did it for kicks.
We leave for Moscow tomorrow.
I got an electric bill for $6000 last month.
Its warm for December.
28-3
28-
Obviously, each for has a completely different meaning, but of course in English you dont have to worry about
case. Not so in Russian /. Therefore, we suggest that for each verb + preposition you include in your cards a
complete phrase, such as ; .
Hint of things to come: In the case of + , there is a general principle: Verbs indicating motion (which,
to a Russian, + does) often take a preposition together with the accusative. But many other instances
of prepositions governing the accusative do not involve motion.
28.
The () at the Beginning of (), (), ()
So, what is up with the () in (), (), ()? Whenever any of these three Accusative pronouns (which just
happen to look like the possessives) are preceded by a preposition, you must stick on an -. When these
Accusative pronouns follow a bare verb, with no preposition, you dont need the -.
When e, e, are used as possessives, no - is added, even after a preposition. Compare:
Listen and repeat the examples .
3RD PERSON ACCUSATIVE PRONOUN
3RD
PERSON POSSESSIVE
(no -, even after a preposition)
(with - only after a preposition)
e.
Nina sees him.
e. Nina is looking at him.
e .
Nina sees his couch.
[e ]. Nina is looking at his couch.
e.
e.
I see her.
I am looking at her.
e .
[e ].
?
?
Who sees them?

Who is looking at them?
e?
Who sees their building?
[ e]? Who is looking at their building?
Put the direct object in the correct form:
Example:
()
e.
1. ()
2. ()
3. (e e)
4. ()
5. e e ()
6. e (e )
7. ()
8. ( )
9. e e ee ()
10. ( )
11. ()
12. e (e )
13. ()
14. () ?
28-4
I see her cat.

I am looking at her cat.
28.
Lesson 28
Prepositions and Negation

e . (8-9)
In Lesson 25 we discussed negation and question words, where we saw that Russian negates the verb itself with
the negative particle (separate from the verb), while all other elements (derived from question words) attach
. Only logic, not the grammar, limits the number of possible -words:
.
No one ever works anywhere.
What about when a preposition is involved, for example in a negative answer to questions like
? or ?
The relationship between a preposition and its complement (the noun that follows) is very special. Nothing (we
repeat, nothing!) can come between a preposition and its complement. So, to give a negative response to a
question containing a prepositional phrase ( , ), place as a separate word in front of the
prepositional phrase. Keep the prepositional phrase in tact at all times! As a result a -word may get broken
up. For example, becomes when the preposition is present.
Here is a summary of the forms of various Q-words:
Q WORD
NEGATED Q WORD
NEGATED Q WORD with + :
who
no one
at no one
what
nothing
* at nothing
* note that we use , not
(In the Accusative)
(Add -)
intervenes
Many students want to put the preposition first, followed by , but this is simply a mistake in Russian.
Listen and repeat:
SUBJECT +
e .
Masha doesnt love anyone.
Vadim never listens to the radio.
e .
Kolya doesnt live anywhere.
e .
We arent looking at anyone.
e .
Natasha isnt looking at anything.
Dima doesnt live with anyone.
e .
e e.
Im not thinking about anything.
+ (PREP. +) Q WORD +

e 3
REST OF VERB PHRASE
No one knows anything about anything.
This is the same , meaning with, which we saw in the phrase ?

Recall is from the phrase ? About what are you talking?
3
For some reason, Russian (more or less) requires this , which is not present in the English. Dont worry about this.
2
28-5
28-
Answer in the negative. Remember: be sure not to put the after the preposition. (These
sentences contain both prepositional phrases and bare direct objects):
1. e?
2. ?
3. e?
4. e ?
5. (resemble)?
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?
9. e e ?
10. (with whom) ? (We havent

seen these forms, but you should be able to answer
this based on the cue.)
28-6
28- -
"
Exercise 1
Fill in the correct form of the nouns and pronouns:
1.
___________________.
()
2.
e e ______________________.
()
3.
______________________.
()
4.
e ________________________.
()
5.
____________________________ e .
()
6.
____________________ ?
()
7.
e ___________________?
()
8.
_______________ ?
()
9.
_____________________.
()
10. _________________ ?
()
11. _________________ ?
()
12. ___________________________________________.
( )
13. _______________________________.
( )
14. ___________________________________.
( )
15. (fall in love with + accusative) _________________________________________.
( )
28-7
28- -
"
Exercise 2
Examples:
Form questions and answers with the following verbs. Make at least 3 answers
negative in some way.
<+
+
1. < +
? .
? .
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. +
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. <+
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. +
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. +
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. +
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
28-8
Dialogue:
Grammar:
: What day is today? : What are

you doing this Friday?
Days of the week
- Expressing the day of the week
- Expressing on + day of the week
Another use of the Accusative: playing
sports
What day is today?
(Note that there are five people in this dialogue!)
e e?
What day is today?
. e .
Today is Friday.
e, e ee. e
e.
No, yesterday was Sunday. Today is Monday.
? e. e
e.
What are you talking about? Tomorrow is

Thursday. Today is Wednesday.
5
6
. .
.
What are you doing this Friday?
e ?
8
9
. e Im playing chess. On Saturday theres a really

important tournament.
.
10
11
14
e e , e .
. e ,
e, , , e,
e, , ,
. e e!
I didnt even know that you played chess. You

are so talented. You play soccer and basketball
and hockey and tennis and baseball and
volleyball and golf and squash and chess. Im
impressed!
15
e e e?
What sports do you play?
16
e , e e
. .
I used to play tennis, but now I dont have the

time to. Im taking Russian.
12
13
17
5
8
8
9
9
11
e e?
() M
+ (+ACC)
what day is today?

tomorrow
play a sport (dont leave out the preposition!)
chess (always plural in Russian)
important
tournament
both and
30 - 1

11
12
12
12
13
13
13
13
15
16
17
e
e (Just one in Russian.)
c
e e
[subject] +
e
+
soccer (American football is e )

basketball
hockey
tennis
baseball
volleyball
golf
squash
what sports does (Subject) play (learn this as a phrase)
now (as opposed to before)
take a course
[
30.
Lesson 30
Days of the Week

e e? (1)
Listen and repeat:
Monday
lit.: (first day) after the week
Tuesday
related to (second)
Wednesday
related to (middle)
Thursday
related to ee (four)
Friday
related to (five)
Saturday
related to Sabbath
ee
Sunday
related to (resurrection)
Note that like nationalities and the personal pronoun , the days of the week are not capitalized in Russian.
A Russian week begins on e. Dont believe us? Take a look a this authentic Russian calendar (All
right, so the abbreviated days of the week are capitalized. What are ya gonna do?):
30 - 2
30-
30..1
Expressing the day of the week
To ask what day it is today, use the phrase ? To respond, simply use the day of the week in
the Nominative:
?
e e / / , etc.
What day is today?

Today is Wednesday / Tuesday / Sunday, etc.
To ask about tomorrow, ask (will be) ? To answer, the day is also in Nominative:
?
() / , etc.
Tomorrow (will be) Saturday / Monday, etc.
Finally, to ask what day yesterday was, use ? Note that the Past of + is Masculine to
agree with the subject . Likewise, when answering this question, the Past of + agrees in gender with the
day:
e e / / . Yesterday was Monday, Tuesday, Thursday.
Masculine
e ee.
Yesterday was Sunday.
Neuter
e / / .
Yesterday was Wednesday / Friday / Saturday.
Feminine
Form question and give response:
Example:
e e? (Wednesday)
e , e e.
(Wednesday) (Friday) (Monday) (Thursday) (Sunday) (Saturday) (Tuesday)
30 - 3
30.A.2
Lesson 30
Expressing on + day of the week
The question On what day(s)? can be either ? or e? or e ? In these constructions

the preposition is governing the Accusative. (Hey, we already know the Accusative Case. What a coincidence.)
Not surprisingly, to answer the question, use the prepostion + the day in the Accusative:
DAY OF THE WEEK
Note:
ON : + ACC
Monday
on Monday
Tuesday
on Tuesday
Wednesday
**
on Wednesday
Thursday
on Thursday
Friday
on Friday
Saturday
on Saturday
ee
Sunday
ee***
on Sunday
* The Cluster Buster in .

** The stress shift in .
*** No pause between the two s in ee. Just pronounce one long [].
Listen and repeat:
Example:
e e (Tuesday)
e e .
1. (Wednesday, Friday, Tuesday)

2. (Monday, Thursday, Saturday)
3. (Sunday, Thursday, Wednesday)?
30 - 4
30-
30.
Another Use of the Accusative: Playing a Sport

(8)
To say play football / basketball / chess, etc., use the phrase + + sport in ACC.
.
.
.
Were playing tennis.

I love to play golf.
Yesterday Vera played volleyball.
*** Dont forget the Preposition ! (Its a very common error.) ***
To ask what sport a person plays, use the phrase ?

For now, avoid using the word (the usage is rather tricky).
Say what sport the person play(ed).
1.
(retired)
2.
3.
e (dead)
4.
5.
.-e (retired)
6.
7.
8.
(retired)
9.
(retired)
10.
11. e
12. (retired)
30 - 5
30- -
"
Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate day of the week. Please be accurate:
1. e _________________________________. _______
_____________________________,
_____________________________________ .
2. e e _____________________________,
e ________________________________________.
3. e, e (hang out) e _______________________________________.
4. e - ________________________________________________.
5. _________________________________________________________________
(or make the whole thing negative, if you wish.)
"
Exercise 2 Answer as truthfully as you wish (you dont have to answer about each person):
1. e e ee? ? e? ? ?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. e e e ? e?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. e e ee? ?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
30 - 6
30-
"
Exercise 3

1. What day is today? Yesterday was Saturday, so (its back in Lesson 5) todays Sunday.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. TGIF (actually Russians dont have this expression, but translate it anyway)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. Where were you (Vera) on Sunday? I was sitting at home and watching TV.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
30 - 7
Dialogue:
Grammar:
What can you do?
The verb {+ / +} sleep

e, , all; entire; whole
The Accusative of Time
What can you do?
e?
2
3
e . . e Dont ask. I was studying all night. Theres a

Russian test today.
e .
4
5
e !
!
A Russian test again! Your professor is a real

jerk.
e . e ?
Tell me about it. But what can you do?
7
8
e e.
e
e. e e e
e. , e e, e e,
. !
You study all the time. Every Friday and

Saturday you sit in the library and study. You
study all day, every day. All morning, all day,
all evening, all night. What a nightmare!
9
10
11
How did you sleep last night?
{+ / + }
sleep (related to soporific) (See below for conjugation)
all; entire; whole (See discussion below)
(very late) night (you can tell the gender) - roughly from 1AM-3AM otherwise
use the noun e for evening or night.
what can you do? (learn as a phrase)
all the time

time (This noun is Neuter! Dont ask why ... yet. Just remember the phrase
, which tells you that is Neuter)
every; each
library
10
morning
10
evening; night - roughly 6PM-1AM
31-1
Lesson 31
31.
The Verb {+ / +} sleep
What is strange about the Present Tense conjugation of this double-stem verb? Do you remember what we said
about the Present Tense of all double-stem verbs? What type of letter do they all end in? Does this verb follow
this rule? Be prepared to make an intelligent comment in class .
STEM: +
STEM: +
PRESENT TENSE
PAST TENSE
, , ,
()
, , ,
, ,
INFINITIVE
* Another example of labial mutation: > .
How languages differ: e? vs. How did you sleep last night?
This is another example of an unpredictable difference between Russian and English. Well
always be sure to point out things like this. So if a Russian asks you How you sleeped
today? just smile, correct his mistakes, and tell him its none of his business anyway.
Answer the questions based on the prompt:
Example:
e?
e .
1. () e?
2. e?
3. ?
4. e?
5. ?
6. e? (Are there any cats that dont sleep well?)
31-2
31-
31.
Grammar
(), , , all; entire; whole
This is another word like , , , i.e. it feels like an Adjecitve but takes Noun endings (so far). If you
noticed the cluster buster appearing in the Masculine form, then you can probably guess that the stem is + ().
When any endings are added ({A}, {O}, {U}, etc.), the soft-indicating vowel letter must be used to indicate the
softness of the stem-final .
NOMINATIVE
ACCUSATIVE
e (inanimate)
Question:
Judging from the Masculine Singular, the first letter is a soft consonant,
after all, the Cluster Buster is , which normally indicates a preceding soft
consonant. Why dont all the other forms have the stem + ?
Answer:
Very good point. We saw this same problem in Lesson 26 when we first
discussed cluster busters. We can tell you that the is, in fact, still soft even
though no soft-sign appears after it. The softness is maintained even through
the .
For now, well be using only the Accusative Singular forms of + (). Some examples:
.
Masha didnt watch the whole / entire movie.
Kolya didnt want to read the whole / entire letter.
I know the whole / entire book quite well.
Accusative / / are also found in time expressions, which we discuss directly below.
31.
The Accusative of Time

. (2); e (7-8)
So far weve seen the Accusative Case used:

1)
2)
3)
4)
for direct objects of verbs ( )

after certain Verb + Prepositions combinations ( ; ).
to indicate on which day ( , )
to indicate at a certain time ( , , doesnt become )
31-3
Lesson 31
In this lesson we see a rather strange use of the Accusative: the Accusative of Time. When indicating either how
long or how often you did/do/will do something, the time phrase goes into the Accusative:
HOW LONG: ; all, whole
HOW OFTEN: every
ee.
e e.
Vera watched TV all day.
Misha dances in a bar every Wednesday.
e .
Masha studied all night.
I bathe every morning.

Nina studied in Moscow for a whole year.
Question:
Why is the Accusative used for this? There doesnt seem to be any direct
object or directionality involved.
Answer:
You know, you ask a lot of questions. But this is actually a good one. In fact,
since you asked, we can tell you that many linguists (people who go around
talking to themselves all day) dont have a really great explanation for the
Accusative here either. If youre really good, we may even give you the
names of several theoretical articles about this very question. Forget it, we
saw you rolling your eyes up.
1. They play chess every Friday.
2. Vera studied all night.
3. I want to study (different verb than in 2) a whole

year in Petersburg.
4. They drink vodka every day.
5. She sleeps all the time.
6. Every morning I play tennis.
7. He was in (at) the library all day.
8. What did they do every evening when they were in

Moscow?
9. She was lying on the couch and watching TV all

morning.
10. He works in a restaurant every Sunday.
31-4
31- -
Exercise 1
Fill in the doubly underlined blanks with the correct form of the verb sleep and the
remaining blanks with an adverb (or phrase). Be as truthful as you wish:
1.
____________________________________________ .
2.
____________________________________________ .
3.
____________________________________________.
4.
5. ,
Exercise 2
.
.
List 4 environments we have seen the Accusative Case used in. Provide an
example for each:
1. ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 3
Fill in with a time expression that makes sense:
1. __________________________________________________________________ .
2. / _________________________________________________________________.
3. ____________________________________________________________________.
4. , ___________________________________________________ .
5. ______________________ (the entire) . (just testing if you read the examples)
6. ____________________________________________________________.
31-5
31- -
Exercise 4
1. Kolya, how did you sleep last night? So-so.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Theres a Russian test tomorrow.
A Russian test again!?
What can you do?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
31-6
Dialogues:
A: My roommate was snoring all night;

: My roommate crying was all night
Grammar:
The verb type {-+
/ -+ }
The Past Tense (contd): Get the -

outa here
Accusative of time (contd): Giving the
time of day
My roommate was snoring all night
What time do you usually get up?
e.
I usually get up at 7:00.
e? e?
And today? What time did you get up today?
4
5
6
e e .
,
.
Last time I slept really badly and I got up at 5. I

couldnt sleep because my roommate was
snoring all night.
Do you snore?
, .
Of course not.
My roommate was crying all night
What time do you usually go to sleep?
10
I usually go to sleep at 1:00.
11
e, ?
And yesterday? What time did you go to sleep?
12
. ,
e e, e
.
I went to sleep at 3:00. My roommate was

crying all night because his girlfriend dumped
him, and I couldnt sleep.
13
24
1
2
3
5
5
5
9
10
11
12
12
13
{+ / +}
+ ACC
+
+
+< (end-stressed in Past)
get up; wake up (general action)
{+ / +}
(irreg. pl: )
+
+
go to bed; lie down (general action)
here: at (##:00) (time expression)

get up; wake up (one-time action)
neighbor; roommate (female)
snore
can; be able (Only use in Present Tense for now. See grammar explanation
about Past Tense.)
1:00 (here: 1:00 AM. Literally the word means hour)
got to bed; lie down (one-time action)
neighbor; roommate (male)
cry (*Present Tense is not what you think; just use in Past for now)
dump (boyfriend, wife, etc.) (lit.: throw) ( mutates to , in case youre
wondering: , , )
32-1
Grammar
32.
Lesson 32
The Double-Stem Verb Type {-+ / -+}
There are three sets of (some rather important) double-stem verbs that have end-stress in the Present (following
+) and stem-stress in the Past and Infinitive (with an extra -- added in, for good measure). You may be
confused as to why the Past/Infinitive stem ends in a consonant and not a vowel (like all the other double-stem
verbs weve seen so far). For now, it doesnt make any difference. In both the Past and Infinitive, the is
truncated. Well tell you later why we posit the forms with the .
Actually, weve already seen this verb type in the expression:

!
Wow!; Thats something else!
Lets look at the conjugation:
Person /
Number
Ending
Pronoun
{+ / + }
get up
{+ / +}
give
Present Tense: End-Stressed Stem in +
1sg
2sg
3sg
1pl
-{U}
//
- {O}
- {O}
-{O}
2pl
- {O}
3pl
-{U}
Past and Infintive: Stem-Stressed Stem in +
Masc
, ,
Neut
Fem
Pl
-
-
, ,
, ,
Infin
32-2
32-
Conjugate based on the cue:
1. (, , , , , , , , )
2. (, , , , , , ())
3. . (, , , , , , , , )
4. ! (, , , , cant really say this about yourself)
Question:
Is it just me, or did I see two completely different verbs for both get up and go
to bed?
Answer:
Its you OK, its not. Well talk about this at length in Chapter 5. For now
just try to mimic the dialogues. So its as follows:
Repeated Act (Present or Past)
One Time Act (Past Only)
{+ / +}
+...
{+ / }
One more thing Do not attemp to use the One-Time-Act Verbs + / +

in the Present Tense. Bad things can happen. Again, we suggest that you
memorize the phrases exactly as they appear in the dialogues. This will make
things much simpler for you.
32.
The Past Tense: Greasy Zeke Says Get the outa here!
vs. , vs.
In presenting the Past Tense we saw that for both V and C stems the Masculine Singular the ending is -:
This could be the beginning of
a beautiful relationship.
V + harmony. Attach - directly to stem vowel:
+
+
+
Look out, stem consonant! Im
the new consonant in charge!
C
/ + chaos. - boots the stem consonant:
/ + -
/+ -
/ + -
32-3
Grammar
Lesson 32
Well, the Past Tense marker aint as tough as it thinks it is. For some verbs, in the Masculine Singular only, its
the that gets booted and the stem consonant remains. In the remaining forms of the Past Tense the (complete)
regular endings beginning with are attached.
The Get the outa here consonants: , , , ,
Question:
How is one supposed to memorize these 5 consonants?
Answer:
Meet Greasy Zeke (or should we say: --ea--y -e--e). His name contains
all of these 5 consonants.
Of Greasy Zeke verbs, so far weve only seen verbs that end in -. Lets take a look:
No!! Im melting!
What a world! What a world! ...
Get the - outa here!

Masc Sg: when verb ends in + -
/ - goes bye-bye:
+ -
/
+ -
/
Remaining forms: Both consonants peacefully coexist:
+ -/-/- //
+ -/-/- //
Here are some Greasy Zeke verbs:
MASCULINE
-/
FEMININE
-
NEUTER
-
PLURAL
-
+ , +
e+ (die)
+ (carry)
+ (transport)
+ (bake)
With our verb system (yes, its actually a system) we can confidently predict that every verb whose stem ends in
one of the Greasy Zeke consonants will follow the same pattern.
Lets practice along with Greasy Zeke. Dont worry (for now) if you get the stress wrong on new
verbs.
1. . (, , , , , , (), (), , , )
2. . (, , , , , , , (), )
3. . (, , , , , , , , )
32-4
32-
32.
The Accusative of Time (contd): Stating the Hour
To say at 2:00 / 3:00 / 7:00, etc., use + the number (which is again in the Accusative, even if it may not look
like it):
e.
.
Misha usually gets up at 6:00.

My parents usually goes to bed at 11:00.
For 1:00 use (lit.: at an hour):

e e .
Anya went to bed yesterday at 1:00.
In case you were wondering, there is a way to specify AM or PM, but we wont worry about it for now. If you
cant figure out the difference from context.well, students may actually need to make it clear.
Say what time stuff happens/happened:
1. (7, 9, 10, 5, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 1)

2. (11, 2, 4, 3, 1, 12, 10, 8, 9)
3. / (6, 8, 9, 7, 4, 10, 1, 3, 2, 5)
4. / (10, 2, 5, 6, 12, 1, 5, 3, 11, 4)
32-5
32- -
"
Exercise 1
Answer as truthfully as you wish. (Youll have to stick to :00 for now.)
1. e?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. e?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. e ?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. e?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5. e e?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
6. e ?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
7. / / ?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 2
Give the Past of these verbs. Circle the Greasy Zeke consonant in the
Masculine if the verb has one:
, ,
, ,
, ,
32-6
32- -
"
Exercise 3
Translation:
1. I never snore. Of course not!

_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. Why was our Russian professor crying?
His wife dumped him.
If she dumped me, I wouldnt cry.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
32-7
Dialogues:
We waited for you all morning
Chapter 3 Review (Lessons 23-32)

We waited for you all morning
? . Where were you on Saturday? We waited for

. you all morning. Everything was really good.
, . Lyosha and I played tennis all day, and Anya
1
2
3
and Grisha took a walk in the park.
6
7
, .
.
.
I lost (my) key. I couldnt open (my) door. I

slept the whole night in (my) car. It was really
cold and unpleasant.
8
9
. ,
. , .
You poor thing. You know, I found a key on

(my) table last Friday. Maybe you left it there.
10
You found a key and you didnt say anything!
11
12
13
, , ,
. , , ?
, , ?
If I had known that it was your key, of course I

would have said. Do you think Im an idiot, or
something? Anyway, what do you want to do
today?
14
, .
I want to sleep, but I dont have the time.
+ ACC
wait for (No preposition required in Russian.) This is a 1st-conjugation verb with
no mutation: , , . Past Tense: , , , )
lose (Another {A}-verb)
{+ / +}
open
poor thing (for both male and female)
(), ,
find (Stick with the Past Tense with this verb for now)
leave (behind); forget
33-1
Chapter 3 Review
Lesson 33
REVIEW OF LESSONS 23-32
Tag questions
Add ? to questions to express doubt or surprise:
, ?
Are you joking or something?
, ?
What is she, an actress?
Case
All nouns and their modifiers (which taken together constitute a Noun Phrase) are marked for Case in Russian. The Case
endings indicate the grammatical function of the Noun Phrase. There are 6 Cases in Russian, of which we have seen 3:
1) Nominative The dictionary form. Most commonly used for the subject of the sentence.
2) Accusative Most commonly used for the direct object (see more uses below).
3) Locative (also known as Prepositional), Most commonly used to indicate location after the prepositions or .
Here is a chart of the Case endings we have had so far. Adjective endings appear on the left, noun and
possessives/demonstratives on the right (??? indicates a form we have not seen yet):
SINGULAR
Masucline
NOM
-{I}, -

ACC
Inanimate = NOM
PLURAL
Neuter
-{O}
-{O}
Same as NOM
Feminine
-{A}
-{A} / -
-{U}
-{U}/ -
Animate = ???
All Genders
-{I}
M/F: -{I}; N: -{A}
Inanimate = NOM
Animate = ???
Same as Nominative
(for Inanimate Masculine)
LOC
Adjectives: ???

Nouns- / - (Fem Nouns in > )

33-2
Same as Nominative
(for Inanimate)
???
???
33-
Accusative Case
Uses of the Accusative

1) Direct Object of Transitive Verb
.
.
?
.
I want a new car.

Masha bought a new fridge.
Did you see my coat?
Lyona lost (his) keys again.
2) Time: Duration/Frequency
DURATION (, )
FREQUENCY ()
He slept all day.
Vera bathes every day.
I studied all night.
I iron my pants every Friday.
.
She studied for a whole year in Moscow.
3) Time Expressions Using + ACC:
a) At a certain time of the hour:
, .
I usually get up at 1:00, but today I got up at 5:00.
) On a certain day of the week:
.
On Wednesday I played golf.
4) fter certain verbs + prepositions
a) look at: +
?
Why are you looking at me?
) playing a sport: +
.
Kolya plays tennis well.
Multiple Negation and Negation with Prepositions
In addition to the negative particle , when required, a -word(s) or phrase(s) is also used.
Question words/phrases and their negative forms.:
QUESTION WORD
-WORD
N/A
33-3
Chapter 3 Review
Lesson 33
For prepositional phrases, a separated goes in front. Dont put anything between the Preposition and its complement:
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
To be safe put all the -words/phrases immediately after the subject (which itself may be the ). is normally
the first word of the sentence, and and usually go before any other -words. You must also include
followed by the verb phrase.
.
Masha never looks at anyone.
.
.
I never think about anything.
Verb Agreement with 1) /; 2) //; 3)

, : MASC SG
?
.
, , : NEUT SG
?
.
.
: PLURAL
Name and I; You and Name
A literal translation using and is not possible. Instead use: 1) Name; 2) Name where the ending on the Name
(assuming it ends in -{A}) {O}. The verb agrees with or :
.
?
=
=
Misha and I are going to the movies.

Are you and Vera playing soccer?
The Conditional
The particle is used with a Past Tense verb to:

1) Soften a wish:
, .
I would like to know why she said that.

No one would want to buy your car.
2) Indicate a situation that was/is/will be unreal. Often a two-part construction is used, one part headed by , the
other part containing just . (Past Tense verbs in both parts). To be safe, put as the second element in the clause:
, .
If I went to Harvard, I would watch TV all the time.
-, .
I would speak French superbly if I lived in Paris.
33-4
33-
The Irregular Verb + want
The Present Tense is unusual in that the and / forms have 1st-conjugation ending (with > mutation and shifting
stress), while the plural is 2nd-conjugation. ( The Past and Infinitive are regular, based on the stem +:
PRESENT TENSE
PAST TENSE
, , ,
()
, , ,
, ,
INFINITIVE
A Strange Double-Stem Verb: {+ / +} sleep
This verb violates our rule that double-stem verbs combine harmoniously in both the Present (C+V) and the Past/Infinitive
(V+C). The Present Tense stem is +, which leads to V + V truncation and consonant mutation ( labial > ) in the form. Also, it is the only double-stem verb that is 2nd-conjugation!
STEM: +
PRESENT TENSE
STEM: +
PAST TENSE
, , ,
()
, , ,
, ,
INFINITIVE
Greasy Zeke Verbs: Get the Outa Here!
Verbs with a stem ending in , , , , do not attach - in the Masculine Singular form of the Past. Instead, the stem
consonant remains and the - is booted. In all the other forms of the Past, the regular Past Tense endings (-, -, -) are
attached to the stem with no truncation. Of these 5 letters, so far we have only seen verbs ending in -. Note that both are
end-stressed in Past. (We can't yet form the Infinitive of these stems):
+ be able; can
+ lie down
MASC
* -/ *
NEUT
-
FEM
-
PL
-
33-5
Chapter 3 Review
Lesson 33
Adverbs
Most Adverbs are formed by adding - to the Adjective stem. Sometimes the stress will be different, but there are no great
rules for predicting when. (For Adjectives in -, just remove the to derive the Adverb, with no change in stress.) There
are also quite a lot of Adverbs that are not related to Adjectives. A few examples:
Adjective Stem
Adverb
N/A
/ /
{-+ / -+} Verbs
Over the course of the year we will see several verbs built on the following three double-stems: 1) {-+ / -+} give;
2) {-+ / -+} rise; 3) {-+ / -+} know. (Very often, these stems will appear with a prefix, which adds a
specific meaning.) Note that the stress falls on the ending in the Present Tense, but on the stem in the Past and Infinitive.
These stems violate the rule that double-stem verbs always combine harmoniously (either V+C or C+V) because the Past
Tense/Infinitive stem ends in a consonant, giving C
/+C truncation. (It may not be obvious now why we have included the
final consonant in the Past/Infinitive stem, but we will explain that later in the course.)
Person /
Number
Ending
Pronoun
{+ / + }
get up
{+ / +}
give
Present Tense: End-Stressed Stem in +
1sg
2sg
3sg
1pl
-{U}
- {O}
-{O}
//
- {O}
2pl
- {O}
3pl
-{U}
Past and Infintive: Stem-Stressed Stem in -+
Masc
Neut
-
-
, ,
Fem
, ,
Pl
, ,
Infin
33-6
33- -
"
Exercise 1 Fill in the forms. For the Locative singular, leave out any modifiers:
SINGULAR
NOMINATIVE
PLURAL
ACCUSATIVE
LOCATIVE
"
Exercise 2 Fill in the correct forms of the following verbs:

want
Stem(s)
sleep
Irregular
Present
Past
NOM / ACC
Infinitive
33-7
remember
play
"
Exercise 3
33- -
Give a negative answer to the following sentences. (If you wish, where possible,
add an extra negative element for the heck of it.)
1. ?
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. ?
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. ?
________________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 4
Turn the following sentences into conditional statements:
1. (said to ) . .
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. , . .
________________________________________________________________________________________
"
1. Vera waited for me all morning.

________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How did you sleep last night? + Dont ask. You poor thing!
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. I usually play tennis on Friday.
________________________________________________________________________________________
33-8
Nouns and Pronouns

27
30
33
30
32
27
28
32
30
32
27
27
30
23
27
26
27
28
27
28
26
25
24
23
27
28
28
28
28
32
27
26
27
30
23
31
28
30
30
e
(Neuter)
~
~
(-)
e
()
()e
()e
()
()-
e
~ (irreg
pl of : )
e
America
basketball
poor thing
baseball
library
blonde (male) ~ (female)
yall; you (polite; ACC)
evening; night
volleyball
time
everyone (takes a PLURAL verb unlike English)
year
golf
idiot; fool (male) ~ (female)
(boy)friend ~ (girl)friend
CD
a female
who(m) (ACC)
hall(way)
me (ACC)
bag
store (false cognate)
car
milk (cognate)
Moscow
us (ACC)
him (ACC)
her (ACC)
them (ACC)
very late night
(Saint) Petersburg (No s in Russian!)
towel
(dont put an extra e before the final )
squash
juice
neighbor; roommate (male) ~ (female)
27
32
30
24
30
26
31
30
university
morning
soccer
bread
hockey
Heavy Metal
1:00 (lit.: hour)
chess (always plural in Russian)
Verbs
31
31
31
33
29
23
25
31
31
31
33
33
33
25
31
27
27
33
27
30
28
32
27
24
31
you (ACC)
tournament
tennis
33-10
+
{+ / +}
+
+
+ (+ACC)
+
{+ / +}
+...
+
(), ,
{+ / +}
+
+
(),
,
+
+
+
+
{+ / +}
+
e+
+
1) dump (boyfriend, wife, etc) 2) quit + INF) (lit.: throw)

wake up (repeated action)
wake up (one-time action)
wait (for)
play a sport (dont leave out the preposition!)
feed
buy
go to bed (Use only the Past for now.)
go to bed; lie down (general action)
can; be able (Use only the Past and for now.)
found (Stick with the Past Tense for now.)
open
leave (behind); forget (to take with)
leave me alone (Informal form of )
cry (*Present Tense is not what you think; just use in Past for
now)
walked up (to) (Use the Past Tense only for now)
to live for a while
lose
decide
take a course
look at (+ ACC)
sleep
smile (use only in the Past Tense for now)
want (Irregular)
snore
Adjectives and Adverbs

24
32
30
23
27
26
26
30
32
24
24
27
27
25
27
27
23
24
32
28
25
27
24
(), ,
e
(soft!)
e
white
all; whole
important
(over) there
long ago
yellow
green
tomorrow
every; each
brown
red
young (related to )
usually
late
first class; top notch
boring
blind
(navy) blue
now
exactly; definitely; without doubt
already
whole, entire
black
Days of the Week

30
30
30
30
30
30
30
Expressions and Misc.

30
30
32
27
27
24
26
30
27
30
25
25
27
27
25
25
30
27
27
27
25
27
32
23
26
Monday
Tuesday ( )
Wednesday ( )
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
33-11
(+ ACC)
e e
(subject) +

e e

e e?
/ !

e
?
e e
on a [day]; at a [time]
what sports do (Subject) play (learn this as a phrase)
all the time
tall (lit.: of tall height)
even
dont hold your breath (lit.: hold (your) pocket wider)
if (conditional, + Past)
conditional particle (+ Past)
both and
as if; as though
what day is today?
when
of course
by the way
(I / one) must say; (I / one) must admit
nowhere; anywhere
no one
but
come on!; you cant be serious
nice to meet you (lit: very pleasant)
against
thank God; thats good (lit.: glory to God)
also (Be careful how you use this for now.)
what can you do? (learn as a phrase)
or something? (a tag question)
I cant stand (+ ACC)
A: Im from America
: Thats Vadiks beer
: The Genitive Singular of nouns
- Forms
- Uses of the Genitive: of; possession
- The Frozen Genitive
- Prepositions used with the Genitive
Asking/stating where a person is from
Thats Vadiks beer
. e?
Im hungry. Whats in the fridge?
e . .
I dont know. Take a look.
3
4
( e) e
, -,
.
(Looks in the fridge) Theres a piece of

sausage, half a banana, a jar of caviar, and a
bottle of beer.
(Takes the and starts to drink it.)
(Takes the beer and starts to drink it.)
e? e .
What are you doing? Thats Vadiks beer.
? ? e ,
?
So what? Whos he, the president of the United

States or something?
Im from America
Where are you from?
10
, . ?
Im from Russia, from Siberia. And you?
11
, .
-.
Im from America, from Princeton. Its a small

city in (the state of) New Jersey.
? ,
, .
.
Really? My ex-girlfriend, who recently dumped

me, is from (the state of) Pennsylvania. Shes
from Philadelphia.
12
13
14
15
hungry
take a look (Another Imperativelike which we havent covered yet.)
(o)
piece
sausage; mystery meat
-; + GEN
half
banana (Masculine in Russian.)
jar
caviar
bottle
34-1
Lesson 34
president
/ / ?
where are you / she / they from?
10
(+ GEN)
from
10
(F)
Siberia (note that it has a feminine ending in English: ia)
12
city ( means Lenins city)
12
state (of the U.S.)
13
really? (lit.: (the) truth, like the newspaper)
14
recently (Notice the different stress than in .)
from where; whence
[
34.
The Genitive Case ( )
Our 3rd Case, the Genitive, is the most flexible case in Russian. The Genitive is used for everything from
possession to negation to source to quantification (to name just a few).
34..1
Forms: Nouns
Genitive Singular: Nouns

NOMINATIVE
GENITIVE
MASCULINE AND NEUTER
{A} ( / )
FEMININE
{I} ( / )
We saw the Masculine Genitive ending in the phrase of tall height (Nominative is ).
, - (Well see later on that the Preposition takes the
Genitive sometimes.)
Masculine names and persons in {A} also go to {I}, as we see in the penultimate example under the Feminine
Nouns: > ( > , etc.)
34-2
34-
34..1a
Genitive Singular vs. Nominative Plural of Neuter and Feminine Nouns
Note that the Feminine and Neuter Genitive Singular look exactly like their respective Nominative Plural forms
(the Case should be clear from context). Sometimes, however, the stress will be different - the Genitive Singular
will always have the same stress as the Nominative Singular, whereas the Nominative Plural may have different
stress. Some of these nouns are:
NOM SG
GENITIVE SINGULAR
NOM PL
heart
Therefore, for all Neuter and Feminine shifting-stress nouns, you can tell the difference between the Genitive
Singular and Nominative Plural by their stress.
34..2
Uses of the Genitive
The English preposition of
Russian uses the Genitive (with no preposition) in many instances that would be expressed in English with the
preposition of:
e

-
(for reference)
the president of America

a bottle of beer
a piece of sausage
half (of) a banana
the capital of France
Transform the sentences as in the example. Our apologies for any political inaccuracies:
Example:
e e ()
1.
e e.
2.
e? ()
3.
e.
4.
e. ()
5.
e e. ()
6.
e e? (e) any change
7.
e. ( Lebanon)
8.
e e. ()
9.
e e. ()
10. e. ()
34-3
e .
Lesson 34
Announce what you found in the refrigerator:
Example:
bottle of beer
e .
1. bottle of wine
2. half (of) a banana
3. small piece of bread
4. bottle of juice
5. jar of mustard
6. large piece of sausage
7. half (of) a sandwich e
8. jar of caviar
9. bottle of milk
10. piece of soap
11. jar of honey
12. bottle of cognac endstressed!
Possession ;
Up to now we have formed possessions from first names ending in -{A} with the suffix -- + the appropriate
ending:

e, etc.
Mishas brother
Mishas sister
Mishas beer
Mishas kids
Mishas wife (ACC)
There are 2 problems with this:

1) not all first names end in -{A} (e.g., , , , , etc.)
2) not all possession involves first names (the presidents car; my sisters cat; that angry guys cappuccino;
Pavlovs dog)
In these cases we use the Genitive always following the noun to express possession. Examples:

e
e

e
Vitaliks beer
Igors daughter
the presidents car
Gores wife
his sisters banana
Vera Pavlovnas dog
Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsins vodka
Well cover the Genitive forms of Adjectives in the next lesson so youll be able to say things like Hey, thats my
younger brothers nosering.
34-4
34-
Note that now we have 3 ways to express possession:
1. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
Agree in CNG with noun1
2. FIRST NAMES IN -{A}

--, also agree with the Noun2
3. NOUNS & MISC. NAMES

Genitive Case
my banana
Zinas banana
Vera Victorovnas banana
your pen
Shuras pen
Gores pen
ee
ee
ee
your cookie
Pashas cookie
Vadiks cookie
our towels
Ritas towels
the presidents towels
For some reason, students often want to transform even the possessive pronouns into Genitive
and even put them after the noun. Please dont do this. Thanks.
Say whose thing it is:
Example:
(my)
(e)
e ()
.
.
e.
1. (president)
2. (our)
3. ()
4. ( )
5. (their)
6. ()
7. (his)
8. ( )
9. ()
10. (my)
11. ()
12. ()
13. ( )
14. - (her sister)
15. (our)
1
2
3
Can you guess an exception to this? Which possessive pronouns have we told you NEVER change, no matter what the
gender or number of the noun? If you said the 3rd person possessives: , , , , , .
Just as the -- possessives have Nominative and Accusative endings, so do they have Genitive endings, which we will
learn in the next lesson.
Note that if you have a first name in -{A} () plus a patronymic (), you have to use the Genitive
strategy: (not ).
34-5
34..3
Lesson 34
The Frozen Genitive
The Noun that is in the Genitive (the of-noun) never changes, regardless of what case the head noun is in:
e .
NOM
e .
GEN
ACC
Gores wife was there.
Still GEN
The noun is Genitive regardless of

the Case of the head noun
I love Gores wife
.
NOM
GEN
There was a bottle of wine on the table.
ACC
Still GEN
The noun is Genitive regardless of

the Case of the head noun
I bought a bottle of wine
We will call this the Frozen Genitive.

On the other hand, regular possessives and possessives of names in -{A} do match the case of the head noun:

NOM
e.
NOM
ACC
My wife was there.
I love my wife
. NOM
NOM
ACC
Ira's daughter was there.
ACC
.
ACC
The possessive changes Case with

the head noun
-, derived from a name in -{A},
changes Case with the head noun
I saw Ira's daughter.
Put the noun phrases in the correct form. Use the verb phrase :
(your/Clintons wife)
1. his/Vladimirs wife
2. their/the professors car
3. their/the presidents dog
4. her/her sisters coat
5. Zinas/her sister
6. Vitaliks sister
7. a/my bottle of wine
8. a/our my jar of caviar
9. your (Formal)/Ivans letter
34.A.4
. .
Prepositions used with the Genitive
We have now seen 3 prepositions that take the Genitive. Two of them weve known for quite a while, but just
didnt realize they govern the Genitive: at; by, e.g., ? (as we will soon find out, is the Genitive
form of ), and until; up to, e.g., , literally until a rendezvous. The third one, introduced in this
lesson, is from.
34-6
34-
When you learn a preposition you need to learn: 1) the meaning (duh); and 2) what case it governs (i.e., takes).
Prepositions take the Genitive more than any other case, so if youre ever in Vegas and about to wager your
tuition at the Case Roulette Table, put your money on Genitive. Still, there are lots of prepositions that take other
cases. And some prepositions take more than one case, depending on the meaning.
Here are examples of all prepositions weve seen so far, including the ones that take the Genitive:
CASE
PREPOSTION /
MEANING
EXAMPLE
1. on, at
Locative
e .
2. at
Accusative
e.
1. in
Locative
2. at
Accusative
3. on
Accusative
from
Genitive
until
Genitive
(neuter noun NOM: rendezvous)
at, by
Genitive
e?
34.
Asking/Stating Where Someone Comes From

? (1-2)
The question is: //, etc.? is literally whence; from where

The answer is: / / (+ place in the Genitive)
Remember: In Lesson 6, we stated that foreign names in -, -, -, and - do not decline (i.e., change endings,
regardless of what Case it is). Using place names after is no exception: / / .
Form questions and answers:
Example:
()
? .
1. ()
2. ()
3. ()
4. ()
5. ()
6. ()
7. ()
8. ()
9. ()
10. (-)
11. ()
12. ()
13. ()
14.
( Rome)
15. ()
16. ()
34-7
34- -
"
Exercise 1
Fill in the gaps. There are a few nouns you may not have seen yet, but it
shouldnt matter:
Nominative Singular
Accusative Singular
Genitive Singular
Nom/Acc Plural
"
Exercise 2
Complete the sentences by putting something in the Genitive:
1.
____________________________________________________________________________
2.
________________________________________________________________
3.
? ________________________________________________________________________
4.
______________________________________________________________________
5.
(capital) _____________________________________________________________
6.
______________________________________________________________________________
34-8
34-
"
Exercise 3

Put the noun in the correct Case. Everything is possible:
1.
( )
_______________________________________________________
2.
() _______________________________________
3.
() _______________________________________________________
4.
() _________________________________________________
5.
() __________________________________________________
6.
() ___________________________________________________ ?
34-9
A: Is it for your father?

: Is it for your mother?
: Marriage expressions (Introduction)
The Genitive Singular of adjectives,
possessives, and
Nounjectives: part noun, part
adjective, total fun
The irregular nouns and
Is it for your father?
! e ? What a nice tie! Is that for your father?
2
3
e, e
. .
e! e For that despicable person. He assigns a huge

e e e e
amount of homework every day.
.
5
6
No, its a present for my favorite Russian

professor. Hes getting married.
Is it for your mother?
! e?
8
9
e, e . No, its a present for my physics professor. She

getting married.
.
10
11
! e
e e e e
.
12
What a nice scarf! Is it for your mother?
For that despicable woman. She assigns a huge

amount of homework every day.
Im from a small town
13
14
? ?
? ?
Where are you from? What country are you

from? From what state? From what city?
15
16
. e
() .
Im from South Dakota. From a small town

(from) Yankton.
17
My father is from North Dakota.
necktie
for
()
gift; present
+...
get married (said of a man)
despicable; disgusting; unpleasant
{+ / +}
assign (related to assignment) (Clearly related to verb give.)
huge; enormous
amount
35-1
35-
physics
get married (said of a woman) (Lit. walk out behind (her) husband)
scarf
13
country
15
south (adj); southern
17
north (adj); northern
[
35.
Marriage Expressions (Introduction)

(3); (9)
It seems to a lot of students that Russian has about 57 ways to say get married. This is a bit of an exaggeration
(though not much). Well start slowly with just two phrases in the Present Tense (which can also be used to
express future action). he first thing to note is that you use different verbs for a man versus a woman (versus a
couple more on this later.). For now we cant express to whom the person is getting marriedit requires forms
we havent seen. Here are the verbs:
e+
dc
e+
On Saturday Borya is getting married!
Did he get married again?
Elizabeth Taylor likes to get married.
, , ?
Alya, are you getting married or something?
Form either a statement or question about marriage plans:
Example:
()?
e
?
e .
1. ()?
2.
3. ()
4. ()
5. ()?
6.
7. ( )?
8. (e )?
35-2
35.
Lesson 35
The Genitive Singular of Modifiers
Here are the Genitive Singular Adjectival endings:
NOMINATIVE
GENITIVE
MASCULINE & NEUTER

-{O} (- / -)*
e
e

e

ee
FEMININE
-{O} (- / -)*

** ***
***

* There are no instances of the spelling -/-.
** We expect the ending -. The - in and is an exception - sort of. Its not worth going into here.
*** These irregular forms are covered below.
Other notes:
1) It might help you to remember that weve actually already seen the Masculine/Neuter ending before in
/ course/professor of Russian language, and in of tall
height as well as the personal pronoun .
2) Note that in isolation, its impossible to determine the gender/case of adjectives ending in - (,
). They could be either Masculine Singular Nominative/Accusative (inanimate) or the Feminine
Singular Genitive. Even the stress will be same in both. So how can you tell? The context.
Form questions and answers (similar to last lesson, but with adjectives):
Example:
( )
? .
1. ( )
2. ( )
3. ( )
4. ( )
5. ( )
6. ( )
7. (
Soviet Union)
8. ( )
9. ( )
10. ( )
11. ( )
12. ( )
35-3
35-
35.
Nounjectives: Part Noun / Part Adjective, 100% Fun

vs.
vs.
When presenting the Nominative and Accusative we stressed that Possessives and Demonstratives took Noun
endings, even though they somehow feel more like adjectives: , , , , , etc. If you
have a very sharp eye, you may have noticed that above in the Genitive they have Adjective endings: e
, e, e, , etc. Whats up with this?
The ugly truth is that Possessives and Demonstratives like, , , , and other words like and ,
make up a small group of words which well dub NOUNJECTIVES,1 which have a mixed set of endings. In the
Nominative and Accusative (which are officially known as the Direct Cases) they take noun endings; in all other
Cases (Genitive, Prepositional/Locative, plus two others) they take adjective endings.
Here are the Nounjectives weve had so far:
+
+, etc.
+ ()
+ ()
my
your
our
your
this; that
Galyas, etc.
whose
all; whole; entire
Below are some Nounjectives along with nouns in the Cases we already know:
MASCULINE
(Inanimate only
for Accusative))
NOM SG
ACC SG
Nounjective & Noun:

-
Nounjective & Noun:

-
Nounjective & Noun:

-{O}
NEUTER
Nounjective & Noun:

-{A}
FEMININE
PLURAL
(Inanimate only
for Accusative)
Nounjective & Noun:

-{I} (Neut. Nouns: -{A})

Nounjective & Noun:

-{O}

Nounjective & Noun:

-{U}

Nounjective & Noun:

-{I} (Neut. Nouns: -{A})

Most textbooks usually call them Pronominals, whatever thats supposed to mean.
35-4
GEN SG
Nounjective:
-{O}
Noun:
-{A}
Nounjective:
-{O}
Noun:
-{A}
Nounjective:
-{O}
Noun:
-{I}
(just 4
short lessons
from now!!!)
Lesson 35
Note: Just as / are end-stressed in the Nom/Acc pl. (; ), so are they in the
Genitive sg. But, the stress is on the very last syllable of the ending: , , unlike
end-stressed adjectives, in which the stress in on the first syllable of the ending: .
Put the noun phrase in the correct form
1. (my Russian professor)

2. (small Russian city)
3. (homework)
4. (your younger sister) ? (the preposition takes Genitive)
5. (physics)
6. (Russian)
7. (political science )
8. (history )
35.
Two Irregular Nouns:
In the Nominative and Accusative, these two nouns look like garden-variety feminine - nouns. But in all other
Cases, the suffix -e- is inserted before the regular ending, which in the Genitive Singular is -. (Actually, with
this suffix both words end up looking quite similar to their English equivalents.)
This is my mothers car.
Where is his daughters juice?
Read the question and give a contradictory answer:
e, e
e, e e.
Examples: ? ( )
? ( e)
1. ? ( )
2. e ? ( )
3. ? ( )
4. ? ( e)
5. ? ( )
6. ? ( e e)
7. e? ( e )
8. ? ( )
9. ? ( )
10. ? ( )
11. e e? ( )
12. ? ( )
13. ? ( )
14. ? ( )
35-5
35- -
"
Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate marriage verb. Use Present Tense!:
1. ____________________________________________________ .
2. , , _____________________________________________.
e, e __________________________________________________________.
3. e e often ___________________________________________.
4. , e e ___________________________________________________?
"
Exercise 2
Answer the following questions about nounjectives:
1. A Nounjective is a word that ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________
2. List at least 4 Nounjectives
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What is unusal about the Genitive feminine forms , ?
________________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 3
NOM SG
Fill in the blanks:
ACC SG
GEN SG
NOM/ACC PL
35-6
35- -
"
1.
Exercise 4
Put the noun phrase in the correct form:
(my Russian professor)

______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
(a small southern state)

______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
(my mother)
______________________________________________________________________________________
4.
(German beer)
______________________________________________________________________________________
5.
(your younger sister)

______________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 5
1. Where are you from? Im from a small city in California.

________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. That dispicable professor assigns a huge amount of homework every day.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
35-7
:
Who(m) do you love more?
: Animate nouns
More about Case
- Dont Drop that Case
- And Dont Forget that preposition
?
:
1
2
3
Who(m) do you love more?
e , e eee Who(m) do you love more, your current

e , husband Igor or your first husband Vitalik, or
e ?
you second husband Grisha?
!
, e,
e e .
What a strange question! I loved both Vitalik

and Grisha, but unfortunately we got divorced,
and now I really love Igor.
7
8
Which husband did you fall in love with at first

sight?
9
10
,
e .
Vitalik I fell in love with at first sight, but with

Grisha and Igor (I didnt fall in love)
immediately.
4
5
more
(soft stem!)
current
1st
2nd
question
unfortunately
+ (end-stressed)
get divorced (Formation: / + + . Note that is a loser consonant.)
+ (+ ACC)
fall in love with (Remember you must learn this as an entire phrase verb +
preposition + ACC)
at first sight (The preposition from takes the Genitive. We saw this in the
expression (Genitive) -.)
view; sight
36-1
36-
36.
Masculine Singular Animate Nouns (= Genitive)

e ? (1)
You are now ready to learn the Accusative Singular endings for Masculine Animate nouns and adjectives. The
good news is that you know them already: they simply borrow the endings of the Genitive Case.
ACCUSATIVE NOUN PHRASE

IDENTICAL IN FORM TO THE GENITIVE
TRANSITIVE VERB OR PREPOSITION THAT

TAKES THE ACCUSATIVE)

(animals are animate)
e
e e
e
(even professors
of Russian language are animate)
e e

So now you can finally say I loathe my Russian professor (Well, actually, we havent taught you the word for
loathe, but you get the point.)
Question:
In the previous lesson you said that Nounjectives take Noun endings in the
Accusative. But Masculine Animate adjectives in the Accusative take
adjectival Genitive endings.
Answer:
So sue us. Actually, what you could say is that its not really the Accusative,
its the Genitive. But you do have a point.
In case youre wondering why the Genitive endings are used for the Animate
Accusative, it didnt always used to be that way. Orignally the Accusative
lookedjust like the Nominative. But then in a sentence like
you couldnt tell who was the subject and who was the object. A
few such sentence still exists in the modern language is: .
Knowing that word order is quite free in Russian, this could mean either The
mother loves the daughter or The daughter loves the mother.
Transform as in the model:
Example:
1.
2. (tiger)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
36-2
Grammar
Lesson 36
So what about Feminine nouns?
All Feminine Form Accusative Nouns Have the Same Ending (Animate or Inanimate): {U}
Remember, all singular Feminine Accusative nouns (Inanimate and Animate) in -{A} take the ending -{U}. For
some reason students just love to give Animate Feminine Accusative nouns Genitive endings. Dont go there!
And Feminine nouns in - are the same in both the Nominative and Accusative, regardless of animacy.
This also applies to all Masculine names that end in -{A} (, , ,etc.); they also have Accusative in {U} (, , , etc.). So its possible to have a phrase with the modifier bearing the Masculine
Genitive/Accusative ending -{O}, while the noun has the Feminine ending -{U}. For example:
She fell in love with your Misha.
Below are more examples of the split between Masculine Animate Accusative=Genitive and one size fits all
Feminine Accusative.
ACCUSATIVE NOUN PHRASE
SUBJECT + TRANSITIVE VERB

(OR PREPOSITION)
e
e e

e e

BUT
BUT
BUT
BUT
, , , ,
(Remember: all Masculine names in -{A} take -{U})
Put the name/noun phrase in Accusative:
Example:
( )
1. ()
2. ( )
3. ( )
4. (
)
5. ( )
6. ( )
7. ()
8. ( )
36-3
36-
36.
More About Case

,
36..1
Dont Drop that Case!
Lets look at the Case of the nouns and adjectives in the first question asks in the dialogue:
, [ ] [ ] ?
Accusative
Accusative
Accusative
Technically, only the question word is directly governed by the verb, . Yet every noun and
accompanying adjective ( , , ) is in
Accusative.
Despite the best efforts of English speakers to stick everything in sight into the Nominative, you must maintain
the original Case on nouns and adjectives depending on the function it has in the sentence. This is especially true
of responses to questions:
1) + ?
- .
Who loves Masha?

Vanya. (functions as Subject: NOM)
2) + ?
- .
Whom did you see?

Masha. (functions as Direct Object: must be ACC)
The Nominative in 2) is impossible.
Question:
What happens if there is a combination of Masculine nouns in one sentence,

some ending in - which borrows the Animate endings from the Genitive
and some ending in -{A} which takes regular Accusative Case endings?
Answer:
Excellent question! Check this out from line 3 of the dialogue:

e
All the modifiers as well as the Masculine noun take the Animate
Accusative (Genitive) endings, but has a regular Accusative (from
Feminine) ending, just as any other noun in -{A} would.
36-4
Grammar
36..2
Lesson 36
And Dont Forget that Preposition
Another common mistake of American students is to omit a prepostion when giving a short answer because you
can in English. In response to ? you MUST include the preposition + place (in Genitive). Just
answering in the Nominative is not allowed.
Similarly, if someone asks ? Your answer must include the phrase + ACC.
Of course if the question is , then your answer should be in the Nominative.
?
. .
Where are you from?

(From) Princeton.
?
. .
Who(m) are you looking at?

(At) Masha.
Answer the following questions:
1. ? ()
2. ? ()
3. ? ()
4. ?
()
5. ? ()
6. ? ()
36-5
Lesson 36 Homework
"
Exercise 1
___________________________________
Fill in the table (use an arrow as shown in the first row if the Accusative is
identical to the Nominative):
NOM SG
ACC SG
GEN SG
"
Exercise 2
Make up sentences with the following people in the Accusative:
(Possible verb/verb phrases: love, cant stand, understand, fall in love with, look at, know, ask, see)
1. __________________________________________________________________________
2.
________________________________________________________________________
3.
________________________________________________________________________
4. e
____________________________________________________________________________
5.
_____________________________________________________________________
6.
___________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
36-6
Lesson 36 Homework
"
Exercise 3
1. Vika fell in love with (her leave out) first husband Vadik at first sight.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Do you know my younger brother Dima?
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Unfortunately they got divorced.
________________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 3
Verb of the day:
+... get divorce

*Present
Past
Infinitive
(Avoid for now its actually , if youre curious.)
*Well see in a few weeks that although this looks like a Present Tense verb, it actually has a Future meaning.
Still, this does not in any way affect the conjugation.
36-7
:
What kind of computer do you have?
: The Genitive of personal and
interrogative pronouns
Expressing possession in Russian with
+ GEN
- Have in Russian
- The existence word there
is/are
- Possession in the Past Tense
The Genitive of Negation
What kind of computer do you have?
Ira is in a panic
? ?
Whats wrong with you? What happened?
3
4
e e,
e .
I was just finishing a huge paper and my

computer broke.
. e e ?
What a nightmare. How can I help you?
e e, PC ?
What kind of computer do you have, PC or Mac?
7
8
9
e e e. e
, e . e
e e. -e, e PC.
Unfortunately I dont have a computer. I had a

laptop (notebook), but I sold it. My roommate
has a computer. I think he has a PC.
10
e e?
What kind of printer does he have?
11
12
e e e. -e, e e
e, e e.
He doesnt have a printer. I mean, he does have

a printer, but it doesnt work.
13
What a nightmare!
panic
just; precisely (at this/that moment)
finish repeated action
composition; paper
(Note the !)
computer
break (down) this Verb is intransitive
(Genitive pronoun) +NOM
you have (lit.: by you) (See below for explanation of have)
PC ()
(they use the Latin letters for this)
(Genitive pronoun) +GEN
I dont have
notebook computer; laptop
or Fem
Plural or
sell (Present Tense is irregular just use the Past and Infinitive for now)
(Genitive pronoun)
+NOM
he has ( emphasizes the existence of the Noun in the Nominative)
10
printer
11
I mean, ; that is (to say)
37-1
37-
37.
Genitive Pronouns
Genitive personal pronouns are identical to those in the Accusative, so you have nothing new to learn. (Sorry to
disappoint you.) Some of the interrogative pronouns have the -/- ending which is characteristic of the
Genitive Case. It is very important to remember that, just as with the Accusative, the 3rd person personal
pronouns (but not the possessives) begin with - when preceded by a Preposition.
Genitive Case: Pronouns

NOMINATIVE
GENITIVE
me
you
you
he; it
()e
him; it
she
()e
her
we
us
you (Formal; pl)
you; yall
they
()
them
who
who(m)
no one
no one
what
what
nothing
nothing
Put the pronouns into the correct form:

Model: ()
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8. ? (in front)
37-2
Grammar
37.
Lesson 37
Expressing Possession in Russian: + Genitive

? (6); (7)
37..1 Have in Russian

One verb that Russian does not have is have.1 Instead, to express somebody has something, the following
construction is used:
+ Possessor in GENITIVE + form of be (or ) + Noun possessed in NOMINATIVE

Literally this constructions means: By POSSESSOR (there) is/exists NOUN POSSESSED. (More on and
existence below.) Some examples:
Listen and repeat all examples on this page
POSSESSOR
(GEN)
+ BE +
()
NOUN POSSESSED
(NOM)
e.
By
my brother
(there) is
a computer.
By
Vera
By
Ivan
e e
By
her mother
.
is
a large bedroom.
e .
is
an expensive watch.
.
are
huge jars of caviar.
My brother has a computer.
Vera has a large bedroom.
Ivan has an expensive watch.
Her mother has huge jars of caviar.
Variation on a theme: You can ask someone what kind of Noun they have by using , which agrees in
gender and number with the Nominative Noun (the thing possessed):
+ +
POSSESSOR
(GEN)
What kind
by
her father
BE
NOUN POSSESSED
(NOM)
Masculine
e?
is
printer?
is
beer?
is
car?
are
books?
What (kind of) printer does her

father have?
What (kind of) beer does Lyova

have?
What (kind of) car does his sister

have?
What (kind of) books does their

professor have?
Neuter
What kind
by
Lyova
?
Feminine
What kind
by
his sister
What kind
by
their professor
Plural
Actually Russian does have a verb + have, but its used only with certain abstract nouns. Well be seeing it later on.
37-3
37-
Note that, just like the Accusative personal pronouns, Genitive 3rd person personal pronouns are identical in form
to 3rd person possessives (See 28.). Remember that the extra - is added when e, e, are used as personal
pronouns following a Preposition, but not when they are used as possessives:
3RD PERSON GENITIVE PRONOUN
3RD
PERSON POSSESSIVE
(no - after preposition)
(with - after preposition)
. He has a yellow
[e ] .
[His brother] has a yellow

towel.
towel.
What kind of pants

does she have?
[e ] ?
What kind of pants does

[her sister] have?
They have a beautiful

house.
[ *] .
[Their parents] have a

beautiful house.
*This is the Genitive plural, which we have not seen yet. We just wanted to include an example with / .
37..2
The Existence Word: there is/are; I do
When you want to establish that fact that a thing exists (in a particular persons possession), use . This is
especially common in questions and replies. receives the stress in the sentence. The affirmative answer to
such questions is very often simply: , . (Well explore negative answers below.)
? , .
Do you have a computer? Yes, I do.
? , .
Does he have a TV? Yes, he does.
Ask whether the person has the thing
Example:
/
/
?
?
1. /
2. /
3. /
4. /
5. /
6. /
7. /
8. /
9. /
10. /
A tiny glitch: not all have-constructions can have . This is because not all have-constructions focus on the
existence of the thing itself. Instead the focus can be on either: 1) who has the thing or; 2) what kind of thing the
person has. In both cases, it is clear that the thing exists and is already in someones possession.
37-4
Grammar
Focus on who has the thing (which is known to exist):

? ?
Lesson 37
Who has the key? You or him (he)?
Focus on what kind of thing (which is known to exist) the person has:
As a general rule, dont use if you have or when you are including an Adjective to specify what kind
of thing you have (i.e., it is already known that you have the item):
I have a good computer.
It is known the speaker already has a computer; s/he

is simply stating that it's a good one.
Does she have my

keys?
It is known that she has someones keys; the speaker is

simply asking whether she has his/her keys
What kind of dog do you

have?
It is known that the person has a dog; the speaker is

simply asking what kind of dog the person has.
***Do not use when you want to say you have a question. Just say: ***
(Even though there is no Adjective in this statement.)
To be honest, all the rules for when to include or omit can be quite tricky. (A senior thesis is just waiting to
be written about this.) For the time being, try to absorb as best as you can the guidelines weve outlined above,
and when in doubt, just rely on your best instinct.
Example:
Say that the person has the thing. Dont use in these sentences.
/
/
.
.
1. /
2. /
3. /
4. /
5. /
6. /
7. /
8. /
9. /
10. /
11. /
12. /
13. /
14. / ?
37-5
37-
37..3
Possession in the Past Tense
Note that the models for the have-constructions in 37..1 were all in the Present Tense, in which case the verb be
= or was . In the Past (and Future we will discuss later on), the Verb must agree with the Nominative
Noun possessed.
Past Tense:
Agreement is determined by the gender and number of the Nominative noun
POSSESSOR
(GEN)
///
NOUN POSSESSED
(NOM)
Masculine
By
me
was
a bad TV.
By
Maksim
was
a new pen.
By
my brother
was
an interesting letter.
What kind
by
his son
were
CDs?
I had/used to have a bad TV.
Maksim had a new pen.
My brother had an interesting

letter.
What (kind of) CDs did his son

have?
Feminine
Neuter
Plural
*** IMPORTANT: can NEVER be used in the Past or Future. Existence and all that jazz must simply be
understood by the context.***
In English the verb have agrees with the possessor, which is the Subject of the sentence: I have,
she has, etc. Not surprisingly it is easy to fall into the trap of making the verb and even
agree with the possessor in Russian as well. BE CAREFUL NOT TO DO THIS.
In this Lesson we see the first of several constructions in Russian where the Subject is a thing
(with which the verb agrees) and not a person. You need to get used to thinking backwards.
The moral of the story: Make sure that the verb agrees with whats called the grammatical
Subject, i.e., whatever is in the Nominative Case.
Put the sentences into the Past:
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. ?
37-6
Grammar
37.
Lesson 37
The Genitive of Negation

e e e (7)
When you want to say that you dont have something, the Noun (that you dont have) goes into the Genitive and
the word e is inserted. Such sentences do not have any Noun in the Nominative (because the person who lacks
the thing is in the Genitive following the Preposition ). For now stick to the Present Tense.
+ POSSESSOR
(GEN)
NOUN LACKING
(GEN)
By
me
is not
camera.
By
Sasha
is not
car.
By
our daughter
is not
cookie.
By
them
is not
bedt.
(NOTHING IN NOMINATIVE!)
=
I dont have a camera.
Sasha doesnt have a car.
Our daughter doesnt have a cookie.
They dont have a bed.
The mirror image below is a neat mnemonic for the Genitive of Negation:
GEN|NEG
Over the course of the year we will see several other instances besides possession in which a negated Noun
appears in the Genitive.
Negate the following sentences. (Yes, all these sentences have , even though some
contain an adjective. This wont affect your answer. As we said, its complicated.):
1. .
2. .
3. ?
4. Japanese .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
37-7
37-
"
Exercise 1
___________________________________
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the pronoun. Try not to look back in
the lesson. TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH.
1.
_______________________________________ () .
2.
___________________________________ () ?
3.
_________________________________ () ?
4.
___________________________________ () .
5.
__________________________________ () .
6.
_________________________________________ () ?
7.
____________________________________________ () .
"
Exercise 2
Put the following sentences into the past
1.
. _______________________________________________
2.
. ___________________________________________
3.
. ____________________________________________________
4.
. ________________________________________________
5.
? ______________________________________________
6.
. _________________________________________________
7.
. ________________________________________________
37-8
Lesson 37 Homework
"
Exercise 3
Negate the following sentences
1.
. __________________________________________
2.
. _____________________________________________
3.
. _____________________________________________________
4.
. ____________________________________________________
5.
. ____________________________________________
6.
. _______________________________________________
37-9
:
You have a real zoo!
: The Genitive Plural of nouns
- Forms
- Uses
More uses of the Genitive: quantity
You have a real zoo!
. .
2
3
! ! My goodness. You have very many photographs! How

?
many photographs do you have?
. .
I dont know. And this is my office.
5
6
7
e ! ! ,
, e .
e ?
My goodness. You have very many books! Youre

probably a great lover of books. How many books do
you have?
. . .
I dont know. My wife reads them. Heres the kitchen.
9
10
11
e ! ! ,
, e !
e ?
My goodness. You have very many knives! Youre

probably a great lover of knives. How many knives do
you have?
12
. . .
I dont know. My wife cooks. Heres the backyard.
13
! ! What a large number of tigers! What a large number

! e!
of elephants! What a large number of horses! What a
14
15
This is my house. This is the living room.
large number of cats!
house (Related to domestic. And we saw at home previously.)
living room (This is an Adjective that acts like a Noun. More on this later)
my goodness (Note that the in has become . We saw this same mutation
in > .)
+ GEN
much; many; a lot (This word can be either an Adverb to do something a lot or
a Quantifier a lot of books, work, etc.)
+ GEN
1.
2.
office
lover (The suffix - often corresponds to English -er; a person engaged in the
activity expressed by the verb.)
kitchen
(end-stressed)
knife
12
(end-stressed)
backyard (This is the closest word Russian has for backyard. normally
means courtyard.)
13
tiger
13
(end-stressed)
elephant
14
real; genuine
15
zoo
how many (as a question)

what a large number of X (as an exclamation)
38-1
38-
38.
The Genitive Plural of Nouns: Forms
For some reason, a lot of Russian textbooks treat the Genitive Plural of Nouns as if it were second only to
quantum physics in degree of complexity. Its just not so.
There are three endings for the Genitive Plural, which are based on the final letter of the Nominative Singular
form of the noun. Note that some Genitive Plural endings are shared by Nouns of more than one gender.
Formation of Genitive Plural Nouns
IF NOM SG ENDS IN:
GENDER(S)
INVOLVED:
THEN GEN PL
ENDING IS:
EXAMPLES:
1. Masculines in , , ,
Husher (, , , ) or
Hard consonant, , or
Any vowel (i.e. /, //)
-{O}
-
(Nuke the
Vowel: NTV)
2. All soft Masculines

(except those in -)
3. Feminines in -
1. All hard Masculines
2. Masculines in - or -
1. All Neuters
2. All Feminines ending in

a vowel
Note the following about the spelling of various Genitive Plural forms:
38..1
The spelling of -{O} after and
As we would expect, the spelling of {O} after these 2 letters is determined by stress:
After -
Unstressed: -:
Stressed: -:
After -
Unstressed: -:
Stressed: -: (edge) (We wont see any nouns like this the entire year,
but the form does show that our rules really do work.)
38-2
Grammar
38..2
Lesson 38
Nuking the Vowel for Feminines and Neuters
Recall that there are only two possible vowel endings for Nouns in the Nominative Singular: -{A} (for Feminine)
and {O} (for Neuter).
Lets take a closer look at nouns like and using our system of basic sounds. (You havent
forgotten about that, have you?) When the vowel is nuked in these nouns, guess what emerges? The which was
hiding under the guise of a Soft-indicating vowel not immediately preceded by a consonant. The Genitive Plural
is proof that it was there all along. See, we werent lying to you. This also confirms our rule that ALL Noun
stems must end in a Consonant. In other words, for all Neuter and Feminine Nouns (in {A}), the Genitive Plural
is the same as the Noun Stem.
NOMINATIVE SINGULAR
Basic sounds
{A} {I}
GENITIVE PLURAL
Actual spelling
+ {O}
{O}{O}{A} {I} + {A}
Basic sounds
Actual spelling
+
{A} {I}
{O}{O}{A} {I} +
Finally, lets take a look at the Genitive Plural of nouns like , , , , which are all
Nouns whose stems end in more than one consonant, i.e., in a consonant cluster. After you nuke the vowel youd
be left with , , , . Seems like a job for the Cluster Buster.
How do you know which Cluster Buster vowel to insert? Well tell you by including it in parentheses next to
the word.
A good example is (o). This word nicely illustrates both of the above points. When the ending -{A} is
chopped off, that leaves , with a nasty cluster at the end (remember that the final is soft and this must be
represented). In comes the Cluster Buster Vowel --, and all is well: the Gentive Plural is .
Some nouns with a Cluster Buster in the Genitive Plural
NOM SG
GEN PL
()
()
()
()
()
()
In , once the Cluster Buster Vowel is inserted you no longer need the to indicate that the is soft. The
soft-indicating vowel itself does that.
For note that the stress goes back to the end (as opposed to the Nominative Plural ) and that the
Cluster Buster Vowel is a soft-indicating . ! , .
So, we now see that there are two forms in which a Cluster Buster can be found. Either: 1) the Masculine
Nominative (and Inanimate Accusative) Singular ( (o) > , , etc.; (e) > , ,
etc.) or; 2) the Genitive Plural of Feminine or Neuter Nouns ( () > ; () > ).
38-3
38-
Genitive Plural Nouns: More Examples
NOM SG
GEN PL
NOM SG ENDS IN HUSHER OR -
-
Masc in
Husher or
Soft Con
(exc. -)
All Fem in
-
(comrade)
NOM SG ENDS IN HARD CONSONANT, , OR

-{O}
Masc in -
()
()
Masc in -
(museum)
All hard
Masc
NOM SG ENDS IN VOWEL

- (Nuke The Vowel)
All Neut
All Fem in
a vowel
(place)
()
()
(e)
()
()
()
(army)
38-4
Grammar
Lesson 38
Practice forming the Genitive Plural. Just for the heck of it, stick the number 5 in front of the
noun. (We just like the way that sounds.) ***This is another long but important exercise***
Example:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. (think!)
10.
11.
12.
13.
14. ()
15.
16. ()
17.
18.
19.
20.
21. (tradition)
22.
23.
24.
25. () (skirt)
26. (ball)
27.
28.
29. () (armchair)
30.
31.
32. () (German
male)
Question:
A Flaw in the Analysis??

I think see a problem with your analysis of the Genitive Plural. You say the
form is based on the Nominative Singular. What about Nouns like ,
, and , which are always Plural. How can you predict what the
Genitive Plural will be these Nouns?
Answer:
If we didnt know better, wed swear youd taken this course before.
Youre right. For Nouns that appear only in the plural, you cannot predict the
Genitive. We will always tell you. Here are three plural-only nouns with the
three different Genitive Plural endings:
Even Russian dictionaries for Russians list the Genitive Plural of such Nouns.
Theres just no way to predict these
38-5
38-
38.
The Genitive Plural of Nouns: Usage
In general, whatever is Genitive in the singular will also be Genitive in the plural:
USES OF GENITIVE
1. of
2. Various prepositions: , ,
3. Possession
4. Genitive of negation
38.
SINGULAR
PLURAL
Hes a lover of beer.
They are lovers of books.
Hes from Alabama.
Shes from the States (USA).
Those are the professors books.
Those are the professors' books.
I dont have a wife.
We dont have children.
The Genitive With Quantity

(5); ? (3)
The Genitive Case is used with many words that express quantity. Some quantity words are (much;
many; a lot), (how many?; how much?; what a large amount!), and (absence of).
After these quantity words both the Genitive Singular and Plural are found:
If the noun is something that you normally cannot count, the Genitive Singular is used. These are known as
mass nouns1.
.
I have a lot of juice.
We don't have any tea.
What a large amount of vodka!
Nouns that you can count (called, appropriately enough, count nouns) are put in the Genitive Plural:
.
They have a lot of books.
We dont have any children.
How many wives does he have?
In case youre wondering why the Genitive is used with quantities, we dont have a great explanation. But notice
that many quantity words in English require of: a lot of beer/questions. Coincidence??
1
Russian is much more restrictive than English about putting mass nouns into the Plural. While in English you can say
things like I had six beers, in Russian you would have to say something like I had six bottles of beer (Gen Sg).
38-6
Grammar
Lesson 38
Form a question with or an exclamation using . Remember: dont put nouns in

the Plural that you cant count:
Example:
(!)
(?)
!
?
1. (?)
2. (!)
3. (!)
4. (?)
5. (!)
6. (?)
7. (!)
8. (?)
9. () (!)
10. (!)
11. (?)
12. (!)
13. (?)
14. (!)
15. (?)
16. () (!)
17. (?)
18. (?)
38-7
38-
"
___________________________________
Exercise 1
Fill in the table. (Be aware of any changes in stress!). Use arrows to save time.
FORM
DICTIONARY
earring
()
NOM
SINGULAR
ACC
GEN
PLURAL
NOM/ACC
GEN
38-8
Lesson 38 Homework
"
Exercise 2
Example:
cars
Form questions and answers based on the example. (Pick your own nouns, but
make sure you have all three possible Genitive Plural endings.) In your answer
you may choose between having many or none at all.
? / .
1. _______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5. _______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 3
Toughie: The Genitive Plural of is e. Is this exactly what we would

expect? Explain.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
38-9
Which American writers do you

like?
The Superlative Degree

The Gentive Plural of Adjectives
and Nounjectives
The Accuative Plural of Animate
Nouns
Which American writers do you like?
e ee ?
Which American writers do you like?
2
3
e , . -e,
e.
Stephen King, of course. I think hes one of the

very best authors in the world.
e ?
And which American actresses do you like?
5
6
, . -e,
.
Demi Moore, of course. I think shes one of the

most talented actresses in the world.
7
8
! -,
.
What are you talking about? I think shes the

worst actress in the world!
You dont understand anything..
writer (Note once again the suffix -.)
() / / +
GEN PL
one of
most (Forms the superlative degree. See grammar explanation.)
best
author
world ( as in the space station. also means peace)
worst
39-1
39-
39.
The Superlative Degree: The best, most talented writer

(3); (6)
To form the superlative degree (the most X or the X-est), simply include the Adjective most in the correct
CNG (Case, Number, Gender).
Russian does have a suffix similar to English -est (fastest, smartest), but its not used all that much. Youre
always safe with .
Russian (like English) has a few single word superlatives: best, worst. Use to
express the very best and for the very worst (of course, you can leave out with no
significant difference in meaning).
Examples of Superlative Adjectives:
NOMINATIVE:

.
Mercedes is the most expensive car in the world.
The very best watches in the world are from Switzerland.
ACCUSATIVE:

.
He wanted the largest bedroom in the house.
She fell in love with the laziest man in the world
GENITIVE:
Vera is from the largest city in Canada.
Misha bought a present for the most beautiful actress in the

country..
Contradict the statements as much as possible:
Example:
. .
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. (normal) .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. (energetic)
10. (cruel) .
39-2
Grammar
39.
Lesson 39
The Genitive Plural of Adjectives (and Nounjectives)
This one is real easy: theres just one ending: -{I} for all genders. (Weve seen this on: () (their; them).
Note that, just like in the Genitive Singular, Nounjectives like , , , etc., have adjectival endings, not
noun endings:
Genitive Plural: Adjectives and Nounjectives

-{I} (- / -) for all genders
NOMINATIVE SINGULAR
GENITIVE PLURAL
()

()
*

*

Note:
*
39.
Remember how the Nominative Plural of , etc. is , with an unexpected soft ? The remains
soft throughout the Plural, hence the Genitive Plural . On the other hand, the Nounjectives formed
from first names ending in {A} remain hard throughout the Plural: ,
The Phrase () / / + Genitive Plural
After the phrase (, ) one of the Genitive Plural is used:

.
One of my professors smokes constantly.
One of my (female) roommates likes to play golf.
One of these letters is from President Shapiro.
While , which is a Nounjective, can appear in any case, the phrase following is fixed in the Genitive
Plural:
. (Accusative)
I saw one of your sisters.
.
(Genitive)
This is for one of my students.
.
(Feminine Prepositional havent seen yet)
We were talking about one of his wives.
39-3
39-
You can use with the superlative to form the phrase one of the (my) most X/X-est :

.
Tolstoy is one of my favorite authors.
Jewel is one of the most talented singers in the world.
The Nounjective agrees in gender with the Noun in the Genitive Plural phrase. So, in the following
example, even though looks like a masculine Noun, the feminine form is used (because of
feminine ).

.
Mercedes is one of the most expensive cars in the word.
Transform as in the example.
1.
- .
2.
3.
4.
- c .
5.
. (Careful, think about the plural)
6.
- .
7.
- .
8.
- . (Careful, think about the superlative of )
9.
- .
10. - .
39-4
Grammar
39.
Lesson 39
The Accusative Plural of Aninmate Nouns: Use the Genitive
We saw in Lesson 36 that Animate Masculine Nouns (except those which end in -{A} like , )
borrow their Accusative Singular endings from the Genitive Singular. The same thing happens in the Plural:
The Animate Accusative Plural is identical to the Genitive Plural. BUT this now applies to ALL Animate Nouns,
not just Masculine. In other words to say I saw the actors and actresses both Nouns appear in Genitive Plural.
Animate Accusative Plural: Same as Genitive Plural
THE ACCUSATIVE OF ANIMATE NOUNS

SINGULAR
PLURAL
MASC
FEM
.
.
.
?
ACC = GEN
REAL ACC
ENDINGS
.
.
.
?
ACC = GEN
So, all Masculine Animate nouns (Singular and Plural) borrow the Genitive, while Feminine distinguishes
between Singular and Plural (Inanimate = Nominative; Animate = Genitive). All Neuter Nouns have identical
Nominative and Accusativeboth in the Singular and the Pluralsince no Neuter Nouns are animate
Summary of Accusative Case

Singular
Masculine
Plural
Inanimate = Nominative
Animate = Genitive
Feminine
Neuter
Separate Accusative Endings

{U} / , regardless of animacy
Inanimate = Nominative
Animate = Genitive
Same as Nominative
39-5
39-
In the first exercise below you are to change the direct object from singular to plural. You will need to go back
to the Nominative Singular and then determine the Accusative/Genitive Plural. Both of these exercises are very
important be sure to go over them carefully!
Change the direct object from the singular to plural.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Change the direct object from plural to singular.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. .
39-6
39-
"
Exercise 1
Use a superlative phrase to describe 5 of the following:
Example:
1. ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
"
1.
Exercise 2
Change the direct object from the Singular to Plural. Be sure to pay attention to
animacy!!
.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4.
.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5.
.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
39-7
Lesson 39 Homework
6.
___________________________________
?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
7.
.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
8.
.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
9.
.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
10. ?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 3
Verb of the day:
{+/ +}
Present
Past
Infinitive
39-8
find out
:
Who is Yurij Gagarin?
Chapter 4 Review (Lessons 34-40 / Story 2-3)
Vocabulary from Lessons 34-40, Story 2-3
Who is Yuri Gagarin?
, .
I see that you have a new TV.
2
3
Yes, it was a present from my parents. They

bought a TV for me, and a laptop for my sister.
, .
,
.
! ?
Not bad! What are you watching?
6
7
Im watching a show about Yuri Gagarin and

Valentina Tereshkova.
8
9
?
? , ?
.
Who is Yuri Gagarin? Who is Valentina

Tereshkova? Are they actors or something? I
dont know them.
, ! ?
? ,
.
.
Youre joking, of course. You dont know

Gagarin? And you dont know Tereshkova? It
cant be that you dont know such famous
people. Everyone knows them!
17
18
, , .
. ,
? , . ,
?
Unfortunately, I dont know who they are. I

dont have a TV. Is he a famous athlete or
something? You know, that I dont like sports.
Whos she, a famous poet?
19
20
,
-.
Gagarin was the first man in space, and

Tereshkova was the first woman cosmonaut.
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
6
8
13
13
16
17
19
20
/ /
[Person]
~ ()
TV show
who is [Person]? ( agrees in Gender and Number with Person(s) in
question.)
such; so
famous
athlete (male ~ female)
sports (Singular in Russian.)
(outer) space
cosmonaut
40-1
Chapter 4 Review
REVIEW CHAPTER 4 (LESSONS 34-39)

Summary of the Cases NOM, ACC, and GEN
Adjective endings to the left, Noun endings to the right
{I} / - -
MASCULINE
{O} -{O}
NEUTER
/

/
-{A} -{A} / -
FEMININE
/ /
/
/
/
-{I} -{I}; Neut -{A}
PLURAL
Inanimate borrows NOM
Animate borrows GEN
-{O} -{O} -{I}
/ /
/
/
/
-{I} -{I} -{O}; -; -
/

/
/

/
-{U} -{U} -{U} / -
Same as NOM
-{}
Animate borrows GEN
-{}
40-2
Genitive of personal and other pronouns

NOMINATIVE
GENITIVE
e
e
()e
()e
()
I
you
he; it
she
we
you (Formal; pl)
they
who
no one
what
nothing
me
you
him; it
her; it
us
yall
them
who(m)
no one
what
nothing
Uses of the Genitive Case

a. of (in various senses, including Possession):
.
?
. (end-stressed in Plural)
?
.
Thats Vitaliks beer.

Did you happen to see my younger sisters dog?
Thats our professors books.
Who is the president of your university?
Theres a large jar of black caviar in the refrigerator.
b. Frozen Genitive (English of):

Remember that the noun following of stays in the Genitive, regardless of the case of the head noun:
HEAD NOUN

OF-NOUN
NOM
GEN
ACC
Still GEN
GEN
Still GEN
There was a bottle of wine on the table.

I bought a bottle of wine.
There is no bottle of wine here.
c. Quantity:
Quantity words weve seen so far: , , .
There was a lot of German sausage on the table.
How many wives does he have?
There are no bananas in the store.
40-3
Chapter 4 Review
d. With certain prepositions:
for (the
sake of)
Misha bought a present for the most beautiful actress

in the country.
.
until
Good-bye (lit.: until meeting)
from
Dick is from a small town in England.
from (a
person)
Im reading a letter from Sara.
(lit.: from)
at first sight (lit.: from the first glance)
on the one hand on the other hand (lit.: from one

side, from the other side)
by, with
How are things with (by) your husband?.
have
(See below)
e. To express have y + GEN (+ ) + NOM

.
Olya has a car.
Do you have my keys?
f. Negation
.
I dont have your book.
There are no nice looking ties here.
g. Accusative Animate Nouns (36.I; 41.III):

For Accusative Masculine Singular and all Plural animate nouns, the Genitive Case is borrowed (See Table on page 45-2).
Keep in mind that the actual noun phrase is still Accusative. And dont be tempted to put animate Feminine Singular
Accusative nouns into the Genitive. Animacy plays no part in the Feminine Singular.
I cant stand that strange doctor.
vs.
?
?
Who knows these women?

Who knows this woman?
Marriage expressions
d
e+
dc
e+
For now only use these verbs in the Present Tense (which can imply a Future action)
This Saturday Volodya is getting married!
, , ?
Alya, are you getting married or something?
Theyre getting married!
40-4
The Superlative Degree

Use the adjective in the correct CNG (Case, Number, Gender). Some adjectives like best (and
worst) are inherently superlative and therefore dont require . However, can be added to /
for emphasis:
Mercedes is the most expensive car in the world.
Gleb is my best friend.
My Russian professor assigns the most difficult homework

assignments in the world!
Vera is from the largest city in Canada.
The Conjunctions , ,
serves to link two or more things and always corresponds to English and
She bought a computer and a printer.
is often used when introducing people or things. In addition a can provide a contrast to, though not a contradiction with,
the preceding statement:
, .
This is Masha, and this is her husband.
, .
Nina doesnt know, but I do.
is used to indicate a contradiction between two statements:
, .
I want to sleep, but I dont have the time.
Leaving Words Out: Ellipsis

Given the right context, it is possible to omit just about any word in a Russian sentence: Subject, Verb; Direct/Indirect
Object. Only Prepositions cannot be omitted in Russian as they often can in English.
Full Nouns After the Verb; Pronouns Before the Verb

Generally (with numerous exceptions depending on context) Full Nouns follow the Verb, while Pronouns precede the Verb:
40-5
Fill in the table (You can use arrows whenever the ACC = the NOM or GEN):
Exercise 1
"
___________________________________
Lesson 40 Homework
NOM SG
ACC SG
GEN SG
NOM PL
ACC PL
GEN PL
40-6
40-
"
1)
Exercise 2

+ What book is that?

_______________________________________________________________________________________
- Its Anna Karenina. Its a present for my Russian professor. Hes getting married this Saturday.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
+ For that despicable person?! He always assigns an enormous amount of homework.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
- No, youre not right. Hes one of the (very) best professors in the university.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2)
How many cars does your younger brother have?

_______________________________________________________________________________________
Why do you want to know how many cars he has? Its none of your business.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3)
+ Where are you from? - Im from a small city in Russia.

_______________________________________________________________________________________
4)
On the one hand, she loves Robert (decline!), but on the other hand, Mitya is so kind, so sweet.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5)
+ Yasha fell in love with (his skip) first wife at first sight. - Really?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
6)
I dont know. (One) should ask those American poets who used to write excellent poems.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
40-7
Vocabulary Lessons 34-40
Nouns & Pronouns
37
40
39
34
34
S2
34
36
S3
37
S2
35
34
38
38
38
37
38
34
38
38
34
35
37
S3
40
40
S3
34
S3
38
39
S3
37
38
S2
37
40
S3
39
37
35
S3
34
34
S3
37
S2
34
38
(o)
~
(o)
(F)
(o)
(Note
the )
()
PC (Pronounced:
)
()
-;
e
-
(F)
author
banana (Masculine in Russian)
jar
brunette (male ~ female)
40
bottle
question
everything that
Locative of
crap; garbage; filth
necktie
city
living room (Adjective that acts like a noun)
backyard (although this is a strange concept
for Russians)
house (related to domestic)
Indirect Object (Dative) of . The Verb
+ takes Dative Case.
zoo
caviar
office
kitchen
sausage; mystery meat
amount
computer
38
envelope
cosmonaut
(outer) space
term paper (The noun is implied,
which explains the gender)
piece
literature
lover
world (also means peace)
Indirect Object (Dative) of . The Verb
+ requires Dative.
notebook computer; laptop
knife
dormitory
PC (The Latin letters are used for this word)
TV show
handwriting
writer (for females you can use or
)
panic
gift; present
poet
half
president
truth
printer
rap music
Siberia (note that it has a feminine ending
in English)
elephant
S3
35
35
35
S2
34
/
(Always
Plural!)
(Plural:
)
composition; paper
sports
athlete (male/female)
poetry; verses
country
tiger
physics (Singular in Russian)
scarf
high school
state (of the U.S.)
Verbs
(For now, use one-time action verbs only in the Past and Infinitive.)
S2
36
35
35
35
37
S2
S3
S2
S2
S3
S3
S3
34
37
+ +
Infinitive
+ (+
ACC)
+
{+ /
+}
+
{+ / +} +
ACC
+
+...
+
+ ACC
+
quit doing something; give up the habit (One-time

action)
+ +
ACC
(irreg.) but
Past and Infinitive
are normal
help (Ongoing action)
fall in love with (One-time action)

get married (said of a woman) (Ongoing action)
get married (said of a man) (Ongoing action)
assign (Ongoing action)
finish (Ongoing action)
[Persons in ACC] name is/was (Ongoing
action)
offend (One-time action)
say hello; greet someone (One-time action)
point to (One-time action)
help (One-time action) (Takes Dative Case, which
we have not seen yet)
take a look at (One-time action)
take a look (Imperative)
sell (One-time action)
/ , (only),
/
36
get divorced (One-time action) Note that this

Verb is end-stressed, and that the is lost in all
forms of the Past Tense
38
+
+
+
break (down) (One-time action)
S2
S3
S2
ask someone (One-time action)

start (to do something) (One-time action)
see; catch sight out (One-time action)
Adjectives, Adverbs & Quantifiers

S2
36
S2
S3
S2
36
34
S3
S3
40-8
absolute
more; to a greater degree
harmful; bad for you
together
always
as always
2nd
hungry
further (Adverb)
dear (Just as dear in English, this word can also
mean expensive)
Vocabulary Lessons 34-40

S3
40
S3
37
S2
39
S3
S2
38
37
38
35
36
S2
35
38
39
36
35
40
36
36
S2
39
35
, -, -, -

(Adverb:
)
+ GEN
, ,
+ adjective
(Soft
stem!)
another; different
famous
busy; occupied (Short-form adjective)
S2
just; precisely (at this moment)
37
easy; not difficult; light (not heavy)
S2
best
S2
sweet; kind; nice
S2
a lot; often (Adverb)

much; many; a lot
kind; nice
real; genuine
huge; enormous
1st
correct; right (Short-form adjective)
despicable; disgusting
1.
how many (question)?
2.
what a large number of X! (exclamation)
most (forms the superlative degree)

immediately; right away
north (adj); northern
so; to such a great extent
current
now; currently
difficult; hard
worst
south (adj); southern
Prepositions
35
34
S3
37
+ GEN
+ GEN (Place)
+ GEN (Person)
+ GEN (Person)
+NOM (Thing)
for (the sake/benefit of)

from (a place)
from (a person)
have (Lit.: by [Person] is [Thing])
Expressions & Misc.

38
S3
S3
S2
36
S2
40
S2
39
34
S2
34
S3
36

-
/ /

() / /
+ GEN PL
/ /
?
my goodness
everything about everything
Adds emphasis (does NOT mean yes)
lets switch to the informal form of address
unfortunately
to each his own (Lit.: Everyone loses his mind in
his own way.)
who is ...
maybe; perhaps
one of (the)
where are you / she / they from?
from where; whence
well see (Future meaning!)
really? (lit.: (the) truth, like the newspaper)
on the one hand but on the other hand (Lit.:
from one side but from the other side. Note the
use of the Genitive on )
at first sight (Note the use of the Genitive on
40-9
+ NOM
-

?
[]

view; sight
theres a [Noun] for you
I mean, ; that is (to say)
how can I help you?
its none of [Persons] business
I will help you
Exercise 1
Same as Accusative
NOM SG
Same as Nominative
Same as Nominative
ACC SG
Same as Accusative
Same as Accusative
GEN SG
Same as Accusative
NOM PL
Same as Nominative
Same as Nominative
Same as Nominative
ACC PL
Same as Accusative
Same as Accusative
GEN PL
"
"
1)
Exercise 2
+ What book is that?

?
- Its Anna Karenina. Its a present for my Russian professor. Hes getting married this Saturday.
. . .
+ For that despicable person?! He always assigns an enormous amount of homework.
! .
- No, youre not right. Hes one of the (very) best professors in the university.
, (). .
2)
How many cars does your younger brother have?

?
Why do you want to know how many cars he has? Its none of your business.
, ? .
3)
Where are you from?

?
Im from a small city in northern Russia.
() .
4)
On the one hand, she loves Robert (decline!), but on the other hand, Mitya is so kind, so sweet.
, , , , .
5)
+ Yasha fell in love with his first wife at first sight. - Really?
+ . - ?
6)
I dont know. (One) should ask those American poets who used to write excellent poems.
. , .
:
He used to have 100 houses
: More numbers: 13-100
- Spelling tips
- Two forms for two
- Numbers and Case
He used to have 100 houses
, ?
?
Zoya, you have a new car again? How many

cars do you have?
I only have three cars. One old red German car
and two new (dark) blue Italian cars. But my
brother really has a lot of cars. I think he has
40 cars. Twenty-three sports-cars and 17
regular cars. He, of course, is a great lover of
sports-cars.
10
.

.
. -,
.

. , ,
.
11
How many houses does you father have?
12
He used to have 100 houses, but recently he

sold 51 houses. And then he gave me (as a
present) 34 houses. Now he only has 15 houses.
15
,
.
.
.
16
Poor thing!
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
13
14
(See new numbers in next section.)

6
really; in fact; in truth
sport(s) (adjective)
normal; regular (Related to . Note the mutation of > .)
13
Indirect Object (Dative) form of . We saw this in the story:

. The verb help takes an Indirect Object in Russian. More on this later.)
14
+ + ACC (thing given) and give as a gift (Use only in the Past for now; Related to .)
Indirect Object (Dative person to

whom it is given). Dont worry
about these forms for now.
[
41-1
Grammar
41.A
Lesson 41
More Numbers: 13-100
Listen and repeat
41.A.1
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
30
/ /
/
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
-teen = -
(All teens stressed on - except
and .)
-ty 1) - (20, 30)
2) - (no !) (50, 60. 70, 80)
Spelling Tips for Numbers:
As a general rule, a word may have only one soft-sign.

1) For all numbers 5-30 (except, of course 21, 22, 23, 24) there is a soft-sign AT THE END OF THE WORD.
Thus, the soft-sign in the first part of the numbers 15-19 (, , etc.) is lost before the suffix
-: , , etc.
2) 50, 60, 70, 80 have their single soft-sign IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WORD, and not at the end, where we
find the suffix -.
Good mnemonic: After 40, you get soft in the middle! (Dont laugh itll happen to you.)
3) 40, 90, and 100 have no soft-sign anywhere.
41-2
41-
41.A.2
Question:
Whats up with the word ? Why isnt there a trace of - in it?
Answer:
The exact derivation of the Russian word for 40 is somewhat contentious. The
most common explanation is that it refers to a bag that could hold up to 40 fur
skins. Hey, that beats the French version of 80, which is 4 20s.
Two forms for two
With Masculine and Neuter nouns use (, , , , etc.)

With Feminine nouns use (, e, e, e, etc.)
41.
Numbers and Case: The fun begins
Russian, along with several other Slavic languages, does some rather strange things with Numbers and Case. Its
not that the rules themselves are so complicated, its just that from the point of view of English, there doesnt
seem to be any good reason why things are the way they are.
We will only look at Numbers modifying Nominative and Inanimate Accusative Noun Phrases. In other words,
we wont learn yet how to say I saw his six ex-wives (Animate Accusative) or He bought that for my ten sisters
(Genitive because of ).
To be honest, even native speakers of Russian sometimes avoid sentences with numbers in cases other than
Nominative and Accusative.
Well break things down into three groups, based on the final digit of the number: a) 1; b) 2, 3, 4; c) 5
41..1
1 and numbers ending in 1
The number 1 is actually a Nounjective. In the Nominative and Accusative the ending is the same as the Noun it
is modifying (, -o, -a), unless a singular Animate Masculine Accusative is involved (and then the Genitive
ending is used: ). This applies not only to 1, but also to all compound numbers that end
in 1 (e.g., 21; 41; 671, 831), but NOT 11 (see section (c) below). Note is end-stressed, and contains the
cluster buster .
1, 31, 61, ETC.
ADJ AGREES
WITH 1
NOUN AGREES
WITH 1
41-3
Grammar
Lesson 41
Some examples of Number Phrases ending with 1 in the Accusative:

.
She bought 21 new pencils.
We saw 71 big buildings.
Petya sang 101 French songs.
We saw 131 green doors.
It may seem bizarre to have a singular adjective and noun after the number 61 or 9,437,901, but thats how its
done in Russian.
41..2
2, 3, 4 and numbers ending in 2, 3, 4
Put the adjective into the Genitive Plural (dont ask why its plural) and the noun into the Genitive Singular (dont
ask why its Genitive). Dont forget to distinguish between Masculine/Neuter and Feminine :
2, 3, 4
* Note:
ADJ IN GEN PL
NOUN IN GEN SG
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
It is possible to find a Nominative Plural adjective with Feminine Nouns following 2, 3, 4:

. Just be aware of this; youre never wrong to use a Genitive Plural adjective. Its easier to
remember just one ending for all adjectives.
The above rules apply not only to 2, 3, 4, but also to all compound numbers that end in 2, 3, 4 (e.g., 22; 33; 968,
984), but NOT 12, 13, and 14 (see section (c) below).
22, 63, 104, ETC.
ADJ IN GEN PL
NOUN IN GEN SG
In the Accusative (assuming the noun is inanimate) everything is the same as in the above table:
.
She bought 22 black pencils.
We saw 73 new buildings.
Petya sang 104 Chinese songs.
41-4
41-
Question:
What about nouns like , which appear only in the plural? They dont
have a Genitive Singular.
Answer:
Good question. Just avoid using these nouns with 2, 3, 4. (After all, do you
really need more than one watch?)
Say what saw:
...
1. 101 new pencils
2. 53 boring books
3. 184 Russian stores
4. 152 Japanese ()
computers
5. 41 new doors
6. 73 first-class universities
7. 64 black cars
8. 192 old schools
9. 31 tasty cookies
5 and numbers ending in 5 or greater
41..5
Numbers (including compounds) that end in 5 or above use Genitive Plural for both adjectives and nouns.
NUMBER 5
* Note:
ADJ AND NOUN IN GEN PL
Even though 11-14 end in the number symbol 1-4, the word , , , is not
pronounced. Therefore these numbers behave like 5, 6, 17, 40, etc., and take Genitive Plural on both
adjectives and nouns.
As with numbers ending in 2, 3, 4, the Accusative noun phrase with the number keeps the same cases as the
Nominative (assuming that the Accusative noun is inanimate.):
.
She bought 5 black pencils.
We saw 77 new buildings.
Petya sang 148 Chinese songs.
The strange thing with the above examples is that you have a verb that takes a direct object (which should require
Accusative), yet the adjective and the noun are in Genitive. If its any consolation, the number itself is in
Accusative even if you couldnt tell. (The same thing applies to a number phrase that is the subject the
number itself is Nominative, but the adjective and noun are Genitive. Such is life, or at least Russian grammar.)
Say what bought:
1. 96 mediocre printers
2. 58 new sportscars
3. 187 big refrigerators
4. 85 ugly photographs
5. 40 white envelopes
6. 79 small pieces of sausage
7. 66 green towels
8. 100 bottles of beer
9. 38 expensive dictionaries
41-5
Grammar
Lesson 41
Here is a summary of the (bizarre) facts about Numbers and Case:
NUMBER
ADJ
NOUN
1, #s ending in 1 ( 11)
NOM/ACC (inanimate) Singular
2, 3, 4; #s ending in 2, 3, 4
( 12, 13, 14)
GEN Plural
5; #s ending in 5
GEN Singular
GEN Plural
41-6
41-
"
Exercise 1
Homework
Answer the following questions about numbers:
1. Explain where we find (or dont find) a soft-sign in the spelling of numbers 1-100. Try to list the fewest
groups of numbers possible. Give an example or two from each group.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What Case do Adjectives and Nouns appear in after various numbers? (Your answer should be broken down
into 3 groups, with an example for each group. Assume we are talking about either Nominative or Inanimate
Accusative Noun Phrases.)
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 2
Translate into Russian. Try your best to learn the numbers BEFORE doing this
exercise. Otherwise its just busy work.
1. 2 red pencils _____________________________________________________________________________
2. 2 black pens _____________________________________________________________________________
3. 3 blind mice _____________________________________________________________________________
4. 4 boring people (think about which noun to use) ________________________________________________
41-7
Lesson 41 Homework
_________________________________
5. 5 big dogs _______________________________________________________________________________
6. 16 green towels __________________________________________________________________________
7. 29 difficult exams ________________________________________________________________________
8. 43 brown cars ____________________________________________________________________________
9. 31 important questions _____________________________________________________________________
10. 60 bad doctors ___________________________________________________________________________
11. 59 Russian actresses _______________________________________________________________________
12. 73 small bottles of vodka ___________________________________________________________________
13. 87 first-class stores ________________________________________________________________________
14. 92 lazy geniuses __________________________________________________________________________
15. 141 French magazines ___________________________________________________________________
41-8
:
Thats too expensive
: An important noun money
More numbers: 200-999.999
The verb + cost
+ listen (to) vs. + hear
Thats too expensive
( )
(In a store)
, , Could you please tell me how much that red
?
scarf costs?
5
6
. Thats too expensive. How much does that

?
small yellow scarf over there cost?
441 rubles.
8
9
. ,
, ?
Too expensive. And that very small, old (dark)

blue scarf, how much does it cost?
10
40 rubles.
11
, .
No, thats too expensive.
12
13
, . ,

Maybe you didnt hear me. I said it cost 40

rubles.
14
, .
No, I heard you.
15
? How much money do you want to spend on the
1
2
It costs 1000 rubles.
scarf?
16
17
, . ,
.
Maybe 20 rubles. The thing is, its a present for

my wifes sister.
(See new numbers below)

2
cost (See more below)
(Masc)
,
ruble (As of December 2,1999, $1 26.6 rubles.)
too; excessively
small
12
hear (See more below)
15
/ (e)
money (See more below)
15
+ ( )
spend (money, time) on something (One-time action.)
42-1
Grammar
42.A
Lesson 42
An Important Noun: / () money
This noun is always plural in Russian, which means that the Genitive Plural cannot be predicted (since, as you
recall, the Genitive Plural is based on the Nominative Singular). The Genitive is (with a cluster buster
before the final consonant, and no more soft-sign).
Examples:
.
Your money is (lying) there on the bed.
She took the money and left.
He cares too much about money.
?
.
How much money do you have?

I dont have any money.
Lets practice using this important word.
Put the noun into the correct form
1. _______________________.
2. _________________ .
3. little ____________________.
4. ________________________?
5. _______________.
6. _________________________?
42.
More Numbers: 200-999.999*
*Russians write a period in large numbers where we write a comma: 76.349.910 and a comma in decimals where
we write a period: 7,6 (seven point six).
All of these numbers take Genitive Plural Adjectives and Nouns (unless, of course, the final digit is 1-4, which we
covered previously):
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
42-2
42-
2000
3000
5000
10,000
21,000
100,000
Notes about spelling and forms:

300 and 400 These forms actually make sense: after and you have the
Genitive Singular of , Neuter noun.
Question:
Whats up with 200? Shouldnt it be ?
Answer:
In theory, youre absolutely right. However, originally, was used with both
Feminine and Neuter nouns, so that explains the (vs. ).
As for - (vs. ), it goes back to the Dual, where - was the Neuter Dual
ending. The Dual has died in the modern language, but the - in is a
vestige. You can explain all this to a Russian friend, because its not very
likely that even they will know about this.
500 900 Again these forms are what we predict. After 5-9 we get the Genitive Plural of
, which is (which has the cluster buster o, after you nuke the ending -o). Also, remember the One
only spelling rule. Since has no in it, the appears right after the first half of the word: ,
, etc.
1000 This number behaves like a regular Feminine noun, as well see below.
2000 4000 These are exactly what we would predict: the Genitive Singular of
the Feminine noun after 2, 3, 4.
5000 As expected, we find the Genitive Plural of (nuke the vowel) after numbers 5.
All of these numbers take Genitive Plural adjectives and nouns (unless, of course, the final digit is 1-4, which we
covered previously):
. My professor has 3000 boring books.
.
Our house cost $100,000.
There are 4500 (excellent) students at Princeton.

() .
() .
I have 700 (new) CDs.
42-3
Grammar
Pronounce these number phrases. (Dont forget about 2, 3,4, and agreement, etc., etc.)
1. 200 interesting books
2. 352 Japanese computers
3. 500 rubles
4. $10,000 (Nominative is )
5. 501 ugly ties
6. 790 sports cars
7. 1,834 talentless lawyers
8. 2,000 Russian doctors
9. 424 German newspapers
10. 666 large jars of black caviar
42.
Lesson 42
The Verb + cost
This is actually a transitive verb in Russian, which means that it takes the Accusative Case. The Accusative of
the number usually is the same as the Nominative, unless the price ends in the number 1000, in which case
will become :

.
A good computer costs $2000.
His new sports car cost $33,000.
With 1000 we can clearly see the Accusative:
This camera costs $1000
These pants cost 1000 rubles.
Say how much the items cost. Begin each response with the question ...?
1. our house / $90,000
2. bread / 2 rubles
3. his new Italian sports car / $40,000
4. newspaper Truth / 3 rubles
5. a bottle of good German beer / $21
6. that ugly tie / 103 rubles
7. her new pants / $50
8. his notebook (computer) / 20,000 rubles
9. coffee (Starbucks) / $33 (it just seems like it)
10. good dictionary / 250 rubles
11. good watch / $1000
12. imported sausage / 70 rubles
42-4
42-
42.
+ listen (to) vs. + hear
First note that these two verbs, despite very similar Infinitives ( / ) actually have completely
different Present Tense conjugations. + is a 1st-conjugation(Up-to-Snuff) -stem verb (just like +,
+, etc.), while + is a 2nd-conjugation (Guitar) --stem (like +, +)
Person /
Number
Pronoun
listen (to)
+
hear
PRESENT TENSE
1sg
2sg
3sg
//
1pl
2pl
3pl
PAST TENSE
Masc
, ,
Fem
, ,
Pl
, ,
INFINITIVE
Note that in Russian both of these verbs take bare Accusative. No Preposition is needed (or allowed):
Are you listening to me?
I didnt hear anything.
Supply the correct verb (+ or +) in the proper form:
1. (Present) -.
2. (Past), ? (hear)
3. (Infinitive) !
4. (Present)?! (listen)
5. louder. (Present).
6. (deaf) (Present)
7. -, - (Past) downstairs.
8. (Past) .
9. (Present) .
10. (Infinitive) !
42-5
42-
"
_________________________________
Exercise 1
Write 4 sentences with the word money. Suggestions: 1) Ask how much money
someone has; 2) A person has no money; 3) Where the money is (lying); 4) A
person has a lot of money; 5) Where someone left the money
Exercise 2
Write 6 number phrases (with the new numbers as well as the old) with both an
adjective and a noun.
1.
2.
3.
4.
"
Example:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
42-6
42-
"
Exercise 3

1. + Did you hear what Vera said? - No, I wasnt listening to her. + You never listen to anyone.
2. How much (you can leave out the word money) do you want to spend for a present for (your) wife?
3. + How much does this green tie cost? - $50 (Nominative is ). + Thats too expensive.
42-7
:
I cant take it anymore!
:
43.A
Neuter SF Adjectives as Impersonal Predicates
43.
Prepositional (Locative)1 Case of Singular Nouns
43..1 Forms
43..2 Masculine Nouns with Locative in -
43..3 Uses of the Prepositional Case
43.
The verb be able; can: +
43..1 Forms
43-.2 Uses of +
43.
Expressing at home vs. in a/the house
e e
:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
I cant take this anymore
, e e ! e
e. e .
e e? e e ?
e?
e , e.
. , e ,
e. e e e.
e .
, ?
. , ,
,
. e e e
? , e .
Ah, I cant take this anymore! I cant live in a

dorm. Its too noisy here.
You cant? So where do you want to live? In
an apartment?
Maybe in an apartment. In the summer I lived
in an apartment in Philadelphia. Or maybe in a
house. Misha lives in a house on Olden Street.
Its really quiet and clean there.
Are you joking? Its really dirty and noisy
there. They sit on the floor, drink expensive
imported beer, smoke, and listen to bad music.
Maybe you want to live in the forest in Siberia.
I think that it will be very quiet there.
2
4
5
7
8
8
9
10
11
13
13
()
()
43.
I cant (take this; do this) anymore

more (comparative of )
be able; can (see 43. for conjugation)
noisy
apartment; flat
in the summer; during the summer
street
quiet
clean
dirty
floor (See 43..2 about the -)
imported
forest (See 43..2 about the -)
it will be
Neuter Short-Form Adjectives (Adverb) After the Verb to be
Weve seen the following construction in several places:

/ * / .
It was boring / nice / quiet there.
43-1
43-
* Note that sometimes the stress in this form is sometimes different from the regular long-form adjective:
vs.
vs.
vs.
These sentences are impersonal - there is no subject (no noun in the Nominative). When a sentence in Russian
has no subject, the predicate is in the Neuter 3rd person singular by default. (Recall that we said this form may
actually be an adverb; it makes no real difference what you call it.)
To form sentences like Its noisy there, It was cold yesterday, etc., use:
1) an indicator of time (, , ) or place (, , ), or both, or neither.
2) the verb to be {+ / +} in the default Neuter 3rd sg: in the Past, in the Present, in the
Future.
3) a short-form Neuter adjective, which ends in - (technically -{O}): , , , , etc.
*** Most Important: Do not use for English it in impersonal sentences!! ***
Thus, this very common construction consists of the following parts:
TIME OR PLACE
(or both or neither)

VERB
be
NEUTER SF ADJ
(which itself can be modified)

.
.
.
.
It was boring on Wednesday.

Its nice here.
It will be very beautiful in the summer in Princeton.
It will be interesting. (Wherever theyre going.)
Describe the situation using the list of Neuter SF adjectives below:
Example:
You were all alone in the library.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Tomorrows high will be -30 . ...

You just stepped out of NYC subway station. ...
Telling you friend about the beauty of Princeton. ...
You cant study in the dorm because of the noise. ...
You dont want to listen to yet another soporific Russian grammar lecture (totally imaginary situation).
...
6. Youre trying to convince your friend to move to Moscow. ...
7. Its a summer day in Texas. ....
8. Youre telling your friend about a fascinating Russian grammar lecture you went to (100% realistic).
....
9. You prefer to study in the library. ...
10. You swear that yesterday your floor wasnt covered with beer cans. ...
43-2
43-
43.
Prepositional (Locative) Case: Singular Nouns
We saw this case starting on the 3rd day of class ( e) and many times since ( , ,
etc.)
43..1
Forms
Here are the endings once again:
NOMINATIVE SINGULAR
PREPOSITIONAL/LOCATIVE SG
All Genders (exceptions below)

-E (automatic softening)
(sea)
Masculine nouns in -
Neuter nouns in -
Feminine nouns in -
-
e
ee
Feminine nouns in -
-
43-3
43..2
43-
Masculine Nouns with Locative in -
A few Masculine (but not Neuter or Feminine) nouns have the Locative singular ending - (always stressed).
Well indicate theses with (-) in the vocabulary entry: (), ():
e ?
.
Why are you sitting on the floor?

I want to live in the forest.
Two things to note about Masculine Nouns with Locative in :

1) It will help to remember that Masculine nouns with Locative in - are otherwise stem-stressed in the singular
but end-stressed in the plural (hence the ).

2) The - ending is used only when the case is truly the Locative - when its expressing location (with /).
With other prepositions taking the Prepositional, the regular -e ending is used, with the expected stem-stress
for the singular:
.
We were talking about the forest.
There are only about 7-8 really important nouns that have Prepositional in -, but you do need to know them.
43..3
Uses of the Prepositional Case
The Prepositional is the only case that MUST include a preposition, i.e., a verb will never simply take the
Prepositional Case without an accompanying preposition. So far weve seen 3 prepositions that govern (take)
the Prepositional Case: / about, /o in, at and on, at. Remember, theres no sure way to predict which case
a preposition will govern. (Later on, well see prepositions that indicate location, but govern a different case.)
.
e e.
My close friends live in Moscow.

Gena works in the library.
e .
.
Natashas book is (lying) on the table.

Valya was sitting on the floor.
.
* .
Theyre talking about Galya.

His son is reading a book about England.
When the noun following the preposition begins with a vowel sound (not just a vowel letter),
the buffer consonant is added to the preposition. Before nouns that begin with the softindicating vowels , e, , no buffer consonant is needed. Why not? (Answer in class.)
/ / but / /
A rapid fire drill. Put the noun in the Prepositional/Locative Case. Use the preposition provided.
Example:
1. /
5. /
9. /
2. /
6. /
10. /
3. /
7. /
11. /
43-4
4. /
8. /
12. /
43-
Answer the questions. Be sure to choose the correct preposition
Example:
e ? ()
e.
1. e ? ()
2. e ? ()
3. ? ()
4. ? ()
5. ? ()
6. ? ()
7. ? ()
8. ? ()
9. ? ()
10. ? ()
43.
The Verb be able; can: +
Since this verb is not an -stem, e-stem or --stem, it must be 1st-conjugation (up-to-snuff). Also, notice
that its a Greasy Zeke verb, which means the remains in all forms of the Past Tense.
So whats with the over the +? Its our way of expressing that + has shifting stress in the Present, but fixed,
end stress in the Past. This acutally violates the rule we gave earlier, when we said that 1st-conjugation verbs
have shifting stress in the Past but not the Present. Sorry about that.
NOTE: There is the consonant mutation > , but only in front of {O} endings. (Recall the phrase
maybe, which literally means is able to be.)
In front of {U} endings (which do not soften the previous consonant) the remains intact. So this is a different
pattern of mutation than we saw with some 2nd-conjugation (Guitar) Verbs, where mutation occured only in the form.
Present Tense
1sg
2sg
3sg
//()
1pl
2pl
3pl
Past Tense
Masc
Neut
, ,
Fem
, ,
Pl
, ,
Infinitive
Note the unpredictable Infinitive form (which is almost never used anyway).
43-5
43-
43..1
Uses of +
In Russian this verb is always followed by an Infinitive. In English you only get the full Infinitive (to + Verb)
after the verb be able: I am able to lift my arm. After can you get a reduced infinitive: I can lift my arm.
?

.
How can you study all the time?

I cant work this Saturday.
He was not able to open the door.
Besides +, there are very few -stem verbs. But just for the fun of it, lets look at another one (to confirm that
our system works): the verb + guard:
Present Tense
1sg
2sg
3sg
//()
1pl
2pl
3pl
Past Tense
Masc
, ,
Neut
Fem
, ,
Pl
, ,
Infinitive
Everything is exactly as predicted. Here, because all the forms of the Present Tense are stressed on the end, the
letter is used.1 Boy, was that ever fun!
Chameleon: Change either the subject, tense, infinitive, or ( affirmative) will change.
The starting point will be:
1.
2.
3.
4. (negate)
5.
6.
7. Past tense
8.
9.
10.
Remember, the use of after does NOT affect the pronunciation of the consonant, which is always HARD. Exactly
why the letter is used (instead of ) is a bit arbitrary here, but dont worry about it.
43-6
43-
43.
Expressing at home vs. in the house
With the Noun house, there are two ways to express location. To say someone is at home use the single
word , no preposition needed. To be more emphatic about location inside a house (vs. outside, or vs. an
apartment) use . Russian doesnt have an exact equivalent to outside, though sometimes you hear
.
? , .
Is Misha home? No, hes at the university.
? .
Where were you yesterday? I was home all day.
,
.
I used to live in an apartment, but now I live in a

house.
? -, .
, .
Where is your dog? I think shes in the house.

No, shes outside.
Note:
.
Hes not home. (Genitive of Negation!!)
Answer the questions using either the form or in your answer.
Example:
, .
1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
5. ?
6. ?
43-7
43-
"
_________________________________
Exercise 1
Example:
Describe the situation using an appropriate Neuter SF adjective.
You visited the Grand Canyon.
1. You went to a heavy metal concert last night.

________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Its -40 outside.
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Youre sitting in the bowels of Firestone at 11:30 on a Tuesday night.
________________________________________________________________________________________
4. You were in an operating room.
________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Youre going to a lecture about Russian Impersonal Predicatives. (Brownie points time)
________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Youre sleeping through your Econ lecture.
________________________________________________________________________________________
7. You visited Yosemite in the summer.
________________________________________________________________________________________
"
Exercise 2
Match up where the following people once lived and write out an entire sentence.

(yourself)
???
1.
______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
______________________________________________________________________________________
4.
______________________________________________________________________________________
5.
______________________________________________________________________________________
6.
______________________________________________________________________________________
43-8
43-
"
1.
Exercise 3
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of + plus any words required.
_____________________________ ?
, _________________________________. ________________________________.
2.
_______________________ . ______________________________
3.
_____________________________ ? (Think about what tense the verb must be!)
4.
__________________________ ?
______________________________ __________________________ .
5.
"
_____________________________ ?
Exercise 4
Answer as truthfully as you want (or can) using the Prepositional Case.
1.
/ _______________________________________________________________________
2.
_____________________________________________________________________
3.
_________________________________________________________________________
4.
____________________________________________________________________
43-9
th
:
Shes in the 10 grade
:
st
th
44.A
Ordinal numbers: 1 39
44.A.1 Notes on ordinals
44.A.2 not your ordinary ordinal
44.
Prepositional Singular of adjectives and
nounjectives
44.
Expressing grades and years in school
(
)
(At a very prestigious club in Princeton)
walks up to who he thinks is a undergraduate

( , )
Shes in the 10th grade
, e . ?
Hi, my names Misha. Whats yours?
comes running up and interrupts

:
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
, !?
e. e.
e e . !
Misha, what are you doing? Thats my younger

sister. Shes in 10th grade. And youre a senior.
Youre such a scoundrel!
, , . . e
e ? e e !
e? eee? -
. e , e e
e ?
Oh, Im really sorry. I didnt know. Shes still

in high school? Impossible! What school does
go to? Exeter? You went to Exeter, didnt you?
Maybe she knows my younger brother Vitalik.
e, e,
e e.
No, I went to a private school, but shes goes to

a public school.
?
!
She goes to a public school? How disgusting!
(See 44.A for Ordinal Numbers)
prestigious
here: grade level (in school) (See 44.)
here: year of college (See 44.)
still; yet
11
private (vs. public)
13
public; governmental (This is the in . The whole thing is

The Committee of State Security)
44-1
44.A
44-
Ordinal Numbers: 1st-39th
Ordinal numbers are regular adjectives, which agree in CNG with the noun they modify. Note that for semantic
reasons you wont normally find an ordinal number in the plural Im reading about the 20th novels just doesnt
make sense.
44..1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
, -, -
, ,
, , (*See below)
, etc.
11th
12th
13th
14th
15th
16th
17th
18th
19th
20th
21st
30th
39th
Notes on ordinals
1) No soft sign in ordinals with the exception of , , and all forms of except
Masculine Singular Nominative (see below). The soft-sign at the end of 5-30 is replaced by the adjective
ending: .
2) Note the occasional difference in stress from their corresponding cardinal number. This is basically the
numbers from 6th through 10th, as well as 20th and 30th: ; ,
.
44-2
44-
3) Youve probably noticed that 1st and 2nd look nothing like their cardinal counterparts. Dont
complain its the same thing in English (first, second).
4) In complex numbers (42nd, 149th, 507th) ONLY THE LAST NUMBER BECOMES AN ORDINAL. (Its the
same in English.): 20th 21st.
44..2
T () Not Your Ordinary Ordinal
For some strange reason (OK, the gods of Russian grammar intentionally did it to torture innocent students) the
ordinal number is actually a Nounjective, with a cluster buster . The stem is /+ (the / is where
the cluster buster goes). Every form except the dictionary form begins -. You might remember that this is
just like +, of which every non-dictionary form begins with -.
Heres the declension of (and for comparison):
MASC
NEUT
NOM SG
ACC SG
Inanimate Animate
()
FEM
()
Same as NOM
()
()
()
GEN SG
()
PREP SG
( )
Same as GEN
(Details in 44.)
Some examples with Ordinal Numbers:
George Washington was the first president of America.
Im reading about the third present of America.
I want to buy a second car.
This is a present for my twenty-fourth wife.

.
, !
.
Shes listening to Beethovens Third Symphony.

No, you mixed everything up again. Shes listing to the Fifth
Symphony.
Give the Russian equivalent
1. 1st man on the moon ()
2. 6th house
3. 9th Street
4. 25th woman
5. 42nd president
6. 107th book
7. 20th century ()
8. 33rd building
9. 14th day
10. 94th dormitory
11. 58th photograph
12. her 10th husband
44-3
44.
44-
Prepositional Singular: Adjectives (and Nounjectives)

NOMINATIVE SINGULAR
PREPOSITIONAL SINGULAR
Masculine and Neuter
-{O}
?

Feminine
-{O}
?

Notes:
1) Weve already seen the Masculine/Neuter ending in a number of places, including ;
, , ...
2) Good news for the Feminine: Except for Nominative and Accusative, the ending for ALL Feminine Singular
adjectives is -{O}. Youre done learning Feminine Singular adjectival endings.
Form a question and answer. Use the verb +:
Example:
/ /
1. / / ,
2. / / ,
3. / / ,
(, )
4. / (food) / ,
(imported)
5. / / ,
6. / / ,
7. (answer with ) / / ,
8. / /
9. / / ,
10. / /
44-4
44-
44.
Expressing What Year Person Is In (High School vs. College)
The verb for both phrases is +... be a student, but there are two important differences depending on whether
you are talking about college or pre-college (i.e., high school, grade school, etc.):
Expressing a grade in school (pre-college):
+ Ordinal Number in the Prepositional + :
ORD. # IN PREP
My younger sisters in 10th grade.
()
When I was in 8th grade, ...
+ Ordinal Number in the Prepositional + :
Expressing a year in college:

= freshman year
= junior year
= sophomore year
= senior year
ORD. # IN PREP
Im in my 1st year (i.e., Im a freshman)
()
When she was a junior,
(It is also possible to use the Verb be, instead of +....)
Form a question and answer using the verb +...:
Example:
/ 6th grade
/ senior
1. / 9th grade
4. / 10th grade
7. / sophomore
? .
? .
2. / 2nd grade
5. / junior
8. / 4th grade
44-5
3. / freshman
6. / 12th grade
9. / senior
44-
"
1.
Exercise 1
_________________________________
Answer as truthfully as you wish:
?
______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
? (Dont give the name, say what kind private/public, large/small it was.)
______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
?
______________________________________________________________________________________
4.
?
______________________________________________________________________________________
5.
(+ dream)?
______________________________________________________________________________________
6.
( century) ?
______________________________________________________________________________________
7.
? (its exactly what you would expect)

______________________________________________________________________________________
8.
(writes) Senior Thesis ( )? (You must use a relative clause.)

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
44-6
"
1.
Exercise 2
44-
Translate and finish the sentences:
When I was in 6th grade

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
When I was a freshman at Princeton

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
Yesterday I was thinking about

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
44-7
:
My relatives are such bores
:
45.A
Unisex nouns in -{A}
45.
Location vs. Destination
45.
Go in Russian: riding vs. walking
My relatives are such bores
e e? ?
Where were you yesterday? What did you do?
I went to Philadelphia.
Where?
To Philadelphia.
e ?
Why did you go to Philadelphia?
e.
My relatives live there.
Did you drive or take the train?
8
9
10
. .
. , ?
?
Of course I took the train. I dont have a car. I

sold it. Dont you remember? And what did you
do yesterday?
11
12
- ,
.
I studied a little, and then Misha and I went to

the movies.
13
You went to the movies and you didnt even

invite me?
14
15
? ,
.
.
What are you talking about? I called and

called, but you werent home. You were in
Philadelphia.
, .
.
Yeah, but it was really boring there. My

relatives are such bores.
16
17
18
go (by vehicle - Loc) 2nd conjugation, so > in 1st sg Present: ,
15
+ + LOC
()
+
+
(GEN)
18
bore (both M & F - See 45.A)
2
3
6
8
12
14
where (to) (as opposed to where (at)? - See 45.)

relative
train
go (by foot) 2nd conjugation, so > in 1st sg Present: , ,
call (Repeated Action)
person (in GEN) was not home (The GEN is used because of negation. The
Neuter verb is used because there is no Nominative subject with which to agree.)
45-1
45-
Unisex Nouns in -{A}
45.A
/
Weve seen nouns that could refer to a male or female, even though they were grammaticality Masculine.
Modifying adjectives are also Masculine:
,
,
, .
He / She is probably a genius.
My brother / sister is an excellent doctor /lawyer.
On the other hand, there are a few Nouns ending in -{A} which can refer to either a male or female. With these
nouns, use masculine adjectives with males and feminine adjectives with females (and of course, plural adjectives
with plural nouns). In this lesson we have bore:

Boris / Rita is such a bore!
They are such bores!
Actually, things can get pretty nasty with unisex nouns. For example, with the noun , you can only use a
Feminine adjective. The reason is that is a real noun which is feminine (the regular meaning is
swine).

Boris / Rita is such a swine!
Quick translation drill:
1. You (Vera) are such a bore.
2. My husband is such a bore.
3. Mishas wife is such a bore.
4. Yall are such bores.
5. She is such a swine!
6. He is such a swine!
To be honest, this is a fairly complex topic. Some unisex nouns that end in {A} take only Feminine adjectives.
And with some unisex nouns in {A} Russians themselves are not exactly sure what to do with the adjective. For
now, just remember this about the person who wrote this book:
!
45-2
45-
45.
Location (Locative) vs. Direction/Destination (Accusative)

vs.
Russian distinguishes between location, where the noun (place name) is in the Prepositional/Locative Case vs.
destination, where the noun (place name) is in the Accusative. There are also different versions of various
adverbs ( where at vs. where to, etc.). English used to make this distinction, as seen in where vs.
whither; there vs. thither, but this distinction died out (at least among the people we hang around with).
LOCATION
DESTINATION
Locative
Accusative
where?
there
to where?
to there
here
in America
in/at Princeton
in St. Petersberg
in Russia
in Siberia
to America
to Princeton
to St. Petersberg
to Russia
to Siberia
on the table
on the chair
in/at the dacha
on the floor
*
*

* (note stress!)
on(to) the table

on(to) the chair
to the dacha
on(to) the floor

(nice
indeclinable word)
in the forest
in/at the library
in(side) the building
at the movies
into the forest

to the library
to/into the building
to the movies
to here
*Well see the Accusative of Motion with these nouns when indicating placing something somewhere.
Answer the question with the correct preposition and case:
1. ()
2. ()
3. ()
4. ()
5. ()
6. ()
7. ()
8. ( )
9. ()
10. ()
11. ()
12. ()
45-3
45.
45-
Go in Russian: Riding (+) vs. Walking (+)

vs. .
Notice that in the English version of the above two sentences the verb is the same: We went to Philadelphia / We
went to the movies. In Russian, a different verb must be used to distinguish long distance travel (+ travel by
vehicle) from short distance travel (+ either on foot or by vehicle).
45.B.1
Clues indicating when to use + vs. +
SHORT DISTANCE TRAVEL:

EITHER ON FOOT OR BY VEHICLE
LONG DISTANCE TRAVEL:

MUST BE BY VEHICLE
Context clues:
Context clues:
1. Geographical name ( , ,
moon)
1. Destination is an event ( , )
2. A vehicle is mentioned: Use +

Prepositional Case (e.g., ,
)
2. Destination is a landmark ( ,
)
3. Desire to emphasize use of vehicle vs.

walking ( ? , .)
3. Use of the adverb on foot. (Dont

worry about this for now)
In line 13 of the dialogue when says he is not implying that they walked there. Even if
they drove, and knows that they drove, he can use because (in his mind) there is no reason to
emphasize how they got there and back by foot or by vehicle.
With the noun you must use the verb + because by definition a is something out in the
countryside, to which one must drive: .
Choose between riding and walking in your answer. (Sometimes the question itself gives it
away.)
Example:
? ()
? ()
? ()
.
.
.
1. ? ()
2. ? ()
3. ? ()
4. ? ()
5. ? ()
6. ? ()
7. ? ()
8. () ? ()
9. () ? (-)
10. ? ( )
45-4
45-
45.B.2
Go-verbs in various tenses
Past Tense
In the Past Tense, these two verbs (+ ~ +) indicate one of two things:
1) A round trip, i.e., a trip that the subject is now back from (I went (and came back) ).
Very often when these verbs are used in the Past Tense they are an answer to the questions /? or
/? Note that for the question /? you use the Location word , but the answer may
contains a Destination word (assuming you answer with the motion verb and not /). It is not wrong to
respond with the verb followed by the prepositional phrase in the Locative Case, however, it is very common
to find a motion verb and then a noun in the Accusative Case.
?
Where were you yesterday?
Masha and I went to the library (and are now back).
or:
.
or:
Masha and I were at the library (and are now back).
or:
or:
.
Masha and I went to our dacha (and are now back).
or:
or:
Masha and I were at our dacha (and are now back).
What did you do last night?
I went to a basketball game (and am back now).
or:
or:
I was at a basketball game (and am now back).
-.
I went to New York (and am now back).
or:
or:
I was in New York (and am now back).
What did your friend do during the summer?
She went to Russia (and is back now).
2) Habitual action (e.g., I would go, I used to go ). Your biggest clue is to look for habitual adverbs like
often or anything modified by or :
.
I used to go to Russia often.
My roommate would often go to Moscow.
,
.
When I was a freshman, I would go to the library every day.
My roommate would go to Cottage Club every Saturday.
45-5
45-
Present Tense use of and +
In the Present Tense these verbs are used (among other things) to describe habitual actions. Again, look for
habitual adverbs:
-.
I often go to New York.
She goes to Russia all the time.
Masha goes to a bar every night.
I go to the library every morning.
If you run into a friend on the street heading somewhere, you CANNOT (repeat CANNOT) ask
? Where are you going? (Just to let you know, we actually already saw the correct form for this
situation back in Lesson 16; the verb for this go is +. Wait until next semester for details.)
Quick translation exercise:
1. Vitya often travels to Moscow.
2. Where do you go every morning?
3. Nina often goes to the library.
4. My brother often used to go to New York.
5. When I was a sophomore, I went to the library

every evening.
6. When I was a senior, I went to TI every day.
45-6
"
Exercise 1
Circle the correct verb
1. [ / ] .
2. [ / ] .
3. [ / ] .
4. [ / ] .
5. [ / ] .
6. [ / ] .
7. [ / ] ?
8. [ / ] ?
"
Exercise 2
Supply the correct ending based on the context
1. ____________ ___________
2. __________ _____________ ?
3. __________ ___________ ?
4. ______________ __________ (present tense)
5. _________ ______________ (past tense)
6. ___________ __________.
7. _________________
8. placed _________.
9. _____________ ____________ (present tense)
10. ________________ _____________________.
11. placed ________________?
12. _________ ____________. .
45-7
45-
45-
"
1.
Exercise 3
_________________________________
Translate
-- Where were yall yesterday? --We went to the movies.

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
-- What did you do yesterday? -- I went to New York. -- Did you go by car or train?
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
-- What did you do this summer ? -- I went to Europe ()

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
4.
(Said to your male Russian professor for whom you have no respect) You are such a bore! Leave me alone!
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
45-8
:
He was born and grew up in Georgia
:
46.A
Asking/Expressing someones last name
46.
The verbs +... be born and , -, grow up
46.
Months of the year
He was born and grew up in Georgia
, !
Katya, lets go to the movies!
2
3
. .
.
I cant. Im studying. I have a History exam

tomorrow.
Is there anything I can help you with?
, ?
Do you happen to remember where Stalin was

born?
, .
.
Of course, I remember. He was born and (he)

grew up in Georgia.
What month was he born in?
,
If Im not mistaken, his birthday is in
. . December. His real last name is Dzhugashvili.
10
11
12
13
14
,
?
And do you remember Lenins real last name?
, ?
. ,
.
You dont know?! His real last name was

Ulyanov. If Im not mistaken Lenins birthday
is in April.
(Names of the Months in 46.)

1
lets go (to a place) (This is actually a Past Tense form used as an Imperative.
You cannot do this with any verb you want, just with certain forms of go.)
history exam (Weve seen the phrase + Subject, but we dont yet
know the Case the Subject goes into. We also had
. For now just learn these as fixed expressions.)
+...
/ /
...
+...
be born (See 46. for details)
( / / )
?
birthday (Literally: day of birth)
7
8
8
9
10
grew up (Past Tense; see 46.)

Georgia (The birthplace of Stalin, not Jimmy Carter)
month
If Im not mistaken (This is not as bookish in Russian as it sound in English)
be mistaken (Repeated-Action verb. We saw the One-Time Action verb
/ / )
last name (WARNING: False cognate: this word does NOT mean family)
what is (you / his / your) last name (See 46.)
46-1
46.
Lesson 46
Asking / Stating Last Names (Family Names) and Patronymic
Back in Lesson 3 we learned how to ask/state a persons first name: ( / / / ) ? /

( / ) To inquire specifically about a persons last name use the phrase ( / / /
) ? Note that the noun phrase appears in the Nominative (theres nothing in the Accusative, as
there was when asking for a first name). The answer is simply / / / /
/ , etc.
Remember, doesnt mean family (which is in Russian), but family name.
We now know the 3 parts of a full Russian name:
first name
patronymic
last name
Asking / stating a patronymic works the same as last name: ( / / ) ? ( / )

/, /.
Quick translation
1. Whats your name? And your last name?

3. Whats our professors last name?
5. What is his patronymic?
46.
2. Whats his last name?

4. Whats that (male) bores last name?
6. My patronymic is (daughter of Roman).
Being Born (+...) and Growing Up ( / - / -)

Both be born and grow up are used almost exclusively in the Past Tense.
The verb +... be born is a 2nd-conjugation -+ stem verb, with a somewhat strange stress pattern. Actually
patterns. This verb can be end-stressed in the Past, (which is probably the easiest thing to do). Or it can have
shifting stress in the Past (on the stem in all forms except the Feminine, where it is on the end). As such,
+... is the only 2nd-conjugation verb that has (or can have) shifting stress in the Past. All other verbs with
shifting stress in the Past are 1st-conjugation.
/ /
/ /
/ /
46-2
46-
The verb grow up is somewhat irregular, though in the Past it behaves like a standard Greasy Zeke verb. Note
that the stress is fixed on the prefix -. (Well be seeing more instances of stressed - later on.)
/ /
/ /
/ /
Some examples of these two verbs:
I was born and grew up in Moscow.
Where did your mother grow up?
, .
She was born in Paris, but she grew up in Chicago.
They were born and grew up in Siberia.
Say where the person was born and grew up.
1. /
2. /
3. /
4. /
5. /
6. /
7. /
8. /
9. /
10. /
11. / ?
12. /
46-3
46.
Lesson 46
Months
You dont know how lucky you are with the names of the months in Russian. As you can see, theyre all
cognates. In several Slavic languages the months are native Slavic words, derived either from the name of a
particular tree that blossoms that month or some other hard to remember term.
Listen and repeat. The Prepositional Case ( + month) will also be read.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

({+{E})

in January
in February
in March
in April
in May
in June
in July
in August
in September
in October
in November
in December
Notes on the Months:

1) All the months are Masculine. Just keep or in mind and remember that all the months are the
same gender (so dont get confused by the soft sign in , , etc.).
2) Dont capitalize the months in Russian. And dont capitalize ! (Some of you are still making this mistake!)
3) Stress: Note that the Spring and Summer months ( ) are stem-stressed, while the Fall and
Winter months ( ) are end-stressed.
Spring/Summer:
Stem Stressed
Fall/Winter:
End-Stressed
Say what month the person was born in. The question ? will be read each time:
1. / May
2. / June
3. / August
4. / January
5. / October
6. /January
7. / February
8. / November
9. / March
10. / July
11. / September
12. / April
46-4
46-
"
1.
Exercise 1

Answer as truthfully as you wish:
?
______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
?
______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
?
______________________________________________________________________________________
4.
/ ?
______________________________________________________________________________________
5.
?
______________________________________________________________________________________
6.
? (You dont need an overt subject in the answer. Use the -form.)
______________________________________________________________________________________
7.
(begin) ?
______________________________________________________________________________________
8.
(end) ?
______________________________________________________________________________________
9.
?
______________________________________________________________________________________
10.
?
______________________________________________________________________________________
11.
?
______________________________________________________________________________________
12.
?
______________________________________________________________________________________
13.
?
______________________________________________________________________________________
46-5
Lesson 46
"
1.
Exercise 2
_________________________________
Translate:
-- What is your last name? -- Now my last name is , but my real last name is .
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
-- What month was Masha born in? -- If I am not mistaken, she was born in May. She was born and grew
up in Trenton.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
Tomorrow is Dimas birthday.

______________________________________________________________________________________
46-6
:
-?
Chapter 5 Review (Lessons 41-47 / Story 4-5)
Vocabulary from Lessons 41-47, Story 4-35
-?
What does New York have to do with anything?
2
3
? ,
.
.
Where were you yesterday? I called and called,

but you werent home. I was already starting to
worry.
Dima and I went to the opera.
-
?
Did you go to NY by car or by train?
-?
. ,
? ,
.
What does NY have to do with anything? We

went to Paris on Dimas airplane. Did you
forget that Dima has two airplanes? He used to
have just one airplane, but in October he
bought another one.
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
, !
And did you forget that he has eight girlfriends?
, Two American girlfriends, five French
.
girlfriends, and one Russian girlfriend.
+...
+ NOM
+
10
()
3
4
7
7
worry; get nervous

opera
what does [Person/Thing] have to do with anything / it / this?
fly (Used the same way as + and +)

airplane (Dont ask why yet, but with you cannot use +, only +
and related fly verbs. Also, notice that the root is the same as the verb fly.
Literally, means self-flyer.)
(yet) another one
47-1
Chapter 4 Review
N
O
M
A
C
C
G
E
N
P
R
E
P
-{I} / - -
MASCULINE
{O} -{O}
NEUTER
-{A} -{A} / -
FEMININE
/ /
/
/
/
-{I} -{I}; Neut -{A}
PLURAL
Animate borrows GEN
-{I} -{O}; -; -
???????
-{O} -{I}
(--; --)
/ /
/
/
/
-{O}
/

/
/

/
-{U} -{U} / -
/

/
Same as NOM
-{A}

Animate borrows GEN
-{}
- (-; - -) ()
-{O}
47-2
Numbers and Case

(See Lessons 7, 41 and 42 for the Cardinal numbers. See Lesson 44 for the Ordinal Numbers.)
NUMBER
ADJ
1; #s ending in 1
NOUN
NOM/ACC SG
.
.
.
.
2, 3, 4; #s ending in 2, 3, 4

GEN PL
GEN SG
// /.
// .
5-20; #s ending in 5
GEN PL
} /, etc. .
Remember:
a.
Even though 11-14 end in the number symbol 1-4, the word , , , is not pronounced. Therefore
these numbers behave like 5, 6, 17, 47, etc., and take Genitive Plural on both Adjectives and Nouns.
b.
It is possible to find a Nominative Plural adjective with some Feminine Nouns: . Just be aware
of this; youre never wrong to use the Genitive Plural. Its easier to remember just one ending for all adjectives
Money / ()
This Noun is always plural in Russian: / (). The Genitive Plural (which is used very often) is :
?
Where did you leave the money?
We dont have any money.
My brother has a lot of money.
Listen To (+) vs. Hear (+)

Though the Infinitives of these verbs are quite similar ( / ) from their stems we can see that
they belong to two different conjugations.
+, which does not require a preposition, is 1st-conjugation, similar to +, +, etc.
+ is a 2nd-conjugation - verb.
.
She listened to Bach all day.
They dont hear anything.
47-3
Chapter 4 Review
To Cost +
The Verb cost is +, a regular 2nd-conjugation -stem verb. The one thing of note is that this verb takes an
Accusative direct object in Russian. Normally this doesnt matter, since most numbers do not look the same in
the Nominative and the Accusative. The one exception is , which clearly exhibits the difference in case:
.
Our house cost $200,000.
His laptop costs $1000.
Foreign First Names

Female names ending in the sound a decline regularly. Females names ending in any other vowel sound or in a
consonant sound do not decline.
Male names ending in a consonant decline regularly. Male names ending in a vowel sound (except a) do not
decline.
?
What do you know about Melissa and Tony?
I cant stand Steve and Randy.
(Not) Have the Right To: + / +

The expression have the right (to do something) is + + Infinitive. When the phrase is negated the
direct object goes into the Genitive: + :
, .
I have the right to do everything I want.
You dont have the right to stand here.
Seeing / Hearing Someone Do Something

For reasons of Case, Russian requires the buffer element after various perception: verbs:
, .
Linda saw them kissing.
, - -.
I hear someone speaking Russian.
It Was (Is / Will Be) Cold / Boring / Nice

When reporting on how it was (is / will be) use a Short-Form Neuter Adjective (which is exactly the same as an
Adverb). Be sure not (not! not!) to insert , very common mistake of American students:
!
Its nice (good) here.
It was boring at the party.
Its going to be warm tomorrow.
47-4
Be Able +
Note the mutation > in the Present Tense occurs only before endings beginning in {O}. Note the shifting
stress in the Present Tense. (Recall that only 2nd- conjugation verbs are supposed to have shifting stress in the
Present.)
Present Tense: Shifting Stress

1sg
2sg
3sg
//()
1pl
2pl
3pl
Past Tense: End Stressed

Masc
, ,
Neut
Fem
Pl
, ,
, ,
Infinitive (Rare)
I cant live without you!
They couldnt do anything.
At Home vs. In the House vs. Outside

At home is expressed in the single word . (Even though looks like the Genitive Singular in fact the
form is the same as the Genitive Singular its really some kind of Adverb.)
In the house (or in a house vs. an apartment) is expressed with the regular Locative phrase .
The closest phrase Russian has to outside is .
.
I will be home all day.
Wheres the dog in the house or outside?
47-5
Chapter 4 Review
Grade in High School / Year in College
Use the Verb +... (or {+ / +}). Both the Preposition and Noun are different, depending on the level:
High School (Grade):
(, , , etc.)
College (Year):
(, )
Im a junior at Princeton.
My younger sister is in 7th grade.
Uses of the Prepositional Case

The Prepositional (Locative) is the only case that requires a Preposition. There are three common Prepositions
that govern the Prepositional:
in / at
/ () about / concerning
on / at
( / ) .
She lives (was / works) in Moscow.
() .
The keys are lying (were) on Mashas bed.
()
. ( !)
They are talking (reading) about Russian grammar.
Unisex Nouns
With many professions (which are often masculine nouns), use a masculine adjective for both males and females.
With the noun , use a masculine adjective with a male, a feminine adjective with a female:
With the noun (which is felt to be a real feminine noun swine) use a feminine adjective for both males
and females
().
My sister is a good doctor (lawyer).
! !
Hes such a bore! Shes such a bore!
! !
Vadik is such a swine! Vera is such a swine!
Location (Prepositional/Locative) vs. Direction (Accusative)

Use the Prepositional/Locative to indicate where a person is (worked / lives, etc. )
Use the Accusative to indicate where a person went (goes / flew, etc.)
Note that the Preposition will be the same in both sentences the verb and case on the noun will differ:
( / ) .
She was (works / lives) in Moscow.
() .
We went (flew) to Moscow.
47-6
Go: + vs. +
English go can be translated by either + or +, depending on the destination, as well as the means of
travel.
Use + when the travel must be by vehicle. Tips include: 1) Geographical Place Name ( ); 2)
Specific Vehicle is mentioned appearing in the Prepositional after ( ); 3) Special emphasis that
person rode as opposed to walked.
Use + for travel either on foot or by vehicle. Tips include: 1) Destination is an event even if it was far
away and person drove there ( , ); 2) Destination is a landmark ( , )
.
He often goes to England.
I like to travel by train.
We went to the opera yesterday.
She goes to the library every day.
The Future Tense: + + Infinitive

One way to express a future action is with the helping verb + followed by an Infinitive (of a Repeated-Action
Verb).
?
What are you going to do this summer?
Were going to watch a movie today.
Some- -
Add the particle to various questions words to give the meaning some-. While the is fixed, the question
word can change (where appropriate) for CNG:
- Phases
- / -, etc.
someone
- / -, etc.
something
somewhere
(to) somewhere
from somewhere
- / -, etc.
some (kind of)
somehow
for some reason
47-7
Chapter 4 Review
For reasons you dont want to know, avoid - for now.
- .
Someone left a beer in the fridge.
- .
Shes reading some Russian book.
Relative Tense
In English, when the first verb in a sentence is in the Past Tense, very often all following verbs will also appear in
the Past, regardless of when the action took place relative to the initial Past Tense verb.
In Russian, verbs following an initial Past Tense verb appear in the exact tense they represent relative to the intial
verb.
, .
Nina said that she wanted to go to Brown.
, .
I thought he was her brother.
Asking / Stating Last Names and Patronymics

Use the question phrase ( , ) / (, ) ? In the answer just use
the Nominative (, ) / (, ) / .
Being Born and Growing Up

Both of these verbs are used almost exclusively in the Past Tense. The forms are:
Was Born
Grew Up
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ /
Note the odd stress pattern for +...: either end-stress or shifting-stress.
Months
(See Lesson 46 for a list of the Months)
Recall that all months are Masculine. The spring and summer months ( ) are stem-stressed; the fall
and winter months ( ) are end-stressed (and all end in a soft-sign).
To say in a particular month, use + Prepositional.
.
Vadik is getting married in March.
She was in Russia in December.
47-8
"
Exercise 1
small Russian airplane
strange last name
Singular
Nom
Acc
Gen
Prep
Plural
Nom
Acc
Gen
47-9
large old dormitory
Lesson 45 Homework
"
Exercise 2
___________________________________
1.
She was born in Moscow, but grew up in Boston.
2.
Vera and I are going to play tennis on Sunday. It will be good.
3.
They used to live in a dark () forest in Siberia.
4.
We went to the opera yesterday. It was boring.
5.
He often drives (goes by car) to .
6.
How much does that camera cost? I dont know. I dont have (any) money.
7.
Did you hear what she said? No, I wasnt listening to Masha.
8.
He has 12 books: 6 red (books), 3 green, 2 white, and 1 yellow.
9.
I cant stand Linda and Celine.
47-10
Vocabulary Lessons 41-47 & Parts 4-5 of Story
Nouns & Pronouns
S4
42
S5
46
46
S5
42
45
S4
43
S5
44
44
43
46
47
S4
45
S5
S4
43
S5
45
42
47
S4
S4
S5
43
46
S4
46
()
/ ()
()
()
/ ()
()
(M)
(F)

train station
Georgia
birthday
summer house
money
bore
cafe
apartment
room
grade (level in school)
year in college
forest
month
opera
mistake
train
plan
scoundrel; cad
floor
nature; countryside
relative
ruble
airplane
swine
secret
weekend
street
last name
goal
(history) exam
S5
S5
S5
S4
S4
46
42
42
S5
45
45
S4
S4
S4
44
43
41
43
45
42
42
41
S4
41
S5
(For now, use one-time action verbs only in the Past and Infinitive.)
S5
46
S4
S4
S5
45
47
43
S4
S4
S5
S4
S5
S5
46
S4
41
+...
{+ /
+}
, -,
+
+...
+
+
+
+
+...
+
+
+...
+...
+
+...
,
,
worry; get nervous

will (be); was
grow up
lie; tell untruth
go out; see one another; meet
fall asleep
call; telephone
think; come to conclusion (One-Time Action)
+
()
invite (One-Time Action.)
+
+
+...
+
+
+
+ ( )
+
+...
read (One-Time Action.)
spend (One-Time Action)

went (Stick to Past Tense for now. One-Time
Action.)
arrived (Stick to Past Tense for now. One-Time
Action.)
upset (One-Time Action.)
be born
hear
cost
throw (a party); arrange
go (by vehicle)
go (either on foot or by vehicle)
kiss (one another)
Adjectives, Adverbs & Quantifiers
Verbs
47
+
( )
()
44
S5
42
41
43
S5
44
43
43
()
()
close
at night
last night
tonight
tomorrow night
public; governmental
dirty
really; actual
imported
to where; wither
in the summer
small
recently
un/official
normal; typical
alone
prestigous
free; unoccupied
too; excessive(ly)
sports (car)
quiet
in the morning
private (as opposed to public)
clean
loud; noisy
fly
be able
Prepositions
hope
write (One-Time Action)
spend the night; sleep over
rejoice; be glad
get dressed (One-Time Action)
answer (One-Time Action)
be mistaken
made a mistake (Stick to Past Tense for now.
One-Time Action.)
S5
S5
S4
S4
S5
S4
give as a gift (One-Time Action)
47-11
+ GEN
1) + PREP
2) + ACC
- + GEN
+ GEN
1) + PREP
2) + ACC
/ () + PREP
without
1)
in; at
2)
to
because; due to
except (for)
1)
on; at
2)
to
about; concerning
Vocabulary Lessons 41-47 & Parts 4-5 of Story
Expressions & Misc.

S4
43
S4
S4
S4
46
44
47
S4
46
45
41
S4
S4
46
47
S4
S5
S4
S4
S4
S5
...
+

,
,
[]
+......
()
+
+
( / /
) ?

+ + INFIN
!
+
NOM
+ GEN
+

+ NOM
and what if...

cant take it any more; cant [Verb] any longer
it's not likely; (casts doubt on statment)
everything that
the thing is, that...
if [Person] is not mistaken...
still
yet another
have the right
not have the right
what's [Person's] last name?
[Person] was not home
to me (Indirect Object Dative Case of )
our (yours and my)
would not do something
let's go!
what does [Noun] have to do with anything?
greetings from
take a shower
to what end; with what goal
so; therefore
to you (Indirect Object Dative Case of .)
what kind of [Noun] is it?
Be sure to check the Numbers (Ordinal

and Cardinal) in Lessons 7, 41, 42, 44!
47-12
:
Im writing about all honest politicians
:
st
48.A
Another 1 conjugation verb type: a-stem verbs
48.
! ! The Prepositional Plural of adjectives
and nouns
Im writing about honest politicians
e e? e?
Are you writing a paper? What are you writing

about?
:
:
.
? e
? ?
? ,
?
Im writing about politicians.
No, Im writing about honest politicians. It

seems (to me) its a good topic.
10
, . ,
.
e e e ? e
. e, e.
11
, e.
Fine, whatever you say.
3
4
5
6
7
8
About which (what kind of) politicians? About

American politicians? About foreign
politicians? About Russian politicians? About
politicians who were born and raised in
Princeton?
Do there really exist such politicians? There

arent any politicians like that. (There are no
such politicians.) Do you understand, they
dont exist.
2
4
7
7
8
9
9
11
/ (The is silent)
+ ( mutates to )
politician
foreign
dis/honest
it seems...
topic; theme; subject
(Expresses surprise) really?; do you really mean to say that
such; like that (See Grammar for explanation.)
whatever you say (lit.: as you will say)
say; tell (See Grammar for details of conjugation.)
48-1
48-
Another 1st-Conjugation Verb Type: A-Stems
48.
We havent learned any new verb types in quite a while. Heres a new one: a-stem verbs:
48.A.1
A-Stems: Past and Infinitive - Simple Addition; Present Tense Mutation City!
There are 10-15 quite common verbs whose stem ends in -+, three of which are in this lesson: + write,
+ say, tell, and +... appear, seem (which appears only in the 3rd singular). We also had + cry in
a previous lesson. Remember, since theyre not -+, -e+, or -+ verbs (which are the only types of 2ndconjugation, guitar verbs), all -stem verbs are 1st-conjugation (up-to-snuff).
The Past and Infinitive of -stem verbs are formed via simple addition: V+C. Weve seen this with ,
, . The Present Tense is a bit more problematic.
A-Stem Verbs
Past and Infinitive
Simple V+C (harmony): No Problems
STEM
Masc
-
+
+
Neut
-
PAST
Fem
-
Pl
-
INFINITIVE
-
Present Tense
V+V: Mutation Throughout; Possible Stress Shift
After the expected V+V truncation, there is CONSONANT MUTATION THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE
PRESENT TENSE, not just in the -form as we saw in Chapter 2 with -+ stems (+: but )
and -e+ stems (+: but )).
Also, remember the rule that the in 1st-conjugation verbs means shifting stress in the Past and not the Present
(+ , , ) Well, a-stem verbs are an exception to this guideline: THE STRESS SHIFT TAKES
PLACE IN THE PRESENT and not the Past. Fortunately, the pattern is the same as with 2nd-conjugation verb:
On the ending in the -form, back to the stem everywhere else. As you can see from the above chart, stress in the
Past Tense is fixed on the a.
Stem
Mutation
1sg
2sg
3sg
1pl
2pl
3pl
+
>
+
>
+
>

//()

48-2
48-
The verb +.. seem; appear is generally only used in the (Neuter) 3sg:
Present: , It seems that (Same mutation > as seen in +);

Past: , It seemed that
Here is an update of our mutation list. Notice that the mutations are the same for 1st and 2nd-conjugation.
MUTATION
EXAMPLE:
/ +{U}
/ +{U}
/ +{U}
/ + all Pres. Tense
NON-MUTATING FORMS:
; /;
; /;
; /;
, ,
/;
+ non-{U} present tense , ,...
/+ all Pres. Tense , ,
/+ all Pres. Tense
/+ all Pres. Tense
, ; ,
/;
;
, ,
/;
/ +{U}
; /;
/ +{U}
; /;
*Note that the mutation of > occurs only in 1st-conjugation verbs. Thats because there are no -stem or estem verbs whose final stem consonant is .
Change either the subject or object (dont forget to change the Case of nouns in #1):
1.
(, , , , , , , , , )
2.
?1 (, , , , , , )
3.
(, , , , , , , )
4.
(, , , , , )
5.
(, , , , )
6.
(, , , , , , , )
1.
4.
7.
10.
13.
16.
19.
More present tense verb practice
+ /
+ /
+ gnaw /
+ /
+ /
{+ / +} /
{+ / +} /
2.
5.
8.
11.
14.
17.
20.
+ /
+ /
+ /
+ /
+ /
{+ / +} /
{+ / +} /
This sentence is actually in the Future Tense. More about this in a later lesson.
48-3
3.
6.
9.
12.
15.
18.
21.
+ /
+ /
+ /
+ /
+ /
{+ / +} /
{+ / +} /
48.
48-
The Prepositional Plural: ! !
Were starting into the homestretch of the Cases. From now on, all the plural forms have just one ending for all
genders. Also, the adjectival ending is very similar to the noun ending. Enjoy.
Prepositonal (Locative) Plural

Adjectives / Nounjectives
-{I}
NOMINATIVE SINGULAR
Nouns
-{A}
PREPOSITIONAL PLURAL
Recall that the following Prepostions govern the Prepositional/Location Case: / in, at; on, at; / about.
Form 3 sentences for each question as in the model:
Examples:
( )
1) .
2) ?
3)
1. ( )
2. ( )
3. (
Japanese)
4. ( )
5. ( )
6. dream ( )
7. ( )
8. ( end-stressed
in Prepositional Plural )
9. ( )
10. ( )
48-4
48-
Exercise 1
Complete the Verb Chart:
"
Stem
Present
+ point; show
+ yell
+ gnaw
Past
Infinitive
Stem
Present
Past
Infinitive
48-5
48-
"
Exercise 2
_________________________________
Put the noun phrases in the correct form. Pay close attention to CNG not all
noun phrases are in plural.
1.
( )
2.
( )
3.
( )
4.
( )
5.
( )
6.
( )
7.
( )
8.
( )
9.
( ) ( )
48-6
:
Were not writing about anyone
:
49.A
The Prepositional of personal and other
pronouns
49.
Review of the Cases so far
Were not writing about anyone
What are you doing?
Were writing an article for the college newspaper.
3
4
? e?
.
Who are you writing about? Are you writing about

me? No one ever writes about me.
e, e ee. .
No, were not writing about you. Youre such a

bore.
e?
? .
!
So, youre writing about Misha? Why are you

writing about him? No one wants to read about
him. Hes such a scoundrel.
e, e . ,
.
No, were not writing about him. Youre right, no

one would read an article about him.

e. ?
, .
!!
So, youre writing your idiotic article about

Zhanna. Why does everyone write about her? I
cant for the life of me figure out why everyone likes
her. I dont want to hear about her anymore.
e, e e .
. .
.
.
No, our article is not about her and its not about
Misha. Were not writing an article about them.
They are such bores. Were not writing about
anyone. Were writing about a very strange
Russian textbook.
,
.
.
Well I heard that Zhanna and Misha are writing a

very critical article about you. Recently they were
asking me about you.
?
. !
Why are they writing an article about us? They

dont know anything about us. They are such jerks!
7
8
11
10
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
2
2
11
13
18
20
(See 49.A for Prepositional/Locative Pronouns)
+ question phrase
article (newspaper, magazine)

university (Adjective)
idiotic (Related to )
I cant for the life of me figure out...(why / who/ when, etc.)
textbook
critical
49-1
49.
49-
Prepositional Pronouns
Prepositional Case:
Personal and interrogative pronouns
NOMINATIVE
about me
you
about you
he; it
about him; it
she
about her
we
about us
you; yall
about yall
they
about them
who
about who(m)?
PREPOSITIONAL
no one
what
about no one
about what?
nothing
about nothing
everything
about everything
Question:
So what is up with ()? Why the extra /-/? Why not ,

, etc., after all, they do begin in a consonant?
Answer:
Youre right again. ?
Also note that we did not put parentheses around the in front of the 3rd-person pronouns , , . Thats
because with the Prepositional Case a preposition must be used.
49-2
49-
Form a question and provide an answer. (You have to distinguish between people and things.)
Example:
()
()
? .
? .
1. ()
2. ( )
3. ()
4. ( )
5. ()
6. ()
7. ()
8. ( )
9. ()
10. ()
11. ()
12. ()
13. () think!
14. ( )
15. ( )
49.
49..1
Case Review
Personal and Other Pronouns
NOM
(*)
ACC
GEN
e
e
()e
()e
()
*Technically, the Nominative exists, but its use is quite limited.
49-3
PREP
Nouns, Adjectives, and Nounjectives

49..2
-{I} / - -
MASCULINE
-{O} -{O}
NEUTER
-{A} -{A} / -
FEMININE
/ /
/
/
/
-{I} -{I}; Neut -{A}
PLURAL
Animate borrows GEN
-{I} -{O}; -; -
/

/
/
-{I} -{A}
-{O} -{I}
(--;
--)
/ /
/
/
/
-{O}
/

/
/

/
-{U} -{U} / -
/

/
Same as NOM
-{A}
Animate borrows GEN
-{}
- (-; - -) ()
-{O}
49-4
49-
49-
Each noun phrase will be read in the singular and the plural. Note that there are a few gaps in
the exercise where a certain form would not make sense. Be sure you understand every form
that is recited.
The four model sentences (corresponding to the four cases we have learned) are:
1. ...
Example:
2. ...
3. ...
4. //o...

.
.
.
.
.
.
) Noun Phrases
1.
4.
2.
5.
3.
6.
B) Some Personal Names (do the singular only)

1.
2.
3.
C) Pronouns (each will have either the singular or plural answer)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
49-5
6.
7. ?
49-
"
_________________________________
Exercise 1 Add water to create grammatical sentences. For several sentences you will have
to add either an appropriate preposition, a negative particle, or a verb. Pay attention to Case as
well as Verb Agreement. All adjectives are in the dictionary form. Use the present tense unless
told otherwise.
Example: / + / + / / (plural)
1.
(subject) / / + /
2.
(subject) / / + /
3.
/ / + / / (plural)
4.
/ / / + ?
5.
/ + / (past tense)
6.
(subject) / / +
7.
(subject) / + /
8.
/ / + (think!)
9.
(subject) / + / / (past tense)
49-6
10. / / / +?
11. / / + / + / /
12. (subject) / / +
13. / + / / ?
14. / +.. / put in a truthful answer /
15. / / 34 / /
16. / / / + / / ? (past tense)
17. / {+ / +} / / / /
18. / / / + / / /
19. / + / / +... /
20. / / /
49-7
49-
Whats the weather like today?

How was your vacation?
: The weather
A.
() ?
Whats the weather (going to be) like today?
, ,
. , , .
?
Its going to be warm, even hot, 75. Then it

might rain. Do you have an umbrella?
3
4
5
6
7
, . Unfortunately I dont have an umbrella. I left it

. , in the library. Do you know what the weather is
?
going to be like tomorrow?
, ,
. , .
I heard on the radio that its going to be cold

tomorrow. 30. It might snow.
10
! , .
Great! I really like it when it snows.
11
And I cant stand cold weather.
12
13
. .
Good. I went to Colorado.
14
How was the weather there?
15
. . It was pretty cold. It snowed every day. But one

, . day it was really warm and it rained. So how
?
was your vacation?
16
17
19
.
. .
Dont ask. I stayed home all week and cried. My

boyfriend dumped me.
20
You poor thing!
18
1
2
3
3
3
8
9
10
12
12
(Masculine)
or
(Neut.; *indeclinable)
+
(Prepositional: -: )
{+/ ()+} ,
()- (Past Tense)
always plural (Gen )
[] ?
weather
hot (weather) (You cannot use this word to describe a substance
such as tea. In case youre wondering, its .)
degree (of temperature)
rain (noun)
umbrella
radio
hear on the radio
snow (noun)
snow, rain (verb) (See 50.A for discussion.)
pass; go (time, event)
vacation
How was [Persons] vacation? (Best to learn as a phrase.)
50-1
50.
50-
The Weather
Some phrases to learn:

1) With the word weather
?
Whats the weather like in London?
What was the weather like yesterday?
Whats the weather going to be like tomorrow?
What kind of weather do you like?
() / /
.
I like (hate) cold / warm / hot weather
We strongly recommend that you learn these phrases with this word order, so practice them to yourself a lot. (You
may notice, by the way, that the has the same word order pattern as other expressions
weve seen, e.g., ? !, etc.)
Translate into Russian (No peeking do not do this exercise until youve mastered the above
phrases!):
1. Whats the weather like today?
2. What was the weather like yesterday?
3. Whats the weather going to be tomorrow?
4. What kind of weather do you like?
5. I like cold weather.
6. I cant stand hot weather.
2) To say Its cold / warm / hot, use the short-form adjective in the Neut Sg with the proper tense of the verb be.
You can add location phrases, including out(side). Do NOT use to translate English its.
.... / ... /
...
*
*
Today its... / Yesterday it was... / Tomorrow it will

be
cold
warm
hot
Its always cold in Siberia.
Its quite warm out(side).
Its not going to be very hot tomorrow.
* Note difference in stress between long form adjective and the short form: ,
.
50-2
50-
Translate into Russian (Again, no peeking):
1. Its very cold outside.

3. Its always warm in
5. Its going to be cold tomorrow night.
2. Its going to be hot tomorrow.

4. It was cold yesterday, but today its warm.
6. Last night it was very warm, even hot.
3) Raining or snowing: There is no special verb to rain/snow. Instead, use the double-stem verb {+/ +
()} plus either the noun rain or snow (literally: Goes rain/snow). As a general rule, THE VERB
SHOULD PRECEDE THE NOUN. Again, do NOT use . In the Past Tense, the verb will be , since
both and are Masculine.
To say that it will rain/snow use the 3rd Singular of the verb will be + plus / .
/ .
.
.
.
/ .
Its raining / snowing.

It rained yesterday.
It snowed all day.
It rains a lot in Seattle.
Its going to rain / snow tomorrow.
Translate into Russian (Dont worry if your answer varies slightly from the recording):
1. Its raining.
3. It rained all day yesterday.
5. Its going to snow tonight.
2. Its snowing.
4. Its going to snow tomorrow.
6. When I was in Moscow it snowed every day.
4) To express the temperature, use the noun degree in the correct case. (Remember the stuff about the
case of nouns after numbers?) For the Past use the default 3rd-Neuter Singular verb be . Again, for
out(side) use . Like practically every country in the world ( ), Russia uses the
Celsius scale.
To say minus use and the number. The word is often omitted, just as in English. (If you plan
on going to Russia anytime soon, you better get used to this on the Celsius scale negative temperature are
very common.)
One tiny grammar point: If the temperature ends in the word (1, 21, 31, etc.) the Past Tense
verb is Masculine , not Neuter. Normally, people would round the temperature down.
?
?
.
().
.
.
.
().
Whats the temperature today?

What was the temperature yesterday?
Its 20 out(side).
It was 33 yesterday.
It was 41 yesterday.
Its going to be 40 tonight.
Tomorrow its going to be 92.
Tomorrow its going to be 10
50-3
Translation
1. Its 70 today.
3. It was -30 yesterday.
5. It usually 65 in our apartment.
2. Its going to be 90 tomorrow

4. Yesterday is was 50 in Moscow.
6. Its going to be -10 tomorrow.
50-4
50-
50-
"
Homework
Using full sentences, answer the questions as honestly as you wish:
1. Whats the weather like today?

________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What kind of weather do you like?
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Whats the temperature today?
________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What was the weather like yesterday?
________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Whats the weather like in ?
________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Whats the weather like in Siberia?
________________________________________________________________________________________
"
1. Wheres my umbrella? You dont have an umbrella.

________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Whats the weather going to be like tomorrow?
________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Whats the temperature outside today?
________________________________________________________________________________________
4. How was your vacation? So-so. I went to Paris and Rome ( / )
________________________________________________________________________________________
41-5
Everybody was asking about you.

What time did you get up today?
What are you going to do tomorrow?
: Introduction to Verbal Aspect
A.
e e
Everybody was asking about you
1
2
e e? e e.
.
3
4
() e, e, I was sitting (was) in my office, as always, and

writing my textbook.
.
e ?
How many pages did you write yesterday?
e e.
.
.
Yesterday was a good day. I wrote 3 pages.

Before I would only write a page per day.
7
8
Where were you last night? Everybody was

asking about you. Even Serjozha asked about
you.
(At) what time do you usually get up (in the

morning)?
10
e.
Usually I get up around 7.
11
e? e?
And today? What time did you get up today?
12
e e , .
Today I got up really late, at 9.
13
, e?
And when did you get up when you were in high

school?
14
15
16
e e .
e, e
e e.
I used to get up really early. I played on the

football team and every morning at 6 we had
practice.
17
When are you going to get up tomorrow?
18
, .
Tomorrows Saturday, so (= which means) Ill

get up late.
What time did you get up today?
19
20
21
.
. ,
, .
.
In the morning Im going to stay home and

study. I have an exam tomorrow in Russian.
And then maybe Ill make (=prepare) dinner.
My parents are coming (over).
22
23
(The grammar explanations in the lesson often refer back to these dialogues. We suggest you remove this page for easy
reference while reading the lesson.)
51-
+ // +
ask (for information) (See below for explanation of //)
page
+ ACC (of time period)

;
per (which is often omitted in English: Two times a day.)
at what time; when
15
football Adj.
15
team
16
(athletic) practice
22
+ // -
cook; prepare
22
per day; per hour
+ //
{+/()+}
50.
arrive; come (on foot)
Infinitive:
Introduction to Verbal Aspect ()
(Todays lesson contains more grammatical explanations and less practice than a normal lesson. Read through
the explanations very carefully. Dont worry if the notion of Aspect seems very strange. Well be working on this
for the rest of the year and throughout second-year Russian as well.)
The Good News
Russian, unlike English, has no complicated verb tenses like the Past Anterior, Present Perfect, Present Perfect
Continuous, Past Indicative, etc., etc. Instead, there are just 3 tenses in Russian: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE.
The Not-As-Good News

For the Past and the Future, but not for the Present, most verbs come in what are known as aspectual pairs,
consisting of an IMPERFECTIVE () and a PERFECTIVE () form. While the rules
for deciding between Imperfective and Perfective in the Past and Future can be complex (often depending on what
aspect of the action the speaker wishes to convey), the rule that only the Imperfective is used for the Present can
be confidently taken to the bank.1
First, lets look at how Imperfective and Perfective verbs differ (or are similar) in form. After that, well discuss
the difference in meaning between the two aspects.
In rare, very rare instances, the Perfective can be used to describe an action in the Present.
51-2
51-
51.A.1
Imperfective and Perfective verbs in the different tenses
Past
IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECTIVE
Both Imperfective and Perfective add -, -, -, - (except, of course, for Greasy Zeke verbs) to form the Past
Tense. So to some extent, you cant immediately identify the aspect of a Past Tense verb. Tomorrow well discuss
a few guidelines, but theres no 100% rule.
Note: We have not yet explained how to derive a Perfective stem. For now just be aware that the Perfective uses
a different stem than the Imperfective. (One example: Imperfective +; Perfective: +. Much more on
this later.)
Present
IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECTIVE
, , etc.
, , etc.
, , etc.
DOES NOT EXIST!
Judging from this chart, you might conclude that you can always identify a Present Tense verb it would have the
Present Tense endings (1st or 2nd conjugation) weve been practicing since Chapter 2. However, as well see
directly below, verbs with Present Tense endings can have a Future meaning.
Future
IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECTIVE
, , etc.
, , etc.
, , etc.
, , etc.
, , etc.
, , etc.
Here we see that the Imperfective has a compound Future, the verb + be/will followed by an Infinitive. The
Perfective Future simply conjugates the verb by adding Present Tense endings to the stem of the perfective
verb. Technically, we should have called the Present Tense endings we gave back in Chapter 2 non-Past
endings. So, if you see just the verbal ending -, -, -, - or -, etc., you cant immediately tell what
tense the verb is. If the verb is Imperfective, its the Present Tense; if its Perfective, its the Future:
51-3
51-
Infinitive
IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECTIVE
Technically, the Infinitive is not a tense, but in any case, you can see that both the Imperfective and Perfective
attach -. (Well see some other ways to form the Infinitive later on):
***Very Important Note About Our Notation***

In the we will always list the Imperfective stem(s) on the left and the Perfective stem(s) on the right,
separated by 2 slashes. In cases where the Perfective simply attaches a prefix, we will list just the prefix. Here are
a few sample entries:
Impf // Perf
+ // +
ask (for information)
Impf // Perf
{+/+} //
+
get up; wake up
Impf // Perf w/ prefix
+ // -
read
In the second example the Imperfective is double-stem verb {+ / +}. This is NOT an aspectual pair.
Both stems are Imperfective, with the stem on the left used for the Present, and the stem on the left for the Past
and Infinitive. The Perfective stem (to the right of the //) is +.
As we mentioned above, we still have not seen exactly how to form a Perfective verb from its Imperfective pair
(or vice versa). Well cover that in depth tomorrow.
Summary of the Forms of Imperfective and Perfective Verbs
PAST
IMPF.
form with -, -, -, -
, , etc.
PRESENT
As we have learned:
, ,
, ,
FUTURE
+ (will) + Infinitive
.
I am going to study
.
He is going to watch TV all day.
PERF.
Same endings as for

Imperfective verbs:
, , etc.
NOT GONNA DO IT.
No helping verb. Just conjugate like a

Present-Tense verb:
?
What time are you going to get up tomorrow?
NO!
51-4
.
My parents are coming tomorrow.
51-
51.A.2
Basic Meaning of Aspect:
Perfective for Single Completed Actions
Use the Perfective in the Past and the Future to indicate a single action that definitely has been/will be
completed. If there is any other information being conveyed (see below) use the Imperfective.
Imperfective Repeated Actions / Describing Progress of the Action
Some of the most common uses of the Imperfective are:

1. Present Tense (a no-brainer) Applies to all the uses of the Present: action in progress (Hes doing his
homework), general statement (He does his homework every day; Ive been living in Moscow for 5 years.)
2. Repetition/Habit Actions repeated either on one occasion or over a long period of time appear in the
Imperfective. In line 1 of the dialogue the imperfective is used to indicate that over the course
of the evening the action of asking was repeated. Contrast this with the Perfective in line 2, where
the action was successfully performed one time. In lines 13 and 14 the Imperfective is used to
describe a habitual action. Again, contrast this with the Perfective and in lines 17-18,
which describe a single action that (it is assumed) will be successfully completed.
For the Repetition/Habit meaning, even though the action is completed, the repetitiveness trumps the
notion of completion and the Imperfective must be used.
3. State/Activity Verbs These verbs describe either: 1) the physical position or state a person was (will be) in
or; 2) how a person spent (will be spending) their time. Note that there is no emphasis on accomplishment:
a.
b.
the state (i.e., physical position

or condition) a person was /
will be in
.

.
He was lying (lay) on the couch.
how a person spent / will

spend their time
.
.
.
.
I watched TV yesterday
(My) head hurt all day yesterday.

Ill sleep on the floor.
Im going to study tomorrow night..
Masha is going to study at Princeton.
We lived / were living in Moscow.
Question:
In the first part of the Sara story I recall the phrase:

. Is the verb Perfective? If so, how can that be?
Isnt living in Moscow how she planned on spending her time? This seems
like a prototypical State/Activity Verb. And how can you accomplish living
somewhere?
Answer:
Like we said, Aspect can be tricky. Yes, is Perfective. But here the
prefix - adds a special meaning to do something for a short, limited
time. It was not her intention to live in Moscow forever, but for a specific
amount of time. Anyway, well get back to this later, but we just wanted to
point out just one example of aspect in the real world.
51-5
51.A.3
51-
More on Choosing between Perfective and Imperfective
To some extent, there (almost always) is no choice. When a native speaker wishes to convey the way they view2 a
particular (Past or Future, but not, of course, Present) action, they automatically, instinctively pick the correct
aspect. For non-Russians, this process is, sadly, much less automatic and instinctive. Instead, we must rely on
certain keys that indicate something about the nature, the aspect of the action.
Keys for deciding Aspect
You are not (yet) responsible for any new adverbs [marked with *] in this list. Weve included them because they
provide very clear examples of the distinction between Imperfective and Perfective. We dont expect you to
memorize this chart at this point. Its given for general reference. Well cover each of these points in depth later
on.
IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECTIVE
PRESENT TENSE (trumps everything)
A single, completed act (in the Past or Future)
English uses -ing form (so-called continuous):
A sequence of completed actions:
Yesterday I was reading a book.
Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my

head.
Tomorrow I will be fixing my car all afternoon.

While I was eating breakfast, the phone rang.
* Do not confuse the -ing of the continuous tense with
the -ing found on going, which is used for simple
Future tense. Thus, the sentence I am going to open the
door would be translated with a Perfective verb.
With Adverbs indicating:
1) repetition/habit: , , , ,
( / , etc.)
2) duration: , (), ()
3) non-existence of action: ()
The Infinitive after the verb +:
.
.

* Note that this does not contradict the above key. Even
though more than one action is described, each action
itself is a single, completed action.
With Adverbs indicating:
1) completion: , * finally
2) one-timedness: * once (in the Past)
3) Suddenness: * suddenly3, immediately
Perfective Transitive verbs very often have a direct

object, whereas Imperfective verbs may not
Contrast Imperfective: (no direct

object) vs. Perfective: . It
is impossible to say without a direct object
(unless it is clear from context that a direct object is
implied).
Its not a coincidence that the Russian word for Aspect is , which is obviously related to + see.
Has no relation to what if.
51-6
51-
Nice test for Perfective got something X-ed
Use the Perfective form if you can form a sentence with the colloquial English verb got + participle as in I
(finally) got the stupid paper written or I eventually got the room cleaned up. As we see in line 4 of the dialogue,
the Perfective is used to focus on the completion of the action. The action itself, the writing of the three
pages, probably lasted the entire day, but because the speaker wishes to focus on what she got done the Perfective
is used. The example nicely illustrates that the same activity can be described with different verbs, depending on
what aspect of the action the speaker wishes to emphasize. However, we dont want to give you the impression
that its entirely your choice as to which aspect to use. For almost all situations there is a correct way of
describing the action.
Aspect Tense
In the above chart we indicated that English continuous tense (was eating, will be fixing) always corresponds to
the Imperfective. However, as a general rule you cannot associate specific tenses in English (except the Present)
with one or the other aspect. (Believe us, this has been tried by many a student and teacher and it just doesnt
work.)
How to Learn Aspect
Learning Aspect is different from learning conjugation or declension in that its not simply a matter of
memorization and practice. You need to look at a lot of examples, and eventually (with the proper guidance)
youll develop a feel for aspect. Still, we can tell you from experience that there are a lot of instances where
even very experienced learners of Russian have a hard time with aspect so dont worry if this seems hard.
Lets take a look at the each of the verbs in the dialogues and discuss the aspect. (Be sure you have the first page
of the lesson handy.)
LINE
VERB
ASPECT
REASON
(I or P)
(S/A = State/Activity)
This verb is by nature Imperfective. You cant complete being. Its

the ultimate state/activity verb.
Action was repeated (by everyone) over the course of the evening. Not
a one-time action.
A single, completed action (as opposed to the repeated action in line 1).
S/A verb (In what position the person was located.)
S/A verb (How the time was spent. No focus on accomplishing action.
Even though there is the direct object , there is no indication
that the textbook was completed.)
The question focuses on the completion of X number of pages. Also

note that its a transitive verb with direct object .
As in line 1 no perfective for this verb.
As in line 5. Almost always if someone asks a question in the perfective

the answer should also be in the perfective.
Habitual action. Same action repeated over a long period of time.
Present Tense
51-7
51-
10
Present Tense
11
One time, completed action. (Since the verb is intransitive, the presence
or absence of a direct object makes plays no role.)
12
Answer to a question containing a perfective verb. Again, a one time,

completed action.
13
Habitual action, repeated over a stretch of time.
13
S/A verb. Provides background information.
14
Same as previous in line 13. If the question asks about a

habitual action, your answer should (logically) describe a habitual
action.
14
S/A verb. Describes how time was often spent. Also, provides
background information.
16
No perfective.
17
One time completed action in the future. Perfective indicates speaker

expects action to be completed.
18
Answer to question containing a perfective verb.
19
S/A verb. Even though certain actions may be accomplished, there is no

emphasis on this in the question. Its simply How will you spend your
time tomorrow?
20
S/A verb.
S/A verb.
20
()
If you really wanted to emphasize that you intend learn a specific

amount or write a specific number of pages, the Perfective would be
used.
22
One-time completed action in the future. Again, the use of the

Perfective stresses the intention to complete the action.
22
One time complete action in the future. The speaker expects his parents
to arrive.
51-8
51-
Exercise 1
1.

Explain why the verb would be Imperfective or Perfective in Russian. (You dont
have to translate anything, unless you happen to know the verb to rollerblade.)
I am reading a book.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
We danced all night.

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
Who stole my car?

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
4.
I used to wear glasses.

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
5.
I like to travel (aspect of Infinitive).

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
6.
Where were you?

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
7.
I will buy him a new car.

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
8.
My grandfather rollerblades in the park every Wednesday.

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
51-9
51-
9.
___________________________________
I am going to relax during vacation.

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
10. Suddenly she opened the door.

______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
11. Everyone kept asking about you all night.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
12. I was reading an interesting article the other day.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
13. I will finish the paper by 5:00.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
14. Who will feed our elephant while we are away on vacation?
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
15. I unlocked the cabinet, grabbed my bazooka, and headed toward the laundromat.
______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________
51-10
51-
Exercise 2

Fill in the blank with the correct aspect. Be sure to pay attention to Tense. Recall our
convention, imperfective on the left of the double slashes, perfective on the right.
1. ________________________________________ .
+ // -
2. , ________________________ (with his left

hand as far as we know, this is not historically accurate, but its good for Aspect.)
+ // -
3. ___________________________________________ ?
{+/+} //
+
4. (next week) _______________________________ 9:00.
{+/+} //
+
5. _______________________________________________? (Past Tense)
+ // +
6. _________________________________ ? (Past Tense)
+ // +
7. (will see him) _______________________________.
+ // +
8. _________________________________ .
+... //
{+/+}
9. ______________________________ .
+... //
{+/+}
10. _____________________________________ .
+ // +
11. ______________________________________________.
+ // -
12. ______________________________ .
+ // -
13. ________________________________ are not going to drink
{+/+} // (*note stress on prefix)
14. ___________________________________ .
{+/+} // -
15. ___________________________ ? (How did you spend your time?)
+ // -
16. ____________________________________ !
+ //
{+/+}
clean; clean up
17. _____________________________ .
+ //
{+/+}
51-11

: I dialed the wrong number
: He began to sing his very last song
54.A More on Aspect

54.A.1 How to form aspectual pairs
54.A.2 Aspect of infinitives after verbs of starting
and finishing
A.
I dialed the wrong number
( ) , ?
(dials the phone) Hello, is Vadim there?
You have (dialed) the wrong number.
( )
(Vitya hangs up the phones and starts to cry.)
4
5
?
?
Why did you hang up (the receiver)? Why are

you crying?
6
7
. a
. !
, ,
.
I dialed the wrong number. Ive already dialed

the wrong number three times. What the devil is
going on? Ill going to call one more time, and
if I dial the wrong Im not going to call
anymore today.
8
9
. He began to sing his very latest song

:
10
,
. !
Its a shame that you werent at the concert last

night. It was great.
11
, ? ?
Yeah, but what can you do? What songs did he

sing?
12
13
(At) first he sang my favorite song and then he

sang a few old songs.
14
And for the encore?
15
16
,

. ,
.
For the encore he started to sing his very latest

song, but everyone started to yell Paper
Soldier and he agreed to sing it. When he
finished singing it everyone got up and
applauded for a long time.
17
18
+ // {+/ +}
dial (a phone)
+ // +
hang (up)
telephone receiver
+ // {+ / +}
(Past: , -, )
start; begin (Either an Infinitive or a noun may follow this verb.

. .)
What the devil (is going on)?
+ // -
call; telephone (The person youre calling is in the Dative, which we start learning
next week.)
10
its a pity, its a shame
52-
Encore! (This is what people yell out to encourage the performer to give an
encore.)
for the encore
17
+ + Infinitive
start; begin to (This verb appears only in the Perfective in this meaning.)
18
+... // +...
+ Infinitive
agree (to do something)
19
+ // +
finish (Either an Infinitive or a noun may follow this verb.

. .)
20
for a long time
15
52.
More on Aspect: Forming Aspectual Pairs
There are three ways (two common / one rare) to form Aspectual pairs: 1) Add a prefix to the Imperfective stem;
2) Change the insides of the stem; 3) Use completely different stems.
1. Add a prefix (not of your choice) to a non-prefixed Imperfective verb to form the Perfective:
IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECTIVE
Unprefixed
Prefixed
+
+
+
+
+
{+ / +}
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
{+ / +}
+
+
+
There is just one exception to this. For the verb buy the Imperfective has a prefix, while the Perfective does not:
+ // +.
Question:
How can you tell whether a verb is non-prefixed?
Answer:
Fair question. In general, it seems pretty obvious, at least to us. As a rule,

many prepositions (, , , ) also are prefixes. Other common prefixes
include: - and -.
Question:
How can you predict which prefix to add?
Answer:
Basically, you cant. You have to memorize which verb takes which prefix.
Sorry. Hint: by far the most common Perfective prefix is -.
52-2
52-
Question:
Does the prefix add a meaning? I seem to recall two verbs with similar stems
but totally different meaning {+ / +} open vs. {+ /
+} close. It seems that the prefixes - and - have a meaning.
Answer:
Excellent question. The answer is: It depends. Youre absolutely correct, in the
pairs {+ / +} vs. {+ / +} the prefixes do have a
distinct meaning. And later on were going to look at the meanings of various
prefixes. However, the prefixes added to a non-prefixed Imperfective stem to
form the Perfective do not add any other meaning.
Change the Aspect of the sentences. (You will need the list of verbs found on pages 52-5/6 for
the exercises in this lesson.)
From Imperfective > Perfective:

From Perfective > Imperfective:
VERB > VERB

VERB > VERB
1. .
2. .
3.
4. .
5. .
6. .
2. Change the insides of the verb.

As a rule, here the Imperfective form is longer than the Perfective. (Contrast this with the above, where the
Perfective form was longer due to the presence of a prefix). Note that the pairs can have either different vowels
(+ vs. +) or consonants (+ vs. +) in their stems the change in consonant

mirrors the mutation found in the Present Tense. (Technically, this operation is known as Imperfective Derivation.
The exact rules for this are a bit complex and not worth going into at this point. Wait until second-year.)
IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECTIVE
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
{+/ +}
{+ /+}
+
Note that all the Imperfective forms are -stems and that non of the corresponding Perfective verbs are
-stems. Recall that we did see a few Perfective -+ verbs above, such as + and +, but their
Imperfective did not have a prefix.
52-3
52-
Change the Aspect of the sentences.

From Perfective > Imperfective:
VERB > VERB

VERB > VERB
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
3. Use completely different stems for the Imperfective and Perfective. This is relatively rare.
IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECTIVE
{+// +}
+
+..
{+ / +}
{+/ +} (Past: , -, -)
{+ / +} (Inf.: )
Change the Aspect of the sentences.

From Perfective > Imperfective
VERB > VERB

VERB > VERB
1. .
3. (Dative to him)
2. .
4. . (Dont use negative
in Perfective Future.)
Question:
Do you actually mean to tell me that we have to learn two, I repeat two,
versions of each verb?
Answer:
Yes.
We dont expect you to memorize on the spot every corresponding
pair of every single verb weve had so far. Still, to some extent, you cant
really say that you know a verb unless you know both the Imperfective and the
Perfective forms.
52-4
52-
Forming Aspectual Pairs - Summary

There are three methods for going from an Imperfective to a Perfective verb:
IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECTIVE
1. Add (specific) prefix to the un-prefixed

Imperfective to form the Perfective
a+
+
+
+
a+
+
+
+
2. Using the same root but a different verbal

suffix, often accompanied by change in
consonant and vowel alternations (All and only
Imperfective verbs are -stems):
{+/ +}
a+
{+/+}
3. Using a totally different-looking verb

altogether:
What we expect of you

Were not so cruel as to expect you to instantly memorize the Aspectual pairs of every single verb weve had so
far. Here weve listed what we think are 30 of the most important verbs weve had, and which we do expect you
to learn (i.e., will appear on exams). Over the rest of the year well provide the missing pair for verbs weve
had in previous lessons.
Note that this list contains one or two verb types that we have not yet discussed. Naturally we do not expect you
to learn these before we discuss them.
Group 1: Imperfective is prefixless, Perfective is prefixed:
+
+
+
+
see (Perf also has meaning catch sight of)
+
{+/+}
{+/+}
+
+ ACC
+ ACC
- (Note stress)
- (Note stress)
can; be able
+(...)
+
to kiss (each other).
prepare; make; cook

do; make
call; telephone (Perf has meaning reach or
intent to reach by phone)
write
sing
drink (Perf also has meaning drink up)
hear (Dont confuse with + listen)
(take a) look at
spend (money, time) on something
study; learn (Perf has meaning finish
learning; successfully learn)
read (Perf has the meaning read through)
52-5
52-
Group 2: Pairs in which the verbs share the same prefix and the same root, but differ in their suffixes. The
Imperfective is always an -+ verb. The Perfective never is. *Possible changes in stem vowel and
consonant mutation in the Imperfective:
{+/ +}
+
+
+
+
+
+
ACC
+
+
+ DAT
PREP
+
+ ( )
+ + Inf.
+
+
{+ / +}
+
{+ / +}
{+ / +}
+ (Present is 1st
conj.: , -;
Past: , -, -
+ ACC
get up; wake up

forget
finish
close
open
be mistaken
point
+
+
buy
+
+
+
decide
invite
tell, narrate
ask someone (about something)

convince someone to do something
smile
Group 3: Pairs in which the verbs have totally different roots:

+
+
+
+
{+/+}
{+ / +} (Past:
, -, )
52-6
speak; talk
got to bed; lie down
understand
52-
52.
Imperfective Infinitive After Verbs of Starting and Finishing
One absolute rule about the Aspect of Infinitives (NO exceptions):

After the verbs begin + // {+/+} (+ which is Perfective, also means start, begin) and finish
+ // +, only an Imperfective Infinitive is found. Note that the start and finish verbs themselves can
be either Imperfective or Perfective.
?
When did you start to smoke?
, . When I was a freshman I started to drink.

7:00
We finished playing chess at 7:00.
Im going to start writing my dissertation tomorrow.
, .
When he finishes singing, Ill start to study.
The students are starting school in September.
1. He started to dance.
2. We finished playing chess at 6:00.
3. When did she start to drink?
4. When will you finish the article?
5. The musicians started the concert.
6. Masha is starting to speak.
52-7
52-
1.
___________________________________
You should spend time updating your index cards, lists, etc., filling in the
Aspectual pairs of the verbs weve covered so far.
What are the three ways in which an Imperfective verb can differ from a
Perfective. Provide an example of each (Try to do this exercise without simply
copying pairs from the examples):
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3
1.
Pick four verbs from todays dialogues, identify and explain the Aspect,
provide the Aspectual pair and explain which of the three operations identified
in 2 was used in deriving the pairs (Pick at least 1 Impf and Perf
Past, 1 Present, 1 Impf and Perf Future, and 1 Infinitive):
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
52-8
52-
5.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
6.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
7.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
8.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
9.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
52-9

: She said she would bring everything
53.A More Greasy Zeke verbs: +, + // 55. Reported Speech in Russian: Cut (Modify)Paste
She said she would bring everything
How was the party?
Dont ask.
- ?
Did anything (bad) happen?
! -, .
It was a horror. First of all, there wasnt any

food?
What do you mean wasnt (any food)?
, .
Galya promised to bring the food, but she

forgot.
7
8
! ,
. .
Nothing of the sort. Nina said she was going to

bring everything. She always brings the food.
9
10
: ,
, ,

.
I distinctly remember. Tuesday evening when

we were studying in the library you said that
you would bake my favorite cake and (would)
bring it to the party on Friday.
? !
, . .
. ,
. !
What are you talking about? I dont even bake

(in general). It was probably Tamara. She
bakes all the time. She really likes to bake. You
apparently mixed me up with Tamara. What a
cad you are!
11
12
13
14
15
16
anything (The particle - works like - (as in - something, -

someone, etc.): it attaches to question words, but instead gives the meaning any.
-, -, etc.anyone, - anywhere. Well cover this
in detail later.
horror
first of all (Notice the Prepositional Plural ending)
(+ word or phrase you

want to question)
what do you mean + (word or phrase you want to question)
+ // (same)
promise (Note that this stem is both Imperfective and Perfective. This is fairly
rare, though not unheard of.)
+ // +
? What do you mean to Moscow?; ?

What do you mean no?
bring (Note that the prefix - was also found on , . Later on

well see this prefix often has the meaning arrive; reach destination.
53-1
53-
nothing of the kind; absolutely not; youre way off
10
+ // -
bake (See below for conjugation.)
11
cake
13
()
(not) at all; in general; altogether
53.
More Greasy Zeke Verbs: +, + // -
As indicated by the after the stems, both + and + // - are end-stressed in all forms.
First lets look at Perfective + (the Impefective is +).

The forms of the non-past (actually the Future) are exactly as predicted: C+V. Harmonious 1st conjugation.
In the Past Tense, good ol Greasy Zeke helps us predict that is a Get the - outta here consonant:
The Infinitive is . It turns out that stems that end in or (we havent seen any of these yet) that are
end-stressed in the Past Tense, take the ending - for the Infinitive. Thus, the Infinitive of the stem + crawl
is . (Well get to a few -Stem Verbs later.)
+(bring) (Perfective)
PERFECTIVE FUTURE
()
PAST
, ,
, ,
, ,
INFINITIVE
steal - for the Infinitive
Question:
Why is there a in the stem of +? The Masc Sg Past is the only one
time we see it, and the rest of the time its spelled e.
Answer:
Tsk, tsk. I really thought we were past that.

As our notation indicates, this verb is always end-stressed. However, in the
Masc Sg Past the stress falls on the stem theres no other place for the stress
to go. (Its irrelevant here that this is a Greasy Zeke verb; there are non-Greasy
Zeke verbs that work exactly the same way). And when that letter is stress, we
see that the e is really a basic {O}, spelled exactly as we predict, .
In the other forms of the Past, as well as in the Present and Infinitive, there is
another vowel following the that can receive stress, so the unstressed
becomes e.
Based on the Infinitive , the supposedly friendly dictionary form,
you would have no idea that is really {O}. (Thats why our notation is
superior!)
53-2
53-
Another Greasy Zeke type -stem Verbs: + // As expected, Verbs with a stem ending in are 1st-conjugation (because theyre not +, +, -+). In the
non-past endings that do not end in - (i.e., in the , , , forms) mutates to . (We saw this same
pattern where another Velar, mutated to in the same forms, but not before endings beginning with -.
The Infinitive of -Stem Verbs is also parallel to -Stems (recall ): The ending is - (instead of -)..
+ // - (bake)
PERFECTIVE FUTURE / PRESENT
/
() /
/
/
/
PAST
, ,
, ,
, ,
INFINITIVE
/
/
/
/
Question:
Why isnt the Infinitive /? The vowel is stressed in the Infinitive, and in
the Masc Sg Past we see that its an . Why the change from > ?
Answer:
Very good question. Youre right, you would predict /. But normally
doesnt like to appear in front of soft consonants. We saw the same thing
with the Feminine Gen and Prep , where we might expect .
Add water. Pay attention to tense and case.
1. / / + / ?
2. / / / + / .
(Present)
3. / + / .
4. / / + / + / .
5. / / / / + /
.
6. / / + / / /
.
7. / / + / / .
8. / + / +. (Present)
53-3
53.
53-
Reported Speech in Russian: Cut (Modify) Paste
You may not have known it, but English has strange and complicated rules for reporting words or thoughts. For
some reason, you usually take what was said (thought, heard, promised) and put it into the Past.1
ACTUAL WORDS, THOUGHTS, ETC.
REPORTED SPEECH, THOUGHT, ETC.
Mary (thinking) Monica hates Linda
Mary thought that Monica hated Linda.
John: I promise I will bring a cake.
John promised that he would bring a cake

(would is the Past Tense of will More on this below)
Jane (hearing): Amy swears all the time.
Jane heard that Amy swore (swears) all the time

(here either the Past or the Present is possible)
I : I want TEA
I said that I wanted TEA.
Our discussion here (of both English and Russian) concerns reporting past utterances, thoughts, promises, etc. In
English with Present utterances, etc. you dont need Past Tense anywhere: Mary thinks that Monica hates Linda.
As we said, the rules are strange and complicated. In some cases you can use the Present or Future. Its irrelevant for us.
53-4
53-

In Russian, reported speech (thoughts, promises) is straightforward. Just take THE EXACT WORDS the person
said (thought, heard, promised) and Paste them after an introductory Past Tense phrase such as: , ,
, , , , , , etc. You may need to change the Person of the
verb, but DO NOT CHANGE THE TENSE of the original utterance.
Step 1) Cut the exact words said

Step 2: (when required) Modify the Person of the verb to match the Person in the reported speech clause
(in this case we need to change the original 1st person to 3rd person: ,
3rd sg
o .
Notice that if you talking directly to about what he said, you would change the verb to the 2nd person.
, ,
. !
Aleksandr Sergeevich, you said that you would bring a cake.

Where is it?
Notice that Step 2 (Modify) is only needed when the verb on the original statement is in a different Person from
the reported speech verb. This is not always the case. When talking about yourself, theres no need to modify:
[ ].
, () .
When reporting about a 3rd person (vs. what s/he said), theres no need to modify:
[ ].
, .
53-5
53-
Step 3: Paste the modified phrase after the reported speech clause. Note that in Russian you do not need to
repeat the pronoun, which is mandatory in English:
, ()
Pushkin said that he would bring a cake.
More examples of reported speech:
ACTUAL WORDS, THOUGHTS, ETC.
REPORTED SPEECH, THOUGHTS, ETC.
: .
, .
Monica cant stand Linda.
Masha thought the Monica couldnt stand Linda.
: .
, () .
Ill bring a cake.
Dima said that he would bring a cake.
: .
, .
Yasha complains all the time.
Dasha heard that Yasha complains/ed all the time.
: , !
, () , !
I want tea, and not coffee!
I said I wanted tea, and not coffee!
Note that an English sentence like Vera said she loved me is potentially ambiguous. It could mean either 1) Vera
said that she used to love me, but no longer loves me or 2) The words that came out Veras mouth were I love
you. In Russian, you always know where you stand (with Vera). Because the tense remains the same, no
ambiguity ever occurs. The ambiguity that occurs in English reported speech can be dangerous, and may even
lead to misunderstandings:
ENGLISH: AMBIGUITY
REAL MEANING
1) She used to love me.
Vera said she loved me.

2) She said I love you.
RUSSIAN: NO AMBIGUITY
, () .
, () .
Turn the following into reported speech constructions:
Example:
1st Person:
: , .
2nd Person:
: . (What you would say to , using .)
,
, () .
3rd Person:
: .
, () .
1. : .
2. : (Plural). (What you

would say to , using .)
3. : , .
4. : .
5. : .
6. : .
7. : .
8. : .
9. : .
10. : . (What you

would say to , using .)
11. : .
12. : !.
53-6
53-
53..1
Be careful with would
One very common mistake American students make is to translate all clauses that contain would with the
conditional ( + Past Tense). You need to look very closely at how would is being used.
Would as Conditional: + Past Tense

When would refers to a situation that is unreal, i.e., something that either did not happen or is not likely to
happen, use the Conditional with + Past Tense:
Would = + Past Tense

Unreal Conditions
.
Kolya would have helped me
,
-.
If I lived in Moscow, I would speak Russian

fabulously.
The other place you find + Past Tense is with the Verb want, in which case, the softens the wish:
Would = + Past Tense

Softening Want
.
Everyone would like to study at Princeton.
I would like to live in Paris.
Would as Past Tense of Will: Future Tense in Reported Speech

However, as we mentioned above, would is also the Past Tense form of the Verb will. (Pretty strange that a
strictly Future Verb has a Past Tense, but its true.) Therefore, in reported speech constructions in English, where
the Past Tense is required, will becomes would. There is no sense of any unreal condition in these reported
speech constructions, and, of course, no is used:
Direct Speech (Thought, etc.)
Reported Speech (Thought, etc.)
Will
Would
Apu: I will help you this afternoon.
Apu said he would help us this afternoon.
Moe (thinking): Selma will not like my tie.
Moe thought Selma would not like his tie.
1. Masha said she would get up at 5:00.
2. Vera would like to hang up the receiver.
3. Kolya thought that I would say No.
4. If we had known, we would have helped.
5. Nina said everyone would be at the party.
6. Misha thought that Vera would kiss him on the lips.
53-7
53-
1
___________________________________
Turn the following sentences into reported speech using either //,
//, //
1. : .
2. : .
3. : .
4. : .
5. : .
6. : .
7. : .
53-8
53-
2
1. I promised that I would bring vodka.
2. Who said that I couldnt stand Vera?
3. I heard that you said that you were going to bake a cake for me.
53-9
54.
54.
He said he wanted to take a nap
The Perfective prefix -: to do something for a

while
in Cases other than Nominative
He said he wanted to take a nap
How did your date on Saturday with Vitya go?
. -.
It was nothing special. We went to NY.
? ?
,
.
What did you do there? Did you go to the museum?

Theres an really interesting exhibit I read about in
the newspaper.
, ,
() .

, ,
.
.
First we strolled for a bit in the park, but Vitya

said that he was tired and that he wanted to sit for
a bit on a bench. We sat for 10 minutes and then
we went to the Met. But Vitya once again said that
he was really tired and that he wanted to take a
nap. He lay down on the floor right in the museum.
? ,
?
Where did you have dinner? At the restaurant you

were at in March and which you really praised?
,
, , ,
, , ,
, .
Vitya promised we would have dinner at the

restaurant that everyone, not just I, has been
praising, but when he saw the prices, he said that
he was already full. He just couldnt eat.
,
?
Did you go to the club your relative works in?
, . ,
, , ,
, .
.
Unfortunately, yes. We danced for a bit, but then

Vitya said that the music they were playing was too
loud and we left. The evening was just marvelous.
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
1
4
6
7
11
13
16
17
17
()
, -, -, -
+ //
, -, -, - (Shifting stess)
(romantic) date (Weve seen it in its literal meaning meeting in )

exhibit ( )
at first (Adverb)
be tired (Normally this verb is used in the Past Tense. The Present Tense would be
used to indicate that someone gets tired often.)
right; directly
praise
price
full (cant eat any more) (This Adjective most often appears in the Short-Form,.)
to eat Infinitive (More on this wildly irregular verb shortly.)
54-1
54.
54-
The Perfective Verbal Prefix -: to do something for a while
The verbal prefix - can be added to many un-prefixed Imperfective verbs to create a Perfective verb with the
meaning do [Verb] for a little while, a bit. Here the prefix does add a distinct meaning, as well as making the
Verb Perfective (as opposed to such prefixes as -, -, -, etc., which are used to perfectivize +, +,
+, respectively, and add no other meaning).
Some - verbs:
Perf verbs in
- for a while
+
{+ / +}
+
+
+
+
+
+...
+
English equivalents (aside

from [Verb] for a while)
Perf verbs in
- for a while
+
+
+
+
+
+
take a nap
stay / live somewhere
English equivalents (aside

from [Verb] for a while)
have a talk
have a smoke
be a student for a while
have a cry
Not every verb can attach - and get this meaning. So, theres no +, +, +
Quite often, several - verbs appear consecutively. Also, dont forget that as Perfective verbs, when non-Past
endings are added, a future meaning is given:
Examples of a series of - for a while verbs:
, ,
.
Yesterday I read for a while, listened to a little

music, then I took a nap.
, ,
.
Tomorrow Ill do a little studying, dance a bit, play a

little golf.
Keep in mind that some verbs add the prefix - to form a regular Perfective, i.e., such verbs also do not
(normally) allow this for a while, for a bit meaning:
Verbs with regular Perf in (w/o the meaning for a while)
+ // +.. // + // -
54-2
54-
Transform from an everyday action, to a - verb. Include the Adverbial phrase in parenthases
in your answer and be sure not to include any obvious Imperfective adverbs.
1. ()
3. ( use
positive verb)
5. .
2. ()
4. ()
6. .(
)
8. . ()
10. .
7. . ( -)
9. . ()
54.
in Cases Other Than Nominative
In Lesson 21 we saw that is used to form relative clauses (the man who...; the book that...), and that the
Number and Gender of is determined by the noun being described:
ee, e e Were talking about the person who is writing a
.
Masc Sg
paper on politicians.
e , e ?
Where is the beer which was (standing) on the table?
Neut sg
, . We went to the exhibit which was in Trenton.

Fem Sg
, e $12.
She bought a watch which cost $12.
Plural
In all of the above examples , -, -, - is in the Nominative Case, since it is acting as the subject of
the relative clause. But in other contexts can also be the direct object or object of a preposition in the
relative clause. So, while the gender and number of is determined by the noun in the higher clause, the
Case of is determined by its function in the relative clause itself. The Case of the main noun has no
effect on the Case of .
RELATIVE CLAUSE
MAIN CLAUSE
(Gender and Number)
(Case)
Accusative
e e,
?
Masc Sg
ACC
(direct object of )
Where is the guy who(m)

Masha likes?
If a preposition is involved, it must precede . (You cant strand prepositions like in English: ...the
man everyone is talking about; the table the book is on.)
,
Fem Sg

ACC
(after preposition )
54-3
Over there is standing the

singer with whom I fell in love
at first sight.
54-
RELATIVE CLAUSE
MAIN CLAUSE
(Gender and Number)
(Case)
Genitive
e ,
Masc Sg
.
GEN
(possession of )
.
GEN
Fem Sg
Neuter Sg

Plural
GEN
/
GEN
On the couch is (sitting) the

man whose car costs $100
There is the girl for whom I
bought a green scarf.
Everyone praises the building
near which I live.
Masha is talking about the
books without which I cannot
live.
Prepositional
,
Masc Sg
,
Plural
!?
PREP
.
PREP
Where the heck is the computer

on which I was writing my term
paper!?
I saw the politicians about
whom we were conversing (=
who we were conversing about).
Form a relative clause from the 2nd sentence. Remember, if the noun modified is not the last
word of the first sentence, you need to put the predicate (verb + objects) after the relative
clause.
Examples:
? .
. .
, ?
, , .
1. ? .
2. ? .
3. .
.
4. . .
5. .
.
6. ?
.
7. ? .
8. . .
9. . .
10. .
.
11. .
.
12. ? .
54-4
54-
"

Create sentences with the given CNG of .
1.
2.
(Genitive Plural)
3.
(Accusative Plural)
4.
(Prepositional Plural)
5.
6.
(Genitive Singular)
7.
(Prepositional Singular)
54-5
54-
8.
(Accusative Plural)
9.
(Nominative Plural)
"
___________________________________
Translate
1. We went to the exhibition that everyone praised.
2. Im tired. I want to take a nap.
3. I have a date with Tamara on Friday. Were going to the ballet Swan Lake.
54-6

Who did you give it to? Viktor?
55.A The Dative Singular of nouns

55. Use of the Dative: Indirect Object
55. Verbs that unpredictably take the Dative
55. Irregular verbs + help; () give

(
)
? ?
Who(m) did you give it to? To Viktor?
e , e ?
Wheres the chocolate cake that was sitting

here?
e . , e
.
I gave it to the neighbor. He said that he was

hungry.
? ?
. .
Who(m) did you give it to? To Viktor? I made a

special point of baking that cake yesterday. You
didnt even ask me.
6
7
. ,
, .
Dont worry about it. After dinner (lunch) Ill

make a quick trip to the store, buy a cake, and
give it (to you).
, e e, e The thing is, I promised Anya that I would bring

. e e .
a cake today. Its her younger sisters birthday.
.
Anyas throwing a party for her.
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
e e
! e
. e
. !
Anyas throwing a party and she didnt invite

me. I helped her mother clean (their) carpet.
And I often helped her brother Max write
papers. What a jerk!
, ,
. , , .
OK, Ill call and tell Anya that youre coming.

She probably just forgot about you.
give (away) (Irregular. See 55.)
(adv)
specially; with a specific goal (Note hard-indicating a as the second in a vowel

cluster. Its allowed because the word is a foreign borrowing.)
here: dont worry about it
+ (Perf. only)
chocolate (adj)
(noun) (Note the violation of the spelling rule, where unstressed is written after
. This is obviously a foreign word, where spelling rules can be violated.)
run down to; make a quick trip to (indicates round trip)
12
+ + DAT
help (Irregular. See 55.)
12
+ // -
clean ( mutates to , so1sg Non-Past is ())
13
() (Gen Sg: )
carpet (Note: loses its softness when Cluster Buster is absent)
55-1
55.A
55-
Dative Case ( ): Singular Nouns

MASCULINE & NEUTER
-{U} (- / -)
Weve already seen this in , ;
*Note that Masculines in - and Neuters in - > - i.e., have the same
ending as other nouns, unlike in the Prepositional, where - and > -.
DICTIONARY FORM (NOM SG)
DATIVE SINGULAR
FEMININE
- (Nouns in - > -)
The Feminine Dative Singular is exactly like the Prepositional Singular
FEMININE IN -
-
Same ending as Genitive and Locative/Prepositional
e
And dont forget:
55-2
55-
1.
5.
9.
13.
17.
Form the Dative Singular of these nouns:
Think!
55.
2.
6.
10.
14.
18.
3.
7.
11.
15.
19.
Think!
Think!
4.
8.
12.
16.
20.
Think!
Think!
Main Use of the Dative Case: Indirect Object
The Dative Case is most commonly used to mark indirect objects.1 Many of the same verbs that take an indirect
object in English govern the Dative Case in Russian. Quite often the indirect object in English follows the
preposition to.
In the examples below the Nominative subject appears in {}, the Accusative direct object in [], and the Dative
indirect object in
{}
Subj
NOM
{}
Ind Obj
DAT
Subj
NOM
{}
Dir Obj
ACC
Ind Obj
DAT
[]?
I told the whole truth to Mark
Who did she give the cake (away) to?
Dir Obj
ACC
Subj
NOM
{}
[ ]
Subj
NOM
[].
Ind Obj
DAT
Dir Obj
ACC
[].
Ind Obj
DAT
Dir Obj
ACC
Vera brought (her) sister mystery meat.
The mother bought (her) son a tie.
Just as in English, the verbs that take a Dative indirect object, in addition to an Accusative direct object, are verbs
of giving, telling, bringing, and others, e.g.:
{+/ +} //
{+/ +} //
+ // +
+ // +
*+ // +
give
give away
tell (but not speak. To speak to someone in
Russian is + + Instrumental, which
we currently know only smidgens of)
bring
buy
High school snoozers: The indirect object indicates the recipient or benefactor of an action. Many verbs take both a
direct and indirect object: John gave the book (DO) to Mary (IO); I bought you (IO) a new car (DO); I never promised
you (IO) a rose garden (DO).
55-3
55-
*With buy, in addition to the Dative you can also use the Preposition + Genitive with no significant
difference in meaning: .
Form questions and answers:
Example:
/ + (Past) / //
() ? // () .
1. / + (Future) / //
2. (plural) / + (Past) //
3. / + (Future) //
4. / + (Present) //
5. / + (Past) //
55.
6. / + (Future) //
Verbs That Unpredictably Govern the Dative Case
Besides the verbs listed above, there are also quite a few verbs you might not predict that govern the Dative Case.
+ // +
(full conjugation
below)
help
(It may help to think of this verb

as give help to. Also, in German
the verb helfen takes Dative.)
promise (both Impf & Perf; can take .

an Infinitive or a -clause) Think
, ()
of this verb as give a promise to.
.
We'll be seeing several more unexpected Dative verbs in the next few lessons.
55.
Some Irregular Dative Verbs: /
While the Imperfective of help is a regular -+ verb (+), the Perfective + is irregular. The good
news, however, is that it conjugates exactly like + be able, which weve already seen. *Remember, this is a
st
1 conjugation verb, which means the should refer to the Past Tense, but just like with + the stress shift is in
the Present (whoops, the Perfective Future).
help (Perf)
PERF FUTURE
()
PAST
, ,
, ,
, ,
55-4
INFINITIVE
(Note > - instead

of -, just like
> - in )
55-
The verb that follows + and the Dative noun is an Infinitive, even though the to is often left out in English:
.
My grandmother helped me (to) bake a chocolate cake.
Form a question and answer:
1. / + (future) / //
2. / + (future) / //
4. / (present) / //
6. / + (past) / eat up cabbage

soup //
3. / + (past) / //
5. / + (future) / //
(): A Truly Irregular Verb Type

You may not believe it, but there are only 4 Verbs in Russian that are truly irregular in the Present (Perfective
Future) Tense. For these 4 Verbs the endings themselves are different, i,.e, no {U} in the -form, no {I} or
{} in the -form, etc.. We will use the Infinitive when discussing these 4 Verbs, since there is no single
stem that lets us predicts the various forms.
Both give and give (away) are conjugated the same way. (Their
respective Imperfectives even look
the same: {()+/ ()+}.) The only difference is that for , in the Past Tense non-Fem forms you
have the option of putting the stress on the prefix: or , or .
() give (away) (Perf)

PERF FUTURE
()
()
() ()
()
()
()
PAST
, ,
, ,
, ,
()
()
()
()
Chameleon Change the subject. Leave the indirect object as is:
1. (, , , , , , , )
2. ? (, , , )
3. (, , , , , , , )
55-5
INFINITIVE
()
55-
"
___________________________________
Identify the subject (S), direct object (DO) and the indirect object (IO) and
translate into English. Not all sentences have all three:
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. , .
5. ?
6. .
55-6
55-
"

Fill in the blanks. Add stress on any noun or verb where needed:
1. _________ ____________ ___________? (Past)

2. ______ ________ _________ _______. (Present)
3. ____________ (bring) _______ . (Past)
4. ___________ (bring) _____ _____ _______ ____. (Present)
5. _______ . (The preposition takes Dative)
6. ________.
7. ___________. (The preposition meaning travel around takes Dative)
8. __________.
9. ___________.
10. ____________.
"
Translate:
1. Who will help Boris clean the dirty carpet?
2. I will give the money to Vera.
3. Masha ran down to the store and bought (her) mother milk.
4. My father will give (away) the car to the president.
55-7

I sold my shoes to our neighbor
56.A The Dative Singular of adjectives and nounjectives

56. More verbs that take the Dative
56. Disappearing [] and Non-disappearing verbs
I sold my shoes to our neighbor
1
2
e .
?
I see you have some new shoes. Where did the old
ones disappear (to)?
e .
.
I sold them to our neighbor. They didnt smell

that bad, and he gave me 100 rubles rubles.
5
6
7
? ? e e e ! (To) which neighbor? To Igor? I cant stand him!

, ? By the way, where did you fish disappear to? It
.
always used to smell (stink) of fish in here.
10
e e e.
.
. .
I gave it to our ex-neighbor. I wanted to buy a

new one for a long time. The fish was already
really old. It was starting to smell.
11
e, ee, ?
(To) which neighbor, To Vera?
12
15
e, e. e
e e, e, e
.
e .
No, to Galina. She called my older sister

yesterday, and she told Lida, that she wanted to
give (as a giftt) her husband an aquarium for his
birthday. I killed two birds with one stone.
16
And one fish.
8
9
13
14
/ (Lots of people say ) (e)
shoe
+ // []+
disappear (See explanation of conjugation below)

Notice that this verb behaves like a motion verb, as in the
expression ?
{+ / +} //
sell (Perfective Future is the same as and )
fish
[]+
smell (of something); emit an odor (Well explain the ending on

later in the course.)
14
aquarium (also the name of a popular Russian rock band)

Note that a hard indicating vowel follows another vowel. This
is only found in foreign words.
15
e ().
() (GEN: )
+ // {+ / +}
To kill two birds with one stone. (lit: With one shot two rabbits
killed.)
shot (from a gun)
two (Accusative animate dont worry about this for now)
rabbit (this is the only noun whose Cluster Buster is a )
kill (Perfective conjugates like {+ / +}
56-1
56.A
56-
: Singular Adjectives / Nounjectives

DICTIONARY FORM (NOM SG)
DATIVE SINGULAR
Masculine & Neuter
-{O} (- / -)
Weve already seen: ; -;
the Neuter noun opinion is implied. *However, except in
this expression, the stress is really .

?
Feminine
(Remember, there are just three forms for Singular Feminine Adjectives:
Nominative, Accusative, All other cases)
-{O} (- / -)
*Remember: no -
Form questions and answers based on the cues:
Example:
( )
?
.
1. ( )
2. ( )
3. ,
( put after )
4. (- )
5. ( )
6. ( )
7. ( )
8. ( )
56-2
56-
56.
More Verbs That Take the Dative
Here are yet more verbs that either take a Dative indirect object or which unpredictably govern the Dative:
{+ / +}
//
sell
Who sells cars to America?
.
Zhenya sold her shoes to Vanyas sister.
.
I will sell my computer to Boryas brother.
+ // -
to give as a present
(Theres no single word for
this in English. Related to
the word .)
He gives his wife roses every Sunday.

.
Nina gave her brother a large horse for New Years.

?
What are you going to give our professor for his birthday?
+ // -
all (on the phone)

It may help to think of this
as make a call to
.
She calls her mother every day.
!
Im going to call your father!
.
Masha called Gleb at 5:00.
Same format as previous exercise:
1. ( )
2. ( )
3. ( )
4. ( )
5. ( )
6. ( )
7. (
)
8. ( )
56-3
56.
56-
Disappearing [] and Non-disappearing verbs
There is a small group of verbs that have the suffix in the Present and Infinitive, but which drop the suffix in
all forms of the Past, (and act like Greasy Zeke verbs, i.e., with no in the Masc Sg). We will refer to these as
Disappearing verbs. It just so happens that the verb []+ disappear (Impf +) is itself a
Disappearing verb. Here are the forms:
[]+
disappear (Perf)
Perf Future
()
Past
, ,
, ,
, ,
Infinitive
In this lesson we also have the Verb []+ smell; emit an odor, which is normally used only in the 3rd Person.
(You do use this Verb to say You smell, but the construction is slightly changed. Since such a sentence would
never be uttered by anyone in the class, we wont cover it here.)
Also, in the dialogue we find the phrase it smelled of fish (Notice no !). The noun ending -
should look strange to you; well get to it shortly.
Not all verbs with the suffix drop the suffix in the Past. For example, the verb return is +.... is a Nondisappearing verb. The never drops. Its just a regular 1st-conjugation Vowel-stem verb, with not mutation.
+...
return; come/go back (Perf)
Perf Future
()
Past
, ,
, ,
, ,
Infinitive
How to predict when the drops and when it doesnt

You can tell when the does NOT drop out, namely:
1) if the is stressed: +, +
2) if the letter before the is a vowel: +, +
Otherwise, you cant predict: + jump (Non-disappearing) vs. []+ attain (Disappearing)
How you can predict with 100% accuracy Use our symbols. We will mark Disappearing verbs with the in
square brackets: []+.
Non-disappearing verbs have no brackets: +. (But given our above rules, it is 100% predictable that
the does not drop in this verb.)
56-4
56-
Form the Past Tense from the following verbs:
1. / []+
2. / []+
3. / +
4. / []+
5. / +
6. / +
7. / []+
8. / +
9. / []+
10. / +
11. / []+
12. / +
13. / +
14. / []+
15. / []+
16. / +
56-5
56-
1
___________________________________
Fill in the blanks
1. _________ _______________ _________ past ____________?

2. _________ _______________ _________ future ____________?
3. _________ past _________ __________________?
4. _________ future _________ __________________?
5. ______________ _________________ __________________?
6. __________ ______________________ _______ ______?
2
Stem:
Verb review:
{+/ + }
Conjugation /
Type
Non-Past
()
Past
Infinitive
56-6
56-
Stem:
[]+
get used to (Perf)
Conjugation /
Type
Non-Past
()
Past
Infinitive
1. Where did Masha disappear to?
2. What did you give (think!) Veras mother for (her) birthday?
56-7
{+ / +}

You look terrible
Review of Lessons 51-56

and Story parts 8-9
You look terrible
, .
Too bad you werent at the party yesterday.
--!
Oohhh!
? .
Whats (wrong) with you? You look terrible.
4
5
. , -
My stomach really hurts. I probably ate

something that didnt agree with me.
? ?
What did you eat? Where did you have lunch?
7
8
, . .
.
In the dining hall, it goes without saying. But

thats is the last time. Im not going to eat there
anymore.
+ + Adverb
look (a certain way)
You look mahhhhhvelous
something not right
dining hall; cafeteria (Adjective used as a noun; the Feminine noun is

understood.)
it goes without say
57-1
N
O
M
A
C
C
G
E
N
P
R
E
P
D
A
T
-{I} / - -
MASCULINE
{O} -{O}
NEUTER
-{A} -{A} / -
FEMININE
/ /
/
/
/
-{I} -{I}; Neut -{A}
PLURAL
Animate borrows GEN
-{I} -{O}; -; -
-{I} -{A}
-{O} -{I}
(--; --)
/ /
/
/
/
/

/
/
???
(--; --)
-{O}
???
-{O}
/

/
/

/
-{U} -{U} / -
/

/
Same as NOM
-{A}

Animate borrows GEN
-{}
-{U}
- (-; - -) ()
-{O}
-{O}

57-2
57-
REVIEW OF LESSONS 51-56, STORY PARTS 8-9
57-
New Verb Types: / / [] /
-Stems: (Same applies to -Stems):
Another Greasy Zeke Verb

If end-stressed throughout Past, Infinitive is in - / -. (No mutation of /!)
Present is simple C+V. No mutation.
+(bring) (Perf)
PERF FUTURE
()
PAST
, ,
, ,
, ,
INFINITIVE
steal - for the Infinitive
-Stems: (Share properties of -Stems):
Another Greasy Zeke Verb

Mutation (>) in Present Tense before middle forms in /, but not before endings in .
Infinitive is in - from stem is lost.
+ // -(bake)
PERF FUTURE / PRESENT
/
() /
/
/
/
PAST
, ,
, ,
, ,
/
/
/
/
INFINITIVE
/
Disappearing [] Verb:
In all forms of the Past Tense the suffix drops out and then the Verb acts like a Greasy Zeke Verb.
If the is stressed, or if it is preceded by a vowel, the will not drop.
Well mark Disappearing [] in these brackets.
[]+(disappear) (Perf)
PERF FUTURE
()
, ,
, ,
, ,
57-3
PAST
INFINITIVE
57-
Non-Disappearing Verbs:
Regular Vowel stem (First conjugation since its not -, -, -.)

No V+V mutation in the Present Tense (because does not mutate).
+(return [a thing]) (Perf)

PERF FUTURE
()
, ,
, ,
, ,
PAST
INFINITIVE
A truly irregular Verb:
() give (away) (Perf)

PERF FUTURE
()
()
() ()
PAST
()
()
()
, ,
, ,
, ,
INFINITIVE
()
()
()
()
()
Aspect
Summary of Imperfective and Perfective verbs in different tenses
PAST
IMPF.
form with -, -, -, -
, , etc.
PERF.
PRESENT
FUTURE
As we have learned:
+ (will) + Infinitive
, ,
, ,
Same endings as for

Imperfective verbs:
, , etc.
.
He is going to watch TV all day.
No helping verb. Just conjugate like a PresentTense verb:
?
What time are you going to get up tomorrow?
Basic meaning of Aspect
Perfective for single completed actions
Use the Perfective in the Past and the Future to indicate a single action that definitely has been/will be completed. If there
is any other information being conveyed (see below) use the Imperfective. A common clue in English: get something done.
Imperfective
Some of the most common uses of the Imperfective are:
57-4
57-
1.
Present Tense (a no-brainer) Applies to all the uses of the Present: action in progress (Hes doing his homework),
general statement (He does his homework every day; Ive been living in Moscow for 5 years.)
2.
Repetition/habit Actions repeated either on one occasion or over a long period of time appear in the Imperfective. For
the repetition/habit meaning, even though the action is completed, the repetitiveness trumps the notion of completion
and the Imperfective must be used. Clues in English: used to, would (always)
3.
State/activity verbs These verbs describe either 1) the physical position or state a person was (will be) in or; 2) how a
person spent (will be spending) their time. Note that there is no emphasis accomplishment.
Keys for deciding Aspect
(You are not [yet] responsible for any new adverbs [marked with *] in this list. Weve included them because they provide
very clear examples of the distinction between Imperfective and Perfective. We dont expect you to memorize this chart at
this point. Its given for general reference. Well cover each of these points in depth later on.)
IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECTIVE
PRESENT TENSE (trumps everything)
A single, completed act (in the Past or Future)
English uses -ing form (so-called continuous):
A sequence of completed actions:
* Do not confuse continuous -ing with the -ing found on

going, which is used for simple Future Tense. Thus, the
sentence I am going to open the door would be translated
with a Perfective verb.
Woke up, got out of bed, dragged a comb across my head.
With adverbials indicating:
Transitive verbs usually have a direct object
Contrast Imperfective: (no direct object)

vs. Perfective: . It is impossible
to say without a direct object (unless it is clear
from context that a direct object is implied).
1) repetition/habit: , , , ,

2) duration: , (), ()
3) non-existence of action: ()
After + and verbs of beginning and finishing:
With adverbials indicating:
1) completion: already, finally
, .
2) one-timedness: once (in the Past)
, .
3) suddenness: suddenly, immediately
How to form Aspectual pairs

There are 3 ways (2 common / 1 rare) to form Aspectual pairs
IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECTIVE
1.
Adding a prefix (which must be memorized on a

verb-to-verb basis):
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
2.
Using the same root but change the insides, using

a different verbal suffix. This is often accompanied
by consonant mutation and vowel alternations.
*One common Impf suffix here is the -{I}+.
{+/+}
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
3.
Using a totally different-looking verb altogether:
+
{+/+}
57-5
57-

Step 1)
Cut the exact words said. Unlike in English, DO NOT CHANGE THE TENSE of the original utterance.:
: .
Step 2:
Step 3:
Ill bring a cake.
Modify the Person of the verb (when required):

, .
that youd bring a cake.
, .
that he would bring a cake.
Paste the modified phrase after the reported speech clause. Note that in Russian you do not need to repeat the
pronoun, which is mandatory in English:
, , ()
.
Aleksandr Sergeevich, you said that youd bring a cake.
, ()
Pushkin said that he would bring a cake.
The Perfective prefix -: to do something for a while

The verbal prefix - can be added to many unprefixed Imperfective verbs to create a Perfective verb with the meaning do X
for a little while, a bit. So here the prefix does add a meaning (as opposed to such prefixes as -, or -, etc., which are
used to perfectivize +, +, respectively):
, , .
Yesterday I read (for a while), listened to a little

music, and then I took a nap.
, , .
Tomorrow Ill study a bit, do a little dancing, and

play a little golf.
*Not every verb can attach - and get this meaning. So, theres no +, +, +
in Cases other than Nominative
MAIN CLAUSE
(Gender and Number)
e e,
RELATIVE CLAUSE
(Case)
?
Masc Sg
,
Fem Sg
,
Plural
ACC
(direct object of )
.
GEN
.
PREP
57-6
Where is the guy who(m)

Masha likes?
There is the girl for whom I
bought a green scarf.
I saw the politicians about
whom we were conversing (=
who we were conversing about).
57-
Use of the Dative: Indirect object
The Dative Case is most commonly used to mark indirect objects. Many of the same verbs that take an indirect object in
English govern the Dative Case in Russian, quite often corresponding to to.
{}
[ ]
<>
[Dir Obj]
ACC
<Ind Obj>
DAT
{Subj}
NOM
<>
{}
<Ind Obj>
DAT
{Subj}
NOM
I told the whole truth to Mark
[]?
Who did she give the cake (away) to?
[Dir Obj]
ACC
Just as in English, the verbs that take a Dative indirect object, in addition to an Accusative direct object, are verbs of giving,
telling, bringing, and others, e.g.:
{+/ +} //
{+/ +} //
+ // +
+ // +
+ // +
give
give away
tell (but not speak. To speak to someone in
Russian is + + Instrumental, which we
currently know only smidges of)
bring
buy (also + GEN)
Verbs that unpredictably take the Dative
+ // +
help
.
.
promise
.
, ()
.
sell
?
.
+ // -
to give as a present
.

.
+ // -
all (on the phone)
.
!
{+/+} //
57-7
57-
To indicate motion home(ward) use the Adverb with no preposition:

.
We going home.
She often travels home.
Recall that at home is expressed by (also without any Preposition):

.
Hes not home.
Ill be home after dinner.
Titles of books, movies

Either decline the name of the book, movie, play (in whatever Case is called for), or insert the Noun ,
, , (in whatever Case is called for) followed by the name of the book, movie in the Nominative:
.
Im reading Anna Karenina.
Im reading the book Anna Karenina.
Infinitive Infinitive
To express the idea if youre going to [Verb], then go ahead and [Verb], use two Imperfective Infinitives
surrounding :
!
If youre going to splurge, then splurge!
If youre going to drink, then go ahead and drink!
Friend
When expressing friend in Russian you need to distinguish between a close friend or boyfriend/girlfriend ( /
) and an acquaintence ( / ). (Well make this artificial distinction in English.)
+ Accusative
To say thanks for, use + Accusative:
!
Thanks for the cake!
Thanks for everything!
57-8
57-
The English Prepositions to / at can appear as either or (as well as a few other things we havent seen yet).
As a general rule, use for physical structure, for the events that take place within those structures.
.
We went to the theater to the ballet Swan Lake.
We were at the Picasso exhibition at the museum.

Use + Verb to indicate that you have never, not a single time, done something, been somewhere, etc:
.
Ive never been to Russia.
Shes never been to London.
+ Accusative of Time
To talk about plans for day / month / tomorrow / summer, etc., use the phrase + Accusative (where
possible) of the time phrase:
?
What are your plans for tomorrow?
I dont have any special plans for the summer.
57-9
57-
___________________________________
(You should try to complete this homework without referring back to the lesson. If there is anything that causes
you any trouble, be sure to note it so you can review it later on.)
"
Give an example of possible forms:
PAST
PRESENT
FUTURE
IMPF
PERF
"
What are the ways Perfective verbs differ from Imperfective verbs IN FORM.
List an example of each.
57-10
57-
"
1.

Translate into Russian. Pay special attention to the Aspect of all verbs.
Vika has a lot acquaintences, but only one real friend.

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
We went to the ballet Swan Lake.

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
I used to get up at 6:00, but today I got up at 3:00.

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4.
Yesterday I wrote 10 pages. I normally write 20 pages a day.

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5.
Someone said that the people everyone is talking about praised the exhibit.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
6.
Are you tired? Yeah, I want to take a nap.

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
7.
Why did you hang up the phone? I dialed the wrong number.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
8.
When did he start to play tennis?

_______________________________________________________________________________________
9.
Vera said she would bring a jar of caviar to the party, but she forgot. What do you mean forgot?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
57-11
57-
___________________________________
10. Who will give Viktor the keys?

_______________________________________________________________________________________
11. My professor baked a cake for you. Hes always baking.

_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
12. Tomorrow Im going to do a little studying, listen to a little music, dance for a while, and play a little chess.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
13. + Where are you going? - Im going home. (Use the Verb +)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
57-12
Vocabulary: Lessons 51-57; Story Parts 8-9
()
()
Acc
Nom Pl
()
/
()
(Gen Sg. )
(F)

acquarium
ballerina
ballet
encore
connections; influence
bouquet
exhibit
shot (from a gun)
Nikolai Gogol
lip
Fyodor Dostoevsky
rabbit
friend (more like acquaintance)
idea
carpet
team
concert
culture
Swan Lake
swan
Dead Souls
museum
Nevksy Prospect
week
lake
Nom Pl.

, , ,
(Gen Pl. )
/ ()
/
()
Verbs
+ // +
+ //
+
{+ / }+
{+ / +}\\ //
+ // +Dative
+ // [] +
+ // +
+ // {+ / +}
+ // {+ / +}
+ + Dative
+ Dative
+ // +
+ // + Dative
+ //
+
+ // ++
+ // {+ / +
()} INF
hang up
cook; prepare
hold
obtain; get
go (by vehicle)
to eat
call
disappear
finish
dial a phone
start; begin
promise
give (away)
bake
turn (a thing)
come to love
help
have dinner
walk around (for a while)
bring
arrive; come (on foot)
+ ()
see someone (to a

destination)
{+ / +} //
+ Accusative + Dative
sell
+ // +
to agree to do something
57-13
colloquial term for

portion
Crime and Punishment
Suburbs of Saint Petersburg
restaurant
rose
fish
date
exam period
bench
dining hall; cafeteria
page
male ballet dancer
theater
cake
practice
telephone receiver
shoe
smart person
price
choclate
Hermitage Museum

+INF
+ // +
+ INF (Perfective Only)
+ Inf
+ ( Perfective Only)
+ Perfective only
+ // {+ // +}
+
(Perfective)
+ Acc
+ //
+ // -
ask
start; begin to
its worth (doing [Inf Verb])
run down to; make a quick
trip
make a round trip (by
vehicle); go
kill
convince someone to do
something
suit someone; be agreeable to
someone
praise
clean
, -
- -
Georgian
marvelous; wonderful
famous
gentle; tender
special; in particular
nearly; practically
strong
at first
specially
full (cant eat anymore)
be tired
football (adj)
chocalate (adj)
{+ // +} + Gen

()
-
+ Adverb

,

!
+ Nominative

()

be in ecstasy over; be crazy about

after all
at what time; when
(not) at all; in general
first of all
look (a certain way)
you look marvelous
if you're going to splurge, then
splurge
see you tomorrow
for a long time
homeward
its a pity; its a shame
I can't wait
what do you mean ...
for the encore
for a period of time
never; not a single time
nothing of the kind; absolutely not
57-14

//
+ Genitive

+ Genititve
+ Acc

+ Accusitive

-
don't worry about it

to kill two birds with one stone
near
through connections
along Nevsky Prospect
after
it goes without saying
thanks for
good night
horror
through; via
what the devil
something not right
57-15

They didnt like that movie
58.A The Dative of personal and other pronouns

58. DAT +... + // - NOM like
1
2
3
4
5
6
They didnt like that movie
ee
?
How did you like Brad Pitts last movie?
e e e ,
e . e
. e e
. e?
?
I didnt like it very much, but my husband was

in ecstasy over it. He really liked it. He likes all
of Brad Pitts movies. How about your wife?
Did she like the movie?
e, .
No, in general we dont like horror movies.
e ?
, e. ?
What kind of movies do you like? Dumb and

Dumber, for example. Did you like that movie?
, e .
e .
e. .
We didnt see it, but our kids saw it. They

didnt like that movie. It was too serious. They
only like comedies.
10
11
12
See below for Dative Pronouns

1
+... // -
like something / someone (See long explanation below.)
{+ / +} (to be) in ecstasy over something; really like something a lot
horror film (lit.: film of horrors)
dumb; stupid
(Comparative form, which we wont discuss right now.)
for example
12
comedy
58-1
58.
58-
Dative Pronouns
Weve seen almost all of these either in previous dialogues or in the story. A few examples:
.
.
?
Im in a hurry (lit.: to me there is no time)

Heres your tea (lit.: heres the tea for you)
How can I help you? (+ takes DAT)
NOMINATIVE
DATIVE
()
()
()
Tips for remembering:

1)
2)
3)
4)
Every form in the singular has the letter e

The 3rd person pronouns are the same as the soft adjective endings (-, -, -)
The plural forms all end in .
To remember just think that you gave something to Camus: ? , ,
. (actually in Russian his name is spelled , but who cares.)
5) why is actually a combination of the Dative preposition + .
Form questions and answers. Put the Dative pronoun in front of the verb:
Example:
()
1. ()
2. ()
3. ()
4. ()
5. ()
6. ()
7. ()
8. ()
9. ,
()
58-2
58-
58.
Liking a thing: Dative + +... + // - Nominative
Russian has a strange way of saying I like that dress, I really liked the movie, Youll like Vera. First, let us beat
you over the head with the statement that YOU CANNOT USE + IN THESE SENTENCES. Stop. No
+. Dont even think about it.

Instead, you use a form of the verb +... // -. The liker is in the Dative, the thing liked (or, sometimes,
person) is in the Nominative. As expected, the verb agrees in Person, Number, and Gender with the Nominative
subject. Look at these examples, paying very close attention to the word order:
LIKER
DAT
+... // -
THING LIKED
Agrees with thing liked
NOM
Present

-.
.
My brother likes rock music.

My sister doesnt like my new shoes
Perfective Past
?
.
.
?

.
Did you like the movie?

He didnt like my sister.
Max liked the beer.
Who liked their children?
No one liked Nivarnas last CD.
Perfective Future
Youll like my new car.

She wont like your dogs.
Verbal Aspect with +... // Literally, the above constructions translate as Thing is (was/will be) pleasing to me/her/us/Nina. In the Past and
the Future the emphasis is on the impression the thing made (will make) and therefore the Perfective
+.. is most commonly found (because the making of the impression is a one-time, completed action).
The Imperfective is (theoretically) possible in the Past, but you can also use the Past of +. (See more below
on the difference between + and +....) In the Future + is possible, but quite rare.
Verb agreement: When the thing liked isnt a thing

Generally the thing liked is, well, a thing, which means that in the Present Tense the only verb forms possible
would be 3rd singular or 3rd plural .
But theres no reason you couldnt say I like you using +..., where you is the subject in the Nominative.
The verb must agree with the noun in Nominative, and we get (exactly as we expect), the 2nd person singular of
the verb: .
58-3
58-
In fact, if you want to (gently, of course) tell someone that you like them, but you dont love them, you would say:
() , (said very gently).
And, if youre the less-than-humble type, you can say about yourself that people like you (find you attractive):
/ . Women/Guys find me attractive. (lit.: I am pleasing to women/guys.)
*Note > mutation in the 1sg, just as we expect.
Say that the person liked (likes / will like) the thing:
1. / (Past)
2. / (Present)
3. / (Future)
4. / (Present)
5. / (Past)
6. /
(Present)
7. / (Past)
8. / (Present)
Like? Love? +? +? Lets clear this up
When we presented + we gave the definition as either like or love. Were we misleading you? Absolutely
not! (How dare you accuse us of such underhandedness.) For romantic (or familial) feelings, i.e. love, you must
use +.
!
I love you!
I dont love you anymore.
He loves me.
When English like is used to express an established relation or attitude toward a thing, either + or
+ are possible (though + is preferred):

,
.
( ,
.)
Kolya likes French wine, but I like Italian wine.
.
( )
We dont like horror films.
, ?
( , ?)
What kind of bread do you like, white or black?
(For many Russians this last example with

seems to imply that both white and black bread are in
front of the person and the speaker wants to find out
which specific bread the person finds more
delicious.)
In the above sentences, + implies a more general statement, while + suggests a more specific
instance. Its a bit complicated, but the most important thing to remember is that + cannot be used to express
a one-time impression made by something/someone.
58-4
58-
Impressions of things/people
As we said above, +.. // - is used to express an impression of something. So if youre friend walks in
(before heading to the big I-Bank interview) wearing some fine neckwear and you want to say I just love that tie,
you cannot use the verb +. You must say: !
Using + in this setting gives you . Russians will think youre into some pretty weird stuff.
With Infinitives
Both +.. and + can be used with Infinitives, though in general + is much more common. (Note
for super-advanced students: sometimes only +.. is possible, but thats for 23rd-year Russian.)
Summary of when to use which like/love verb
+... // -
.
Impression / reaction
(like / love)

.
.
Established relation to
thing / person / activity
(like / love but not
romantic)
Romantic feelings
, .....................
.
.
Translate into Russian (Note that sometimes more than one translation is possible):
1. I like you but I dont love you.
2. Did you like the movie?
3. I love your new dress
4. I dont like horror films.
5. Monica doesnt love Bill anymore.
6. No one likes to clean the carpet.
7. I like Russian literature.
8. Do you like my shoes?
9. I like to bake.
10. I think you will really like Nina.
58-5
58-
1
___________________________________
Fill in the blanks and translate into English:
1. _______________ () ?
2. ____________ () .
3. ____________ () .
4. ____________ () .
5. ______________ () .
6. ________________ () .
7. _____________________ () _________ .
8. ______________________ () , ?
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb. You need to pay attention
to the case on the various nouns.
1. _________________________________________ .
2. ________________________________________ .
3. _____________________________ !
58-6
58-
4. , ___________________________________ future .
5. __________________________________ past ?
6. __________________________________________ .
7. ________________________________________ .
8. _______________________________________ past ?
9. ___________________________________, ____________________________.
1. I just love your new tie!
2. Boris likes Masha, but he doesnt love her.
3. --Did you like the movie Dumb and Dumber? --I was in ecstasy.
58-7

He turned 50 in October
59.A
A few time expressions old and new
59.
More on the word year in Russian
59.B
Age expressions
59.B.1 Asking/expressing age
59.B,2 Expressing age in the Past and Future
59.B.2 Turning an age
59.B.3 Guesstimating age
()
He turned 50 in October
e e ?
How old is your father?
e
(e).
He turned 50 (years old) last week.
How old is your uncle?
My moms brother or my dads?
Your mothers.

().
Next week hell be 59 (years old).
, ?
And your aunt, your dads sister?
10

().
She turned 42 (years) last year.
11
12
, ?
And your younger sister Masha, how old is she?
13
().
Shes 15 (years old).
14
?
.
Shes only fifteen? She looks to me to be around

18.
97
. ,
().
Everybody says that. No, she turned just 15

(years old) in December.
18
e e?
And how old are you?
19
(One) does not ask women about that.
15
15
1
1
2
2
4
7
9
11
+ Dat
Loc Sg:
Irreg. Gen Pl:

+... ##
() ##
how old is PERSON (See 59.B.2)

year (See 59.)
previous; last
last week (See 59.A)
turn (a certain age) (See 59.B.2below.)
uncle
next
next week
aunt
PERSON seems to me to be ## years old. (lit.: I would give person about ## years)
59-1

19
59.
59-
one asks; are asked (Here the -form is used without a pronoun to indicate an
unspecified subject. English uses they or one the same way, e.g.: Theyre coming
to take me away Often such sentences may be rendered by a Passive phrase in
English: Women are not asked such questions.)
Time Expression: Review and New
Review:
1) To say what time, or what day something takes place, use
vary, the number itself (, , etc.) is ACC.
+ ACC. Note that while the form of , -, -
I got up at 2:00.
Theyll arrive at around 6:00.
I have a date with Mitya this Friday.
-.
We went to NY on Saturday.
But note the preposition + ACC in the following expression:

. The next day they invited us to a restaurant.
2) To say what month something takes place, use
+ PREP
She started to smoke in March.
I have a lot of work this month.
I will return to Russian next month.
New:
3) To say what week something takes place, use

any word for that matter) is used:
+ PREP. Notice that in English NO PREPOSITION (or
I had five exams last week.
. Im going to get up at 7:00 every day this week.

.
4) To say what year something takes place in, use
Prepositional.
Ill bake you a cake next week.
+ PREP. Note that the word has - in the
Shes been (= She is) eating a lot of chocolate this

year.
I studied/went to school in Moscow last year.
Im going to buy a new car next year.
59-2
59-
Summary of time expressions with prepositions
MEASUREMENT
FORM
OF TIME
Less than a week:
+ ACC
; ?;
A week:
+ PREP
/ /
More than a week:
+ PREP
Say when the event took (takes/will take) place. Put the time expression at the beginning.
1. . (next week)
2. . (on Tuesday)
3. . (last week)
4. . (this year)
5. . 6. .
(at around 6:00)
(next year)
7. . (last year)
8. (in March)
9. . (this week)
10. . (the next day)
59.
More on the word year in Russian
Above we learned that the Prep Sg of year is . The Gen Sg is used as expected after 2, 3, 4.
The Gen Pl, however, is (Its comes from the Gen Pl of summer). This will be used for 5:
NUMBER
EXAMPLES
YEAR (CASE/#)
(ending in) 1
, , ,
(Nom Sg)
(ending in) 2, 3, 4
, ,
(Gen Sg)
(ending in) 5
, , , , ,
(Gen Pl)
59-3
59.
59-
Age in Russian
59..1 Asking/expressing age

Here is the basic formula:
Person in the Dative + Number + Year (//)

Some examples:
PERSON (IN DAT)
+ NUMBER + YEAR
My mother is 48 (years old).
My older brother is 21 (years old).
Im 19 (years old).
Hes 23 (years old).
Mashas 34 (years old).
To ask the question How old is Person ? use
+ {person in the Dative}?
In the answer you can often leave out the word // (since its pretty clear what youre talking about.)
one or the other
+ {PRONOUN +} YEAR {+ NOUN}
How old is your aunt?
How old is your uncle?
How old are you?
How old is she?
Say how old the person is. The question ... will be repeated each time.
1. / 19
2. / 23
3. / 16
4. / 40
5. / 33
6. / 7
7. / 28
8. / 50
9. / 43
10. /
100
11. / 68
12. / 5
59-4
59-
59..2 Expressing age in the Past and Future

Use ( if is involved) or :
,
.
Borya emigrated from Russia to America when he

was 10
, ? How old were you when you wrote this book?

, . I started playing (= to play) chess when I was 7.
,
.
When I am (= will be) 40, I will be working in a

prestigious eating club at Princeton.
Question:
What is up with this lack of agreement between the verb and numbers >1?
Why is the verb Neut Sg? The last time I checked 2, 5, 10, 90 were more than
1, hence, plural.
Answer:
Verb agreement with numbers in Russian (and all of Slavic) is a . We

admit it. Even Russians dont know which form is really correct. (Just like
with impersonal short-form adjectives like , , etc., the Neut Sg
is used by default.)
59..3 Turning an age

To express turning an age, use the verb + in place of a form of be:
With years ending in 1 + , the verb will agree with it in the 3rd person MASC Sg.
With ALL OTHER NUMBERS, it will be in the 3rd person NEUT Sg.
Past Tense
Person in DAT + ( with ) + Number + Year
She turned two in May.
I turned 40 in January.
He turned 91 in July.
Julia turned 21 in April.
Future Tense
For ALL ages use the 3rd Sg: . This verb is Perfective, which means it has FUTURE MEANING,
even though it uses PRESENT ENDINGS. You can also use to express turning an age, which is more
colloquial (same in English: In a week shell be (= turn) 21.)
/ ?
When will you be (turn/ be) 20?
/ . She turns (= will turn / will be) 31 in January.
59-5
59-
Say how old person turned / will turn (Pay attention to tense and watch for the variations in the
Future):
1. April / / 20 (Fut turn)
2. August / / 23 (Past)
3. October / / 30 (Past)
4. December / / 18 (Fut
turn)
5. May / / 48 (Past)
6. January / / 51 (Fut be)
7. June / / 41 (Past)
8. March / / 10 (Fut turn)
9. September / / 60 (Fut be)
10. February / / 27 (Past)
11. November / / 100 (Fut be)
12. July / / 62 (Past)
59..4 Guesstimating age

When guesstimating (i.e., approximating) years, hours, etc., THE NOUN AND THE NUMBER SWITCH
PLACES. That is why in this particular expression the noun precedes the number.
The formula is: () + Person in Dat + Year (//) + Number
Again, when it's clear that you're talking about age, you can leave out the noun //.
()
PERSON
(DAT)
(YEAR)
NUMBER
()
She looks like shes about 23 (years old).
()
He looks like hes about 20 (years old).
()
I would say Tamaras about 40 (years old).
()
Your friend looks about 21 (years old).
So, before you say (-1) or (-2/-3/-4) or (-5/-6/-7, etc.), you have to know what number youre about
to say. However, since youre most likely to estimate 5, is by far the most commonly found form of years.
Guesstimate the persons age:
1. / ~20
2. / ~30
3. / ~45
4. / ~10
5. / ~50
6. / ~15
7. / ~23
8. / ~40
9. / ~60
59-6
"
59-
1 Give the ages of 3 people including: you (required), your parents, siblings
1.
______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
______________________________________________________________________________________
"
2 Indicate when 2 of the people mentioned above turned / will turn a certain age.
(Do one in the Past, one in the Future):
1.
______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
______________________________________________________________________________________
"
1.
3 Guesstimate the age of the following people (using full sentences):

______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
(last name doesnt decline because its female)

______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
(the singer/actress does decline)

______________________________________________________________________________________
59-7
59-
"
_________________________________
1. Last week Vera threw a party, and next week were going to throw a party.
2. Last year my relatives went to (+) Russia.
59-8

Do you envy rich people?
60.A The Dative Plural

60. More verbs that unexpectly take the Dative
60. Prepositions that take the Dative
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Do you envy rich people?
?
? ,
.
Who(m) do you envy? Do you envy rich people?

I think that all rich people are very happy.
.
.
,
,
. ?
I dont particularly envy the rich. I only envy my

roommates. They never study, on Thursdays
and Saturdays they go to all the clubs, but they
still (= nevertheless) get good grades. And you,
who(m) do you envy?
,
. ,
!
!
I really envy the lucky students who are taking

Russian. They say (it is said) that its a fantastic
course! All the students are simply in ecstasy
over that course.
, ?
..
Are you joking, or something? I really

sympathize with those poor students.
+ // - + Dat
envy
rich; wealthy
/-, -
happy
+ day in Dat Pl
on (See explanation below.)
still; nevertheless; despite all that; anyway
+ //
+ Dat
grade (in school)
lucky
11
fantastic
13
+ (No Perf) + Dat
sympathize with (Note Case!)
14
poor (in several sense: 1) without money; 2) worthy of pity)
receive; get
grade in a course
60-1
60.
60-
Dative Plural
Like the Prepositonal Plural, the Dative Plural is completely regular (and in fact differs from the Prepositional
Plural only in the final consonant vs. .)
Adjectives / Nounjectives
Nouns
-{I}
-{A}
NOM SG (DICTIONARY FORM)
DATIVE PLURAL
Form the Dative Plural of these nouns:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. (think!)
6.
7.
8.
9. ()
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
60-2
60-
60.
More Verbs That Unexpectedly Govern the Dative
Here are two more verbs that unpredictably govern the Dative:
+ // -
envy
sympathize with
(No preposition needed!)
I really envy you!
He doesnt envy the poor students at Princeton.
I really sympathize with her.
Everyone sympathizes with his poor wife.
Add water. Use Present Tense unless prompted otherwise:
1. / + /
2. / + /
3. / + /
4. / + /
5. / + /
. (Past)
6. / + /
7. / + /
(Past)
8. / + /
9. / + / ?
60-3
60.
60-
Prepositions That Govern the Dative

The preposition , which is most often followed by the Dative, has several usages:
1) with days of the week (in the Dative Plural) it means on Mondays / Saturdays / Fridays, etc.
, , I work at the cafeteria on Mondays, Wednesdays, and
.
Fridays.

.
Seryozha plays tennis on Thursdays and squash on

Sundays.
2) together with the course name following the nouns and .

.
Tomorrow I have a Russian exam.
/
/ .
I got a bad grade in history / math / physics.
But remember, after the nouns and use Gen: / / etc.

/ ). We realize that this makes no sense from the point of view of
English, ?
3) in the fixed phrases -, -, - in PERSONs opinion, PERSON thinks

(*Remember, in all other uses, the Dat forms , are end-stressed):
-, .
I think shes a talentless actress.
, -, ?
Who in your opinion is the best actor today?
has several other meanings, but this should hold you for now. Besides these two, there are only a few other
(rather obscure) Prepositions that govern the Dative.
60-4
60-
() (this is not exhibited in dialogue)
Previously we saw the fixed phrase unfortunately. It turns out that is actually in the
Dative, because of the Preposition , which always governs othe Dative. (Recall that some Prepositions can
govern more than once case, e.g governs both Accusative and Prepositional.) The only problem with
is that this is not the normal use of , (or when the following noun begins with two consonants, as
in ).
Normally () is used to indicate motion toward a thing or person. This preposition is often found after the verb
{+ / ()+} to walk up (to someone). We can now make a complete sentence out of a line that
appeared in the first part of the story:
: ,

She approached (= walked up to) Mitya and said,

Hello, my name is Sara.
He walked up to the window.
: !
They walked up to me and said, You the man!
is also used with people (analogous to and ) to indicate destination (i.e., the place someone where you will
spend time). This normally shows up as either to or over in English:
Were going to our grandmothers on Saturday.
She goes to the doctors a lot.
Everyones going over Lenas tonight.
1. Galya walked up to some professor and said

Hello.
2. Last year I got a bad grade in Russian. (strictly

hypothetical)
3. I think he is a fool.
4. I work on Tuesdays and Sundays.
5. Sara walked up to Mitya and kissed him on the

cheek.
6. Lara is usually free on Thursdays.
7. Who in your opinion is the richest professor in

Princeton?
8. Do you get good grades?
60-5
60-
"
1.
___________________________________
Pick 5 of your favorite Dative verbs put them in sentences or constructions

weve had so far:
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"
1. He walked up to her and said Do you want to dance (a little)?
2. I dont envy anyone.
3. In my opinion, rich people are not happy.
4. Poor Lena! No one sympathizes with her.
60-6

Are you bored?
61.A The Dative of Experience

61. Yet another unexpected Dative verb
61.B + Infinitive feel like doing
something
61. not care
61. and also; too
Are you bored?
e ee? e ?
Why are you yawing? Are you bored?
2
3
e, e e. e
. e e .
.
No, Im sleepy. (I feel like sleeping.) I couldnt

sleep all night. I was really hot. Our air
conditioner broke.
e . e e ,
. , ,
e e , e
. , e e .
I sympathize with you. I cant sleep either when

its hot. Fortunately, (they) said on TV that its
going to be chilly tonight, even cold. I hope that
youll be OK.
10
11
.
.
, .
Thanks. My roommate sometimes snores really

loudly, and keeps me from sleeping. He doesnt
care that I cant sleep.
12
13
My roommate also snores sometimes and keeps

everyone from sleeping. What jerks!
. !
5
6
7
8
+ // +
yawn
+ Infinitive
[Person] feels like doing something (See grammar)
hot (This Adjective is used to describe the weather. You cannot use it with ,
, etc.)
air conditioner
also, too; either (See 61.)
fortunately (The Noun happiness is in Dative following the Preposition

.)
cool; chilly
10
+ // - + Dative
(+Infinitive)
bother; prevent someone from doing something (See grammar)
10
[Person] doesnt care; it doesnt make a difference to [Person]; [Person couldnt

care less] (See grammar)
12
Dative of
61-1
61.
61-
The Dative of Experience: / /
One of the most common uses of the Dative is with Short-Form Neuter Adjectives (which are identical to
Adverbs) to indicate how a person feels (either physically or emotionally). Some examples:
.
Im bored.
Are you cold?
My grandfather is always hot.
Im having a good time here.
I dont feel well.
Note:
An infinitive can often follow the Adjective/Adverb:

.
It was interesting for everyone to read about

Pushkin.
Would it be difficult for you to open the window?

(This functions as a polite request.)
In the Past and Future, as you would predict, a Neuter 3rd singular Verb is used ( or ), since there is no
Nominative subject with which to agree:
, .
Im afraid that you will be bored at the party.
It was very interesting for my parents to hear about

Russia.
.
1. Are you bored?
2. Everyone was hot at the concert.
3. Is it interesting for him to read about Russian

history?
4. Im cold.
5. Is it difficult for you to speak Chinese?
6. Im afraid Nadya will be bored at the party.
7. Did you have a good time yesterday?
8. Do you feel OK? (Do you feel not well?)
61-2
61-
61.
Another Unexpected Dative Verb: + // - bother
Another Verb that unpredictably governs the Dative is + // - bother; disturb. It can be used in two
constructions:
1) bother someone (this meaning was not seen in the dialogue)

! ,
.
Youre bothering me! Cant you see that Im

studying?
She bothers us constantly
! (This is the Imperative, which we
Dont bother Natasha!
havent seen yet. Hint of things to come soon.)
2) prevent/hinder someone from doing something (followed by Dative and Infinitive)
61.
Kolya is preventing his sister from watching TV

(because hes bothering her)
Dont keep her from sleeping. (Let her sleep.)
+ Infinitive [Person] feels like doing [Verb]
Instead of + [Infinitive], + [Infinitive]? Russians often use the construction +

[Infinitive], + [Infinitive]?, etc., which correlate to I feel like [Verb-ing]; do you feel like
[Verb-ing]? Note that the verb remains in the 3rd Singular theres no Nominative to agree with.
.
Im sleepy. (I feel like sleeping.)
I feel like eating. (I could sure go for some food.)
Sasha doesnt feel like studying.
We dont feel like working.
I dont feel like waiting.
This verb does have a Perfective + ( , ...) and its actually used quite
a bit, but for now stick to the Present Tense, .
61-3
61.
61-
[Person] doesnt care
Yet another common expression with the Dative is [Person] doesnt care. Literally the
expression means to [Person] (its) all even / the same.
The phrase is similar to English in that it can express either: (1) equal satisfaction with two alternatives or; (2)
indifference, apathy, lack of concern:
Equal satisfaction (Not presented in the dialogue). Often a question word or phrase follows:
, ?
().
What kind of wine do you want, white or red?
?
. (Must include Preposition!)
Which exhibit does she want to go to?

It makes no difference to her (to) which one.
I dont care (either one is fine with me).
Lack of concern; Indifference. Often a clause follows:
, .
He doesnt care that its raining and I dont have an

umbrella.
, .
Galya doesnt care (couldnt care less) that she is

keeping me from sleeping.
, ! .
Katya, Im cold! I dont care. (The heck with

you.)
1. You are bothering me.
2. I dont feel like studying.
3. I dont feel well. I dont care.
4. Which book do you want? I dont care which.
5. Do you feel like eating?
6. Dima is preventing me from sleeping.
61..1
More Than One
You may recall seeing in the last lesson: but they

still get good grades. As you can see, this is a different use of . Here means still; in any
case; nevertheless. You cannot use a Dative subject here.
61-4
61-
61.
also; too
When also = :
New subject attached to old sentence
One of the most misused words in Russian is , which is normally translated as also, too. You can only use
in a few specific contexts, the most common of which is to indicate that a second person/thing has the same
characteristics/does the same action as the person/thing previously described. In other words, the only difference
between a sentence with and the orignal sentence (besides the word ) is the subject. (It doesnt matter
whether its a real subject in Nominative, or a Dative subject just as long as everything else is the same in
the new sentence.) The predicate (which is everything in the sentence except the subject) must not change.
Simply paste on a new subject and add following the subject.
It is much better to translate with too because like , too must follow the word or phrase it modifies:
.
Sasha plays tennis. I play tennis too.
.
.
This book costs 10 rubles. And this book costs 10

rubles too.
Some examples with a Dative subject:

. .
Sasha is hot. Im hot too.
. .
Dima is 40 years old. Im forty too.
When the predicate is negated, shows up as not either in English:

. .
Masha is not going to drink tonight. Im not going to

drink either.
.
.
Natasha doesnt like his tie. I dont like his tie either.
Repeating ourselves (for the fourth time), in order to use , the same action (condition) must be carried out by
two different subjects.
61-5
61..1
61-
Dont Start a Sentence With
CANNOT (repeat CANNOT!!!) begin a sentence in Russian. (If every Russian teacher had a ruble for
every time a student started saying: , ..., we could all buy...one or two shares of some hot Internet
stock.)
For sentences such as Also, I was thinking...; Also, we bought... Russians often dont bother with any special
word. If any word is used, its most often .
.
Also, I bought three large jars of black caviar.
(Next year well also see furthermore; in addition.)
The correct use of and the translation of also is another farily tricky topic, which we have only touched on
here. However, if you avoid beginning sentences with , and if you use it only to re-state the same predicate
with a new subject, youll have mastered by far the most important usage.
Translate what is not in parentheses into Russian:
1. (Dima likes ice cream.) I like ice cream too.
2. Also, I bought a new air conditioner.
3. (Masha is 20 years old.). Misha is 20 years old too.
4. (Masha liked the film.) Grisha liked the film too.
5. (I was yawning.) My dog was yawing too.
6. (Im sleepy.) My husband is sleepy too.
61-6
61-
"
1.

Use the Dative of Experience in 4 sentences:
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"
Fill in the blanks:
1.
_________ (you) __________ _________ _________ ?
2.
______ ______ ____ ________ ____ _________ _____ .
3.
, _____________ ______________ _____________ ___________.
"
Translate:
1. Masha is bothering me. Sasha is bothering me too.
2. I like hot weather.
61-7
61-
___________________________________
3. Why are you yawning? Are you sleepy too (I'm sleepy don't translate)?
4. No one cares (=Everyone doesnt care) that hes bored.
5. What book do you want? I dont care which.
61-8

I needed the space on my desk.
62.A Needing a thing

62. Needing to do something
62. More on modals
I needed the space on my desk
Where did your computer disappear to?
2
3
, ? e e , e
e .
e e .
e .
Did you forget or something? I told you that I

sold it to my Russian professor. He badly
needed a new computer. His old computer broke
recently.
e e e . e
? e , e
. .
, .
But I need a new computer too. Did you need

(the) money? If you need money, Ill give it to
you. Or your father will give you (some money).
Hes very rich, as far as I understand.
12
e, e . e
. . , e
.
No, I needed the space (room) on my desk. Its

too cramped (crowded). Im going to buy a
notebook. By the way, I need your help.
13
Whats up?
14
15
()
, ,
. ?
I have a Russian quiz tomorrow, and I think I

will have some questions. Can you help me?
19
, .
.
.
I think (it seems) Im going to be busy. Im

supposed to work in the library. You should
have told me about it before.
20
When will you let me know?
21
Today at 4:00.
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
16
17
18
(), , ,
need a thing (See 62.A)
as far as (I know/remember)
10
room; space; place
11
crowded; cramped
12
help (You can predict the gender.)
14
()
quiz; exam (but not final exam)
20
let someone know
Ill let you know about it tomorrow.
62-1
62.
62-
Expressing Need: ?
To say that someone needs a thing, once again a Dative construction is used. The thing needed appears in
Nominative, a form of the short-form Adjective () together with the verb to be (in the Past and Future)
agrees with the thing needed, and the needer appears in Dative.
Needer > () > Thing Needed (controls agreement)
The most typical word order is:
or
The verb can appear either before or after ():
to be
The form () has a strange stress pattern: Stem-stressed for Masculine and Neuter (, ), endstressed for Feminine and Plural (, ).
Present
NEEDER (DAT)
()
THING NEEDED (NOM)
I need a new pencil.
Everyone needs soap.
Our kids need your help.
Nina needs your keys.
No one needs bad vodka.
In the Past and Future a form of the verb to be agrees with the Nominative thing needed, as does the form of
(). Note that this is different from all the Dative of Experience constructions we saw earlier, where the
Verb was in the default Neuter 3rd Singular ( / ).
The word order of be and () is quite flexible. (Otherwise keep the word order as presented.)
Past and Future

NEEDER
BE
()
BE
THING NEEDED

Masha needed my dictionary.
Boris needed a red pen.
My sister needed room on (her) table.
Who needed money?
Will you need this book?
I am going to need a big knife.
Veras sister is going to need a new

coat
You will need money.
62-2
62-
Note that the thing needed could be a person, in which case () simply reflects the gender of the person
needed. In such sentences its better to start with the Nominative > Dative > (Verb) > ():
( / ) (said to a woman)
I need (needed / will need) you.
( / ) (said, sadly, to a man)
I dont (didnt / wont) need you.
Recall that (-), , and take Neuter Singular agreement:
( / ) ?
What do (did / will) you need?
- ( / ) ?
Does (did / will) he need anything?
( / ) .
We dont (didnt / wont) need anything?
( / ) .
She needs (needed / will need) everything.
Say what the person needed / needs / will need:
1. / / present
2. / / future
3. / / past
4. / / present
5. / /
future
6. / /
past
7. / / past
8. / / present
9. / / past
10. / /
future
11. / / past
12. / /
present
13. /
/ future
14. / / present?
15. / / past?
16. / / present
17. / - / present?
18. / () / present
62.
Needing to Do Something: (/) + Infinitive
Heres yet another Dative construction. To express what a person must do, use Dative (Person) + (+ to be
Neuter Singular) + Infinitive:
Person in
Dative
Unchanging
to be
(3rd Neuter
Sg)
(/
)
Infinitive
Translation
(just one tense of the three possible
will be given for each example)
I have to study.
You will have to do your homework.
Vadik had to take out the garbage.
Marina has to buy bread.
You may recall that we had + Infinitive without a specific person in Dative when Sara told Mitya
. She could have included the Dative pronoun , (except we didnt know the Dative at the
time). But given the situation, it was clear that Sara thought Mitya should quit smoking, so it was possible to omit
the pronoun.
62-3
62-
Say what the person needed / needs / will need to do:
1. / clean the carpet / present
2. / study / future
3. / buy caviar / past
4. / speak German / present
5. / sing Russian songs / past
6. / help the poor / present
7. / take out the garbage /

present
8. / write a composition / future
62.
More on Modals: Unchanging vs. Agreeing ()
Like English, (with must, have to, should, ought, need to, etc.) Russian has several ways of expressing necessity
or obligation these are known as Modal Verbs. Here well look at two of the most common constructions in
Russian, and make a few observations about the differences in structure and meaning. However, as in English,
the exact differences between modals is often very subtle, and cannot be covered in full in a first-year course.
As we saw just above, is an unchanging form that is used with a Dative and a 3rd Singular Neuter Noun.
(, , ), on the other hand, is an Adjective (Short-Form) that agrees with the
Nominative subject in Person, Number, and Gender. Like , it is followed by an Infinitive. For the Past and
Future the verb to be must also agree with the Nominative subject in Person, Number, and Gender. (Also like
, () does not require a verb in the Present tense). The one (seemingly arbitrary) restriction with
is that the verb to be must follow ():
Nominative Subject + () (agrees) + (be) + Infinitive

Subject in
Nominative
() + (be in Past and

Future)
(agree with Subject)
Translation
Infinitive
(just one tense of the three

will be given for each example)
First-Person Singular
()
( / )
I should have helped her.
()
( / )
I am going to have to write a

composition.
Second-Person Singular
()
( / )
You were supposed to ask Vera to

bring the caviar.
()
( / )
You must clean the carpet.
Third-Person Singular
( / )
He is supposed to bake a cake.
( / )
She was supposed to run to the store.
62-4
62-
Plural
( / )
We have to buy everyone a gift.
( / )
You are going to have to clean your

apartment.
( / )
They are supposed to do the dishes.
62..1
Semantic Differences between () and : Obligation vs. Necessity
In many instances, especially in the Present Tense, and () have very similar meanings. As a general
rule, though, () implies obligation or responsibility, i.e., something from within, while stresses
having to do something due to outside circumstances that arise (like having to buy milk because youve run out).
Compare these two sentences:
.
I have to buy bread (because we just ran out).
I have to buy bread (it is my obligation to do it because I

promised someone that I would.)
Russians often say that () is stronger than , that the necessity is greater.
Lets take a look at two relatively straightforward differences between and ():
62..2
The Tickle-me-Elmo/Furby : Missed opportunity
In the Past Tense only can convey the meaning should have but didnt / missed opportunity. For example,
if you visited a toy store around Christmas and saw the latest hot-selling toy but decided not to buy it right then,
and then a week later the toy was sold out everywhere, you would say:
(toy is Feminine) , .
I should have bought it when I was in the store last week.
You cannot use () in this context.
62..3
A Scheduled Event: ()
To express an event that was (is) scheduled to take place you must use (). Note that even though such
sentences do not express necessity, () is used nevertheless.
.
They were supposed to (scheduled to) leave on Friday.
Masha is supposed to (scheduled to) work tonight.
You cannot use in this meaning.

Over the rest of the course (and next year) well come across quite a few differences in the usage of modals.
Quite often the best way to learn these is to memorize one very clear example of a specific use.
62-5
62-
"
___________________________________
1 Write 3 sentences along the pattern If you want to do X (Infinitive), you need
Y (Noun), e.g. , .
Some possible activities: read a difficult article; write a paper; open a door; buy (thing); go to NY; make dinner;
kill two rabbits; get tickets to the ballet; dance; eat; sleep
1.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
"
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of or () and the verb be
1. ____________________________ ___________________________ . present

2. ____________________________ ___________________________ . past
3. ____________________________ ___________________________ . future
4. ____________________________ ___________________________ . present
5. ____________________________ ___________________________ (clean) ? past
62-6
62-
"

Translate:
1. Ill let you know tomorrow.
2. We need a new air conditioner.
Verb of the Day:
Stem
[]+ perish
Verb Type //
Conjugation Type
Present
Past
Infinitive
62-7

For the life of me, I don't remember
63.A Telling people what to do: The Imperative
For the life of me, I dont remember
, , ?
Hi, Lyonya, hows it going?
Dont ask.
? ?
Whats wrong (with you)? What happened?
4
5
, .
.
Please dont talk so loud. My head really hurts.
6
7
. ?
TI?
Sorry (forgive me). Where were you yesterday?

Were you at TI again?
8
9
10
, , ,
TI. .
.
No, believe it or not I wasnt at TI. I was at a

wedding. My (female) cousin got married.
11
, , .
And of course you got drunk.
12
13
.
. ?
Its not my fault. (I am not guilty.) Everyone

was yelling Chug! Chug! How could I not
drink?
14
How much did you drink?
15
16
17
, . ,
, , .
.
For the life of me, I dont remember. Do me a

favor please, (and) close the window. Im
really cold.
18
I feel just fine.
19
20
, . , ,
.
Oh, my head hurts. Please give me the aspirin.
believe it or not (Lit.: if you want, believe; if you want, dont believe)
( )
wedding
(female) cousin
(male) cousin
11
+ //
{+ / +}
get drunk
12
, -, -
guilty
12
() !
chug! (lit.: drink to the bottom! Imperative of {+ / +}
15
()
for the life of me (Lit.: even [if you] kill me)
15
+ // -
do someone a favor
63-1

16
()!
63-
close (Imperative)
+ // {+ / +}
19
() !
give (Imperative of )
20
Guess
63.A
Telling People What To Do: The Imperative
Weve seen many examples of the Imperative, right from the the very first day of the course. Some old favorites:
()
()...
()!
Lets see how to form the Imperative. Basically, there are 2() endings, the choice of which depends on the final
consonant of the stem. The crucial question: Is the final stem consonant (sound) ?
Verbs whose stem ends in (or + vowel) , , !

If the final consonant of the Non-Past (Present) stem is , thats the Imperative. Add - (never stressed) for
Plural/Formal commands):
NON-PAST STEM
-{A}+ verbs
-+ verbs
61.A.1
IMPERATIVE
+ // + // +
()()
()()
()
+
+
()
()
Use the Left-Hand Stem for Double-Stem Verbs
For double-stem verbs we use the stem on the left, the same stem that is used for the Non-Past (Present).
This also applies for -{O}+ verbs, which technically are double-stem verbs. The Non-Past stem ends in -{U}:
NON-PAST STEM
{-+/-+}
verbs
-{O}+ verbs
(-{U}+)
IMPERATIVE
{+... / +...} // {+/ +} // -
(); ()
()()
+ (+) // + (+) spit
()()
()
It turns out that () is actually a command from the verb +, be well; thrive. So Russians
arent just saying Hello but rather Thrive!
63-2
63-
What about double-stem verbs like {+ / +}? Theres no vowel in the Non-Past stem!!
Its cluster-buster time, which gives you (). So, whenever you walk into a bar, the will say !
And at parties we recommend you yell out (to others):
! ! Chug! Chug!
Also, the verb pour is {+ / +}. Just remember , , ! The verb kill is {+ / +}, from which
we get the expression for the life of me, literally, even (if you) kill [me].
NON-PAST STEM
{-+ / -+}
verbs
{+ / +}
{+ / +}
{+ / +}
IMPERATIVE
()
()
()
Form the Imperatives. Use the familiar form unless noted.
1. + ()
2. +
3. +... ()
4. +..
5. + ()
6. {+ / +}
7. {+ / +}
8. + ()
9. + blush
10. + ()
11. {+.../ +...}
12. {+ / +}
Stems in {A} (spelled Vowel + )

The above rule about Verbs in also applies to stems that end in {A}, spelled Vowel + (+ +..., etc.).
In this case, you simply remove the basic vowel {A} and reveal the hidden . In other words, if the final
consonant sound of the stem is , thats the Imperative form. (Now do you see why we taught you this basic
vowel stuff?)
NON-PAST STEM
{A} verbs
IMPERATIVE
+ ({A})
+...
() (also means Stop!)

()
+... laugh
+ bark (dog)
()
()
Form the Imperatives:
1. +
2. +
3. +...
63-3
4. +...
63-
Other Rules: Non -Verbs: ()

Leaving aside stems whose final consonant is , the Imperative is a Vowel ending: -() sort of. It depends on
stress. If the stress is on the ending (or the final vowel of the stem), add stressed () (always the soft
indicating vowel, never ).
NON-PAST STEM
IMPERATIVE
End-stressed Imperative in -()

+
*+ // + // +
+
**+
**+ // + // +
()
()()
()()
()
()
()
()()
()()
()
* Verbs with shifting stress keep the stress on the ending.

**Note that (and ) do not mutate. See more below on consonant mutation.
Since this Imperative ending is a vowel ending, for Double-Stem verbs we use the stem to which vowel endings
are attached, i.e. the stem ending in a consonant (on the left):
NON-PAST STEM
IMPERATIVE
End-stressed Imperative in -()
{+/ + }
{+/ + }
{+/ +}
()
()
()
Form the Imperative from the following verbs:
1. +
4. +
7. +
10. +
2. + ()
3. +
5. +
6. + ()
8. {+/ +} ()
9. +
11. + ()
12. {+/ +}
63-4
63-
If the stress is ALWAYS on the stem add -()

NON-PAST STEM
IMPERATIVE
Stem-stressed Imperative in -()

+
+
+ climb
+ place
+
{+ / +} sit down
{+ / +}
+ desert
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
()
Form the Imperative from the following verbs:
1. +
2. +
3. + ()
4. +
5. {+ / +} ()
6. + place
7. +
8. + answer
9. {+ / +} ()
Stem-stressed verbs that have > 1 consonant preceding the final vowel: Add -()
If, after chopping off the vowel from a stem-stresed verb, you are faced with two consonants, add unstressed
() instead of (). It seems that a double consonant + () is just too much of a cluster.
NON-PAST STEM
IMPERATIVE
Stem-stressed but with >1 consonant before final stem

Imperative in -()
+
+
+
[]+
()
()
()
()
Form the Imperative from the following verbs. Not all the verbs here behave the same. Any of
the types described above may appear here.
1. + remember; recall
2. +
3. {+ / +} ()
4. +...
5. + ()
6. +
7. []+
8. +
9. + ()
63-5
63-
Consonant mutation in the Imperative
Even though the Imperative creates V

/ +V truncation, only 1st-conjugation -a+ verbs like +, + have
mutation. In other words, only verbs that have consonant mutation throughout the Non-Past also have mutation
in the Imperative. Second-conjugation -+ and -e+ verbs only mutate in the 1sg (-form), so they DONT mutate
in the Imperative.
NON-PAST STEM
IMPERATIVE
-a+ verbs: Consonant mutation in Imperative
+ //
+
+ // - look for
+ brush
()()
()
()()
()
-+ and -+ verbs: NO consonant mutation in

Imperative
+
+ glance
() (although )
() (although )
() (although )
() (although )
() (although )
Heres a really nice example: the stem of cry is +. Not only do we get mutation (because its an -a+ verb),
but since its a stem-stressed verb, the Imperative ending is -(): ().
Form the Imperative from the following verbs. Again, this is a mixed group.
1. + connect
4. +
7. +
3. + ()
6. +
9. + spread
2. +
5. + ()
8. + ()
Exceptions in the Imperative

The three double-stem verbs that have -+ in the Past/Infinitive stem use that stem (on the right), and not the
Non-Past stem like every other double-stem verb) to form the Imperative:
PAST/INFINITIVE STEM
IMPERATIVE
-+ verbs
{+ / +}
{+ / +}
{+ / +}
()
()
()
63-6
63-
Also: > ()
IRREGULAR VERBS
/ /
IMPERATIVE
() / () / ()
The irregular verbs + and + dont normally have an Imperative form, and neither does +.
Aspect in the Imperative

As the general rule, use Perfective for positive commands, Imperfective for negative commands.
+ PERFECTIVE
() .
() .
.
.
.
IMPERFECTIVE
.
() .
.
.
.
Of course if the verb does not have a Perfective (many State/Activity verbs) the Imperfective is used for positive
commands: ! Study!
There are a number (a rather large number) of exceptions to the +Perfective / Imperfective rule. Well discuss
them as they come up throughout the rest of the course.
Translate:
1. Bring a cake.
2. Dont bring anything.
3. Give her the money.
4. Dont give Sasha the money.
5. Close the window.
6. Dont close the door.
7. Dont be afaid.
8. Sara, be careful!
63-7
63-
Summary of the Imperative
STEM
IMPERATIVE
1) Stems ending in - (or +Vowel):

keep -()
+
+
+...
+
()
()
()
2) End-stressed stems: add -()
+
+
()
()
()
()
()
+
+
()
()
* Mutation only in -a+ verbs

3) Stem-stressed stems: add -();
Consonant cluster: add -()
+ PERFECTIVE
() .
.
IMPERFECTIVE
.
.
(Another) Summary of the Imperative Endings and Examples (V=Vowel, C=Consonant)
V/
CC/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
63-8
63-
"

Tell the people to do the opposite of what they want:
1.
dishes.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
63-9
63-
___________________________________
10. .
"
Make up 2 situations similar to the preceding exercise. After + only an

Imperfective Infinitive is found.
Translate the first part and finish the sentence as you wish:
1.
2.
"
1.
Believe it or not...
2.
I got drunk at the party and...
63-10

The Dative doesn't hold a candle to the Instrumental
Review of Lessons 58-63

and Story parts 10-11

The Dative doesnt hold a candle to the Instrumental Case
:
Which (grammatical)case did you most of all?
2
3
You always ask very difficult questions. At first I

didnt like Nominative Case.
.

.
What was the problem?
6
7
8
.
. , , .
.
I dont know. But I really liked Accusative.

Everyone, of course, likes Genitive. And I liked
it too.
9
10
?
?
How about Prepositional (Locative)? Did you

like Prepositional (Locative) Case?
11
12
, .
.
To be honest, I didnt like it very much. But I am

simply in ecstasy over Dative Case.
13
14
, .
.

. .
I know what you mean. The Dative is a fantastic

Case. But Dative doesnt hold a candle to
Instrumental Case. Youre going to love
Instrumental Case.
15
16
The names of the Cases will not appear on any exam, but you should be able to recite them in class when asked
?
1
grammatical case
most of all (Used very often with +... // -)
Nominative (Related to the noun )
Accusative (Related to the verb + accuse)
Genitive (Related to the noun )
Prepositional (Related to the noun preposition)
11
to be honest; honestly speaking (In case youre wondering is a

Gerund, a form we wont really examine this year.)
12
Dative (Related to the noun give)
15
Instrumental (Related to the verb + create)
15
+... + Dative
not to hold a candle to; not to be worthy of (Lit.: not to be worthy of being
the sole of a shoe to someone/something)
Theyre not worthy of you..
64-1
N
O
M
A
C
C
G
E
N
P
R
E
P
D
A
T
-{I} / - -
MASCULINE
{O} -{O}
NEUTER
-{A} -{A} / -
FEMININE
/ /
/
/
/
-{I} -{I}; Neut -{A}
PLURAL
Animate borrows GEN
-{I} -{O}; -; -
(--; --)
/

/
/
-{I} -{A}
/

/
/
-{I} -{A}
-{O} -{I}
(--; --)
/ /
/
/
/
-{O}
-{O}
/

/
/

/
-{U} -{U} / -
/

/
Same as NOM
-{A}

Animate borrows GEN
-{}
-{U}
- (-; - -) ()
-{O}
-{O}

64-2
64-
REVIEW OF LESSONS 58-63, STORY PARTS 10-11
64-
Dative Pronouns
NOMINATIVE
DATIVE
()
()
()
Like and Love: +... versus +
+... // -
Impression / reaction (like /

love)
Established relation to thing /

person / activity (like / love
but not romantic)
.
!
Romantic feelings (love)
,
.
Syntax of Sentences With +...:: The liker appears in the Dative, the thing liked is in Nominative,
which controls agreement on the Verb +....
Summary of time expressions with prepositions

MEASUREMENT OF TIME
Less than a week:
I.E.
hours, days
A week:
More than a week:
months, years
FORM
EXAMPLES
+ ACC
; ; ;

+ PREP
+ PREP
64-3
64-
Age expressions
PERSON (IN DAT)

+ NUMBER + YEAR

My mother is 48 (years old).

My older brother is 21 (years old).
Mashas 34 (years old).
To ask the question How old ? use + {person in the Dative}?

In the answer you can often leave out the word // (since its pretty clear what youre talking about.)
one or the other
+ {PRONOUN +} YEAR {+ NOUN}
How old is your mother?

How old are you?
Past and Future
Use ( if is involved) or :
, Borya emigrated from Russia to America when he was 10
.
, When I am (= will be) 40, I will be working in a prestigious
eating club at Princeton.
.
Turning and age
To express turning an age, use the verb + in place of a form of be:

With years ending in 1 + , the verb will agree with it in the 3rd person MASC Sg.
With ALL OTHER NUMBERS, it will be in the 3rd person NEUT Sg.
.
.
.
/ ?
/ .
She turned two in May.

I turned 40 in January.
Julia turned 21 in April.
When will you be (turn/ be) 20?
She turns (= will turn / will be) 31 in January.
Guesstimating age
When guesstimating (i.e., approximating) years, hours, etc., THE NOUN AND THE NUMBER SWITCH PLACES. That is
why in this particular expression the noun precedes the number.
The formula is: () + Person in Dat + Year (//) + Number
()

PERSON
(DAT)
(YEAR)
()
()
()
NUMBER
.
.
.
64-4
She looks like shes about 23 (years old).

He looks like hes about 20 (years old).
I would say Tamaras about 40 (years old).
64-
The Plural Nounjective all

NOM
ACC
GEN
PREP
DAT
Inanimate
Animate
.
.
.
.
.
All my friends went to private school.

I saw all the elephants.
This is a present for all my professors.
He was in all the clubs.
I envy all the students at Brown.
- vs. -
SOME-
ANY- (EVER)
-, -
Basically, the particle - refers to an un-named but specific, concrete item (person, place, etc.), while - refers to an
un-named but not specific item (person, place, etc.).
Generally, - is found in: 1) Questions; 2) statements about the Future; 3) Conditional statements (remember ?); 4)
Commands, while - occurs in statements about the Present or the Past
Examples with -
- ?
- ?
- , .
Did anyone call?

Do you ever fight with your parents?
If she had bought anything (something), I would
have killed her.
Nice rule about Aspect: After - Past-Tense verbs must appear in the Imperfective:
- ?
- ?
How you ever bought caviar?

Did he ever help (his) uncle?
Examples with -
- .
- .
- - .
She bought something for you.

Borya told someone about it.
Someone is making something in the kitchen.
64-5
64-
More Verbs That Unexpectedly Govern the Dative

+
envy
sympathize with
bother someone; prevent someone from doing something
.
.
. .
.
I dont envy anyone.

I really sympathize with those poor students.
Get away from me. Youre bothering me.
Shes keeping him from sleeping.
Prepositions That Govern the Dative
(motion) towards
1) on days of the week; 2) exam/grade in (course); 3) opinion
.
.
.
-, !
Sara walked up to Mitya and said Hi.

She works on Mondays and Wednesdays.
I have a Russian exam tomorrow.
In my opinion, hes a fool.
Feel like doing something

Often instead of having Nominative subject with the verb , you find a Dative subject with non-agreeing
(fixed in the Neuter Third Singular). This use adds the meaning Person feels like doing something:
.

I dont feel like studying.

He feels like sleeping.
The Dative of Experience

The experiencer appears in the Dative, and a Adverb (or Neuter Short-Form Adjective, if you so desire) is used
to express feeling. The Neuter Third Singular of be is used in the Past and Future:
.
?
.
Im bored.
Was she cold?
Youll be (too) hot.
A related construction is Person doesnt care, which can mean either that the Person is uncaring
(doesnt care if someone is suffering) or that either of several choices is acceptable to the Person:
, .
.
He doesnt care that shes crying.

I dont care which restaurant we go to.
64-6
64-
(): Needing a thing

The most typical word order is:
Needer (DAT) > () > Thing needed (NOM).
The verb can appear either before or after ():
be
The form () has a strange stress pattern stem-stressed in the Masc and Neut: , , but end-stressed for
Fem and Pl: , .
.
?
.
.
I need a pen.
Who needs soap?
Kolya needed a penci.l
Were going to need money.
, () needing/having to do something

Another Dative construction: (Person-DAT) + (+ be Neut 3sg: unstressed) + Infinitive. Since there is nothing in the
NOM, this is another one of our impersonal constructions.
The person who has to do the thing expressed by the infinitive is optional when its understood or a general statement.
Note that in the Past and Future + the form of be (/) forms a unit which is pronounced with the stress on
; / is unstressed.
PERSON (DAT)
(+ UNSTRESSED BE)
INFINITIVE
.
.
.
We have to give Mom flowers.

She had to study all night.
Ivan will have to clean all these rooms.
()
In the story we saw the Adjective (), , , , which translates as should. As in English, there is
often an overlap between have to, must, and should. Before we look at the differences in meaning between and
, lets look at the difference in syntax:
NOM subject > () > be > Infinitive
As we saw just above, is impersonal: it is an unchanging form used with a DAT person and a Neut 3sg form of be.
(), on the other hand, is an adjective which agrees with the NOM subject in Number and Gender. Like , it is
also used with an Infinitive:
For the Past and Future the verb be must also agree with the NOM subject in Number and Gender. The one (seemingly
arbitrary) restriction with () is that the verb be must follow ():
SUBJ. (NOM)
()
()
()
BE
(/)
(/)
(/)
(/)
(/)
INFINITIVE
.
.
.
.
.
64-7
I have/had/will have to help her.

You have/had/will have to clean the carpet.
He has/had/will have to bake a cake.
Yall have/had/will have to clean the apartment.
They have/had/will have to wash the dishes.
64-
and also; too

The only difference between a sentence with and the orignal sentence (besides the word ) is the logical subject.
The predicate (which is everything in the sentence except the subject) must not change. Simply paste on a new subject and
add following the subject.
It is much better to translate too because like , too must follow the word or phrase it modifies.
.
.
.
. .
Sasha plays tennis. I play tennis too.

This book costs 10 rubles. And this book costs 10 rubles
too.
Sasha is hot. Im hot too.
When the predicate is negated, shows up as not either in English:

. .
Masha is not going to drink tonight. Im not going to drink

either.
Manage to do something: + Infinitive

To express the idea that Person managed to do something, use a Dative subject together with followed
by an Infinitive, normally the Perfective:
.
.
I managed to convince him.

We didnt manage to close the door.
You cant have a in Russian; means a foreign accent.

.
.
He has a slight Russian accent.

She has a heavy English accent.
Perfective Future use of +

Normally when the Verb forget is used in the Future the Perfective is used. The stem is {+ / +}
.
.
Arrive / Leave (By Vehicle)
Ill never forget this day.

Hell forget me.
+ // {+ / +}
+ // {+ / +}
Both Verbs have similar stems in both the Imperfective and Perfective, the only difference is in the prefixes
- (arrive) versus - (leave). Both Verbs can combine with both + Accusative and + Genitive:
.
Hes arriving in Moscow tomorrow.
Were leaving for Chicago on Wednesday.
When are you arriving from Paris?
She left the Soviet Union.
64-8
64-
X Interests Y
The subject (music, cars, Russian grammar) is in the Nominative and the person is the Direct Object of the Verb
+ (which agrees with the Nominative)
.
My brother is interested in music.
I used to be interested in cars.
Summary of the Imperative
STEM
IMPERATIVE
1) Stems ending in - (or +Vowel):

keep -()
+
+
+...
+
()
()
()
2) End-stressed stems: add -()
+
+
()
()
()
()
()
+
+
()
()
* Mutation only in -a+ verbs

3) Stem-stressed stems: add ();
Consonant cluster: add -()
+ PERFECTIVE
() .
.
IMPERFECTIVE
.
.
There are many, many exceptions to the rule that Positive Command = Perfective, Negative Command +
Imperfective.
64-9
64-
"
___________________________________
Fill in the blanks. Use " to save time
my favorite film
his stuffy room
Nom
Acc
Gen
Prep
Dat
Nom
Acc
Gen
Prep
Dat
64-10
this beautiful place
64-
"
Verb-a-thon
+ knock
+ keep
+... return
Present
Present
Present
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
Past
Past
Past
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
Infinitive
Infinitive
Infinitive
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
Imperative
Imperative
Imperative
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
"
Translate into Russian.
1. My older brother needs space on (his) desk.
2. They arrived from Moscow on Saturday.
3. Vera works in a restaurant on Tuesdays and Fridays.
64-11
64-
___________________________________
4. For the life of me, I dont remember.
5. I would guestimate that Viktor is 20 years.
6. Dont bother me! Im studying.
7. I envy those French actresses.
8. Im certain everyone will like the concert.
9. + Did anyone call? - Yes, some woman called. (Use Imperfective for both Verbs.)
10. + Were hot. - I dont care.
64-12
Vocabulary for Lessons 58-64 and Sara Story Parts 10-11

Nouns and Pronouns
()
( , Gen Pl)
(F)
(F)
foreign accent
aspirin
airport
grandmother
unemployment
year
hotel
female cousin
male cousin
grandfather
detail
uncle
life
winter
history
comedy
air conditioner
()
()

(indeclinable!)
/ ()
end
quiz
corruption
Red Square
compartment in a train
course
space
window
/ ()
letter grade
+ Dative
grade (in a course)
case
half a year
(F)
help
great-grandmother
great-grandfather
(F)
crime (social problem)
problem
progress
revolution
()
wedding
family
system
Soviet Union
happiness
aunt
tyrant
Ukraine
in the Ukraine
horror film
champagne
Verbs
Person (Acc) + Thing
(Nom)
+
{+ / +}
+ // +

+ // +
()!
+ // {+ / +}
+ // - +Dative
()!
+ // {+ / +}
+ // +
+ // +
+ ##
+ // - + Dative or Inf
+ / + // + Perfective Inf
+ //
{+ / +}

!
+ // {+ / +} //
+
+ // +
{+ / + }
(Perfective)
+ // + (
)
+
+ // +
+ Dative (Imperfective
Only)
+ // {+ / +}
+
Subject (Nom) interests Person

(Acc)
worry
be out at friends
to ring in the New Year
meet (at a place)
give!
forget
envy
close!
close
yawn
become acquainted; meet
idealize
turn a certain age
bother; prevent someone from
doing something
torture; torment
Person didnt manage to [Verb]
get drunk
don't worry!
don't leave
like something / someone
stay; remain; not leave
receive; get
arrive
spend time (somewhere, at
someone's place)
talk; converse
tell; relate; narrate
sympathize with
leave
emigrate
Vocabulary for Lessons 58-64 and Sara Story Parts 10-11
(Soft!)
, -
(Soft!)
-, -, -
()
, -
poor
rich
lucky
spring (adjective)
guilty
dumb; stupid
comparitive form
stuffy (from lack of air)
hot (weather only)
winter
corrupt(ed)
alone
political
fantastic
cool; chilly
previous; last
happy; glad
(Short-Form only)
serious
completely; totally
crowded; cramped
certain
economic

() + Gen
Noun Noun

+ +
Dative

+ // -
+ Gen Pl.

-

+ INF

+ [Perfective
Infinitive]
( )

!
+ Day in Dative Pl.
!

+Dative
( / )
()!
,
##
(not) far from

Noun are Noun
most of all
not to hold a candle to; not to
be worthy of
They're not worthy of you
everywhere
still; nevertheless
let someone know
do someone a favor
out of all
fortunately
somehow; to some extent
[Person] does not care
[Person] feels like doing +INF
last week
we didn't manage to [verb]
for example
as far as I (know/remember)
not a single word
need a thing
chug!
on [day of the week]
Happy New Year!
let's put it this way
how old is
on (father/mother's) side
also; too; either
for the life of me!
believe it or not
[Person] seems ## years old

She wants him to tell her the whole truth
65.A Wanting someone to do something: + Past

Tense
65. More on marriage verbs
, She wants him to tell her the whole truth
How do you like your French course?
2
3
.
.
I love it. (Im in ecstasy over it.) Were reading

a fantastic short story.
Whats it about?
5
6
7
, ,
.
, .
Its about an American (female), Sara who

decided to study for a semester in Paris. She
finds out that her boyfriend in America is
cheating on her.
What a scoundrel!
, ,
.
She wants him to tell her the whole truth. She

wants him to confess.
12
,
.
I wouldnt want my boyfriend to hide anything

from me either.
13
, .
She has a new boyfriend in Paris, a French guy.
14
, .
So, shes also cheating on her boyfriend.
15
16
,
-.
And her new boyfriend wants her to dump her

American boyfriend
17
, ?
Did he tell her directly to dump him?
18
21
. , ,

. ,
. .
Not exactly. But he told her that he wanted her

to stay in France for another semester. Her
parents didnt want her to study in Paris in the
first place. They were against it.
22
, ?
What do they want her to do?
23
24
25
26
, , ,
, . ,
, ,
-.
They probably wanted her to stay in America, in

Princeton. Maybe they wanted he to get
married to Robert, her American boyfriend.
27
Does Robert want to marry her?
28
29
. ,
, .
We dont know. But we do know that he didnt

want her to study in Paris either.
30
31
,
?
What do you think, are Sara and her French

(boyfriend) going to get married?
32
Time will tell.
10
11
19
20
65-1
65-
(Todays contains a number of words found in previous dialogues and sections of the story.)
+ PREP
the thing/story/conversation is about ... (lit.: the talk/speech is about ...)
{+/ +} // +
find out; recognize
+ //
(person cheated on)
+ Dative
... (note unstressed)
10
{+... / +...} // confess

+...
12
+ // {+ / +}
conceal; hide (transitive)
13
/ / ()
French male / female
17
directly; straight (with regard to direction)
cheat on somebody (lit.: this verb + Accusative means change)

in order that ...; such that ... (See Section 65.A)
direct; straight (*Note difference in stress between adj and adv)
18
not exactly (lit.: not completely)
19
{+... / +...}//
+...
stay; remain
25
+ // +
(Perf Past: , ; Inf:
)
27
+...
marry (said of a woman) (See Section 65. for all marriage verbs)
marry (said of a man)
31
+... // -
marry (said of a couple)
32
time will tell (Lit.: time will show)
65.
Wanting Someone To Do Something: + Past Tense
Sara wants Robert to leave her alone: English vs. Russian
In the sentence Sara wants Robert to leave her alone Robert appears to be the Direct Object of want. (You can
confirm this by using pronouns, which would give the sentence She (Nom) wants him (Acc) to leave her alone.
But if you think about it, Robert is also the Subject of leave alone in the lower clause (hes the one whos going
to be performing that action). So, in this very common English construction Robert has two distinct
grammatical functions; 1) Object (of the upper clause) and; 2) Subject (of the lower clause). Such a situation is
not normally tolerated in Russian, mostly likely because grammatical functions are marked overtly with case. A
noun cannot be simultaneously marked with more than one case in Russian.
OK in English / Impossible In Russian (usually)
Object (Acc)
Subject (Nom)
Sarah wants Robert to leave her alone

If you really think about it, it isnt Robert that Sarah wants (in fact, hes the last thing she wants). What she wants
is the situation where Robert (he - Nom) leaves her alone, which would lead us to predict that in Russian Robert
is going to show up in the Nominative. And indeed thats what we get. Read on.
65-2
65-
The Construction: + Subject in Nominative + Past Tense

To render sentences such as I want you to open the window, He wanted me to buy him a new car, She wants use to
leave, etc., Russian uses the normal verb for want (irregular ) followed by the conjunction (lit: in
order; such that) followed by the verb in the past tense. This doesnt have a past meaning at all its tenseneutral just like in the previous constructions weve had. The subject of the lower clause is in nominative (as
expected). Being a word that simply links both clauses, has weak or no stress.
Some examples of + + Past:

MAIN CLAUSE, WITH
(unstressed)
SECOND CLAUSE, WITH

SUBJECT IN NOM &
VERB IN THE PAST
Sarah wants Robert to tell her the whole

truth.
I want you to leave.
Everyone wanted Mitya to marry Sarah.
My parents dont want me to play

football.
Natasha wanted her patents to buy her a

new car.
What do you want me to do?
One Case (Function) Limit Per Noun
As mentioned above, in general Russian does not tolerate Nouns being assigned more than one grammatical
function (i.e. Case). We saw an example of this when Linda reported about what she saw at Cloister:
,
I saw them kissing.
Once again, in English we see a word (here: them) acting as both Direct Object (of see) and Subject (of kissing).
In this particular grammatical construction, Russian uses to absorb the Accusative Case of . As
expected, the true subject of the lower clause (the kissers) appears in the Nominative in Russian. Weve now
seen another way () that Russian deals with the problem of one Noun two grammatical functions. And
later in the course well discuss two other strategies. The point here is that such a situation would create Case
overload, an entirely unacceptable situation in Russian.
65-3
65-
is not always followed by
Remember, the verb may be followed by a bare infinitive when the subject of both clauses is the same
person. If the subject in both clauses is the same person, you cannot use . So sentences like ,
/ , () are impossible. Examples of plain + infinitives:
-.
He doesnt want to speak Russian.
I want to live in Petersburg.
Who wants to dance?
We wanted to study in the library.
Say that PERSON wants PERSON to do VERB
1. // +
2. // + ?
3. // +...
4. // +...
5. // () +
6. // +
7. // +
8. // +
9. // ()
10. // + ?
When the PERSON in the second clause is in a Case other than Nominative
You can also use plus the past (normally ) in many of the experience constructions we learned,
where the subject appears in dative:
, .
He wants her to feel good.
, .
We want you to like the film. (We hope that you like
the film.)
, .
I dont want you to be bored.
Translate into Russian. The PERSON in the second clause will not be in the Nom:
1. I dont want you to be bored.
2. He doesnt want her to be too cold.
3. We want you to like the book.
4. Nobody wants you to be sick (feel bad).
5. The professor wants the students to be interested.
6. I dont want it to be too hot in here.
65-4
65-
65.
More on Marriage Verbs
Weve seen bits and pieces of the verbs meaning get married, so now lets look at the whole picture (and it aint
so pretty). There are 2 verbs that are used: 1 for women and 1 for men and couples:
Women: +// {+ / } (Accusative)

The Infinitive of the Perfective is .
If the wedding is in the near future, you can use the Imperfective, just as in English the Present Tense is getting
married can be used for a near future event. In the last example below (with Sara) the Perfective is used because
the event (if it were to take place) is not in the near future. (Sorry, no hints here about whats going to happen in
the story.) The near future use of the Imperfective applies not only to all the marriage verbs discussed here, but
also to a number of other verbs. More on this later.

.
My sister is getting married to a professor from

Harvard.
Kira got married last year to a really rich but stupid

guy.
, .
, ,
.
Liz Taylor, it seems, gets married every week.
, ?
What do you think, is Sara going to marry Mitya?
She wants to marry a famous professor.
Strange but true: With the interrogative , a Masculine form of the Verb must be used, even though you
know that the answer is Feminine. The rule that must take a Masculine Singular Verb is inviolable.
?
Who would marry such a scoundrel?
Men: +... (Prepositional)
When describing a male, the verb +... is both Imperfective and Perfective, so the exact tense of the NonPast form is potentially ambiguous. But given what we said above about the Imperfective being used for near
future actions, this doesnt really cause much confusion.

.
My older brother married a really boring woman.
My uncle wants to marry a rich woman.
, ?
What do you think, is Mitya going to marry Sara?
65-5
Couples:
65-
+... // - (with no complement)
When describing couples, the verb +... does have a Perfective form, +...
They are getting married in March.
?
.
Why did they get married? Theyre constantly cheating on

each other.
In America a lot of people get married in June.
Say that the people got / are getting / will get married to whom:
1. / (Past)
3. / (Past)
2. / (Present/Future)
4. / (Future)
6. / (Past)
8. /
11. / (Future)
10. / (Past)
65-6
65-
"
List 3 things that either you want someone else to do, or that someone (say,
your parents) want / wanted you to do:
Fill in the blanks with a marriage verb that makes sense:
1.
2.
3.
"
1. _______________________________________________________ _________ .
2. _______________________________________________________________ .
3. _______________________________________________ ________ _______.
4. ___________________________________________________________________.
5. _______________________________________________________________?
6. _______________________________________________________________.
7. _____________________ ______________________________?
65-7
65-
"
___________________________________
1. I found out that my wife is cheating on me (Case!). What a swine!
2. I want her to confess. She wants me to forget about it.
3. She told me directly that she wasnt hiding (think about tense!) anything from me.
65-8

: Esenin wrote his last poem with his own blood.
: Soup is eaten with a spoon
66.A
66.A. Uses of the Instrumental
66.B Empty they Constructions
A.

Esenin wrote his last poem with (his own) blood
? ?
What are you doing? (Are you) writing a

paper?
2
3
, , .
,
. , , -.
Yeah, Im writing about the Russian poet,

Esenin. He married the American ballerina
Isadora Duncan. They say (It is said) that he
didnt speak English and she didnt speak
Russian.
?
?
Why are you writing with chalk? Dont you

have a pen?
. ,
?
I lost it. Do you know with what Esenin wrote

his last poem?
10
? ?
With a pencil? With a pen?
11
, .
No, with blood (in blood).
12
Thats something.
4
5
6
7
Soup is eaten with a spoon
13
, ?!
Lyova, what are you doing?
14
. . .
Im eating. Im not bothering anyone. Im just

sitting and eating.
15
16
. But youre eating (your) soup with a fork and

(your) fish with a knife. Thats very stupid and
.
dangerous.
17
So what should one eat soup with?
18
? .
Dont you know? Soup is eaten with a spoon.

(Unless its Campbells Chunky.)
19
And fish?
20
Fish is eaten with a fork.
21
. .
Thanks. Ill keep that in mind.
66-1
66-
chalk; piece of chalk
with what (Instrumental of )
(single) poem (We also saw , which means verses. To say She writes
poetry its .)
11
(Fem)
blood
16
dangerous
18
/ (e)
spoon
20
/ (o)
fork
21
Ill keep that in mind (for future reference).
The poet (1895-1925) is quite popular in Russia. He was born into a very
simple peasant family, before he moved to Moscow, and later Petersburg. For a short time he was married to the
American ballerina Isadora Duncan. Legend has it that he spoke no English and she no Russian. Esenin
committed suicide in 1925.
The poem below was written by Esenin with his own blood two days before his suicide by hanging.
You may listen to the poem if you wish:
, , .
, .

.
, , ,
, ,
, , .
breast (here: heart)

predestined
meeting
parting
in the future
+ be sad + knit ones brow

+ die
comparative of
66-2
66-
66.
(Nothing holds a candle to it)
Weve already seen all of the forms of Instrumental Nouns (whether you realized it or not). Some examples:
(Masculine Sg)
(Neuter Sg)

(Feminine Sg)

(Feminine Sg)

(Feminine in )
Here are the forms:
Instrumental Singular: Nouns

MASCULINE & NEUTER
-{O} (- / - / -)
FEMININE
-{O} (- / - / -)
FEMININE IN -
-
e
*
*
66-3
(Plural)
66-
Form the Instrumental Singular of these nouns:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
Question:
(From a super advanced student for super advanced students)

I remember asking you a while back about the Feminine nounjective forms for
Gentive, Dative, etc., , . The ending is -{O}, which would have
led me to think the forms should be , . After all, the {O} is stressed.
You said that before the inherently soft consonant , {O} becomes e. Fair
enough.
But now I see the Instrumental Singular of is . Doesnt this
violate your rule? Why isnt it , analogous to , ?
Answer:
66.
Another really top-notch question. You are really on the ball. And once again
youre correct. Given what we said previously about , , we would
not expect . But that is the correct form.
Uses of the Instrumental
Without a Preposition: Means; Instrument
The Instrumental is used to express, surpiringly enough, the instrument or means used to perform an action. Very
often in English this meaning is translated using with, but in Russian NO PREPOSITION is used just the bare
Instrumental expresses the idea with. Some common examples (including a few nouns we havent seen
previously, but which provide a clear example of this usage):
/ .
He usually writes with a pencil / pen.
/ ?
Why are you writing with chalk / blood?
/ / .
She eats soup with a fork / spoon / knife.
/ /
She killed him with a knife / poison / rock.
Masha opened the door with her foot.
, .
Sara is thinking with her heart and not her head.
66-4
66-
With this use of the Instrumental we see another example where English uses a word, while Russian has nothing.
We saw the opposite of this in last week / , where Russian has a word () and English has
. These are just two of many such examples. You need to be especially careful with these; its very easy to get
confused.
English
with (instrument; means)
(bare )
(indicating week)
Strange but true: With the verb kill, you cannot put the noun into the Instrumental, unless you pistolwhip the person to death.
In the next lesson well see the use of the Instrumental with various Prepositions.
Add water to these phrases (and use the Instrumental Case):
1. / + / (Present)
2. / + + / (Present)
3. / / / (Future)
4. / {+ / +} / / (Future)
5. + / / heart
(Present)
6. / {+ / +} / / leg
(Past)
7. / / / (Present)
8. / {+ / +} / / (Past)
9. / + / / /
(Past)
66.
10. / {+ / +} / / nose (Past)
Empty They: Subjectless Constructions
Weve seen a few examples where a third-person plural verb is used without a pronoun to indicate an unspecified
subject. Quite often these appear in English with a so-called empty they, where no one specific is referred to.
Sometimes you find one or you in this meaning:
,
.
They said on TV that its going to be cool tonight.
, .
They say that Russian is a very difficult language.

(Complete myth.)
One does / You do not ask women about that.
Lets formalize this a bit. First note that you cannot include any Nominative subject in such sentences (and keep
the empty they meaning):
, .
,
.

,
,
.
.
66-5
66-
The sentences on the right indicate that a specific group of people have performed the action. The subjectless
third-plural is used in Russian either when you dont know or care who the subject is.
Second, note that quite often these subjectless sentences are best translated with a passive construction in
English:
.
Soup is eaten with a spoon.
What is being written about this in the papers?
He was found in the woods.
Sasha was arrested.
She was killed.
Finally, note that the use of the third person plural does not in any imply that the action is performed by more than
one person. In fact, very often the action is performed by just one person. Some telling examples:
, .
Dont talk so loud someone is asleep (in the

other room).
Somebody called you.
And if you think about it, this subjectless form is used in one of the most common phrases in Russian:
/ / / ?
Whats your / his / her name?
Theres no way in the world you can stick in .
1. They say that New York is a dangerous

city.
2. Caviar is eaten with a spoon.
3. On TV they said it was going to rain. (tense!)
4. He was killed last year.
5. The professor was asked difficult questions

.
6. You were asked <+ not to smoke here.
7. In the papers they write about crime in Russia.
8. In Russia a lot of cabbage is eaten.
66-6
66-
"

Massive review of Singular endings (includes all Cases so far). Fill in the
blanks and add stress marks where appropriate:
1. _________________ ___________ _________ _____.

2. ________ ________________________ ___________.
3. , ___________ ___________________________ .
4. __________ ________ __________ __________ _______
__________ ____________ ________ ________ _____.
5. ________ , ________ ________ ?
6. _____ ______. _____ _______________.
7. _________ __________ _________ _________ ?
___________ _____. ____________ ______.
8. __________ _____________ _____________?
9. ______________ ______________ _____ ________ ________
________ _____?
10. ______ __________ _____ , _________ _______.
11. ________ ?
___ ______ ____ , ______ _____.
12. _____ _____ _________ _______ ____.
13. __________, ____________ _______________.
66-7
66-
"
___________________________________
Answer the questions as honestly as you wish
1. What do you like to write with? (Please, no demonstrations a la Esenin.)
2. What do you usually eat soup with?
3. What do you think with, your head or your heart ?
4. What would you like to kill your Russian professor with? (See examples in lesson for various weapons.)
"
Write 3 'empty they' sentences with the following verbs: say, eat, ask, write
1.
2.
3.
"
In Russia, youll often see this sign inside buildings: . How would you translate it into real English?
66-8

You cant imagine what I found under your bed
67.A Singular Adjectives and

Nounjectives
67. Prepositions of location that take
, !
You cant imagine what I found under your bed!
?!! ?
Wheres my watch?!! Did you see my watch?
2
3
-,
.
I thought I saw it between the red armchair and the

black table.
4
5
, . .
No, I already looked there. The only things there were

about eight beer bottles.
How about behind the bookcase (bookshelf)?
, - .
No, there were somebodys keys back there.
How about under my bed?
9
10
T ,
!
You cant imagine what I found under your bed!
11
How about behind the brown door?
12
13
. Im afraid to look behind that door. I saw a mouse

.
there before.
14
15
How about on the third shelf above our new expensive

Chinese vase?
16
17
, ,
. ,
,
.
No, (my) watch wasnt there. I found your Physics

homework there. Oh, theres the watch, on the table
next to my favorite pen, right in front of Kiras new
computer.
18
19
2
2
6
6
8
9
14
15
18
19
+ Instrumental
/ ()
+ Instrumental

between
+ Instrumental
+ // +
+ Instrumental
(Feminine!)
+ Instrumental
+ Instrumental
under; beneath
armchair
behind
bookshelf; bookcase
(single) shelf
You need to be careful to distinguish (hard ) shelf vs. (soft )
Polish female. It would sound strange to say .
imagine
above; over
vase
next to
in front of
67-1
67.
67-
Singular Adjectives / Nounjectives
Weve seen the endings for Masculine (and Neuter) Instrumental Singular adjectives in the expressions:
/.
With one shot, I killed two rabbits.
What do you mean by that?
And recall that except for Nominative and Accusative, all Feminine Singular Adjectives end in -{O}. We saw
this in the phrase (when Sara questioned Lindas motivation for writing the letter):
?
With what goal? (To what end?).
Instrumental Singular: Adjectives / Nounjectives

MASCULINE & NEUTER
-{I} (- / -)

*

*
*Note the unexpected softening of / in the singular, while Adjectives from first names (,
, etc.) take the hard endings. (By the way, the same applies in the Plural: Soft , , but hard
, , etc.)
FEMININE
-{O} (- / -)
67-2
67-
Add water:
1. / + / / (Present)
2. / + / / ? (Present)
3. / {+ / +} / / /
(Past)
4. / / / gold / (Future)
5. / {+ / +} / / / poison
(Past)
6. / / / / /
(Present)
7. / + / + / / /
(Present)
8. / / {+ / +} / / dull /
(Future)
9. / + / / (Present)
67.
10. / / / / (Present)
Prepostions of Location That Govern
The following prepositions of location are followed by the instrumental (and not the locative / prepositional):
Listen and repeat:
behind

.
The book is (lying) behind the big new brown

armchair.
I found the key behind the small bookshelf.
in front of
.
I was standing in front of an enormous elephant.
Sasha is standing in front of Masha.
above; over
.
The vase is (standing) on the shelf above the TV.
(grave)
.
Grandma was standing over her husbands grave

and was crying.
under; beneath
.
I found my watch under Sashas bed.
The cat is sleeping under the couch.
67-3
67-
between

.
The knife is (lying) between the old newspaper and

the delicious cookie.
Why is Masha sleeping on the floor between the

cat and the dog?
next to
The keys are (lying) next to my new aquarium.
We were sitting next to a no-talent German

actress.
Deep thoughts: The arbitrariness of case assignment
The use of the instrumental with these prepositions of location shows the somewhat arbitrary nature of case
assignment in Russian. Why dont these prepositions govern the locative/prepositional case like and ? We
have no real explanation. (Can you explain why to be mad about someone means something completely different
than to be mad at someone? Try explaining that to someone learning English.)
Also, there is no connection (that we can detect) between the use of the instrumental without a prefix, which we
saw in the previous lesson ( ; ) and the use of the instrumental with these
six prepositions. There is certainly no expression of means or instrument with these prepositions. This illustrates
the difficulty of summing up the use of any case in a single sentence.
Still, these six prepositions are certainly related to one another, which should make it a little easier to remember
that they all take the same case.
Describe the location of the following items. Just use the nouns and the preposition no verb.
behind
in front
above
below
between
|| next to
1.
2.
3. ( / )
4. ||
5.
6.
7.
( /
)
9. ||
8.
10. ?
67-4
67-
"

Another massive review of Singular endings (includes all cases so far):
1. ___________ _________ _________ _______ ________ ___________

______
2. ________ ________ ________, _______
_________.
3. ____________ __________ ___________?
4. ________ ________ , ________ _________
________ ___________
5. __________ ________ , _________
______________?
6. ______ ________ __________ _________ _______ __________
_______ _______.
7. __________ ________________, _______ _________
_______________.
8. _________ __________ _______________ ___________
____________?
9. ________ _____________ __________________
___________________.
10. __________ _________ __________ _________
_____________.
11. __________ ___________ _____________
___________________.
67-5
67-
___________________________________
12. _____________ __________ ____________ ______________ ?

13. _____________ ______________ _______________ ______________?
14. ____________ __________ __________ _______
__________.
15. ________ __________ ________ _____________ _______
______ ______, __________ __________ __________
____________.
"
Use each of the six instrumental prepositions of location to describe the

layout of your room. Nouns you can include: bed, armchair, TV, bookcase,
computer, table, door, window, expensive Chinese vase (you do have a Ming
vase in your dorm room, dont you?)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
67-6

Shes not laughing at him, but at you
68.A : Pronouns
68. Pronoun review all cases
68. Verbs and verb phrases that take the Instrumental
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Shes not laughing at him, but at you
, ,
, ?
?
You see that girl whos standing behind our

professor and laughing at Vasya? Why is she
laughing at him?
-, .
, . ,
?
I think youre mistaken. Shes not laughing at

him, but at you. Could it really be that you
dont know that many girls laugh at you?
? !? .
- ,
.
.
.
At who(m)? At me!? Nothing of the sort. You

have me confused with someone else, probably
(with) your boyfriend Yura. Girls do not laugh
at me. They are interested in me and are crazy
about me.
!
. , ,
.
Dont make me laugh! Maybe shes laughing at

us. Im afraid that she thinks were husband and
wife.
,
.
I cant for the life of me figure out why I

associate with you altogether.
+ (-a+ verb: -{A}+)

INST (Impf only)
laugh (at)
()
INST of ,
INST of
INST of
INST of
{+ // +}
ACC INST
confuse, mix up X with X
10
+ INST
be interested in
11
+ INST
admire greatly; be enchanted with; be captivated by; be crazy about
12
dont make me laugh [Imper. of + make laugh; Just learn as an expression]
13
INST of
16
+ (Impf. only)
associate with; hang out with
68-1
68.
68-
: Pronouns
-{O} vs. -{O}
NOMINATIVE
INSTRUMENTAL
/ *
/ *
()
() / ()*
()
/, /, ()/()
Sometimes (often in poetry, when an extra syllable is needed) these alternative forms of the Instrumental
pronouns which end in - are found. They tend to sound a bit old-fashioned.
You can also find this {O} ending on Feminine Singular Instrumental Nouns: or . For some
reason, in certain fixed expressions they are preferred. More on this later.
Cluster Busters with

Weve seen earlier that some prepositions need the Cluster Buster - before various forms of me, everything, and
everyone (e.g. ). The same thing happens with some prepositions that take the Instrumental :
68-2
68-
Say who is standing where (subject + + + preposition + object of preposition):
Example:
/ /
1. / /
2. / /
3. / / ,
4. / / ?
5. / / ,
6. / /
7. / /
8. / /
9. / /
68.
Mega Pronoun Review
NOM
ACC
GEN
PREP/LOC
DAT
INST
()
()
()
(-)
(-)
()
() / ()
()
()
()
()
()
68-3
68-
Practice pronouns in all Cases
Say whom/what needs:

Example:
you ()
we
I ()
.
.
.
(she; we; they; everything; who?; no one; everyone; you (); he; yall; this)
Say whom/what loves (you; me; him; her; us; them; yall; everyone; everything; no one,
whom?)
Say whom cant live without (her, us, them, yall, him; this; you (); me; whom?)
Say whom/what is thinking about (him; us; me; them; nothing; whom?; no one;
everyone; you (); her; yall; this; what)
Say whom envies (her, us, them, yall, him; you (); me; whom?)
Say next to whom/what is standing (him; us; them; whom?; her; yall; me; everyone; no
one)
68.
Verbs and Verb Phrases That Take the Instrumental
The following verbs take the Instrumental Case without a preposition. To a large extent, the instrument meaning
is peripheral at best.
+... (Perfective is quite rare)
admire greatly; be enchanted by;
Im in awe of you!
,
.
When I was 10 years old, I was, like, totally crazy

for Madonna.
+... (Imperf. only, but see below)
be interested in
He wasnt interested in anything.
Im very much interested in Russian grammar.
Compare the syntax of +... with that of +:
+...
Person interested
NOM
Thing/Person of interest
INST
Person interested
ACC
(Controls verbal agreement)
Thing/Person of interest
NOM
(Controls verbal agreement)
68-4
68-
With both of these verbs the prefix - can be attached to indicate get interested / start to interest:
,
.
,
.
When Sasha was a freshman, she started getting

into physics.
1. She is interested in Russian history.
2. Russian history interests her.
3. I am so in love with my physics professor!
4. What kind of music are you interested in?
5. Those girls admire you ().
6. My brother is in awe of everyone.
7. Im interested in foreign cars.
8. Foreign cars dont interest Vera.
The following verb phrases contain a preposition that governs the Instrumental Case:
+... (-a+ verb: {A})
laugh at
Why were they laughing at me?
- ?
Are you laughing at someone?
, .
No, Im not laughing at anyone.
Question:
+... (1st conjugation) vs. +... (2nd conjugation)

Im a little confused about - verbs, specifically + and +....
These are both 2nd conjugation - verbs, supposedly because a
precedes the {A}. But +... and +... also have a before the
{A}? So shouldnt they also be 2nd conjugation - verbs too? Why are
they 1st conjugation -a+ verbs?
Answer:
Excellent observation. Given everything weve said about - verbs, you

might predict that +... and +... conjugate just like + and
+.... But they dont. So, to refine our definition a bit, only verbs whose
stem end in -+ are 2nd conjugation. And in fact, + and +... (and
related prefixed forms) are the only two verbs in the entire language that end in
-+. All other verbs whose stem ends in - (-+, -+) are 1st conjugation.
68-5
68-
(Two more):
+ // - ACC INST
She always mixes up the Genitive Case with the

Accusative.
, .
It seems Ive confused you with my wife.
+..
associate, hang out with
Why does Vera associate with him?
, ,
.
I used to hang out with Vera, but then I realized

that she was disgusting.
1. Why do you associate with Grisha?
2. Who are you laughing at?
3. He used to hang out with boring guys all the time.
4. My (female) roommate confused me with my

grandmother.
5. We cannot laugh at your poor dog.
6. No one associates with him.
7. I always mix you up with your younger sister.
8. He not laughing at anything.
68-6
68-
1

Massive review of pronouns:
1. (yall) ___________________? (We) ____________________ .
2. (her) ___________________ ? , (you Sing) _______________.
3. (him) ___________________ (me) ___________________ .
4. (you - Sing) ___________________. (her) ___________________.
5. (yall) ___________________. - (us) ___________________?
6. (us) ______________? , (at no one) ____________________________ .
7. (Who) ___________________ ? (everyone) ___________________.
8. , . (nothing) ________________________ (about this)

_____________________________.
9. (them) ___________________, (her) ___________________.
10. (who) ___________________ ? (behind nobody) __________________________ .
11. (this) ___________________. (everything)

___________________ _______ (everything) ___________________.
12. (nobody) ___________________ . (he) ______________ !

(him) ___________________.
68-7
68-
2
___________________________________
Answer as honestly as you wish:
1. ? ? ?
2. ?
3. ?
3 V O D actually, 2 today : laugh vs. fear

(If you havent already done so, check out the Question and Answer Box on page 68-5.)
PRESENT
+
PAST
______________________________________
______________________________________
()
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
INF
______________________________________
IMPER
PRESENT
___________________________________
+
PAST
______________________________________
______________________________________
()
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
INF
______________________________________
IMPER
___________________________________
68-8

Good riddance to all the cases!
Review of Chapter 9
( 65-68; , 12-14
Good riddance to all the cases!
(, ) , ? (Hears Lyosha crying) Lyosha, whats wrong

- ?
with you? Did something happen?
Im very sad.
4
5
6
? - ?
? .
.
What happened? Did anyone die? Did your

grandmother die. You poor thing. I feel for (=
sympathize with) you.
, . - .
No, nobody died. Im not crying because of that.
- ?
Because of what, then?
9
10
11
12
!
, , . ,
(
, ).
Weve finished all the cases! I love all the cases

so much, except for the Prepositional, of course.
Oh, how I will miss all the cases (except for the
Prepositional, of course).
13
! And I say good riddance to all the cases!
be sad (Another Dative of Experience construction. Yet another anti- phrase.)
, ,
died (As the Masc Past shows, its a Greasy Zeke verb)
Just learn the Past Tense for now

its by far the most common form.
6
then has several meanings, most of which correspond to English then.

More on this later.
+ // +
finish
13
+ DAT
good riddance (to whom / what)! The Dative phrase is optional. (Lit.: with a
tablecloth-INST road-NOM)
69-1
N
O
M
A
C
C
G
E
N
P
R
E
P
D
A
T
I
N
S
T
-{I} / - -
MASCULINE
{O} -{O}
NEUTER
-{A} -{A} / -
FEMININE
/ /
/
/
/
-{I} -{I}; Neut -{A}
PLURAL
/

/
-{I} -{O}; -; -
-{I} -{A}
Animate borrows GEN
-{O} -{I}
(--; --)
/ /
/
/
/
/

/
/
/

/
/
-{I} -{A}
/

e
????
(--; --)
-{O} -{O} / -
????
-{O}
/

e
-{O}
/

/
-{U} -{U} / -
/

/
Same as NOM
-{A}

Animate borrows GEN
-{}
-{O}
-{U}
- (-; - -) ()
-{O}
-{O}
-{I}
69-2
69-
Table of all the cases
69-
Pronouns
NOM
ACC
GEN
PREP/LOC
DAT
INST
()
()
()
(-)
(-)
()
() (())
()
()
()
()
()
Wanting Someone To Do Something: + Past Tense

The subjects of both the upper and lower clauses appear in Nominative, while the Verb in the lower clause
is in the Past Tense due to :
, .
I want you to leave.
, .
Vitya wants Vera to help him.
Everyone wants us to be careful.
, .
I dont want you to be sad.
Marriage Verbs
Man
+... + Prepositional
Woman
Couple
+... //
(This Verb is both Imperfective and Perfective.)
+ // {+ / }
+ Accusative
69-3
69-
Uses of the Instrumental Case
Without a Preposition: Means; Instrument
The Instrumental is used to express, surpiringly enough, the instrument or means used to perform an action. Very often in
English this meaning is translated using wtih, but NO PREPOSITION is used in Russian:
/ ?
Why are you writing with chalk / blood?
/ / .
She eats soup with a fork / spoon / knife.
, .
Sara is thinking with her heart and not her head.
With certain prepositions

behind
The book is (lying) behind the big new

chair.
in front of
I was standing in front of an enormous

elephant.
above; over
The vase is (standing) on the shelf above the

TV.
under; beneath
I found my watch under Sashas bed.
between
The knife is (lying) between the old

newspaper and the delicious cookie.
next to
The keys are (lying) next to my new

aquarium.
With certain verbs or verb phrases

+...
admire greatly; be
enchanted by, etc.
,
.
When I was 10 years old, I was, like, totally

crazy for Madonna.
+...
be interested in
He wasnt interested in anything.
+...
laugh at
- ?
Are you laughing at someone?
, .
No, Im not laughing at anyone.
+ //
+ ACC
INST confuse, mix
up X with X
She always mixes up the Genitive Case with

the Accusative.
+..
associate, hang out
with
, ,
.
I used to hang out with Vera, but then I

realized that she was disgusting.
69-4
69-
Empty they (Subjectless) constructions

Weve seen a few examples where a verb in the 3pl is used without a pronoun to indicate an unspecified subject:
, .
They said on TV that its going to be cool tonight.
, .
They say that Russian is a very difficult language.

(Complete myth.)
One does not ask women about that.
Often these subjectless sentences are best translated with a passive construction in English:
.
Soup is eaten with a spoon.
He was found in the woods.
Finally note that the use of the 3pl does not in any imply that the action is performed by more than one person. In fact, very
often the action is performed by just one person:
.
Somebody called you.
/ / / ?
Whats your / his / her name?
The Second Wildly Irregular Verb: Eat
// -
eat
PRESENT
PAST
INFINITIVE
()
()
()
, ,
()
()
()
()
, ,
()
IMPERATIVE
, ,
()
()
() ()
()
69-5
69-
Approximation
Move just the main Noun in front of the Number. Leave behind everything else
.
I bought 10 books.
.
His computer costs $900.
.
I bought about 10 books.
.
His computer costs around $900.
If theres a prepositional phrase, move the noun in front of the preposition. One very common instance of this is
with time:
.
Roma arrived at 2:00.
Liza got up at 5:00.
Roma arrived at around 2:00.
Liza got up at around 5:00.
Vocative Case
If the first name (or title) ends in {A}, remove the vowel often a soft sign is revealed. If the first name (or title) does not
end in {A} , no Vocative form is possible.
First Name, etc.
Vocative
N/A ()
N/A ()
69-6
69-
Each Other -
Each other is rendered by -. The first does not decline, while the second - declines in the Singular
only, depending on what Case is required by the Verb or Preposition. A Preposition appears between the two s.
We love each other.
They often help each other.
We were laughing at each other.
The Same ()
To indicate that something (someone) is identical to that which has already been mentioned, use (), where
both and decline. is a Nounjective, while , which is optional, is a regular Adjective:
Shes talking about the same article (that was just

mentioned).
,
.
When we were in Moscow we ate in the same

restaurant (that was just mentioned).
I used to be crazy about the same actor (that was just

mentioned).
The Neuter Singular is used to describe previously discussed ideas, concepts, actions:
,
.
If I were in your shoes, I would have done the same

thing (as what you did).
Foods Are (Mostly) Singular

Except for tomato, all of the foods we saw normally appear only in the Singular:
My son eats potatoes every day.
Our children dont eat carrots.
, .
Sorry, I dont eat beets.
We really like tomatoes.
(Also be sure to check out the review of the particles - and - in the Grammar of Story 14.)
69-7
69-
"
___________________________________
Translate into Russian
1. Ninas parents want her to return around 5:00.
2. Im allergic to dogs. (Recall what case the Noun takes.)
3. My great-grandmother on my fathers side got married when she was 17 years old.
4. Mitya (Vocative!), be careful!
5. What are you afraid of?
6. He always writes with a red pen.
7. We often think about each other.
69-8
69-
8. How much does you father earn?
9. Dont worry. No one is laughing at you.
10. + What do yall eat? - We usually eat potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, beet salad, chicken.
11. What did Vera mean by that?
12. Im sure (certain) that this will end badly.
13. As far as I know, she is not cheating on him.
14. I found my keys behind the sofa, next to the bookcase.
15. What are you interested in?
69-9
69-
"
___________________________________
Fill in the correct pronouns:
1. (her) ___________________. (me) ___________________.
2. (Who) ___________________ ? _____________________________ (no one) .
3. (yall) ___________________, (them) ___________________.
4. (who) ______________ ? (in front of nobody) ________________________ .
5. (them) ___________________.
"
Conjugate these verbs (without looking!):
+... VERB TYPE _______ CONJ _______

PRES
__________________________________
PAST
__________________________________
()
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
INF
____________________________________
IMPER
___________________________________
+... VERB TYPE _______ CONJ _______

PRES
PAST
()
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
INF
______________________________________
IMPER
__________________________________
___________________________________
__________________________________
+... VERB TYPE _______ CONJ _______

PRES
PAST
()
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
INF
______________________________________
IMPER
__________________________________
___________________________________
69-10
__________________________________
65-69; , 12-14
Nouns
S12
S12
S12
S12
+ ACC
S12
S12

/ (o)
(Plural
is .
~
(F)
66
S13
S14
S12
S13
S14
S12
S12
S12
S12
67
S12
S12
(Fem)
/ ()
/ (e)
()
S12
S12
S12
S12
S12
S12
66
S12
/
/ ()
(F) +
GEN
(Plural only;
Genitive: )
66
67
66
S12
S13
S12
66
S12
S13
65
S12
S12
S12
S12
S13
be allergic to (X)
beef Stroganoff
dish (of a meal)
borsht a soup made from beets (and or
tomatoes)
beet salad
main course (Adjective used as a Noun)
for the main course
fork
voice
Mrs.~ Mr.
vegetable (Very often plural)
line
umbrella
cabbage
potato(es) (The singular is used where
English has plural: .)
chicken
(besides kitchen) cuisine; food; cooking
bookshelf; bookcase
(single) shelf
blood
armchair
spoon
onion
mausoleum
nurse (female/male)
chalk; piece of chalk
dairy products
ice-cream (Adjective used as a Noun)
carrot (As above, the singular is use:
.)
monthly salary (Russians, like most
Europeans, talk about how much they earn
per month, as opposed to per year.)
tomato
Guess
beet (rather popular in Russia)
sauce
dessert; sweets (Adjective used as a Noun)
(single) poem
Guess
tomato soup
happiness
French male / female
S14
S14
S14
69
S12
S14
S13
S13
66
S13
S14
S13
S13
65
/ (e)
/ (e)
S13
S13
S14
S13
rich
poor
long
be sad (Another Dative of Experience
construction. Yet another anti- phrase.)
[Person] feels awkward
wet
(figure it out)
lonely
dangerous
careful
understandable; clear
later on; in the future
practical
directly; straight (with regard to direction)
direct; straight (*Note difference
in stress between adj and adv)
now; right now
happy
the same thing
the same [Noun]
foreign; not ones own
Prepositions
S12
+ ACC
6
6
S14
6
6
6
6
6
S14
+ INST
- + GEN
+ Dative
+ INST
+ INST
+ INST
+ INST
+ INST
+ Genitive
price
garlic
quarter
schi (See explanation in text)
(figure it out)
69-11
for (Compare with + GEN, which

means for the sake of)
behind
because of; due to; on account of
to someones place; toward
between
above; over
under; beneath
in front of
next to
from (Weve also seen and .)
65-69; , 12-14
Verbs
S14
65
68
S13
65
65
S13
S12
S14
68
65
69
S14
65
65
S14
S12
69
S12
65
S13
68
S14
S12
68
S14
S12
67
S14
65
S14
68
S14
{+ / +} //
+ Dative
{+... /
+...}// +...
{+ //
+} ACC INST
{+ / +}
Past
, ,
Infintive
{+... /
+...} //
+...
{+/ +} //
+
+ + Genitive
(A - verb like +)
+... //
+...
+... ( +
Accusative)
+ INST
+ // +
(Perf Past: ,
; Inf: )
, ,
Just learn the Past Tense for
now its by far the most
common form.
+ // + +
Dative
+...
+... // +
+ // +
+ // +
+ // +
+ // + +
Dative (person cheated on)
+ // +
+ INST
+...
+ // {+ /
+} + Genitive
+ (Impf.
only)
+ //
+
+ // + // +
+... // - +
Accusative
+ // {+ /
+}
+ + Dative
+ (-a+ verb: {A}+) INST (Impf
only)
+... // - ( +
Instrumental)
ask; pose a question to someone
S13
+ // -
S14
S13
+ //
+ // {+ // +
()}
Infintive
stay; remain
suffer; be unhappy; get hurt

emotionally
run away
leave; go away

grasp; understand (This Verb is
the Perfective of .)
confess
find out; recognize
S14
fear; be afraid
66
S14
65
S14
{+ / +}
-

(e)

S13
S13
S13
S13
Subject
+
+ Infinitive
68
65
S14
S12
...
+
PREP
...?
return; go back
worry (about)
admire greatly; be enchanted with;
be captivated by; be crazy about
marry (said of a woman) (See
Section 65. for all marriage
verbs)
died (As the Masc Past shows, its
a Greasy Zeke verb)
S14
trust (*Note this Verb

unexpectedly takes Dative.)
marry (said of a man)
marry (said of a couple)
ring out
order (in a restaurant)
finish
earn
cheat on somebody (lit.: this verb +
Accusative means change)
end up; turn out (Intransitive)
be interested in
hope
begin with (Notice c takes
Genitive; that is not always true.)
associate with; hang out with
change ones mind
try (food, drink, etc.)
imagine
get mad at
conceal; hide (transitive)
S13
65
S14
S14
69
69
S13
S12
65
S12
miss someone; long for someone

laugh (at)
fight verbally with; get into an

argument with
69-12
(Often
pronounced [])

+ DAT
Subject
?
+ NOM
... (note
unstressed)

be in someones place (shoes)

Ill keep that in mind (for future reference).
all wet; soaking wet
time will tell (Lit.: time will show)
Here really is closest to hello. Many
people answer the phone with .
each other (More in the Grammar section.)
still (We also saw with the meaning
else, in addition: what else.)
the next day (Note that here with the
Preposition is , not .)
next, following
as far as [Subject] can tell
dont (Verb); dont do that. (Here this does
not mean it is not necessary to Verb, though
that meaning is possible.)
dont make me laugh [Imper. of +
make laugh; Just learn as an expression]
not exactly (lit.: not completely)
here: forget about it; its nothing; no biggie
finger lickin good (lit.: fingers you will lick
all over.)
isnt it true that?; dont you think that?
the thing/story/conversation is about
could it really be true that...; is it possible
that... ( adds doubt.)
one second; hold on; (Ill do it) right away
(lit.: (right) now)
good riddance (to whom / what)!
then (at that time); in that case
what does Subject mean by that?
what is X? (This phrase never changes,
regardless of the number or gender of the
thing in question.)
in order that ...; such that ... (See Section
65.A)
to be honest (lit.: honestly speaking)
Review Lesson 69 - Key
"
1. Ninas parents want her to return around 5:00.

, () .
2. Im allergic to dogs. (Recall what case the Noun takes.)
.
3. My great-grandmother on my fathers side got married when she was 17 years old.
.
4. Mitya (Vocative!), be careful!
, !
5. What are you afraid of?
?
6. He always writes with a red pen.
.
7. We often think about each other.
.
8. How much does you father earn?
?
9. Dont worry. No one is laughing at you.
(). .
10. + What do yall eat? - We usually eat potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, beet salad, chicken.
+ ? - , , , , , .
11. What did Vera mean by that?
?
12. Im sure (certain) that this will end badly.
/, .
13. As far as I know, she is not cheating on him.
(), .
14. I found my keys behind the sofa, next to the bookcase.
() , .
15. What are you interested in?
?
"
Fill in the correct pronouns:
1. . .
2. ? .
3. .
4. ? .
5. .
"
Conjugate these verbs (without looking!):
+... VERB TYPE: -

PRES
CONJ: GUITAR (II)
PAST
()
IMPER
INF
+... VERB TYPE: A-STEM (?)

PRES
CONJ: UP-TO-SNUFF (I)
PAST
()
IMPER
INF
+... VERB TYPE: {}

PRES
CONJ: UP-TO-SNUFF (I)
PAST
()
IMPER
INF

Why is everyone always dissatisfied with our presents?
70.A : Plural
70. All the Cases!
70.B Two more uses of
to fetch something
()() be dis/satisfied with
?
Why is everyone always dissatisfied with our presents?
Where did Lida disappear to?
She and Igor went to the store for new plates.
?

.
What do you mean for new plates? My

husband and I gave Lida and Igor very
expensive and beautiful plates as a wedding
present.
,
. ,
,
.
It seems they were dissatisfied with your plates.

To be honest, when Lida showed those plates to
me and my wife, we almost burst out laughing.
12
()
?
(Crying) Why is everyone always dissatisfied

with our presents?
13
14

( ).
For one simple reason: you have no taste (you

have terrible taste).
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
+ INST
for in the sense fetch go after (See grammar explanation)
/ ()
plate
, -, - + INST dissatisfied (with) (See grammar explanation)

() + INST
satisfied (with)
+ Past Tense
almost; nearly (e.g., You nearly killed him)
10
+... (Perf only)
(Figure it out, based on the prefix)
13
()
for one (simple) reason (Note the use of Dative after the preposition )
14
reason; cause
taste (related to Adjective )
70-1
70.A
70-
Instrumental Plural: The Salami Case
The Instrumental Plural is affectionately known as the Salami

We saw the Instrumental Plural endings in:
Case.
Basically, the Instrumental Plural is exactly like the Dative Plural with an - tacked on to both Adjectives and
Nouns:
INSTRUMENTAL PLURAL THE SALAMI CASE
ADJECTIVES
NOUNS
-{I}
(- / -)
-{A}
(- / -)
NOM SG (DICTIONARY FORM)
INSTRUMENTAL PLURAL
There are four common nouns that have a slightly irregular Instrumental Plural. All take the ending -:
( does exist)
You should learn the first two. Well leave standing behind daughters and laughing at horses for next year.
Put the following Noun Phrases into the Instrumental (Salami Case) Plural
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. (end stressed)
10.
11.
12.
70-2
70-
Add water. You may need to furnish a preposition or a negative element. Use present tense.
1. +... / .
2. / / / ?
3. / + / / .
4. / +... / / /
5. / +... /
6. / + / (think!)
7. / +... /
8. / + / / .
9. / +... /
10. / + / /
70.
Russian Cases: The Whole Kit and Caboodle

Nounjectives
Nom / Acc (Direct Cases) = Noun endings
Gen / Prep / Dat / Instr (Oblique Cases) = Adjective endings
The one exception is for Masculine and Plural animate Accusative Nouns, which are syntactically Accusative,
but formally Genitive: .
Masculine
Neuter
Feminine
Plural
* /
Inanimate = .
Inanimate = .
Animate = .
Animate = .
* /
/
/
/
/
/
*Unexpected softening
70-3
N
O
M
A
C
C
G
E
N
P
R
E
P
D
A
T
I
N
S
T
-{I} / - -
MASCULINE
{O} -{O}
NEUTER
-{A} -{A} / -
FEMININE
/ /
/
/
/
-{I} -{I}; Neut -{A}
PLURAL
/

/
-{I} -{O}; -; -
-{I} -{A}
Animate borrows GEN
-{O} -{I}
(--; --)
/ /
/
/
/
/

/
/
/

/
/
-{I} -{A}
/

-{I} -{A}
(--; --)
-{O} -{O} / -
/

/
/
-{O}
-{O}
/

/
-{U} -{U} / -
/

/
Same as NOM
-{A}

Animate borrows GEN
-{}
-{O}
-{U}
- (-; - -) ()
-{O}

-{O}
-{I}
70-4
70-
70-
70.
Two More Uses of : / ()
fetch (go for) something
The Instrumental is used after the preposition for in the meaning fetch; go after. (Note: English for shows up in
about 10 different ways in Russian. Well look at this problem in a later lesson.) For now, use the introductory
verb phrase (, / destination in Accusative). This indicates that the person has not
yet returned from the destination. (Well have a lot more to say about various ways of saying go, went, etc. in
several upcoming lessons.)
.
- .
+ ? -
.
1.
3.
5.
7.
9.
Kolya went to the store for chocolate milk.

Nina went to the library for some book.
+ Where are your parents? - They went to the
store for cheap Russian vodka.
?:
/ /
/ /
/ /
/ / /
/ /
2.
4.
6.
8.
10.
/ /
/ /
/ / ?
/ /
/ homeward /
/() be dis/satisfied (with)

The Instrumental is used after the Short-Form Adjective /(), /, / be
dis/satisfied with (Dont forget the soft-sign in all forms except the Masculine!). Do not (repeat do not!) use any
Preposition following (), just a bare Instrumental phrase. Of course, you can also use either the Past
or Future of the verb be. (Again, no Preposition after ()!)
1.
3.
5.
7.
9.
11.
, ?
Misha, are you satisfied with your Russian

course?
.
, .
Masha will be dissatisfied with this car.
..
.
We were very satisfied with our trip to Moscow.
I think everyone will be satisfied with your

presents.
Lara isnt satisfied with anything.
/ / /()?: Dont use ! No ! to !
() /
/ /
/ (Past)
() / /
/ (Future)
/
2.
4.
6.
8.
10.
12.
70-5
() / ? (Past)
/
() / ?
/
/ ?
/ ? /
70-
"
___________________________________
Massive review of Plural endings (includes all cases so far (Indicate

STRESS where necessary):
1. ___________ _________ _________ _______ ________ ___________

______
2. ____________ ________________ _____________.
3. ____________ __________ ___________?
4. ________ ________ , ________ _________
________ ___________
5. ___________ ___________ ______________.
6. __________ ________________, _______
_______________ (think about number on this noun!)
7. ___________ _____________ ________ ___________ ____________
_________________.
8. _______ ________ __________ ___________ _______ _______.
9. __________ _________ __________.
10. __________ ___________ _____________ (singular).
11. _______ _______________ ?
12. _____________ ______________ ________________?
13. ___________ __________ ________________?
14. ______________.
70-6
70-
"

Answer the questions as honestly as you wish:
1. ?
2. ?
3. ? (Use the verb in your answer its the repetitive version of

/ .)
"
1. I envy you for one simple reason. You are not taking an idiotic Russian course.
2. - Where did Zina disappear to? - She went to the store for bad American beer.
3. I almost forgot, tomorrow is Dimas birthday.
70-7

I thought I was going to major in Chemistry
71.A Stating your major

71. The Instrumental of Being
,
I thought I was going to major in Chemistry
1
2
,
?
3
4
.
First I wanted to be(come) an engineer. But
, when I was a freshman and took a physics
. ?
course, I changed my mind. And what did you
What did you want to be(come) when you

studied at Princeton?
want to be(come)?
14
,
. ,
.
.
. ,
,
,
,
!
When I was a freshman, I wanted to be(come) a

doctor. I thought that my major would be
chemistry. But then I changed my mind about
ten times. I finally decided to major in Political
Science (Politics). I thought that I wanted to
be(come) a lawyer, but when I was working at a
prestigious law firm in Boston, I met a lot of
lawyers and they all seemed to me to be (a
bunch of) bores.
15
? !
What do you mean bores? My wifes a lawyer!
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
(Below we have included a list of majors and professions. You are not responsible for these,
though you should be able to talk about yourself.)
+ // + + INST
become (Note: Imperfective has -; Perfective doesnt!)
(F)
major; specialty (note hard-indicating after another vowel foreign borrowing)
finally; at the very end; in the long run; in the final analysis (lit.: at the end of
ends)
major in (See below)
10
()
department (in university); school of (See below)
12
Guess
13
+ // - c(o)
meet (for the first time); get acquainted with
14
+ // - + INST
seem to someone to be
71-1
71.
71-
Stating Your Major
Because the educational system in Russia differs rather dramatically from ours, its difficult to give an exact
translation for the phrase Im majoring in... (Higher education in Russia in a nutshell: First we should say that
since the fall of Communism, the educational system has been changing rapidly. Many private colleges have
appeared, though the major state universities (singular ) and institutes (singular ) are still
in place. The main difference between college in Russia and the U.S. is that in Russia you apply directly to a
specific department () which itself may be divided into smaller areas of study (). In some
cases, these correspond to an entire school / college (School of Engineering, Law School, etc.).
To ask about / state ones major:
Use the phrase +... +
1) (Prepositional) + Genitive of department name

?
.
.

.
Whats your major?

Im an Anthropology major.
Hes going to be an Art major.
My mother was a Comp Lit major.
Some department names consist of an adjective, which appears before , also in the Prepositional:
.
.
Shes an Engineering major.

Theyre Econ majors.
For those departments that have an adjectival form, you can often form an abbreviation by taking the first part of
the department name and attach -. (See list below for abbreviated names. As you can see, not all departments
have an abbreviated form.) Yes, American students really like to say these.
.
.
.
Hes a Physics major.

My brother plans on majoring in Biology.
Im a Chem major.
Just use the noun + Nominative

?

.
.

Whats your major?

My major is Slavic Languages and Literatures.
Hes an English major.
Mashas a Politics (Political Science) major.
To talk about the future, put the phrase with into the Instrumental (but keep the name of the
major in the Nominative more on this below):
.
Im going to major in Astrophysics.
Shes going to be a History major.
71-2
71-
MAJORS (NOTE THAT NOT ALL DEPARTMENTS ALLOW THE - form)

Anthropology
Geology
Art
Archeology
German
History
Astrophysics
Mathematics
Biology
;
;

Music
;
;

()

Physics
;
;

Slavic Languages
Ecology and Evolutionary

Biology
Molecular Biology
Chemistry
Classics
Comparative Literature
Computer Science
East Asian Studies

Economics
Engineering
English
Near Eastern Studies

Philosophy
Politics / Political Science

Psychology
Religion
Romance Languages
Sociology
;
;

;
;
;
;
;

;
;
;
;
PROFESSIONS
Actress / Actor
Artist
Ballerina
Banker
Blue collar worker
Bookkeeper
Businessman
Chemist
Computer Programmer
Doctor
Driver (taxi / bus )
Editor
Engineer
Hairdresser
Housewife
Insurance Agent
/ -
/
( / )
/ -
Journalist
Lawyer
Mailman
Mathematician
Nurse (Female / Male)
Physicist
Pilot
Policeman
Politician
Psychologist
Salesman / Saleswoman
Senator
Stock Broker
Tailor
Teacher (high school)
71-3
71-
Listen and repeat
1. ?
2. .
3. ?
4. ,
.
5. ?
6. .
7. .
8. .
9.
?
10. , ,

71.
The Instrumental of Being
The Instrumental is often found in constructions that express existence often where the verb be is either overt or
strongly implied. With some verbs the Instrumental is required, with others it depends on the meaning. First lets
look at verbs that require the Instrumental. Any noun or adjective after these verbs will appear in the Instrumental.
+... // + /
become / be
Vika wants to be(come) a professor.
Im going to be(come) president!
When did he become so lazy?
,
.
My brother majored in Philosophy and then

became a doctor.
This film is getting (=becoming) boring.
Person (Nominative)?
You can also ask the question Person (Nominative)? What does PERSON work as? The answer is
normally just in the Nominative:
-- ? -- .
- What does your father do for a living? -- Hes a

lawyer.
-- ? -- .
- What does your sister do for a living? -- Shes

an engineer.
Say who became / wants to become / will become what
1.
3.
5.
7.
9.
/ (will become)
/ (became)
/ (became)
/ (became)
/ (became)
2.
4.
6.
8.
10.
71-4
/ (wants to become)
/ (wanted to become)
/ (want to become)
/ ? (will become)
/ (will become)
71-
+... // - /
Three Cases here:
seem (to someone-Dative) to be (Instrumental)
1) Nominative the thing or person that is being described the subject of the sentence.
2) Dative the person to whom the subject seems (to be a certain way)
3) Instrumental the characterization of the subject of the sentence
(In this construction you can strongly sense the implied to be.)
.
They seem to me (to be) snobs.
Does she seem (to be) boring to you?
To him all lawyers seem to be geniuses.
Say who seems (seemed) how to someone (Subject listed first). For past use Perfective.
Example: / / (present) .
1. / / (present)
2. / / (past)
3. / / (past)
4. / / ?
(present)
5. / /
(present)
6. / / (present)
7. / / (Female ) (past)
8. / / ? (past)
9. / /
(present)
10. / / (present)
71-5
71-
The Case on Nouns and Adjectives after the verb {+ / +}:

vs.
We should first say that this is a really tricky question, one on which many dissertations and scholarly articles
have been written. Perhaps the biggest problem is that in some circumstances the use of Instrumental vs.
Nominative varies from speaker to speaker. Weve witnessed a husband insisting the Instrumental should be used,
while the wife stands firm on Nominative. So, besides not wanting to break up any relationships, we hope to make
it clear that there are no easy answers to this question of grammar.
Past Tense // with either Nominative or Instrumental

First note that proper nouns and pronouns always appear in the Nominative, regardless of word order. The other
noun phrase, which characterizes the subject, may appear in either the Intrumental or the Nominative it really
seems to vary from speaker to speaker. Of course, the verb + is used:

Nom
Instr
Nom
Instr
Nom
Instr
Tolstoy was a very talented writer
The first person in outer space was Yuri Gagarin.
They used to be poor.
There are some finer distinctions that we will not get into this year. The key for now is for you to be able to
recognize this use of the Instrumental and not be thrown off when you come across it in your readings.
Present Tense No Verb, Nominative Only

We saw this construction starting practically from the first lesson. No overt verb appears, and both phrases appear
in the Nominative. Normally a hyphen is used preceding a noun (phrase) but not before a bare adjective.
.
Tolstoy is my favorite writer.
, - .
They say that New York is a dangerous city.
My aunt is a lawyer.
He is a fool.
Shes smart.
Theyre lazy.
71-6
71-
Future Tense / , etc. with Instrumental

The noun (or adjective) phrase following + normally appears in the Instrumental (though Nominative is not
impossible). Again, keep proper nouns and pronouns in the Nominative, regardless of word order. This is often
equivalent to the verb +... // +.

-, .
I think Misha will be(come) a famous actor.
You will become rich.
Monica Lewinsky will be the first woman on the

moon.
Infinitive + Instrumental
After the Instrumental is normally found on both nouns and adjectives:
.
He wants to be rich.
Everyone wants to be happy.
Why does she want to be the wife of such a

despicable man?
,
.
When I was at Princeton, I wanted to be a

musician.
Imperative Nouns in Instrumental; Adjectives Both

After the imperative /, nouns appear in the Instrumental, while adjectives vary. Long-form adjectives
appear in Instrumental, while short-from adjectives stay in Nominative. It turns out that short-form adjectives in
general can appear only in Nominative. (More on this later.)
/ + Noun / Long-Form Adjective in Instrumental

, .
Be a friend and give me $10.
, !
Dont be so lazy. Take out the garbage!
/ + Short-Form Adjective in Nominative

, !
Be careful, the floor is wet.
/!
Gesundheit! (Be healthy!)
71-7
71-
Translate into Russian. When more than one possibility exists, both versions will be given.
1. Nina is a talentless singer.
2. Dont be such a jerk (Vera)!
3. Why do you want to be a professor?
4. My younger brother is going to be a famous

insurance agent .
5. Galyas grandmother was a nurse.
6. was a great writer.
7. Be careful in New York!
8. Russian was my favorite subject. (remember this

word?)
9. Stalin was not a kind person.
10. Who will be his next wife?
71-8
71-
1

Answer as honestly as you wish:
1. What is your major? (What do you intend to major in?)
2. What did (will) your sister (brother) major in?
3. What do you want to be (when you grow up)?
4. What does (did) your sister (brother) want to be?
5. Which people majoring in what do you envy / not envy?
6. Who (what kind of people) seems boring to you?
7. Whom would you like to meet?
71-9
71-
___________________________________
V O D:
+
VERB TYPE _______ CONJ _______
PERFECTIVE FUTURE
PAST
______________________________________
______________________________________
()
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
INF
______________________________________
IMPER
___________________________________
71-10

So that's why Grisha left his wife
72.A More on the Genitive of Negation

72. His/Her/Their: vs. // vs.
So thats why Grisha left his wife
( )
(In the middle of a conversation)
2
3
....-,
.
...I think Volodya fell in love with his wife at

first sight.
4
5
. , ,
.
.
.
Stop. Of course you meant to say in his (own)

wife and not in his (someone elses) wife.
Americans often make that mistake. Volodya fell
in love with his (own) wife at first sight.
, .
.
! .
, - ,
.
No, I didnt make a mistake. I dont make such

mistakes. I studied Russian at Princeton, for
heavens sake. We were talking about Grisha.
Volodya fell in love with his wife, i.e. Grishas
wife, at first sight.
14
, .
.
Oh, so thats why Grisha left his wife. Now

everything is clear.
15
How do you know about all this?
16
,
.
Grisha told his brother, and then his brother

told me everything.
19
, ,
.
Please dont tell anyone about this, especially

your husband.
20
, . !
Of course, I wont tell anyone. Mums the word.
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
17
18
conversation
stop! a command (Russians actually say this.)
ones own (See grammar)
(not) any (As with other words, a Preposition will intercede between
and the second element: We
werent taking about any textbook.)
13
so thats why
13
leave a person
Present
Past
, ,
. .
16
+ // +
/
tell (someone about something/someone) (Generally, this verb involves telling

a longer story, vs. +,which implies uttering a single statement.)
20
here: I wont tell a soul; Ill keep it on the DL (The most common meaning of
is grave.)
72-1
72.A
72-
More on the Genitive of Negation
Earlier, we saw that when you want to indicate what you dont have, the thing lacking goes into genitive:
.
.
.
I dont have a car.

He doesnt have any money.
We dont have any children.
This use of the genitive in negative constructions extends beyond lacking a thing. To say that someone /
something is not (was not / will not be) somewhere, use the genitive:
.
.
.
.
Boris is not at work today.

Veras not home.
Theyre not there.
Theres no one there.
Such sentences have no noun in the nominative. Thus in the past and future a neuter singular verb is used (this is
the default, there being no nominative for the verb to agree with). Note that in the past the stress shifts to the
and away from the verb, giving :
.
.
.
.
.
I wont be here (there) tomorrow.

Masha wasnt here (there) yesterday.
No one was at the party.
There was no concert yesterday.
There wont be any actors there.
Not all negation requires Genitive

When you are not denying the existence of person or thing, you do not need to use the genitive of negation. Some
basic examples:
, .
.
.
, .
Lyovas not a doctor, hes a lawyer.

Shes not a bad singer.
The film was not very interesting.
Hes not such a genius like everyone says.
Negate the following
1.
3.
5.
7.
9.
.
.
.
.
.
2.
4.
6.
8.
10.
72-2
.
.
.
.
.
72-
Another use of the Genitive of Negation: Negated Direct Object

Often, when the direct object is negated, it appears in genitive:
.
I didnt drink any beer.
() .
He doesnt know Russian.
She never does any homework.
We didnt see any photographs.
No Genitive of Negation in Oblique (Prep., Dat., Instr.) Cases

If the object is in a case other than accusative, you cannot use the genitive of negation. You must keep the original
case:
.
Shes not interested in music.
The professor does not help the students.
Were not thinking about grammar.
Hes not afraid of Lara.
In this last example, its probably a moot point, but the genitive is due to the verb
+..., and not the negation.
Moral of the Story: The Genitive of Negative is Complicated

To be honest, it can be very tricky trying to determine when to use the genitive of negation and when to keep the
accusative. In fact, there is quite a large variation among native speakers. The most important thing is to able to
recognize the genitive of negation when reading or conversing with Russians, and not to get the genitive of
negation confused with a different use of the genitive.
Translate. Pay attention to when the direct object goes into the Genitive.
1. I didnt see any woman.
2. I didnt see that woman.
3. She doesnt drink beer.
4. She isnt drinking your beer.
5. I wasnt reading any book.
6. I wasnt reading that book.
7. He doesnt know German.
8. I dont envy rich people.
9. I didnt drink your vodka.
10. I didnt drink any vodka.
11. We didnt buy any books.
12. We didnt buy anything.
72-3
72.
72-
His / Her / Their: vs. // vs.
You have probably noticed that quite often in the dialogues and the homework we put possessive pronouns such
as his, her, their in parentheses: Boris called (his) wife. You need to be very careful when translating the 3rd
person possessives into Russian because there is an important difference between English and Russian. Its not a
difficult point, but students quite often forget about this when speaking and writing. Stay alert!
(Ones own) Refers back to the subject of the clause

When the subject of a clause (in nominative) and the possessive pronoun refer to the same person, you must use
(in the correct CNG). declines exactly like except it almost never appears in nominative. (See
more below.) If you use the regular 3rd person possessives (, , ) with a 3rd person subject, a completely
different meaning arises:
, , etc. (not )

Vera kissed her (own) husband

Vera kissed her (not own) husband
, , etc. (not )

Vadik was talking about his (own) wife

Vadik was talking about his (not own) wife
Notice that the above English sentences minus the parentheses are potentially ambiguous. To disambiguate,
we need to add something like her/his own. This ambiguity can never arise in Russian - and not because no
Russian woman would ever think of kissing another womans husband.
Some more examples of in various CNGs. Be sure to go over these carefully:

.
He got a letter from his grandfather.
They often help their neighbors.
Everyone was talking about their kids.
Nina adores her husband.
Who wouldnt want to meet his/her (own)

great-grandmother?
She really loves her dog.
72-4
72-
1. Vera is talking about her own husband.
2. Vera is talking about her (Vikas) husband.
3. Kolya is standing behind his own wife.
4. Kolya is standing behind his (Dimas) wife.
5. They got a letter from their (someone elses)

children.
6. They got a letter from their own children.
7. Pasha doesnt envy his (Mishas) Russian

professor.
8. Pasha doesnt envy his own Russian professor.
9. Kira is feeding her own horse.
10. Kira is feeding her (Galyas) horse.
For 1st and 2nd person pronouns you can use either or the regular possessive pronouns (, ,
, , etc.)
Regular Possessive
Generally, is more neutral, though it is certainly not wrong to use , , , , etc.
Note that in imperative constructions is used even though no overt subject appears:
.
Take your keys.
Dont laugh at your brother.
Invite your parents to the concert.
- .
Buy your husband something.
In the above examples it is possible to use , , , etc., but is found much more often.
With rare exceptions (that we wont discuss this year), does not appear in the nominative case. In part this
is because cannot appear on its own it must refer back to a noun or pronoun (which itself is nominative) in
the same clause. With imperatives, the 2nd person is so strongly implied that can be used.
72-5
72-
Optionality of Possessive Pronouns

This point isnt directly related to , but it is important to keep in mind when thinking about possessive
pronouns.
We saw early on that when it is clear from the context to whom something belongs, Russian often uses no
possessive pronoun at all (as opposed to English, where one is required). This is especially true when referring to
body parts and family members, but you also find it with regular nouns:
.
I have a headache. (My head hurts)
He gave (as a gift) his brother a green tie.
She took her umbrella and left.
Hes cheating on his wife with an actress.
For the first example, its quite common to have a + Genitive phrase: .
As with the Genitive of Negation, its hard to give absolute, 100% inviolable rules about when to include or
exclude possessive pronouns (and thats really not just a cop-out). The main thing is, dont be thrown by
missing possessive pronouns. As a very general rule, you can leave out possessive pronouns in a lot of
situations. So, live dangerously.
. Dont worry if your answer doesnt match the recording but be sure to repeat.
1. My head hurts.
2. Help your younger sister.
3. He gave his wife (as a gift) a bouquet of roses for

her birthday.
4. Vera is cheating (+ + Dative) on her

husband.
5. Nina kissed her (Mashas) husband on the lips.
6. My stomache hurts.
7. Dont laugh at his wife.
8. I (Viktor) took my umbrella and left.
9. My arm hurts.
10. Drink your milk.
72-6
72-
"

Negate the following sentences:
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. . (Make this as negative as possible.)
8. .
9. .
10. .
"
Insert only where required. Otherwise use another possessive.

(Assume that each sentence contains a possessive and that the possessor
and the subject are the same person.)
1. _____________________________ _____________.
2. _________________________________ _____________.
3. ________________________________ _____________. plural
72-7
72-
___________________________________
4. ___________________________ .
5. ____________________________ _____________?
6. ____________________________ ____________?
7. _____________________ _________.
8. ______________________________ ______________.
9. __________________________ ___________. singular
10. ______________________________ ____________. plural
"
1. I dont have any tickets to the opera.
2. Why did she leave her husband?
3. + Tell me about your elephant. I don't have an elephant.
4. + Don't tell anyone about our conversation. - Mum's the word!
72-8

The Russian Textbook is clearer and funnier
73.A Comparative Degree of Adjectives: Form

73. Comparative Degree of Adjectives: Function
73. Comparative Degree of Adverbs
The Russian textbook is clearer and funnier
,
?
Which course do you like more, Russian or

Physics?
6
7
! , ,
. -
.
,
. , !
What a stupid question! Physics, of course, is

much more interesting. (My) Physics professor
is a better teacher. She gives (reads) lectures
much better than our wacko Russian professor.
Russian is much worse than Physics.
8
9
? ,
, .
What are you talking about? The Physics

course is more boring, more difficult, and cost
more ( expensive) than Russian.
10
? ?
More expensive? What do you mean more

expensive?
11
12
13
14
, ,

.
. , !
Yeah, the Physics textbook costs $110, but our

fantastic Russian textbook is much cheaper.
And the Russian textbook is clearer and
funnier. Russian is much better than Physics.
15
16
! , ,
, , , , .
Nothing of the kind! The Physics professor is

taller, better looking, kinder, smarter, and, I
must say, cleaner.
1
2
3
4
5
(We have not listed as separate vocabulary items most of the irregular comparative adjectives. You are responsible for
learning them.)
1
more (Comparative of . See grammar explanation.)
much + comparative adjective
teacher; instructor (Can refer to a professor in terms of his/her ability as a

teacher.)
better
kooky; nutty
than
worse
15
funny
17
tall; taller (See grammatical explanation.)
73-1
73.A
73-
Comparative Adjectives: Forms (-, )
We previously saw the comparative degree of adjectives in the movie title:
Dumb and Dumb
er
Forming Comparative Adjectives: -

he most common way to form the comparative of an adjective is with the unchanging ending -e
Regular Adjective
Comparative Degree in -
(new, smart, stupid, etc.)
(newer, smarter, stupider, etc.)
(, , )
heavy
Stress in Comparative Adjectives ( 2 Syllables -;
3 Syllables on stem)
Adjectives consisting of one or two syllables (almost) always have the comparative degree in stressed -. For
adjectives in three or more syllables, normally the stress stays on the stem. (Though notice that the stress moves
to the end in . The rules for this are a bit complex.)
Form the comparative degree of the following adjectives. First the regular adjective will be read, followed
by the comparative.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8. end-stressed
9.
10.
11.
12.
73-2
73-
Irregular Comparative Degree Adjectives

There are quite a few adjectives that have an irregular comparative degree. The final stem consonant (or
consonants) mutates before a single e is added. Note that the ending single e is never stressed.
Regular Adjective
mutation
Comparative Degree
with mutated consonant and
unstressed -e
>
>
>
( also exists)
>
( > dont ask why)
>
>
(>)
>
Form the comparative. First try to learn the forms (instead of just looking up at the chart)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Even Stranger Comparative Adjectives

Here are some other common comparative forms that dont fit neatly anywhere:
Regular Adjective
Comparative Degree
(-- drops out and >)
*()
() (-- drops out and >)
*Not active vocabulary, but included for reference.

As in English, the comparative degree of good and bad look nothing like the non-comparative form:
Regular Adjective
Comparative Degree
( see below)
( see below)
73-3
73.
73-
Comparative Adjectives: Function Only in Predicate
All of the comparative forms of adjectives presented above (except and ) are found only in the
predicate position, i.e., after the verb be (or verb with related meaning), in the Nominative Case. To express than
use (always preceded by a comma).
, .
Her book is more interesting than his.
, .
My car is newer than yours.
, .
Vikas room is cleaner than Veras
, .
Styopa is stupider than my dog.
, .
Russia is bigger than Malta.
, .
My house is smaller than his kitchen.
, .
A Ford is cheaper than a Mercedes.
, .
Dasha is younger than Lara.
, .
Lara is older than Dasha.
You can also find a prepositional phrase following :

- , .
Its more dangerous in NY than in Princeton.
, .
Its more boring in Russian class than in Physics.
, .
Its colder outside than in the house.
Note that in the above three examples, the original sentence would have contained a short-form adjective:
- . The comparative of short-form adjectives is no different from that of long-form
adjectives.
The adverb much can be used in comparative constructions:

,
.
His second wife is much smarter than his ex-wife.
, .
A Ferrari is much more expensive than a Buick.
, .
Russian is much harder than French. (Not true!)
, .
She is much taller than it seems on TV.
73-4
73-
Make the comparisons
1. / /
2. / / .
3. / /
4. / /
5. / /
6. / /
7. / /
8. / /
9. / /
10. / / .
11. / /
12. / nasty /
13. / /
14. / end-stressed /
Comparative Adjectives Only after the verb be

As we mentioned above, comparative adjectives are found only in the Nominative Case in predicate position. You
cannot use these comparative forms in what is known as attributive position (which basically means before the
noun). In other words, we dont yet know how to say things like Tolstoy is a more talented writer than Jackie
Collins or I need a more reliable dishwasher, where more talented and more reliable are in attributive position.
Well cover this very soon.
Earlier in the course we had two comparative (and superlative) adjectives that can be used in attributive position:
better, best; worse, worst. (You simply need to use context to distinguish the comparative
meaning better/worse from the superlative meaning best/worst.) These two words behave like regular adjectives,
agreeing in CNG with the modified noun:
73.
Stephen King is the best writer on earth.
, .
I want a better car than his.
, .
Miller is a worse beer than Coors.
Were talking about the worst student in the class.
Comparative Adverbs
Form: Same as Comparative Adjectives

Basically, the comparative degree of adverbs is equvialent to that of adjectives. In the following examples,
adjectives appear above adverbs:
, --.
, --.
Pavorotti is better than the Back Street Boys.

Pavorotti sings better than the Back Street Boys.
, .
, .
My car is faster than yours.

The car was going faster than the train.
- , .
, .
Rap music is usually louder than Mozart.

Gera talks louder than I do.
73-5
73-
Note the (almost) exclusively adverbial form more often ( > , as expected):
, .
He calls her more often than she him.
,
.
This semester Ive been going to the library more

often than last semester.
Note the adverbial use of more and less, which in some instances do not have a corresponding
non-comparative adverb:
, .
No one studies more than I do.
(The non-comparative is )
, .
I like your car more than hers.
(Theres no obvious non-comparative adverb for this

meaning of )
, .
He drinks less than (he did) before.
(The non-comparative is )
, .
He loves you less than I do.
(Theres no obvious non-comparative adverb for this

meaning of )
Translate
1. I study less than Tanya.
2. Nina speaks Russian better than me.
3. Which tie do you like more?
4. No one talks faster than my younger sister.
5. Speak more quietly, please.
6. Speak more loudly, please.
7. is the greatest American writer of all

time.
8. My bird is flying higher than yours.
9. In Mathey (people) live more poorly than in Rocky.
10. Rita goes to a bar more often than Pasha.
73-6
73-
"
Write five sentences with comparative adjectives and adverbs. Use at least
two irregular comparatives:
Fill in the blanks using comparatives:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
"
1. _____________________________________________________________________ .
2. _____________________________________________________________________ .
3. __________________________________________________________________ .
4. _____________________________________________________________________ .
5. _____________________________________________________________________ .
6. ______________________________________________________________ / .
7. _____________________________________________________________________ .
8. PC _____________________________________________________________________ .
9. _____________________________________________________________________ .
73-7
73-
"
___________________________________
1. Everything is more expensive in Princeton than in Trenton.
2. Whos taller, you or Shaq? Believe it or not, Shaq is taller, - and richer.
3. I want a better car.
73-8

-,
74.A
74.
74.B
74.
74.
More on Comparative Adjectives

Two more irregular comparative forms
Bare Genitive replaces + Nominative
How many times / By how much taller, smarter
Comparative Adjectives in attributive position
Larger and Smaller Two exceptions (sort of)
-,
I think Michael is around eight years older than Janet
1
2
, ,
?
3
4
5
, ! , Michael, of course! He lives in a more

. . expensive house than she does. And his car is
!
bigger. Hes ten times wealthier than she is.
, ?
Whos older? Whos younger?
-, .
I think Michael is around eight years older than

Janet is.
, ?
And whos taller? Whos shorter?
9
10
11
,
.
.
If Im not mistaken, Michael is five centimeters

taller than she is. But hes two centimeters
shorter than his older brother Tito.
12
Who bathes more often?
13
14
,
.
Michael bathes about five times a day, while

Janet only (bathes) once a day.
15
16
17
, ?
? , ,
?
Who fatter? Whos thinner? How many

kilograms heavier is he? Or perhaps hes
lighter than she is?
18
, ?
How should I know how much they weigh?
19
How much do you weigh?
20
21
.
.
Thats none of your business. Women are not

asked about such things.
Who do you think is wealthier, Michael Jackson

or Janet Jackson?
smaller
# () + Comparative
# times smarter, richer, etc. (See grammar)
# + Comparative
by # taller, shorter, older, etc. (See grammar)
low; shorter (You can say Shes tall, but means

Shes a low(-life) person. However, the comparative form means shorter.)
10
centimeter (1 inch = 2.54 centimeters)
15
fat; thick
15
thin
larger (See grammar)
74-1
74-
16
kilogram (2.2 pounds = 1 kilogram). Note that: 1) there are two in this word in
Russian; 2) the Genitive Plural is the same as the Nominative. Its
similar to and . The Genitive Singular is regular: .
16
heavy
18
weigh
20
+ [Genitive]
thats none of [persons] business; that does not concern [person]
74.A
Two More Irregular Comparative Adjectives
Here are two more slightly irregular comparative adjectives:
Regular Adjective
mutation
Comparative Degree
unstressed -e
>
fat; thick
>
thin
(note the !)
(unexpected)
74.
74..1
,
.
Tolstoys novels are thicker than Dostoevksys.
, x
.
His third wife is thinner than his two ex-wives.
More Comparative Constructions

Bare Genitive replaces + Nominative
Yesterday we saw that is used to express than, after which most often follows the noun in the Nominative
Case:
, .
Shes older than (her) brother.
, .
Masha is richer than me.
You can also use the Genitive Case without following the comparative form:
.
Shes older than (her) brother is.
Masha is richer than me.
You cannot use the bare Genitive when a phrase follows the comparative:
,
Everything is more expensive in Princeton than in

Trenton.
* a (*Impossible )
74-2
74-
Make the comparison. Use the Genitive whenever possible.
1.
3.
5.
7.
9.
11.
13.
/ / .
/ / ?
/ / .
/ / .
/ / .
/ /.
/ / / .
74..2
2.
4.
6.
8.
10.
12.
14.
/ / .
/ / .
/ / .
/ / . (think!)
/ / .
/ / .
/ - /
/ .
How many times / By how much one thing is better, faster, taller, etc.
Yesterday we saw the use of (, , etc.) much (smarter, stupider, etc) than. Today well
look at two more comparative constructions:
1) To say that someone/something is # times smarter (richer, etc.) use:
+ # + () +Comparative + (or Genitive)

The number goes into the Accusative, as you can see with .
( ).
Im ten times smarter than you.
(
)
His camera is three times as expensive as mine

(my camera).
( ).
Shes twice as old as her husband.
( )
Ira is 1000 times nicer than Olya.
,
.
In Princeton, everything is 100 times more

expensive than in Trenton.
2) To indicate by how much something is taller,( more expensive, etc.), use:
+ Amount + Comparative + (or Genitive)

.
Kira is three years older than Zhanna.
Yura is five months younger than me.
Im three centimeters taller than her.
Yasha is ten centimeters shorter than his wife.
This samovar is 100 rubles more expensive than

yours.
, .
Its 40 colder today than yesterday.
74-3
74-
To say that you weigh more or less than someone, use or :
Hes ten kilograms heavier than his wife.
Im three kilograms lighter than my brother.
Translate
1. A Mercedes () is twice as expensive as a

Volkswagen ().
3. My elephant is ten times heavier than your tiger.
2. A Volkswagen is $20,000 cheaper than a

Mercedes.
4. My tiger is 500 kilograms lighter than your
elephant.
6. Today its ten degrees warmer than yesterday.
8. His last film is an hour longer (remember this
adjective?) than Shakespeare in Love
( )
10. My grandfather is 35 years older than his wife.
12. War and Peace is 1000 pages longer than The
Brothers Karamazov. ( )
5. Hes ten times smarter than his professor.

7. In my room ( ) its ten times
cleaner than in the dining hall.
9. A PC is twice as cheap as a Macintosh.
11. Hes talking twice as loud as the radio.
74.
Comparative Adjectives in Attributive Position (Before Noun)

I want a more expensive car.
She wants to marry a smarter man.
Recall from yesterday that comparative forms like , , , etc., can only appear in predicate
position (after some version of the verb be) in Nominative Case. To use a comparative in attributive position
(preceding the noun) you must use either more or less (both unchanging) plus the regular adjective
in the correct CNG. This is different from English, where there is no difference in form between a (positive1)
predicate comparative adjective vs. attributive adjective: My room is cleaner / I want a cleaner room. These
forms are not interchangeable in Russian:
,
.
In Russia, Pushkin is a more popular writer than

Dostoevsky.
I want a less expensive car.
We want a cleaner professor.
She wrote about a less talented singer.
,
.
My parents want me to marry a richer woman.
Ive never met stupider people!
He wants to associate with less rude people.
Note that the -er form in English implies more. To say less you must overtly use that form: I want a less expensive car.
74-4
74-
Translate
1. Princeton is a more prestigious university than

Rider.
2. I used to live in a cleaner room.
3. I like to think about more serious problems.
4. I used to associate with ruder people.
5. Masha wants to find a smarter dog.
6. I have never seen a dirtier dining hall. (Use the

Genitive of Negation.)
7. I envy more talented musicians.
8. My parents want me to marry a richer man.
9. Galya used to go out with smarter guys.
10. Chicago is a more dangerous city than Detroit.
74.
Large and Smaller- Two Exceptions (Sort of)
We saw in the last lesson (and previously) that the comparative (and superlative) adjectives better; best
and worse; worst can be used in attributive position. (In direct contradiction to the point discussed just
above.) The forms for larger and smaller also violate the above point i.e., there are no possible forms *
or * , etc. (* indicates ungrammatical forms). Instead use the forms /
after the noun in question:
, .
I live in a bigger house than his (house).
, .
She bought a smaller car than mine.
In fact, you can use this same form, -Comparative, with many adjectives:
I want a cheaper (less expensive) samovar.
I like guys who are little plumper.
Buy me a more expensive towel.
1. I want a larger skirt. ()
2. We used to live in a smaller apartment.
3. I want a better car.
4. We were talking about the worst films of this year.
5. I want a cheaper aquarium.
6. Where is there a cleaner room here?
74-5
74-
"
___________________________________
Write four sentences comparing things/people. Use both of the

constructions ( # /; # ...).
new
Write 4 sentences with attributive comparative adjectives. Use a different

Case in each sentence. Use one single-word comparative attributive form.
1.
2.
3.
4.
"
1.
2.
3.
4.
74-6
74-
"
1. I'm three centimeters taller than my father.
2. I want a kinder elephant.
3. Dima is two hours older than his brother.
74-7

I have to get my watch fixed
75.A Telling Time

75. At a Certain Time
I have to get my watch fixed

(There are five different characters in this dialogue even if there are only two different voices.)
, .
Sorry, I dont have a watch.
3
4
( .) ,
, , ?
(Walks up to another man.) Excuse me, could you

please tell me what time it is?
, .
Sorry, my watch is broken.
, , ?
Excuse me, you wouldnt happen to know what time it

is?
Its 5:25.
, .
.
No, its twenty-five to six. Your watch is ten minutes

slow.
.
( ).
.
Nothing of the sort. Your watch is (around ten

minutes) fast. The other day my wife gave me this
watch for our anniversary (of our wedding).
, .
. .
Maybe youre right. I have to get my watch fixed.

Thanks.
is?
10
11
12
, , ? Excuse me, you wouldnt happen to know what time it
13
14
...
you wouldnt happen to know (This is a very polite introductory phrase.)
what time is it?
what time is it?
10
{- / -} + #
+ (in correct CNG)
watch/clock is (# minutes) slow
10
- + # + (in
correct CNG)
watch/clock is (# minutes) fast
12
the other day (Unclear why its in the Prepositional Plural. Cool fact:
can refer to a few days.)
12
wedding anniversary
anniversary (In Russian refers to any anniversary there's no

default noun, as there is in English, where anniversary normally refers to a
wedding. Other examples in Russian: the
anniversary of Stalins death.)
- // -
fix; repair
14
75-1
75.A
75-
Telling Time
The question What time is it? is either ? or ? (There doesnt seem to be any
difference between the two.)
The response normally begins ..., though this may be left out.
The rest of the response depends on what time it is. There are 3 possibilities: 1) on the hour; 2) between :01 and
:30 minutes past; 3) between :31 and :59 minutes past.
:00 (on the hour)

Weve been using this for a while already. Just say the number of hours plus the correct form of .
For 1:00 just say , no anywhere.
Its 2:00.
Its 4:00.
Its 6:00.
Its 11:00.
Its 1:00.
As in English, in informal speech you can simply state the number, no need for any form of .
.
Its 5:00.
Its 10:00.
For all times except :00, Russian is always looking ahead to the upcoming hour.
75-2
75-
Between :01 and :30

# of minutes past
the hour (except
:15, :30)
12:05
1:10
2:20
3:25
Proper
form of
Ordinal Genitive of
UPCOMING hour
(lit.: of the 1st hour)
For numbers 1-4, just use the correct form of Nom after 1, Genitive Singular after 2-4. *Remember:
since is Feminine, 2 will be . In general, you can avoid these (unless youre really a fanatic about
giving the exact time), and normally the form will be Genitive Plural . Anyway, here are a few examples:
4:01
2:18
5:22
12:24
For :15 use either or quarter without :

6:15
For :30 use or - (both without ). With -, you must include the dash: -. (We
saw this use of - half in the dialogue about - half a banana.)
7:30
11:30
- /
- /
75-3
75-
Listen and repeat:

?
?
What time is it?
Its 2:00
Its 10:00
Its 1:00
Its 2:10.
Its a 4:15
Its 12:20.
-.
Its 11:30.
Its 1:02.
State the time
1. 2:00
2. 4:25
3. 10:20
4. 5:00
5. 7:15
6. 6:00
7. 2:05
8. 11:30
9. 9:10
10. 6:30
11. 8:15
12. 1:00
13. 1:01
14. 2:30
15. 4:15
75-4
75-
Between :31 and :59

To express number of minutes till (to) a certain hour, you use: 1) preposition (without) followed by 2) the
Genitive of the cardinal of the number of minutes remaining before the next hour followed by 3) the Nominative
cardinal of the upcoming hour.
Numbers ending in - behave like Fem nouns in -, so the Genitive ends in -, usually stressed: ,
, , (note loss of cluster buster!), , , , , etc. With these
numbers you do not need any form of the word .
*Note that if you have a compound number (i.e., a number consisting of more than one word), both parts decline,
e.g. :
2:40
4:55
12:50
1:35
6:47
e
e
e
Cardinal of minutes
remaining before hour,
in Genitive
(lit.: w/o 20)
Nominative Cardinal
of upcoming hour (or
for 12:31-12:59)
(Note!!)
If the minutes remaining end in 1, you use the Gen of : . (Here minute is
required.)
1:59
7:39
(In order to avoid bizarre-form-overload, we'll avoid the Genitive of 2-4 for now.)
For :45, you can use either e or e e:

5:45
Listen and repeat:

.
.
.
.
.
Its five to two.

Its a quarter to one.
Its twenty-five to three.
Its one minute to seven.
Its ten to six.
State the time
1. 5:35
2. 1:40
3. 10:45
4. 6:55
5. 7:35
6. 6:50
7. 2:45
8. 11:59
9. 9:40
10. 8:50
75-5
75-
Taking the easy way out: Hour + Minutes

Some people simply give the hour followed by the number of minutes, no or () anywhere:
, , , , etc. Though this is perfectly
correct, you need to learn the other way of reporting the time.
75.
Its 2:10.
Its 3:40.
Its 1:15.
Its 12:53.
Its 6:21.
Expressing At a Certain Time
To inquire about what time (i.e., when) something happens, the question is either ...? or ...?
In your answer you can have only one preposition. This is not a problem for times between :00 and :30, where the
preposition used is the familiar + ACC, but students often get confused what to do with times between :31 and
:59, in which case the + GEN takes precedence:
From :00-:29
:30
Use + the regular way of stating the time (in the ACC):
?
+ .
- When (what time) did he arrive?

+ He arrived at 1:00.
?
+
- What time did Vera leave?

+ She left at 4:10.
?
+ .
- What time did Borya go to bed?

+ He went to bed at 6:15.
/ -
With :30, use the PREP/LOC , not ACC, which you might expect! (To be honest, weve never really
understood why its not ACC, ?) For - theres nothing to change:

.
We usually eat dinner at 5:30.
-.
She gets up at 12:30.
75-6
75-
From :31-:59
Do not insert any extra preposition, just use
We left at 5:55.
Today she got up at 7:45.
I usually get to bed at 11:35.
She got home at 15:59.
State when the event took / takes / will take place
1. (5:20)
2. (7:50)
3. (4:30)
4. (2:15)
5. (3:45)
6. (1:00)
7. (12:25)
8. (9:01)
9. (2:55)
10. (~7:00 think!)
11. (~3:00)
12. (6:30)
For reference: Military and Official Time

It is not uncommon (especially in published schedules) to see the 24-hour clock used:

.
The train left at 10:00.
The movie starts at 7:00
75-7
75-
"
___________________________________
Give the time of 4 activities that you often do.
1.
2.
3.
4.
"
1. Could you please tell me when the film starts? --It starts at 5:45.
2. What time is it? -- Its twenty after two.
75-8
75-
3. My watch is two minutes slow/fast (give both verbs).
4. Tomorrow is our 5th (wedding) anniversary.
75-9

Im an expert on the Instrumental Case
Review of Chapter 10
( 70-75; , 15-16)
Im an expert on the Instrumental Case
( . .
(In a club. Loud rock music is playing. Students
, .) are dancing, drinking beer, and talking.)
, ?
Seva, what are you doing here?
Im drinking cheap American beer and listening

to very mediocre rock music.
, . !
No, thats not what I had in mind. Tomorrow

morning at 8:30 you have a Russian exam.
. !
.
A Russian exam. Big deal! Its a piece of cake for

me.
13
,
, .

.
But Misha said that this exam is going to harder

and twice as long as the previous (one). There
are going to questions about the Instrumental
Case on the exam.
14
Im an Instrumental Case guru. (I know the

Instrumental Case like the back of my hand.)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
+ (Locative in -)
have in mind
big deal!
+ Dative
(Literally: That is like spitting one time for [Person]) It will be a piece a cake
for [Person]
11
previous
12
on the exam
14
// + Prepositional
(Literally: [Person] ate the dog on [Topic]) [Person] knows [Topic] inside
out; [Person] is an expert at [Topic]
76-1
N
O
M
A
C
C
G
E
N
P
R
E
P
D
A
T
I
N
S
T
-{I} / - -
MASCULINE
{O} -{O}
NEUTER
-{A} -{A} / -
FEMININE
/ /
/
/
/
-{I} -{I}; Neut -{A}
PLURAL
/

/
-{I} -{O}; -; -
-{I} -{A}
Animate borrows GEN
-{O} -{I}
(--; --)
/ /
/
/
/
/

/
/
/

/
/
-{I} -{A}
/

-{I} -{A}
(--; --)
-{O} -{O} / -
/

/
/
-{O}
-{O}
/

/
-{U} -{U} / -
/

/
Same as NOM
-{A}

Animate borrows GEN
-{}
-{O}
-{U}
- (-; - -) ()
-{O}

-{O}
-{I}
76-2
76-
10 ( 70-75; , 15-16)
76-
10 ( 70-75; , 15-16)
Nounjectives
Nom / Acc (Direct Cases) = Noun endings
Gen / Prep / Dat / Instr (Oblique Cases) = Adjective endings
The one exception is for Masculine and Plural animate Accusative Nouns, which are syntactically Accusative,
but formally Genitive: / ?
Masculine
Neuter
Feminine
Plural
/ ()
/ *
Inanimate = .
Inanimate = .
Animate = .
Animate = .
/ *
/
/ *
/ *
/ *
/ *
*Unexpected softening
More Uses of the Instrumental Case

(, )
go somewhere for something (fetch)
.
- .
() () (, ) /
.
.
- .
.
Kolya went to the store for black caviar.

Nina went to the library for some journal.
(dis)satisfied with something/someone

We were very satisfied with dinner.
Lara isnt satisfied with anything.
Theyre dissatisfied with something.
The parents are satisfied with their children.
76-3
10 ( 70-75; , 15-16)
76-
Instrumenal of Being
It is very difficult to give precise rules for when the Instrumental (as opposed to the Nominative) should be used
in constructions implying some form of the Verb be. Here are some guidelines:
Required
-... // become
Optional
Nominative Only
Past Tense ///
Present Tense of be ()
-... // - seem (to be)
Imperative + SF Adj
Future , , etc.
Infinitive
Imperative + LF Adj.
Expressing Ones Major
With the phrase: -... (X- / [Genitive] / X-)

?
.
.
.
Whats your major?

Im an Econ major.
Hes going to be an Art major.
My mother was a Physics major
With the Noun: . In the Past and Future, goes into Instrumental
?
.
Whats your major?
Im going to major in Astrophysics.
Sasha was an Art major.
76-4
Hes an English major.
76-
10 ( 70-75; , 15-16)
Comparative Adjectives and Adverbs

The regular comparative suffix is - (- for shorter Adjectives and Adverbs). There are quite a number of
comparative Adjectives and Adverbs with irregular forms; most end in unstressed - preceded by a mutated
consonant. Well break it down into 3 groups:
1) Regular Comparatives
Regular Adjective
Comparative Degree
(, , )
2) Comparative With Mutations (Somewhat Regular)
Regular Adjective
mutation
Comparative Degree
unstressed -e
>
>
>
( also exists)
>
( > dont ask why)
>
>
>
(>)
>
(unexpected)
3) Bizarre Comparatives
Regular Adjective
Comparative Degree
(-- drops out and >)
*()
() (-- drops out and >)
( see below)
( see below)
76-5
10 ( 70-75; , 15-16)
76-
Use of Comparatives
Comparative Adjectives may appear only in Predicate position (following the Noun and some form of be).
Additional components include than and much # () # times, and # by #
Instead of + Nominative, you can also use a bare Genitive following the comparative
, .
His wife is much smarter than your wife is.
, .
Dimas tie is three times as expensive as my tie.
Im five years older than my brother.
Comparative Adjectives in Attributive position (before the Noun) take either more or less, plus the
regular Adjective in the appropriate case. There are a few comparative Adjectives that may be used without
or .
.
, .
I want a better car than his.
Were talking about the worst student in the class.
For some Adjectives you can add the prefix - and place the comparative following the Noun:
.
I want a cheaper (less expensive) samovar.
I like guys who are little plumper.
Buy me a more expensive towel.
Verbs of Asking
+ // + /, etc. = ask someone for information

After the verb can appear:
The person asked in the Accusative.
.
I already asked Masha.
(You) have to ask everyone.
A phrase, beginning either with a question word, or a prepositional phrase. (The person asked may also appear.)
, .
Misha asked me where Lena lives.
, My wife used to ask me why I was always cold.

.
76-6
76-
10 ( 70-75; , 15-16)
The actual question being asked in quotes.

?, .
Is everything OK? asked Mitya.
{+/} // () = ask (someone) a question

The direct object is required. The person asked (in the Dative) is optional:
.
Gera always asks such stupid questions.
How can you ask me such a question?
+ // - + Infinitive = ask/request that someone do something

.
Im asking you not to smoke.
, I asked (my) sister to wash the dishes, but she said No.
.
Telling Time
The question What time is it? is either ? or ?
:00 (on the hour)

Just say the number of hours plus the correct form of . For 1:00 just say .
.
.
.
Its 2:00.
Its 6:00.
Its 1:00.
For all times except :00, Russian is always looking ahead to the upcoming hour.
Between :01 and :30
# OF MINUTES PAST
THE HOUR (EXCEPT
:15, :30)
12:05
1:10
3:22
4:01
2:18
PROPER
FORM OF
ORDINAL GEN OF
UPCOMING HOUR
(lit.: of the 1st hour)
For :15 use either or quarter (without )

6:15
76-7
10 ( 70-75; , 15-16)
76-
For :30 use or - (both without ). You must include the dash:
7:30
- /
Between :31 and :59: + GEN cardinal (minutes till) + NOM cardinal of upcoming hour
2:40
4:55
12:50
1:35
6:47
CARDINAL OF MINUTES
REMAINING BEFORE HOUR,
IN GEN
e
e
e
(lit.: w/o 20)
NOMINATIVE CARDINAL
OF UPCOMING HOUR (or
for 12:31-12:59)
(Note!!)
Numbers ending in - behave like Fem nouns in -, so the Genitive ends in -, usually stressed: , ,
. With these numbers you do not need any form of the word .
*Note that if you have a compound number (i.e., a number consisting of more than one word), both parts decline, e.g.
:
If the minutes remaining end in 1, you use the Gen of : . (Here minute is required.)
1:59
For :45, you can use either e or e e:

5:45
Taking the easy way out: Hour + Minutes

Some people simply give the hour followed by the number of minutes, no or () anywhere:
, , , , etc. Though this is perfectly correct, you need to
learn the other way of reporting the time.
.
.

Its 2:10.
Its 1:15.
Its 12:53.
76-8
76-
10 ( 70-75; , 15-16)
At a certain time
The question is either ...? or ...?
From :00-:30: Use + the regular way of stating the time (in the ACC):
?
+ .
- When (what time) did he arrive?

+ He arrived at 1:00.
?
+
- What time did Vera leave?

+ She left at 4:10.
With :30, use the PREP (not ACC, which you might expect!). For - theres nothing to change:
.
-.
We usually eat dinner at 5:30.

She gets up at 12:30.
From :31-:59: Do NOT insert any extra preposition, use the just as above:
.
.
We left at 5:55.
She got home at 15:59.
Military and Official Time

It is not uncommon (especially in published schedules) to see the 24-hour clock used:
.
.
The train left at 10:00.

The movie starts at 7:00
Dates
Asking / stating the date
The normal question for asking todays date is ? Whats todays date?
?
?
() ?
?
Whats todays date?

What was yesterdays date?
Whats tomorrows date?
What was the date last Wednesday?
The answer is the day of the week (normally ) followed by the Neut Nom Sg of the ordinal. The month, which is
optional (as in English), goes in the Gen:
Todays the 3rd (of April).
Tomorrows the 13th (of December).
Friday will be the 8th (of February).
Yesterday was the 30th (of June).
().
().
().
().
76-9
10 ( 70-75; , 15-16)
76-
Expressing ON a date
The question is either ? or ?, the Genitive of :
} ?
When
On what date
} did Galya arrive?
The answer also contains the date in the Gen Sg. If the month is mentioned, it is also in the Gen:
She left on the 1st (of October).
I turned in my JP on the 6th (of May).
().
().
This applies not only to concrete actions, but also to occasions, where there doesnt seem to be any specific action taking
place. Here the verb be agrees with the occasion in Gender and Number:
(My birthday is) the 23rd of August.
The exam was / will be on the 21st of April.
( ) .
/ .
More on the Genitive of Negation

To say that someone / something is not (was not / will not be) somewhere:
.
Veras not home.
Theyre not there.
Theres no one there.
Theres no hope.
Such sentences have no noun in the Nominative. Thus in the Past and Future a verb in the Neuter Singular is used (this is
the default, there being no Nominative for the verb to agree with). Note that in the Past the stress shifts to the and away
from the verb:
.
There was no concert yesterday.
No one was at the party.
There wont be any actors there.
Not all negation requires Genitive. When you are not denying the existence of person or thing, you do not need to use the
Genitive of Negation:
, .
Lyovas not a doctor, hes a lawyer.
The film was not very interesting.
Negated Direct Object

.
I didnt drink any beer.
() .
He doesnt know Russian.
We didnt see any photographs.
76-10
76-
10 ( 70-75; , 15-16)
Not every negated direct object must appear in the Genitive. As a rule of thumb, if the noun is very specific (often
corresponding to the definite article the as opposed to a/an the indefinite article) the Accusative is kept:
.
No one ate the cheese.
I decided not to do my homework today.
Also, if the object is in a case other than Accusative, you cannot use the Genitive of Negation keep the original case:
INST
Shes not interested in music.
DAT
The professor does not help the students.
PREP
Were not thinking about grammar.
GEN
Hes not afraid of Lara.
In this last example, the Genitive is due to the verb +..., and not the negation.
vs. // vs.
(Ones own) Refers back to the subject of the clause

, , etc. (not )

Vera kissed her (own) husband

Vera kissed her (not own) husband
, , etc. (not )

Vadik was talking about his (own) wife

Vadik was talking about his (not own) wife
Some more examples of in various CNG:

.
They often help their neighbors.
Everyone was talking about their (own)

kids.
Nina adores her husband.
Who wouldnt want to meet his/her (own)

great-grandmother?
With1st and 2nd person pronouns you can use either or the regular possessive pronouns (, , , ,
etc.)
REGULAR POSSESSIVE
.
?
.
?
76-11
.
?
.
?
10 ( 70-75; , 15-16)
76-
Generally, is more neutral, though it is certainly not wrong to use , , , , etc.

Note that in Imperative constructions can be used even though no overt subject appears:
() .
Take your keys.
() !
Lets sing our songs.
With rare exceptions (that we wont discuss this year), does not appear in the Nominative Case. In part this is because
cannot appear on its own it must refer back to a noun or pronoun (which itself is Nominative) in the same clause.
Optionality of possessive pronouns
We saw early on that when it is clear from the context to whom something belongs, Russian often uses no possessive
pronoun (as opposed to English, where one is required). This is especially true when referring to body parts and family
members, but you also find it with regular nouns:
( ) .
I have a headache. (My head hurts)
She took her umbrella and left.
He cheated on his wife.
76-12
76-
"
1. + What's today's date? (Give appropriate response)
2. + What time is it? (Give appropriate response)
3. + What time did you get up today? (Give appropriate response)
4. My birthday is (give appropriate answer).
5. This clock is about 5 minutes fast.
6. + What's your major? - I intend to major in History.
7. No one is ever satisfied with anything. (Think!)
8. He asked me a very difficult question.
9. My older brother, who is 3 years older than me, wants to become a famous doctor.
10. Vera isn't home. She went to the store for onions. (Think about number on onions!)
76-13
76-
___________________________________
11. Viktor, who is taller and richer than everyone, seems to us (to be) a genius.
12. I want a smarter dog!
13. No one was home.
14. Dima is cheating on his wife, but his wife kissed her ( Dima) husband on the lips.
15. Vera knows the Dative Case inside out.
+ spit VERB TYPE _______ CONJ _______

PRES
PAST
()
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
INF
______________________________________
IMPER
__________________________________
___________________________________
+ shake
PRES
__________________________________

PAST
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
INF
______________________________________
IMPER
__________________________________
___________________________________
76-14
__________________________________
70-76; , 15-16
Nouns
Also see Lesson 71 for list of academic departments and
professions. (You are not responsible for these, but you should be
able to talk about yourself.)
71

law firm
S16
spring
70
taste (related to Adjective )

S16
(ACC is )
water
S16

War and Peace
S15

March 8th International Womens Day
75
anniversary
S16
mushroom
S15

Womens Day = March 8th
74
kilogram
S15
garbage
72
1) grave
2) mums the word
S16
grave
S15
beginning
S16
original
S16
estate
S15
dishes
S16
trip (by vehicle)

73
teacher; instructor
70
reason
S15
holiday
S15
groceries
72
conversation
S16
novel
74
centimeter (1 inch = 2.54 centimeters)

S16
death
71
(F)
major; specialty
70
/ ()
plate
S16

S16

Yasnaya Polyana
S15
flowers
Singular is ()
70
S16
S16
S16
71
S15
S15
S15
71
75
+ // +
+...
+ // - c(o)
+ // - + INST
+... // {+ / +}// + // +
+ //
+ // ++
/
{+/+} //
+ // {+/+}
+... //
{+... /+}+ Inf
+ // + + INST
+ // +
+ // {+/ +}
+ /
, ,
. .
+ // -
70
+ INST
for (go to store for)
S15
+ Accusative
in; from now; hence; later
73
S16
S15
73
73
73
73
S15
70
72
74
S16
74
74
S15
76
S15
S16
Prepositions
Verbs
74
S15
70
71
71
S16
S15
S16
S15
72
S16
73
S16
74
74
74
73
73
S16
See Lessons 73-74 for irregular comparatives
more Comparative of
incredibly (Lit.: without ones mind)
fast
;
tall; taller
;
tall; taller
much + comparative adjective
better
international
/, -, - dis/satisfied (with)
+ INST
(not) any
;
low; shorter
once; one time
larger
smaller
the day after tomorrow
previous
right; correct
(SF Neut:
simple
)
ones own
soon
funny
peaceful; calm
,
fat; thick, fatter; thicker
,
thin; thinner
heavy
worse
kooky; nutty
wonderful; marvelous
weigh
take out; carry out
burst out laughing
meet; get acquainted with
seem to someone to be
swim
wash
think up; come up with
request; ask someone to do
something
tell (someone about
something/someone)
turn in; submit
gather; pick; collect
intend (to do something)
become (Note: Imperfective
has -; Perfective doesnt!)
do the laundry
be of the opinion; think
clean up; straighten up
leave a person
major in
fix; repair
76-15
70-76; , 15-16
Expressions & Misc.

76
76
71
S16
75
76
76
74
S16
S16
75
S15
74
75
70
75
76
72
S16
75
75
73
70
!
# () +
Comparative
/

+ GEN
...
+ (Locative
in -)
+ Dative
+
[Genitive]
+ GEN
()
?

# + Comparative

Genitive
Plural

// +
Prepositional
!

{- /
-} + # +
(in correct
CNG)
- + # +
(in correct
CNG)
+ Past Tense
big deal!
# times smarter, richer, etc.
on the exam
finally; at the very end; in the long run; in
the final analysis (lit.: at the end of ends)
in the middle (of)
middle
you wouldnt happen to know...
have in mind
It will be a piece a cake for [Person]
thats none of [persons] business; that
does not concern [person]
by the end of; toward the end of
end
Whats todays date?
what time is it?
many
by # taller, shorter, older, etc.
the other day; in a few days
for one simple reason
with ones one eyes
eye
what time is it?
[Person] knows [Topic] inside out
stop!
I have no words; Im speechless
watch/clock is (# minutes) slow
watch/clock is (# minutes) fast

than
almost; nearly
76-16

Im running to Russian class.
77.A More Verbs of Motion

77. Determined versus Non-Determined VoM
77. () , -, -, - / to resemble;
look like
I'm running to Russian class
, ! ?
Misha, hi. Whither are you running? What is it

that youre carrying?
e . .
.
Im running to Russian class. Im in a hurry.

See ya.
4
5
? , , ?
. . .
How should I know? Do I look like a bird or

something? Im in a hurry. Im afraid Ill be
late for class. See ya.
10
. ,
,
.
Ill give you a call. Maybe we can have dinner

at around 7:00 and then we can take a walk
around the city.
11
12
, ?
.
Did you forget or something? I swim every day

at 7:00.
6
7
. , Take a look at the sky. Where do you think

?
those birds are flying to?
8
9
We will separate Non-Determined from Determined Verbs (both Imperfective) with || (// separates the Perfective form)
1
+ || //
run; hurry (Irreg. Present Tense see below)
sky
+ || + // +
fly
bird
-, -, - + ACC
resemble someone / something
10
+ Dative (of location)
(travel) around a place
12
+ || + // +
swim
77-1
77.A
77-
Three More Verbs of Motion Triplets
Here are three other common Verbs of Motion:
IMPERFECTIVE
PERFECTIVE
Non-Determined
Determined
run
swim
fly
*This verb has a very strange Present Tense. The outside forms ( and ) have 1st conjugation endings, based
on the stem +; all other forms have 2nd conjugation endings beginning with +, as if this were a -
stem +, which, in fact, the Past and Infinitive are built on.
Present Tense of
2
n
d
c
o
n
j
u
g
a
t
i
o
n
77-2
1
s
t
c
o
n
j
u
g
a
t
i
o
n
77-
77.
Non-Determind () versus Determined () VoM
Note: Everything that we say below excludes the single round trip meaning, which, as we saw in a previous lesson, uses verbs
from practically all possible categories: / (there and back), / (gone but not back), /
(future trip), / (future trip), / (with positive statements), /
(with negative statements).
One fundamental difference between a single round trip and all the other usages of Verbs of Motion is that for all
the other usages the relationship between the form and the meaning does not change based on the tense (or
infinitive). In other words, you can simply switch the tense on from past to present to future to
infinitive, and the type of motion described remains the same. (As we saw in the previous lesson, thats what
makes expressing a single round trip so problematic. The future of (Non-Determined) is not
, its () , (Determined) not to mention
(Perfective). Three different classes of Verbs of Motion are used for what seems to be the same action
a single round trip to London.
Determined Verbs of Motion

/ / / /
The most user-friendly way to translate Determined Verbs is: be heading, make ones way.
Lets look at these in various tenses, though, as we said above, the meaning doesnt change from tense to tense:
Present Tense: Be heading / Make ones way
/ / / /
The most common use of Determined Verbs is in the Present Tense. , , , ,

describe motion in progress, literally where the person (fish / bird) is heading / on their way to a specific
destination:
? (Meeting someone walking down
the street)
Where are you heading (headed)?
? (Meeting someone on the train)
Where are you heading (headed)?
Hes running to the store right now.
They're on their way to Seattle (by train).
- !
A big bird is flying straight at me (is heading

straight toward me).
The children are swimming toward the shore.
1. Im on my way to New York.
2. He is swimming directly toward the shark
3. Where is she running to?
4. Were going to the concert.
5. Where is that bird flying to?
6. Im running to the library.

77-3
Past Tense: Was heading / Was making ones way
77-
/ / / /
Given the meaning be heading / on ones way, in the Past Tense these Verbs must almost always be accompanied
by some additional information. In other words Varya was heading home / Varya was making
her way home is not really a complete sentence; you need something else, either another Adverb, or an event that
took place as she was heading home. (Keep in mind that these heading / making ones way Verbs are
Imperfective. They do not describe a completed action.)
Here are some complete sentences with / / / / , etc:
, .
He was on his way to the library when it started to

rain.
We made our way from Petersburg to Moscow by

train. (We took the train from Petersbug to
Moscow.)
, .
As we were flying to London, I was feeling sick.
She slowly made her way (swimming) toward the

shore.
, .
When Gera was heading home (running), he ran

into Lena.
1. The bird slowly made its way toward the building.
2. I saw Vera when I was running to class.
3. Their grandfather died on their way to Canada.
4. As Vera was walking home it started to rain.
5. As we were swimming slowly to the shore ()

we saw a large fish.
6. We got from Chicago to New York by car.
Future: Will be heading / Will making ones way
/ /
Generally, the use of Determined Verbs in the Future is somewhat rare, though given what we have said, the
meaning (as person will be heading / as person will be on their way) is predictable, as seen in the following
example:
,
.
Call me from the car on your way over here.
You could go a long time before you hear a Russian actually say , but at least you know what it means.
Thats it for be heading / making ones way Verbs. Now lets look at the Non-Determined Verbs: ,
, , , .
77-4
77-
Non-Determined Verbs of Motion

, , , ,
Aside from a Past Tense single round trip, Non-Dtermined Verbs are used to describe three types of motion:
1) Ability / General Characteristic

.
Their son is already walking.
, ,
.
Almost all bird fly except penguins, ostriches, and

chickens.
Are you a good swimmer?
My grandfather would always walk very fast.
He runs like a girl.
A closely related meaning is what we call the Exercise use of Non-Determined Verbs. The important thing
to note is that there is no sense at all of being headed anywhere; theres no destination!
.
I run (jog) every morning.
I intend to swin every day after class.
My grandfather walks around the campus three

times a week.
2) Repeated Round Trips (Attendance / Frequent a Place)

Not to beat a dead horse, but notice once again that the meaning is the same for all three tenses.

.
My parents used to travel to California every

summer.
My parents travel to California every summer
My parents will travel to California every summer
He goes to a bar every day after work.
,
.
My close friend moved to Kansas, and now Ill be

going there to visit him often.
We fly to Brazil every year.
,
.
I promised my parents that I would attend all my

classes.
-,
.
If I lived in NY, I would go to all the museums all

the time.
, ?
Would you happen to know which club they

frequent?
77-5
77-
3) Touring a Place With + Dative

The Preposition is used with the Dative in the sense of travelling around a place, touring a place. The key to
understanding this usage is that, though a place name may be mentioned, there is no notion of destination.
.
Shes going to drive around Europe this summer.
The children often run around in the park.
We walked around the city for around two hours.
The president is flying to all the countries in Asia

(from country to country).
He swam in the ocean for hours on end.
1. Borya swims (not drinks!) like a fish.
2. The children ran around the room.
3. We go to Moscow twice a year.
4. I will go to Paris every summer.
5. I run 10 kilometers every morning.
6. I am going to travel around Russia in the summer.
7. We went to all of Bashmets concerts.
8. I am going to swim in the river every day.
9. Birds fly; fish swim.
10. We used to go to a Chinese restaurant every Friday.
77-6
77-
77.
() , -, -, - / to resemble; look like
To say that someone/something looks like someone/something, use the short-form adjective -, -, - +
ACC. In the Past Tense dont forget the verb be. In theory, the verb be could appear in the Future, but its not very
common.
, .
They say that I look like my father.
She looks a lot like (her) sister.
His sisters greatly resemble each other.
London resembles Princeton.
He doesnt look like anyone.
My grandfather looked like George Washington.
My aunt looked like an English actress.
Say what the person/thing resembles (resembled) :
1. () //
2. // past
3. // (This is what Russians say to mean He
4. () //
looks like the milkman.)
5. //
6. //
7. () //
8. //
9. //
10. //
11. // past
12. //
77-7
77-
"
___________________________________
Say who three people look like, including yourself.
1.
2.
3.
"
Select the correct Verb of Motion
1. [ / ]?
2. [ / ] ?
3. [ / ] .
4. [ / ] .
5. [ / ] .
6. [ / ] ?
7. [ / ] .
8. [ / ] , .
9. [ / ] .
10. [ / ] .
11. [ / ] -.
12. [ / ] . (The Adverb here means right now, as we speak.)
13. [ / ] .
14. [ / ] .
15. , [ / ] ?
16. . [ / ].
77-8
77-
17. [ / ] .
18. [ / ] ?
19. [ / ] ?!
20. [ / ] ?
"
Supply a Verb of Motion that makes sense
1. ________________________________________ ?
2. ___________________________________________________ .
3. _____________________________________________________ .
4. ___________________________________________________ .
5. _____________________________________________ , .
77-9

, Thanks, but no thanks
78.A Can: vs.

78. Playing an instrument
78. Time Expressions: New and Review
78..1 Bare Instrumental (, )
78..2 Review ( , , )
Thanks, but no thanks
, !
Nina, come to the movies with us!
. .
I cant. Im busy tonight.
? !
Youre going to study again! Youre such a

bore!
.
.
Im not going to study. I have a concert tonight.
? ?
What do you mean concert? Youre going to a

concert?
7
8
. .
Not exactly. I sing and play the guitar in a rock

band.
9
10
,
. !
I didnt know that you knew how to play the

guitar. I cant believe it!
11
12
13
, ,
Last year, in the fall, when I was studying in
Moscow, a friend of mine taught me how to play
. .
the guitar. Todays my first concert.
14
You dont say! (Impressive!; Not bad!)
15
How about you, what instrument do you know

how to play?
16
17
18
19
.
, .
, -
.
I play the piano. I used to know how to play the

violin, but I havent played in a very long time.
If you want, I can play something for you on
Mashas violin.
20
, .
Thanks, but no thanks.
lets go (Bizarre use of Past Tense to indicate lets. This use is

limited to very few Verbs, of which is the most common.)

+ // + + Prepositional
(Feminine!)
+
(F)
+ // - + Infinitive
(M)
/ (o)
,
not exactly (the other way around)
7
7
9
11
12
15
16
17
20
play a musical instrument (See Grammar)

guitar (Note the -a in Russian!)
be able; can; have the skill (See Grammar)
fall; autumn (See Grammar)
teach someone to do something
Guess
piano
violin
thanks, but no thanks
78-1
78.A
78-
Can: Capability vs. Knowing How vs.
You need to be careful (yet once again) when translating the word can. Russian distinguishes between physical or
mental capability; have the opportunity // - vs. possess the skill; know how to +. You cannot (repeat,
cannot) use the phrase + to express ability; + expresses knowing a fact or a person.
A nice contrast can be seen in the sentences:
.
Kolya can play chess. (He has the skill.)
Kolya cant play chess today. He has to

study. (It is assumed he knows how.)
In other words, the use of + will not change based on outside circumstances (unless the person learned to do
something(, where the use of can change day to day.
Both verbs are followed by an Infinitive. Note that both verbs actually show up with several different translations,
depending on the context.
// - have the physical power or opportunity

.
I cant come over your place today.
I cant eat any more.
, .
We wanted to open the window, but we werent

able to..
Can you help us tomorrow?
I cant go to school and work at the same time.
+ have the skill to; know how to

?
Can you / Do you know how to stand on your

head?
Hes a good cook.
Im no good at lying.
I used to be able to play golf.
To be 100% honest, Russians sometimes use where, according to the rules one would expect +.
In an upcoming lesson, well discuss yet another translation for can, namely permission / prohibition.
78-2
78-
Insert the correct form of the verb can ( vs. +) .
1. _________________________ .
2. ____________________ .
.
4. ________________________ .
3. ___________________ .
stove .
5. ______________ .
6. ______________________ .
. Im driving.
8. , _______________
. (She can hold her liquor.)
10. _______________ . .
7. __________________ ?
9. ___________________ .
78.
Playing an Instrument: + (vs. + )
Weve seen the verb play + // - used with + Accusative when indicating what sport someone plays:
.
Hes a good tennis player.
We played soccer yesterday.
Do you know how to play chess?
I taught Kolya to play golf.
To indicate what musical instrument a person plays, use + // + + Prepositional (of Instrument):
.
Itzhak Perlman plays the violin.
Vladimr Horowitz played the piano. (Note how

English butchered his name.)
Jimi Hendrix played the guitar.
I cant play any instrument.
Who taught you to play the drums?
For reference:
viola
harp
drums (singular in Russian)
bass guitar
(F)
cello
()
harmonica
clarinet
bass
piano
78-3
saxophone
/ ()
violin
trumpet
bassoon
flute
78-
Insert the verb + in the correct form together with the correct Preposition and Case
1.
3.
5.
7.
9.
11.
/ (Present)
/ (Past)
/ (Past)
/ (Future)
/ ?
/ no instrument
78.
2.
4.
6.
8.
10.
12.
/ (Present)
/ ? (Past)
/ (Present)
/
/ ? (Past)
/ ?
Time Expressions: New and Review
Lets look at a new time expression with the Instrumental, after which well review the various prepositions and
cases used in the most common time expressions.
78..1
Bare Instrumental for time periods that come in fours (Parts of the day
/ Seasons)
To say in the morning, during the day, in the evening, at night, just use the Instrumental of the time phrase:
.
I usually run in the morning.
I work in the post office during the day.
In the evening I work in the library.
At night I sleep.
You can also indicate last night, yesterday morning, Thursday afternoon, etc. with two nouns. For a specific day
(Monday, Wednesday, etc.) use + Accusative, for yesterday, today, tomorrow, just use the Nominative. This is
followed by the time of day (morning, day, evening, night) in the Instrumental:
.
Im going to the doctor tomorrow morning.
I wont be home tomorrow afternoon (during the

day.)
Wednesday night Im going to a concert.
, .
Hes coming back (late) tonight, around 3AM.
78-4
78-
The bare Instrumental is also used with seasons. Adjectives (this summer, last winter) can be used, though often
context makes it clear to which summer (winter, etc.) the speaker is referring:
() .
Were getting married in the spring.
What did you do this summer?
Last fall I was sick for a long time.
We go to Florida in the winter.
Translate
1. In the winter we went to Russia.
2. I like to sleep during the day.
3. In the morning I often swim.
4. This summer Im going to work in the post office.
5. Last summer I taught Masha to play the guitar.
6. Tonight Im going to a concert.
7. In the fall Im going to study in France.
8. Last night I wasnt home.
9. Tomorrow morning I have a Russian exam.
10. Every summer my uncle arrives from Minsk.
78-5
78..2
78-
Review of other time expressions ( / / )
Recall the breakdown:
< Week
= Week
> Week
+ Accusative
; ;
+ Prepositional
/ /
+ Prepositional
* .
They left at 5:00.
What days do you work?
Last week I met a kooky professor.
This week I have six exams.
Next week Im going to the opera.
Were leaving in March.
We got married last year.
* Note that the number itself is Accusative, though the following noun appears in Genitive Plural.
Put the time phrase into the correct form, with the correct preposition.
1. () .
2. ( ) .
3. ( )
.
4. ( )
5. ( )
6. ()
7. , ( )
.
8. ( )
9. ()
10. ( )
78-6
78-
"
1 Write five sentences, each with a different time expression. (You can repeat
the same preposition.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
"
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the correct verb:
1. ___________________________________ ?
2. ___________________________ , .
3. , ___________________________________.
4. ________________________________ .
5. _________________________________, ? (think!)
6. __________________________________ .
78-7
78-
___________________________________
7. ________________________________ . .
8. . _____________________________________.
"
Describe the musical talents of two people (yourself, parents, siblings,

Jimi Hendrix, Joshua Bell, Benny Goodman, etc. See list on pages 3-4.)
1.
2.
78-8

, ?
79.A More on can: Permission and Prohibition

79. The same
79.B The wrong
, ?
Mom, can I ask you a question?
, ?
Mom, can I ask you a question?
, .
Of course you can.
( )
, ( )?
Why is dad allowed (can dad) drink and smoke but

Im not allowed (I cant)?
,
, .
When I was little, I asked my mother the same

question you asked.
And what did she answer you?
8
9
10
, ,
( ) ,
( ).
You see, sonny boy, sometimes adults are allowed

to (can) do that which children arent allowed to
(cant) do.
11
12
,
?
Mom, can I also look at young women on the

computer?
13
What are you talking about?
14
,
When youre not here, dad often looks at young
. . women on the Internet. And theyre not always
15
dressed.
16
Ill kill him.
may, can (See grammar)
may not; it is forbidden (See grammar)
the same (See grammar)
just like (See grammar)
()
sonny boy
daughter
adult Adjective as Noun
that which; the fact that (Well cover this more in depth next year, but you
often need to have this buffer phrase in Russian.)
15
Internet
( is also on the Internet

possible)
15
-, -
dressed (cf. + / +)
79-1
79.
79-
More on Can: Permission vs. Prohibition
Permission: or
In a previous lesson we saw two ways of expressing can (physical ability; opportunity) vs. + (skill).
Theres a third possibility: When can expresses permission (Can/May I ask you a question?) use either
(with a Nominative subject) or with a Dative subject. Both constructions are followed by an Infinitive:
?
?
May I sit (down) here?
, .
, .
The doctor said he could play soccer.
21 .
/ .
Last week she turned 21. Now she can / is allowed

to drink wine.
Often appears without any Dative subject, either (1) as a general statement or, (2)when it is obvious
who the subject is:
(1)
?
,
.
Is smoking allowed here?

Can one take photographs of the pictures in this
musuem?
(2)
?
?
Can/May I ask you a question?

Can I leave the room?
Prohibition: (+ Dative)
To express prohibition, use (with optional Dative). In this meaning, you cannot ( ) use
:
, .
The doctor said he cannot / should not smoke.
Children cannot / are not allowed to drink.
No sleeping in class.
They cannot eat meat
Translate
1. May one smoke here?
2. No smoking here.
3. May we listen to music?
4. You may not listen to music.
5. Is he allowed to drink?
6. He is not allowed to drink.
7. May I ask you a question?
8. No, you may not.
9. Is Vadik allowed to play soccer?
10. No talking during class.
79-2
79-
79.
More on the Use of
Recall that to say the same (woman, car, problems) use () in the correct CNG. is not
required, but it often adds the idea of the very same. The Neuter Singular can be used to express the
same thing (as in when Mitya said: I would think the same thing), when an idea, rather
than a specific noun, is referred to.
.
Mashas talking about the same person.
He fell in love with the same woman.
Vika said the same thing.
In all three of the above examples, it is clear that a particular person/phrase has already been mentioned or is
strongly implied.
in the Plural
In the plural, works like , where the main vowel is e and not the expected /
Inanimate = .
Animate = .
Hes writing about the same poets.
Im interested in the same problems.
I envy the same professors.
You also find and not in the Masculine/Neuter Instrumental Singular:

.
He found his keys under the very same table.
As =
To add as you (him, them, etc.) use plus (usually) Nominative. Many students (perhaps understandably)
want to use in this context, but its . Some examples:
, .
I wrote about the same film as you (did).
, .
He went to the same concert as us (we did).
,
.
She goes to the same college as her older brother

(does).
79-3
79-
Make the noun the same one. Use in all even numbered sentences:
1. .
2. ()
3. .
4. ()
5. .
6. . ()
7. .
8. ()
9. .
10. ()?
79.
The Wrong:
Since were on the topic of constructions with , lets spell out in greater detail a usage we saw earlier. To say
the wrong key (number, bus, etc.), use in the appropriate CNG. We saw this very early on in:
.
I took the wrong key.
and later in the Sara story:

.
I got on the wrong bus.
As you can see in the last example, prepositions go between and (because nothing comes between a
preposition and its complement).
Some more examples with and without prepositions:
You asked the wrong person.
I walked into the wrong room.
She gave the book to the wrong woman.
We drove up to the wrong building.
She took the wrong keys.
You bought the wrong book.
He was waiting for me at the wrong stop.
Make the noun the wrong one:
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. .
10. .
79-4
79-
"

Change the Noun Phrase into either the same as [Person] or the wrong:
1. . (If youre tempted to write , think about exactly what

this means! and translate into English.)
2. .
3. .
4. .
"
1. + Is smoking permitted here? - No, it is forbidden.
2. Can I ask you a question?
3. Can you stand on your head?
79-5
79-
___________________________________
4. One should not (cannot) believe adults.
5. I like what (= that which) you bought. (Think about which verb to use!)
6. You cant open the door. (Use Imperfective). I am not dressed.
"
+ believe
PRESENT
PAST
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
INF
______________________________________
IMPER
___________________________________
79-6
80.A Self
80.
...
When he looks at himself in the mirror...
, .
Excuse me, could you please show me that

jacket?
? ? ( )
?
Which one? This green one? Are you buying

this for yourself?
, ( ).
( )
. , .
, .
No, it not for (me) myself. Its a present for

my Russian professor. But Im not sure
whether (if) hell like it. I just dont
remember whether (if) he wears jackets like
this (such jackets).
8
9
,
. .
When he looks at himself in the mirror, hell

be delighted with himself. Believe me.
10
, .
OK, Ill take it.
11
12
, , Are you taking this with you, or do you want

us to send the jacket to him?
?
13
4
5
6
Ill take it with me.
Very polite phrase said in store (and other places) to get someones
attention, a combination of excuse me and please.
You can also use this expression with friends, in which case you would
use the form.
/ (o)
jacket (Not a sport coat, which is .)
() ~
salesperson
oneself (See Grammar)
if; whether (See Grammar)
wear
mirror
+
11
//
{+ / +}
{+ /
12
+}
look at oneself in the mirror

take (Perfective) For now just learn the Perfective.
+ // +
take with oneself

send (Perfective) For now just learn the Past and Infinitive of the
Perfective Stem. (The Perfective Future is not what you expect.)
80-1
80.A
80-
(, ) (One)self
The reflexive pronoun (, .) (one)self is used to refer back to the subject of the clause.
declines exactly like except it has no Nominative form (which makes sense, given that is linked to the
subject of the clause, but cannot itself be the subject.) Youll like the fact that (, .) is used for both
genders (Masc. and Fem.) and for singular as well as plural.
Some examples with self:
N/A
Nominative
Accusative
Genitive
Prepositional
Dative
Instrumental
.

.
, .
.
.
. (Recall that +...
takes Genitive)
. (Note this use of )
?
.
.
,
.
?
.
.

.
Vera loves herself too much.

My brother constantly looks at himself in the
mirror.
Were not mad at you, were mad at ourselves.
Yesterday I saw myself on TV.
Masha does everything for herself
Theyre afraid of themselves.
Hes in his room now.
Why do you constantly talk about yourself?
They only think about themselves.
I bought new shoes for myself.
I know from personal experience that its hard
to go to school and work.
Who are you laughing at? Im laughing at
myself.
She forgot to take an umbrella with her.
I opened my eyes and saw a big tiger in front
of me.
The phrasal verb + does contain the Accusative , though it is somewhat hard to see the exact
reflexive meaning. (Still, its a good way to remember at least the one form.)
Self: Two (non-interchangeable) ways: vs. -
Self is not always expressed by . Later on well see that with some verbs the Accusative meaning of self is
expressed with the suffix -. The difficulty is that almost always the two ways of expressing self ( vs. -)
are mutually exclusive. For example, we have seen the - verb {+... / +...} wash oneself. We also
saw the non- verb {+ / +} as in Hes washing the dishes. But you cannot take the
verb {+ / +} and add to get the meaning wash oneself. Basically, Russian figures that having one
way to express Verb self is enough. But it can be very hard to predict which method a particular verb uses. (A
dissertation is just waiting to be written about this.) Well discuss - in depth a little later on.
80-2
80-
Substitute the reflexive pronoun for the object
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. .
10. .
80.
When if = whether:
You may not have realized it, but English if has two entirely different usages (and, as expected, shows up in two
distinct ways in Russian). Previously we saw , as well as , both of which are used to indicate a
hypothetical situation.
However, when if can be replaced by whether, you cannot use , you must use .
if
/
If it rains, we wont go.
I dont know if (whether) hell like it.
Ill give you $5 if you give me an A.
She didnt say if (whether) she would

come to the party.
If had lived in Moscow, I would

speak Russian without an accent.
Im not sure if (whether) he eats eel.
(If you have studied German, youll recognize that corresponds to ob.)
Indicate whether if corresponds to , r . Answers on the bottom of the page.
1. Im not sure if she speaks Russian.
2. If she was born in Moscow, why doesnt she speak

Russian?
3. Vera said she would be mad if we dont come.
4. Id buy you a big bottle of soda if I had $1,000,000.
5. I wont tell if you wont.
6. If today is Monday, why is our professor wearing

pajamas?
7. I dont remember if she lives in Petersburg.
8. If I could dance like him, Id quit school.
9. Did you tell them if youd be free?
10. If I had known that Russian was this much fun, I

would have failed the course so I could take it
again next year.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
80-3
7.
8.
9.
10.
80-
(Lee/Li the whether-man) (Corny but good way to remember this.)

When if can be replaced by whether, you must use a construction in Russian. The syntax is as follows:
Introductory
phrase
Element in
Question
Rest of Sentence
I dont know whether Vitya will like this hat.
Vera didnt say whether she wants to eat.
Hes not sure whether it was Galya who do it
Exactly one syntactic element (not necessarily just one word more on that below) must appear before
(following the Introductory phrase). Most often a verb is found before . There are four or five phrases that
most commonly trigger a construction:
, .
I dont know whether hes coming.
, .
No one knows whether shell be able to come.
, ?
Dont you know whether Vanya earns a lot of

money?
, .
Im not sure whether Masha plays chess.
, .
Shes not sure whether Lyonya knows him..
, .
Were not sure whether the children bathed.
, .
Lev didnt say whether he got my present.
, .
Nina didnt say whether she liked the song.
, .
They didnt say whether Maks laughed at that.
, .
I dont remember whether Tanya smokes.
,
?
Dont you remember whether Borya asked the

professor a question?
,
.
They dont remember whether Polya got good

grades.
,
.
Kolya asked me whether I was interested in music.
, .
I asked him whether he wanted to come with us.
,
.
Tanya asked us whether we knew that guy.
80-4
80-
Form a construction
1. /
2. /
3. /
4. /
5. /
6. / ?
7. /
8. / ?
9. / ?
10. /
11. / ?
12. /
Break up the Imperfective future: ... ...

In the compound future (Imperfective) only the verb + appears before the Infinitive of the main Verb
follows :
, .
I dont know whether I will write a dissertation.
,
.
She didnt say whether they will study together with

us.
,
.
Do you happen to remember whether Dima is going

to work this Saturday.
The same applies to other compound verb constructions: + / +, etc. + Infinitive. Only the conjugated verb
precedes :
, .
Borya doesnt know whether he can come.
,
.
Tanya asked me whether I wanted to study with her.
,
.
I dont remember whether I asked him to close the

door.
80-5
80-
One syntactic element (not just one word) + : ... ...

All of the previous examples have one word, usually the verb, preceding . The more general rule is that the
one syntactic element that is in question, not necessarily the verb, must precede . So you can find a
prepositional phrase or noun or adjective, etc. before . In English we often use intonation to get the meaning
across.
,
.
,
.
, .
I dont remember whether we met in Moscow (it

may have been Rome).
, .
I dont know whether Anya took the red book (it

may have been the blue one).
She asked whether Vera wrote that poem (if may be

Nina).
Im not sure whether he left on Saturday (it may
have been Friday).
In all of the above examples, the speaker already knows that an action has taken place (that they met somewhere,
that someone wrote the poem, that he left, that Anya took a book), they are trying to focus in on a specific aspect
of the action (where, who, when, what kind). Still, the most common element found before is the Verb.

When questioning the existence or presence of a thing of person, the verb (unchanging) appears. Do not mix
this up with .
, .
I dont know whether he has a girlfriend.
, .
No one said whether hes in Princeton.
,
.
Why didnt you ask him whether he has any money.
In the past and future, a conjugated form of the verb be, which agrees with the Nominative subject, is used:
Im not sure whether Im going to have any money.
, .
He didnt say whether he had been at the exhibit.
,
.
She doesnt remember whether Veras parents were

at the dinner.
Form constructions. The phrase in question appears in bold (except Verbs).
1. /
2. / ?
3. /
4. /
5. / .
6. /

7. /
8. /
9. /
10. /
80-6
80-
Non-Whether Used without an introductory phrase (For reference)
A construction can also be found in an independent clause (without any introductory ;

, etc.). Here does not correspond to whether, or any overt element in English for that matter; it simply
emphasizes that the phrase preceding is what is in question.
Many Russians consider this use of non-whether to be quite bookish, though a lot of people actually think it
is quite polite. In any case, since you will see this use of quite often in literature, you should be able to
recognize. Note that the same exact question can expressed without :
, ?
, ?
, ?
, ?
80-7
80-
"
___________________________________
1 Indicate whether the sentence would be translated with ,

or . No need to translate.
1. If it rains, Im not going.

2. He didnt say if he finished his JP.
3. No one know if Demi cheated on Bruce.
4. Ill give you $5,000 if you accept me to your prestigious club.
5. Misha doesnt remember if he drank beer or vodka.
6. If I were in your shoes, I would surrender.
7. By 5:00 well know whether our plan worked.
8. Gena will go to class only if the Yankees win.
9. I dont remember if I locked the door.
10. My professor doesnt care if I turn in my paper on time.
"
Insert the correct forms of self:
1. ___________________________.
2. __________________________.
3. _________________________ .
4. ____________________________ .
5. _________________________ ?
80-8
80-
"
1. The salesman looked at himself in the mirror all morning.
2. I don't remember if she wears yellow T-Shirts.
3. Take an umbrella with you.
"
{+ / +}- take (Perfective)

PRESENT
PAST
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
INF
______________________________________
IMPER
___________________________________
80-9

Thats none of your business
Review of Chapter 11
( 77-80; , 17-19)
Thats none of your business
Where are you going?
Thats none of your business. (= That doesnt

concern you.)
What is it that you have in your hand?
Thats none of your business either.
? -
, ? ?
What do you mean none of my business?

What if someone calls and asks where you are.
What will I say (= answer)?
, ,
.
Believe me, its none of your business where Im

going and what I have in my hand.
?
! ,
.
Where have you been going lately? Youre not

home every night. I dont think that youre
going to the library.
12
, -
. .
OK, if you really want to know, Im going to see

Inna. This is a box of candy.
13
(To see) which Inna?
14
15
, - .
!
(To see) your, I mean my Inna. She doesnt want

to see you anymore.
16
Thats impossible!
17
, !
She said you were such a bore!
9
10
11
lately; recently
12
/ (o)
(small) box
12
(piece of) candy
16
thats impossible! (lit.: (it) cant be)
81-1
11 ( 77-80; , 17-19)
81-
Verbs of Motion
go
Imperfective
Perfective
NON-DETERMINED
DETERMINED
List of Verbs of Motion

Non Det
IMPERFECTIVE
Determined
PERFECTIVE
go (by foot); walk
+ (Past: , ; Inf: )
+ (, ; )
go (by vehicle); ride
{+ / +}
{+ / +}
run
(Pres: , , )
swim
fly
Review of Motion only by Vehicle (+ {+ / +} vs. Motion on Foot or by Vehicle + ; +

LONG DISTANCE TRAVEL:
1.
2.
3.
MUST BE BY VEHICLE
SHORT(ER) DISTANCE TRAVEL:

Context clues:
Geographical name ( , ,
moon)
A vehicle is mentioned: Use + Prep:
, ) OR Inst without a
prepositon: .
Desire to emphasize use of vehicle vs. walking
( ? , .)
1.
Context clues:
Destination is an event ( , )
2.
Destination is a landmark ( ,
)
3.
Use of the adverb on foot.
81-2
81-
11 ( 77-80; , 17-19)
Imperfective Determined and Non-Determined
Determined VoM
In general: An (Imperfective) Determined VoM is used to describe an intentional trip from one location (Point A) to exactly
one other location (Point B) but not to any other locations, including back to the original location. As you will see below,
the uses of Determined VoM are much more restricted (though not necessarily less common) than those of Non-Determined
VoM.
Determined Present Tense = headed / be on ones way to a place:

Running into a friend (walking) on campus
?
.
Where are you going / headed?

Im going / headed to the library.
Running into friends on the train / bus

?
.
Where are yall going / headed?

Were going / headed to the opera.
Very often, a Present Tense Determined verb can be used with future meaning. Actually this is quite similar to English, as
youll notice from the translations.
We are going to Russia in May.
Im going to a concert tomorrow.
Determined Past Tense = headed / be on ones way

, .
When I was on my home, I ran into Vera.
, .
It started to rain when we were on our way home.
Notice that in the Past Tense (as opposed to the Present) you cannot form a complete sentence with just:
1) subject + 2) Determined VM + 3) destination. Such a three-element phrase is a sentence fragment:
Subject + Determined VM + Destination
Present Tense Complete Sentence
Past Tense Sentence Fragment
.
Im heading to a restaurant.
...
I was heading to a restaurant...
-.
Were going to NY.
-...
We were on our way to NY...
Future
Forms like , are rather limited, though the meaning is completely predictable, i.e. to describe motion
in the future as someone will be headed (on their way) to a place.
81-3
11 ( 77-80; , 17-19)
81-
Non-Determined
Used to describe motion that is not strictly from one specific location to another.
1. Completed round-trip ( Past Tense of be)
With a motion verb destination appears in Accusative, while the Prepositional/Locative is used with the verb be.
? .
. (= .)
Where were you yesterday? I called you all day.

I went to Philly. (= I was in Philly.)
. (=
.)
Yesterday we went to an exhibit. (= We were at an

exhibit yesterday.)
Future Single round trip /
Given that and represent a completed round trip, it would seem perfectly logical that an intended future
(single) round trip would be rendered by + / . But that doesnt work.
As we saw above, a Present
Tense Determined VoM is used to express an intended round trip. Strange but true.
2. Attend / Frequent a Place = place that you attend, or go to often (frequent)
.
We go to all the new exhibits.
Our son already goes to (attends) school.
They go to England every year.
3. Ability / Characteristic / Exercise = ability or general characteristic of the subject or that the person simply engages
in the motion. There is absolutely no sense of getting anywhere.
, .
Our daughter is only six months old, and she

already is walking.
, a .
Penguins dont fly, they swim.
I swim three times a week.
, .
I decided that Im going to run (jog) every day.
4. Touring = traveling around a location, normally with + Dative

.
We walked around Moscow all day.
They traveled (toured) all over Russia
They went to the city for a new bookcase.
Boris is not here. He went to the library.
She went to the store / Moscow...

and is back: Non-Point-A-to-Point-B Past
and is still gone: Perfective Past
81-4
81-
11 ( 77-80; , 17-19)
In many cases there is no difference between a Present Tense AB verb and a Perfective Future VoM:
Were going to Moscow in the summer.
Hes going to an exhibit tomorrow.
Infinitive Perfective VoM most commonly after the verbs want, intend, decide:
.
I really want to go to that exhibit.
Where are you planning on going for vacation?
I decided to go to Moscow.
A single round trip 6 ways
In the chart below, note that only the first example actually describes a completed round-trip.
There and back
On ones way
Non-Determined
Past
Determined
Present
Gone but not

back
Wish to go
No wish to go
Will go
Infinitive
Perfective
Infinitive
Imperfective
Determined
Present or
Perfective
Future

.

.
/

/

Perfective Past
81-5
11 ( 77-80; , 17-19)
81-
Imperative of forms: Lets ...

1) Simply use the Non-Past form and let context take over. Most often a Perfective form is used.
.
Lets (Well) talk about it tonight.
Lets go to a restaurant.
Lets do that together.
Lets sing that song.
Note the use of the Past Tense with these Perfective VoM.
!
Lets go!
Lets go!
Lets book!
2) Use /:
a)
/ + Imperfective Infinitive
/ .
Lets pay each other compliments.
/ .
Lets have dinner this week at 7:00.
/ .
Lets study together.
b) / + Perfective Non-Past form
c)
/ .
Lets forget about it.
/ !
Lets drink!
/ .
Lets get acquainted.
/ + + Imperfective Infinitive
/ .
Lets not think about that.
/ .
Lets try not to bother each other.
/ .
Lets not argue / fight.
Imperative of // forms
Use the word ( is a more colloquial form) plus the subject in Nominative + verb, etc. (Note that in English
after let we find the Acc her, him, them not so in Russian.) The verb may be in either Imperfective Present or Perfective
Future (depending on what meaning you wish to convey). Generally you do not find Imperfective Future (+ + Inf).
.
Let Sasha do it.
Let Sasha wash the dishes every day.
Let the children sleep.
, .
Let Mitya grasp (realize) what a jerk he is.
81-6
81-
11 ( 77-80; , 17-19)
() , -, -, - / to resemble; look like

To say that someone/something looks like someone/something, use the short-form adjective -, -, - + ACC. In
the Past Tense dont forget the verb be. In theory, the verb be could appear in the Future, but its not very common.
, .
.
.
.
.
They say that I look like my father.

She looks a lot like (her) sister.
His sisters greatly resemble each other.
My grandfather looked like George Washington.
My aunt looked like an English actress.
Permission / Prohibition
Permission: () or ()
?
?
May I sit down?
?
?
Is smoking allowed here?

Can/May I ask you a question?
Prohibition: ()
, .
.
.
.
The doctor said he cannot / should not smoke.

Children cannot / are not allowed to drink.
No sleeping in class.
They cannot eat meat
Can: vs. // - have the physical power or opportunity

.
.
, .
?
.
I cant come over your place today.

I cant eat any more.
We wanted to open the window, but we werent
able to..
Can you help us tomorrow?
I cant go to school and work at the same time.
+ have the skill to; know how to

?
Can you / Do you know how to stand on your

head?
.
.
.
Hes a good cook.

Im no good at lying.
I used to be able to play golf.
81-7
11 ( 77-80; , 17-19)
81-
Play an Instrument: +
.
Itzhak Perlman plays the violin.
Vladimr Horowitz played the piano. (Note how

English butchered his name.)
Jimi Hendrix played the guitar.
I cant play any instrument.
Who taught you to play the drums?
Bare Instrumental for time periods that come in fours (Parts of the day /
Seasons)
.
I usually run in the morning.
I work in the post office during the day.
In the evening I work in the library.
At night I sleep.
I wont be home tomorrow afternoon (during the

day.)
Wednesday night Im going to a concert.
, .
Hes coming back (late) tonight, around 3AM.
() .
Were getting married in the spring.
What did you do this summer?
Last fall I was sick for a long time.
We go to Florida in the winter.
Basic Rules for Other Time Expressions

< Week
= Week
> Week
+ Accusative
; ;
+ Prepositional
/ /
+ Prepositional
81-8
81-
11 ( 77-80; , 17-19)

Use in the required CNG to refer to the same thing that has already been mentioned or has been
strongly implied in a previous statement.
.
Mashas talking about the same person.
He fell in love with the same woman.
Vika said the same thing.
in the Plural
In the plural, works like , where the main vowel is e and not the expected /
Inanimate = .
Animate = .
Hes writing about the same poets.
Im interested in the same problems.
I envy the same professors.
You also find and not in the Masculine/Neuter Instrumental Singular:

.
He found his keys under the very same table.
As =
To add as you (him, them, etc.) use plus (usually) Nominative.
, .
I wrote about the same film as you (did).
, .
He went to the same concert as us (we did).
She reading the same book as her professors (are).
81-9
11 ( 77-80; , 17-19)
81-
The Wrong:
To say the wrong key (number, bus, etc.), use in the appropriate CNG. Put the preposition between the
and the .
.
I took the wrong key.
I got on the wrong bus.
You asked the wrong person.
I walked into the wrong room.
She gave the book to the wrong woman.
We drove up to the wrong building.
She took the wrong keys.
You bought the wrong book.
He was waiting for me at the wrong stop.
Die / vs. Perish /

The normal verb for die is (in the Past Tense) / / . To indicate that the death was
unnatural, use / / .
.
My great-grandmother died last year.
His father died from cancer.
All his relatives died a long time ago.
Vityas aunt died in a car crash.
Mishas parents died in the war.
Mandelshtam perished in a concentration camp in

Siberia.
Self
The reflexive pronoun (, .) (one)self is used to refer back to the subject of the clause.
declines exactly like except it has no Nominative form and it does not change for gender or number.
ACC
Shes look at herself in the mirror again.
GEN
Are you buying this for yourself?
PREP
They talk about themselves all the time.
DAT
I bought myself a new jacket.
INSTR
Hes too satisfied with himself.
81-10
81-
11 ( 77-80; , 17-19)
If=Whether=
When if can be replaced by whether, you cannot use ; instead you must use a construction. The sentence
begins with an introductory phrase (e.g., , , , ) followed
by the element that is in question (normally the verb), then , then the rest of the sentence:
, .
I dont know whether hes coming.
, .
No one knows whether shell be able to come.
, ?
Dont you know whether Vanya earns a lot of

money?
, .
Im not sure whether Masha plays chess.
, .
Shes not sure whether Lyonya is the one who said

that...
, .
Were not sure whether the children bathed.
, .
Lev didnt say whether he got my present.
, .
Nina didnt say whether she liked the song.
, .
They didnt say whether Maks laughed at that.
In the compound future (Imperfective) only the verb + appears before the Infinitive of the main Verb
follows :
, .
I dont know whether I will write a dissertation.
,
.
She didnt say whether they will study together with

us.
,
.
Do you happen to remember whether Dima is going

to work this Saturday.
As mentioned above, usually the verb, preceding . The more general rule is that the one syntactic element that
is in question, not necessarily the verb, must precede . So you can find a prepositional phrase or noun or
adjective, etc. before . In English we often use intonation to get the meaning across.
,
.
,
.
, .
I dont remember whether we met in Moscow (it

may have been Rome).
, .
I dont know whether Anya took the red book (it

may have been the blue one).
81-11
She asked whether Vera wrote that poem (if may be

Nina).
Im not sure whether he left on Saturday (it may
have been Friday).
11 ( 77-80; , 17-19)
81-
When questioning the existence or presence of a thing of person, the verb (unchanging) appears. Do not mix
this up with .
, .
I dont know whether he has a girlfriend.
, .
No one said whether hes in Princeton.
,
.
Why didnt you ask him whether he has any money.
In the past and future, a conjugated form of the verb be, which agrees with the Nominative subject, is used:
,
Im not sure whether Im going to have any money.
, .
He didnt say whether he had been at the exhibit.
,
.
She doesnt remember whether Veras parents were

at the dinner.
Before / After: ~ vs. ~

If a noun follows, just use / (with the Noun in the Genitive):
.
Before the war we lived in Paris.
Ill return before class.
You have to go to bed before 10.
After dinner I slept a bit on the sofa.
After the concert we went to a caf.
After the exam he burst into tears.
When a clause follows or , you must insert the Case absorbing phrase , after which the
clause appears, with the subject, as expected, in Nominative.
,
.
Before Masha got married, she went out with

Grisha.
, .
I went to sleep before he called.
,
.
Before Bill became president, he was a lawyer.
, .
After the class ended, everyone headed to a bar.
, .
After we had dinner, we danced a bit.
, .
We left right after Lyonya arrived.
81-12
81-
1

Select the correct form and fill in the blank:
1. [________ / _________] , .
2. ________ _______ [_________ / __________].
3. [__________ / _________] , .
4. . [___________ / __________] ________.
5. [_________ / _____________].
6. [___________ / ___________] ________
7. [___________ / ___________] .
8. [ ___________ / ________________] .
9. [___________ / ___________] _________.
10. [___________ / ___________] _________
1. He was an hour and a half late for the show.
2. Let your Russian professor realize what a jerk he is!
3. Pashas friend (acquaintance - Fem) looks like your (girl) cousin on your mothers side.
4. I have an extra ticket to the concert. Lets go together. Gladly!
81-13
81-
___________________________________
5. Lets meet in a cafe after the concert.
6. I got on the wrong bus by mistake.
7. Im not sure if they went (but are not back) to the Tretyakovka (it may have been to another museum).
8. My uncle died (from unnatural causes) during the Great Patriotic War.
9. How do you feel about people who can play the violin well?
10. + Is smoking permitted here? - No, smoking is prohibited.
11. I cant play chess tomorrow. Im going to be busy.
12. +Whom are you laughing at? - Were laughing at ourselves.
13. In the winter we went to England.
14. In the spring we are going to Germany.
81-14
77-81; , 17-19
Nouns
Verbs
S17
S19
S19
S17
S19
78
S19
S19
S17
(Feminine!)

/ (o)
/ ()
(M)
End-stressed in the
Plural
~ /
()
/ ()

+ //
(F)
() ~
(M)
/ (o)
()
S17
S19
S19
80
78
79
S18
81
S18
81
80
S19
S19
S17
S17
S17
77
S17
78
80
77
78
S19
78
S17
79
bus
England
The Great Patriotic War
galeery
Germany (Recall that the language is
!)
guitar (Note the -a in Russian!)
Gulag
Victory Day May 9
victory
mirro
musical instrument
Internet
on the Internet
compliment
(piece of) candy
concert hall
box
jacket
camp (Can be used to describe a summer
camp, as well as a concentration camp.)
million
the police
Muscovite (person from Moscow)
number
sky
mistake; error
by mistake
make a mistake (in line 21)
fall; autumn
salesperson
bird
piano
system (Note that its feminine!)
violin
perfection
sonny boy
daughter
= Tretyakovsky
Gallery
digit
sense of humor
use after 5
S19
77
81
S18
80
S19
S17
+ // +
+`|| //
+ // + // +
{+ / +}
+... // - +
Dative
{+ / +} // //
{+ / +}
//
{+ / +}
A note on + // -
S19
+// +
S18
77
S17
+... // +...
+ || + // +
+.. //
{+... / +...}
+
+ // +
+ time expression in
ACC
/ + place/event in
ACC
+... + Dative
S17
S17
80
S17
S19
S18
77
S19
S18
80
S17
78
78
81-15
+ // +
Genitive
+ || + //
+
+ // [] +
+ // {+ /
+}
Past: , ,
Infinitive:
+ / +
+ // {c+ // +}
(Inf )
+
+ // - + Infinitive
arrest
run; hurry (Irreg. Present Tense )
lie; tell untruth
hang (up)
take (perfective)
get ready for (prepare oneself for)
go; get (there) (by vehicle)
close (intransitive)
open (intransitive)
When calling a place, use or +
ACC., as opposed to DAT, which is
used when calling a person.
play a role (Note that the vowel
changes when a prefix is attached to
form the Perfective.)
apologize
fly
begin (intransitive)
wear.
be late
by AMOUNT OF TIME
for PLACE/EVENT (This is
not in the story)
relate to; feel about; have an
attitude toward
walk away from (Here the prefix indicates motion away from.)
swim
perish; die an unnatural death
understand, grasp
send
sit down; get on (a bus)
be able; can; have the skill
teach someone to do something
77-81; , 17-19
Prepositions

79
S18
S18
S19
Soft!
S17
S17
S18
79
S18
S19
( , )
+ Genitive
-, -
S17
S19
S17
adult Adjective as Noun

short
extra
world (The noun world is , which, as
you know, also mean peace.)
intentional
the wrong
several
dressed (cf. + / +)
openly; not hiding anything
role (Figure out the gender from the
context.)
here (direction); hither (as opposed to
which is here location)
exact
there; thither (direction) (as opposed to
which is there location)
77
S19
S19
S19
Expressions & Misc.

77
81
S17
S18
S18
78
81
S18
80
79
S17
81
S17
78
S18
S18
S17
-, -, -
+ ACC

/
+ / -
+ // + +
Prepositional
( Gen)
+ GEN
!

S18

(/)
(M, N) /
(F)
78
S18
80
78
S18
()
,
,
()
79
79
79
resemble someone / something

lately
Genitive of (We suggest you learn
as a phrase.)
lets
pretend that
play a musical instrument
thats none of PERSONs business
how should I put it?
whether (if)
may, can
little; a small amount of
thats impossible! (lit.: (it) cant be)
more than once (Do not confuse this with
which means never, not a single
time.)
not exactly (the other way around)
on the way (from/to a place)
=
1 (Similar to 2, 3, 4: Followed by noun
in Genitive Singular.)
its time to (+ Imperfective Infinitive
99% of the time)
lets go
let (him...)
self
thanks, but no thanks
especially because; so much the more
(given that)
that which
the same
just like; as
81-16
+ Dative (of
location)
+ Genitive

+ Genitive
(travel) around a place

after (+ Noun in Genitive)
after (+ Clause)
before (+ Clause)
during; in the time (of) (A phrasal
preposition.)

"My car was stolen the other day
82.A Verb Stems in ''

82. Three More Verbs of Motion
My car was stolen the other day
1
2
, ? .
.
Kira, where were you? You werent home all

day. I was already starting to worry.
3
4
5
6
.
, ,
. ,
.
I took (my) kids to the circus. I didnt want to

take them there, but they really beseeched me
and I couldnt refuse. I used to go to the circus
a lot when I was young, too.
Did you take them in your new car?
, ( ) .
.
No, we took the bus. (I accompanied them on

the bus.) My car was stolen the other day.
,
! ,
. . ,
?
Its hard to believe that cars are stolen in

Princeton! Thank goodness I have a really old
car. No one would want to steal it. Say, what
are you carrying (in your hand)?
16
, .
,
.
This is a T-shirt for my youngest daughter

Tanya. She also really wanted to go to the
circus, but she wasnt feeling well and stayed
home.
17
Poor thing.
10
11
12
13
14
15
+ || + // +
take; drive (See grammar for details on conjugation and useage.)
circus
+ //
+ Dative say not to; refuse; turn down
+ || + // +
take; drive (See grammar for details onusage.)
+ // -
steal (See grammar for details on conjugation and stress)
10
its hard to believe
13
+ || + // +
carry; take (See grammar for details onusage.)
14
/ ()
T-shirt
82-1
82.A
82-
-Stem Verbs
Lets look at what will be our final () Verb Type for the year: -Stem Verbs.
Everything about the conjugation of this Consonant Stem is as expected, except the Infinitive. (So, in the Present
and Imperative, you attach vowel endings directly to the stem, with no mutation; in the Past, the is a loser
consonant which is booted out in all forms by the /a/o/.)
The basic rule for the Infinitive is that > or it depends on stress. When the Past Tense is endstressed, use - (Recall with stems ending in , you steal the stressed from the Past Tense -form
( implies )) If the Past Tense of a -+ verb is stem-stressed, use -.
+ / -
PAST (End-Stressed) >
NON-PAST (End-Stressed)
()
()
() ()
IMPERATIVE:
lead; take
()
()
()
, ,
, ,
, ,
()()
INFIN: -
()
()
()
()
()
The verb + / - is end-stressed in the Non-Past, but stem-stressed in the Past. (Very few verbs have this
stress pattern. We will put the over the consonant to indicate it.) As mentioned directly above, look to the Past to
determine the form of the Infinitive.
+ / - steal
NON-PAST (End-Stressed)
()
()
() ()
IMPERATIVE:
()
()
()
()()
PAST (Stem-Stressed) >

, ,
, ,
, ,
INFIN: -
()
()
()
()
()
Put the verb into the correct form. Pay attention to the tense given at the end:
1. / + /
2. / + /
Present
3. / + /
Present
Future
4. / + / . Present
5. / + / ,
.
Past
6. / +?
Present
7. / + / . Past
8. / + /
Future
9. / + /
Past
10. / + / , .
Past
82-2
82-
82.
Still More Verbs of Motion: Taking People or Things
So, you thought that you had seen the last of those Verbs of Motion. Well think again ( ). Today we will look at
three new Verbs of Motion that describe the act of taking something or someone somewhere. First the forms:
Imperfective
Perfective
Non-Determined
Determined
Heading / On ones way
carry (in arms, on back) +

lead (take)
transport(take)
Notice that all three Non-Determined forms are -Stems, while the Determined forms are Consonant stems.
Lets see how these three verbs are used.
In general, everything that we said before about Verbs of Motion applies here as well. So lets look at the most
common uses of these three verb of conveyance.
There and Back With the Thing/Person: / /

(In the grammar explanations below we sometimes use the masculine past tense simply for convenience.)
For all three of these verbs the past tense of the single round trip (using Non-Determined form: , ,
) implies that the subject took something/someone somewhere and returned with the thing or person
transported. Therefore, while and are commonly found (taking someone somewhere and back),
i.e., making a single round trip, is much less common its not likely that you would carry something
somewhere and thing back again.
Annoying detail: You cannot use any of these three verbs to indicate dropping off (taking something/someone
somewhere and leaving it/them there). So, to say I took Vera to the airport, you need a different verb.
.
She took her children to the doctors yesterday.
Who took you to the store?
82-3
82-
Carrying Things (or People)
The verb + | + // +, which often appears as take in English, implies that the person is carrying
something (or someone) in their hands or arms, or on their back. This verb cannot be used when the person is
transporting something/someone in a vehicle (either in a car or even a wagon). See below for when a vehicle is
involved.
?
Where are you taking my computer?
Why do you always carry a backpack?
He carried his daughter on his back all day.
,
.
As Vera was carrying an expensive vase to the

kitchen, she fell and the vase broke.
Taking People (and Things) Somewhere: / vs. /

First of all, the direct object following / (lead, take) must be animate. (Yes, we have seen the
phrase drive a car, but thats more of an idiom). After / (transport, take), both
animate and inanimate direct objects can be found.
To some extent, the difference between / (on foot or by vehicle) and / (only by
vehicle) is identical to that between / (on foot or by vehicle) and / (only by vehicle).
Well, not identical. Whereas you would normally say , and not
unless a geographical name or a vehicle is mentioned, or you wish to emphasize that you drove to the
concert it is often possible to use either / (on foot or by vehicle) or / (only by
vehicle) when no place name or vehicle is mentioned, and when there is no special emphasis that you drove the
person.

To be honest, the choice between / and / can get complicated, often depending on
certain assumptions by the speaker, external conditions (where the utterance in made in relation to the
destination), etc.. To be safe, use / when the taking was on foot and / when the taking
was by vehicle.
?
Where are you taking me (on foot)?
Where is he taking her (by vehicle)?
She takes her son to school every morning. (Most

likely she walks him there.)
She drives her son to school every day. (Must be

by vehicle.)
Today were taking some old university friends to

a French restaurant. (Possibly by vehicle, though
theres no emphasis on how theyre going.)
,
.
As Vera was walking her dog to the park, a cat bit

him/her on the paw..
,
.
As I was taking my sister to the store, the police

stopped us.
,
.
Call me from the car on your way to taking dad to

the doctor.
82-4
82-
Except for the last example (be on ones way), the exact rules for when to use the infinitives /,
/, / can be a real , (There are just too many little details that can influence
which form to use. Plus, as we mentioned above, often a prefixed Verb of Motion is used.) If you can master the
types of examples given above, youll be able to handle nearly all real world scenarios.
1. Where are you carrying that printer?
2. She drives her kids to school every morning.
3. Where are you taking me (on foot)?
4. Where are you taking them (by car)?
5. As I was walking my elephant to the park, it started

to rain.
6. Were taking our grandmother to a Chinese

restaurant.
7. Why do you always carry that backpack?
8. Where did you take them (by car)?
9. She took her children to the circus yesterday.
10. We led them around the city yesterday.
There But Not Back With the Thing/Person: / /

Another annoying detail: You can use the perfective past when the subject has left but not yet returned, even if the
subject is planning on dropping off the thing/person (i.e., not returning with it/them). (Recall that directly above
we said that you needed a different verb to indicate dropping off but that only applies when the person has
returned. Yes, its sometimes hard to believe the level of specificity language especially Russian Verbs of
Motion can express.)
. .
Valya's not home. She went to take a book (back)

to the library.
. .
Galyas not home. She went to take her son to

school.
. .
Viktors not home. He went to take his father to

the airport.
By the way, be very careful to pronoun the soft in the masculine past tense form . Check in a dictionary
for what means.
Put the verb into the correct form. Pay attention to the tense given at the end:
1. Mishas not home. He went to take a book back to

the library.
2. Veras not home. She went to take her son to

school.
3. Lenas not home. She went to take her sister home.
82-5
82-
1
___________________________________
Circle the correct Verb of Motion. For some, both verbs are possible.
1. [ / ] ?
2. [ / ] ?
3. [ / ] , .
4. [ / ] .
5. . [ / ] .
6. [ / ] .
7. - [ / ] .
8. [ / ] , .
9. [ / ] .
10. [ / ] ?
11. [ / ] -.
12. [ / ] ?
13. [ / ] . (We didn't cover this explicitly in the lesson ,but give it a try.)
14. . [ / ] .
15. [ / ] ?
Insert a Verb of Motion that makes sense
1. ________________________________________ ?
2. ___________________________________________________ (back).
3. _________________________________________________ .
82-6
82-
4. ___________________________________________________ .
5. _____________________________________________ , .
6. _____________________________________________ .
7. ______________________________________________ ?
8. ____________________________________________ .
9. __________________________________________ , .
10. . ____________________________________________________ .
Fill in the blanks:
+
NP
__________________________________
PAST
__________________________________
()
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
INF
____________________________________
IMPER
___________________________________
NP
__________________________________
PAST
()
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
INF
______________________________________
IMPER
___________________________________
82-7
__________________________________

83.A: Prefixed Verbs of Motion: Form
83.: The Meanings of the Prefixes
, , , , , ,
. ,
. , . !?
, .
, . .
. ,
. , ( ),
. ? !
, ,
10
, . .
We actually saw all of the Prefixed Verbs of Motion given here in part 20 of the story. See the grammar for details on forms.
4
polite
company
boss
alarm clock
next in a series of; yet another
83-1
83.A
83-
Prefixed Verbs of Motion: Forms
We recently spent several lessons looking at Verbs of Motion (VoM), where we saw that there are two forms in
the Imperfective, the Determined and Non-Determined. To form the Perfective, the prefix - is added to the
Determined form (+, +, etc.). It turns out that all the forms we described before are known as NonPrefixed Verbs of Motion (because, as well see directly below, there also exist forms where a prefix adds a
meaning to the verb).
NON-PREFIXED VERBS OF MOTION

go
Imperfective
Perfective
Non-Determined
Determined
Prefixed VoM: No (Non)-Determined Distinction (just Imperfective vs. Perfective)

It is also possible to add various prefixes each with a distinct meaning to Verbs of Motion, in which case the
distinction between the Determined and Non-Determined forms disappears, and a strictly Aspectual distinction
remains (similar to the difference between and , and , etc.). As you
might have predicted, the prefixed Imperfective form is derived from the Non-Determined form (+, +,
+, etc.), while the prefixed Perfective form takes the Determined verb as its base (, +, +).
Unfortunately, there are a few small (but troubling) changes in the stems that we need to look at:
PREFIXED VERBS OF MOTION

arrive
Imperfective
Perfective
(from Non-Det form)
(from Det form)
+
+
{+ / +}
+
83-2
83-
Eight Prefixed VoM: Four Totally Regular; Four Slightly Irregular

First lets look at four of the eight VoM that add a prefix with no changes at all to the stem. Well use various
prefixes, some ending in a consonant, others in a vowel it makes no difference here. For now dont worry about
the meanings. Again, the Imperfective is formed from a Non-Determined, while the Perfective use Determined
stem:
The four Prefixed VoM with no changes in stems:
-+ / -+
-+ / -+
-+ / -+
-+ / -+
Some examples of Prefixed VoM. (Well discuss the meanings of the prefixes below):
Imperfective (from Non-Det)
+ bring
+ lead away
Perfective (from Det)
+
+
+ import
+ fly away
Notice that for the Perfective all three verbs are here (+, +, +), as well as the one e verb (+).
Give the correct form
1. + carry (she Perfective Past)
2. + transport (I Perfective Future)
3. + lead (Imperfective Infinitive)
4. + fly (we Present)
5. + transport (they Perfective Past)
6. + carry (I Present)
7. + fly (he Imperfective Future think!)
8. + lead (she Perfective Past)
9. + transport (you Present)
10. + fly (I Perfective Future)
11. + carry (Perfective Infinitive)
12. + lead (we Present)
83-3
83-
The four Prefixed VoM with a change in the stem (in bold):
-+ / -
-+ / -+
-+ / -
-+ / -+
For three of the remaining four verbs, a change occurs in the Imperfective stem:
1. For run, the Imperfective form simply shifts the stress foward one syllable, from + to -+. The
Perfective form is built on the (rather irregular) form
+ > -+
Imperfective
Perfective
+
+
2. For swim, the stem vowel changes from

a to and the stress moves forward (+ > -+). The
Pefective is built, predictably on +
+ > -+
Imperfective
+
+
Perfective
+
+
3. For go by vehicle, the new Imperfective stem is -+. You cannot use this stem by itself!
+ > -+
Imperfective
Perfective
{+ / +}
{+ / +}
*See discussion of the directly below
83-4
83-
Adding a prefix ending in a consonant to the stems -+ / : Hard Sign Time!

Lets take a look at what happens when we add a prefix ending in a Consonant (-, -, etc.) to the stems
-+ or -. First we need to think about what basic sounds (Chapter 1 stuff) are represented with these
words. Both -+ and - begin with a sound. (The soft-indicating vowel e not immediately preceded
by a consonant.) If we simply attached the prefix - onto -+, or - giving us *+ /
* (* means ungrammatical) we would have wiped out the sound. Therefore, in order to keep the
sound, a sign is needed. And since theres no reason to suppose that the final consonant of the prefix is soft, we
use a hard sign.
Basic Sounds with -+ /

Unprefixed Form
Prefixed with no
No sound
Prefixed with a
Maintain the sound
+ {E}{I}
*+
{O}{E}{A}
+
{O}{E}{A}+
{E}{A}
*
{O}{E}{A}
{O}{E}{A}
When a prefix ending in a vowel is added, no problem arises the intial e is not immediately preceded by a
consonant, which means that the sound is maintained: {U}{E}{A}
4. For go (on foot or by vehicle), the Imperfective remains the same, while the Perfective changes from + to
-+. When adding prefixes ending in a vowel, no problem arises. When the prefix ends in a consonant, a
cluster buster (o) is required between the prefix and the stem:
+ > -+
(Past tense stem is the same: ()+)
Prefix ends in a vowel Simple addition (except -)
Imperfective
Perfective
+ / ()+
+ / ()+
+ / ()+
Prefix ends in a consonant Cluster Buster (o)

Imperfective
Perfective
+ / ()+
+ / ()+
+ / ()+
83-5
83-
Infinitive ends in -
For some reason in the Infinitive becomes , and the stress falls on the end: -. (If you think about it, you
might expect *. But that form doesnt exist.) Be sure to distinguish this from the Imperfective Determined
form , where both and are present.
Infinitive of Prefixed go on foot

- (No !)
*See below concerning the stress on this verb (and other verbs in -).
1. + swim (she Perfective Past)
2. + go on foot (I Perfective Future)
3. + run (Imperfective Infinitive)
4. + go by vehicle (we Present)
5. + run (they Perfective Past)
6. + go on foot (I Present)
7. + swim (he Imperfective Future think!)
8. + go by vehicle (she Perfective Past)
9. + run (you Future Perfective)
10. + swim (I Perfective Future)
11. + go on foot (Perfective Infinitive)
12. + go by vehicle (we Present)
The prefix - with the stem +

First note that theres no problem adding the prefix - to -+ to form the Imperfective form
(Present: , , ; Past: //; Infinitive: ).
When forming the Perfective (using the A>B form) in the Non-Past the of the stem -+ is lost. Compare with
other prefixed forms (, vs. , , etc.). In the Infinitive, the reappears ().
To be honest, even many educated Russians get a bit confused by this, so dont feel bad.
arrive on foot/vehicle (Perfective)

PERF FUTURE
PAST
()
, ,
, ,
, ,
83-6
INFINITIVE
83-
1. / (Past Perfective)
2. / 6:00. (Past
Imperfective)
3. / . (Future Perfective)
4. / . (Past Perfective)
5. / 7:00 (Present)
6. / . (Future
Imperfective)
7. / (Future Perfective)
8. / (Past Perfective)
83.
The Meanings of the Prefixes
Throughout the year weve actually seen almost all of the prefixes were going to discuss in this lesson. Its best
to break them down into pairs, though each prefix has its own meaning. Well look at the meaning of each prefix,
as well as with which preposition (and which Cases) the verbs are used.
Indicates arrival at a destination

Use the prepositions of
destination.
Indicates leaving a place (for an

extended period not just
stepping out).
Use the prepositions of origin.
We arrived in Moscow on April 10.
Where are you leaving Russia?
She arrived at the post office.
We left the concert.
Ill be at your place in an hour.
Translate
1. We arrived in Moscow.
2. We left from Moscow.
3. I got the the library at 9:00.
4. I left the library at 9:05.
5. Masha arrived at Pashas on Tuesday.
6. Masha left Pashas on Saturday.
83-7
83-
Indicates entering an enclosed

area. (Dont use with people.)
Indicates leaving a an enclosed

place
Use .
Use .
Note that all Perfective verbs (not just VoM) with the prefix - are stressed on the prefix in all forms. No
exceptions. None!
Masha entered the room and lay down on the sofa.
He exited the dorm and turned left.
Translate
1. We walked into the room.
2. We walked out of the room.
3. Nina walked into the building.
4. Nina walked out the building.
5. We drove into the garage .
6. We drove out of the garage.
Indicates approaching a place or

person.
Indicates movement away from a

place or person.
Use .
Use .
- .
Some strange lady walked up to me.
, .
As I was walking away from him, he started to

apologize.
83-8
83-
Translate
1. A strange man walked up to me.
2. I walked away from the strange man.
3. We drove up to the dormitory.
4. We drove away from the dormitory.
Indicates movement across an

area.
For now, just use with the direct
object .
.
We crossed the street.
,
.
You have to be very careful when you cross the

street
Translate
1. We crossed the street.
2. Be careful when you cross the street.
Indicates reaching or getting as

far as a destination.
Use ..
83-9
83-
He finally got to the library.
We went as far as Moscow.
The prefix - places a heavy emphasis on reaching, going as far as a destination, while verbs with - indicate
simple arrival. In general, verbs with - are much more common.
Translate
1. He reached the bus stop.
2. We went as far as Trenton.
83-10
83-
1 Write a sentence for each new prefix and translate into English. You can
model your sentences on our examples, but try not to just copy them.
1. -
2. -
3. -
4. -
5. -
6. -
7. -
8. -
83-11

, ! !
Review
__________
+ , ! - !
+Good luck! -Go to hell!
, ! ?
Ira, hi! Hows it going?
2
3
! .
!
. .
!
Dont ask! Exams start tomorrow! What a

horror! And I dont even want to think about
my Russian exam.. I dont remember anything.
What a nightmare!
10
, ! , .
, .

,
. ?
Come on (its not as bad as you make it out to

be). Im sure that everything will be fine.
Sorry, Ive got to run. Tonight Borya and I are
going our favorite French restaurant and then
to the new Schwarzenegger film. Do you want
to come with us?
11
(: !) , .
(Thinking: You know where you can go!) No,

thanks.
12
, ( )!
Good luck (with the exam)!
13
Go to hell!
4
5
6
7
8
9
, / !
here: come on, things are not as bad as you make them out to be
11
you know where you can go (This expression is quite strong, so be very careful
who you say it to. And be sure you really mean it when you say it.)
( !)
84-1
84-
Prefixed Verbs of Motion

Attaching a prefix to a Non-Determined Verb of Motion (see below for variations in stems) creates an
Imperfective Verb.
Attaching a prefix to a Determined Verb of Motion (see below for variations in stems) creates a Perfective Verb.
The entire question of Non-Determined/Determined disappears when a prefix is added; its strictly an opposition
of Imperfective // Perfective.
PREFIXED VERBS OF MOTION

arrive
Imperfective
Perfective
(from Non-Det form)
(from Det form)
+
+
{+ / +}
+
Of the Verbs of Motion we saw, these four attach prefixes with no changes in their stem:
The four Prefixed VoM with no changes in stems:
-+ / -+
-+ / -+
-+ / -+
-+ / -+
Some examples of Prefixed VoM:

Imperfective (from Non-Det)
Perfective (from Det)
bring
lead away
import
fly away
These four stem have a change in the form in bold:
The four Prefixed VoM with a change in the stem (in bold):
-+ / -
-+ / -+
-+ / -
84-2
-+ / -+
83-
For three of the remaining four verbs, a change occurs in the Imperfective stem:
1. For run, the Imperfective form simply shifts the stress foward one syllable, from + to -+. The
Perfective form is built on the (rather irregular) form
+ > -+
Imperfective
Perfective
+
+
2. For swim, the stem vowel changes from

a to and the stress moves forward (+ > -+). The
Pefective is built, predictably on +
+ > -+
Imperfective
Perfective
+
+
+
+
3. For go by vehicle, the new Imperfective stem is -+. You cannot use this stem by itself!
+ > -+
Imperfective
Perfective
{+ / +}
{+ / +}
Prefixes and their meanings:
Indicates arrival at a destination

Use the prepositions of
destination.
Indicates leaving a place (for an

extended period not just
stepping out).
Use the prepositions of origin.
Indicates entering an enclosed

area. (Dont use with people.)
Indicates leaving a an enclosed

place
Use .
Use .
83-3
84-
Indicates approaching a place or

person.
Indicates movement away from a

place or person.
Use .
Use .
Indicates movement across an

area.
Indicates reaching or getting as

far as a destination.
For now, just use with the direct

object .
Use ..
Verbs of Taking and Leading:
Imperfective
Perfective
Non-Determined
Determined
carry (in arms, on back)
lead (take)
transport (take)
(There are a lot of [nasty] details regarding dropping someone off. Just focus on the basic meanings and youll be
OK.)
Irregular Plural Nouns
Nominative Plural in - > Genitive Plural in - (No )
son
friend
husband
84-4
83-
Nominative Plural in - > Genitive Plural in - (Keep )
brother
chair
+ Infinitive: In order to
can also be used with an Infinitive with the meaning in order to...; so as to Note that quite often in
English in order (so as) is left out:
- ,
.
(In order) to speak Russian without an accent,

(one) must live around ten years in Russia.
One must study every day in order to get good

grades,
,
.
(In order) to sleep well, (one) should read a little

about Verbs of Motion before going to bed.
Meanings of the particle -

1) Subject = Object: True Reflexive Verb He washed himself
When the action of the verb reflects back onto the subject (the subject performs the action on him/herself), -
indicates a reflexive verb:
Transitive Verbs
True Reflexive Verbs (-)
Kolya washed (his) son.
Kolya washed himself.
Lara brushed (her) daughters hair.
Lara brushed her (own) hair..
Grandmother dressed (her) grandson.
Grandmother got dressed.
2) Subjects = Objects: Reciprocal Verbs They kissed (each other)

Some verbs with - have a reciprocal meaning, i.e., the action is not reflected back onto the subject, but rather
from one person to another. By definition, reciprocal verbs must be plural.
Transitive Verbs
Reciprocal Verbs
I kissed her.
We kissed (each other).
Kira met me.
We met (one another).
They saw each other.
They often see each other.
83-5
84-
3) Object becomes Subject (sometimes): The lesson began

In many cases when - is added to a transitive verb, the direct object (Accusative) of the transitive sentence
becomes the subject (Nominative) of the intransitive sentence. Make sure that the - verb agrees with the new
subject and not the old subject of the transitive sentence:
Transitive Verbs
Intransitive Verbs
Direct Object becomes Subject of - Verb

(ACC).
(NOM) .
The professor started the lesson.
The lesson started.
(ACC).
(NOM) .
The professor ended the lecture.
The lecture ended.
(ACC).
(NOM) .
We opened the door.
The door opened.
(ACC).
(NOM) .
They closed the window.
The window closed.
In other cases, the - verb has a related meaning, but the new subject is not the former direct object:
Subject of - Verb is not from Transitive non- Verb

.
He returned the money to me.
We returned home.
Masha turned to the right.
Masha turned around.
4) No clearly obvious meaning to -: We laughed

For a number of verbs, it is hard to see precisely what meaning the - carries:
Meaningless - Verbs
?
What are you afraid of?
.
Were not laughing at you.
.
I admire you. / I think youre great.

.1
I study three hours every day
Technically, there does exist a verb + occupy, but +... has really acquired a separate meaning.
84-6
83-
5) Strange but true: Imperfective has -, Perfective doesnt / He went to bed
Imperfective: -
Perfective: No
I usually go to bed at 1:00.
Last night I went to sleep around 4.
Have a seat.
He sat down on the sofa.
Its getting cold.
It got warm suddenly.
Meanings of (, , ):
1) Emphatic I myself / my (very) self (and no one else)

?
Did they themselves tell you that?
2) By oneself (without help of another)

?
Did you do it (by) yourself? (No one assisted you?)
With inanimate subjects, there can be a mysterious quality to :

.
The door opened by itself.
-Stem Verbs
Simple addition in Present and Imperative: C+V (no mutation): +>; + >
C1 + C2 > C2 in the Past (the from the stem is lost in all forms) +>, , ; + .> ,
, .
In Infinitive, is always lost, replaced either by - (if stem is stressed in past: ) or - (if ending is
stressed in past: ).
So, the verb steal has ending stress in the Present/Imperative (, , /), but stem stress in the
Past/Infinitive (, , ).
83-7
82-84; , 20-21
Nouns
S21
S20
83
S20
S21
82
S20
83
82
S20
82
S21
S21
S20
S21
/ (o)
/ ()
() ~
84
83
S21
businessman
hospital
alarm clock
tooth
breakfast
mirror
heart attack
company
jacket (Not a sport coat, which is .)
bus stop
salesman
romance (In addition to novel)
situation
heart (Related to cardiac)
CIA (
)
devil
boss
spy

S20
83
S20
S21
S20
S20
S21
83
S21
S21
(), ,
(soft!)
/ (e)
{+ / +}
S21
S20
S21
S20
S21
S21
+ //
+ //
+ // +
a+ // +... // +...
+... // {+...
/ +...}
+ // +
+ //
+... //
+... ( )
S20
+ //
82
82
82
82
84
84
S20
S20
S20
S20
S21
S21
S21
S21
S21
S21
82
82
82
polite
cheerful; happy
adjective from
rude
familiar
impossible
next in a series of; yet another
complicated; complex
immediately
+ // -
cause someone to worry; trouble;

disturb
take (Perfective) For now just
learn the Perfective.
enter; walk into)
reach (by foot); go as far as
finish; complete
eat breakfast
(come to an) end
begin Intransitive
wear
deceive; trick
cross (street)
with : turn towards Person
without : turn around
send (Perfective) For now just
learn the Past and Infinitive Stem .
comb (brush) ones hair
/
{+ / +} //
+
+ // -
happen; occur; take place

find out; learn; discover
brush ones teeth
S21
S21
82
S20
S20
S21
S20
sick (Short-Form Adjective)
Verbs
S21
S21
+ //

{+ / +}
, / !

+ Infinitive
()

+ // +
+
Nominative
[] ,
-, -, -
-

-

+ Past
Very polite phrase said in store (and other

places) to get someones attention.
oneself
if; whether
look at oneself in the mirror
take with oneself
come on, things are not as bad as you make
them out to be
you know where you can go
in order to
ago ( is optional, and considered a bit
more bookish.)
down the hall
faint (Lit.: fall into a fainting spell)
what does [Noun] have to do with anything
here?
[Person] feels sorry/regrets that...
oneself
first of all; in the first place
just (recently)
agentive suffix (Also: -)
its impossible for (X to happen)

1 ,
on the earth (sounds like a fairy tale)
brave
toy / 2adjective from
1 2.
after all / 2paper
1 2 ,
re-do; make over / 2world
1 2 3,
so that / 2happy / 3=
1 2 3:
he himself / 2string / 3hung
1 - 2 3,
happy / 2fire / 3smoke
1 2 3,
for you / 2perish / 3twice
1 2:
mock; laugh at / 2of him (goes with verb)
1 2
entrust / 2to him
1 ,
your (own)
1 2 3
fate / 2his (own) / 3cursing
1 2.
life / 2seek; thirst
1 2: 3, .
kept on / 2ask for / 3fire
1, .
having forgotten
1? , 2! ?
into the fire / 2well, go ahead
1 2,
stepped / 2once
1 2:
burn up / 2for nothing at all; for no reason
,
1
?
,
.
Adverbs and Other Parts of Speech
- :
Generally, there will be no new vocabulary on Thursday, but theres still plenty to do. The class will be
devoted to a discussion of the story and practice of the grammar point(s). Be sure to read over and listen to the
story again.
Our suggestion:
1) Listen to and repeat the story at least 2-3 times. (We suggest about 10-15 minutes for this.)
2) Read the grammar. Do the oral exercises. (20 minutes)
3) Listen to and repeat the examples sentences. (15-20 minutes)
4) Complete the written homework. Answer the questions that appear only on the recording. (20 minutes)
1.
1..1
Adverbs and Other Parts of Speech

Forming Adverbs
Weve already discussed various aspects of Adjectives (gender, number, case), so now lets look at Adverbs. The
good news is that Adverbs dont change form (except for the comparative John plays chess well, but Mary plays
even better which we will discuss much later in the course.)
1..1a
Adverbs in -: , , , , etc.
By far the most common ending for Adverbs is {O}, specifically - (-e is rare, while - simply does not occur).
To form an Adverb, simply add -o to the Adjectival stem. The only difficulty that sometimes arises is a
difference in the position of stress between the Adjective and the Adverb. Unfortunately, there are no great rules
for predicting when the stress will be different; you really need to memorize this but its not really that hard.
Some examples of Adjectives and Adverbs.
Adjective Stem
Adverb
: ()-1
Story Part 1 Grammar
Form adverbs from these adjectives. Those words marked with a * have a stress change.
1. *
2. *
3.
4.
5. stupid
6. smart
7.
8.
9. *
10.
11.
12. *
1..1 Adverbs in -: -,
If an Adjective ends in suffix -, simply remove the to form the Adverb. (We saw this already when we
covered phrases like - / - / -. In general,
besides these language/nationality adverbs, there are not that many - adverbs. Here a few for reference:
Adjective Stem
Adverb
practical
practically
critical
critically
One good thing: Adverbs in - always have the same stress as the related Adjective.
Form adverbs from these adjectives.
1.
1.A.2
2.
3.
4.
Other Adverbs
A number of very common Adverbs do not have a correpsonding Adjective, and may not end in either - or -.
Some may even be phrases (with or without a Preposition). Here are some miscellaneous Adverbs:
Adverbs Not From
Adjectives
: ()-2
1-
1.A.3
Exactly What Are Adverbs? vs.
In story we find the following phrases

...
But it was boring there...
( , ) ,
.
(Leslie said that) it was very good there, very

interesting
On the surface all three words , , certainly look like Adverbs they all end in -. But
if you think about the meaning, they certainly dont feel like Adverbs the way that, say, or do in
/ He sings well/poorly. In this sentence / are clearly Adverbs modifying
the verb . So, what part of speech are , , in the above examples?
Actually, different people give different answers to this question. Some people claim that they are, in fact,
Adverbs, modifying the verb be. The Neuter 3rd Singular is used as a default, since there is no obvious
subject in the Nominative. Others say that , , are actually Adjectives, but a special
kind of Adjectives called Short-Form Adjectives. (We wont go into details on these right here.)
The good news is that as far as we are concerned, it really doesnt make much difference whether ,
, are Adjectives or Adverbs. There is no difference in the form, which is our main concern.
1.A.4
Some Strange Uses of Adverbs in Russian
Russian sometimes uses an Adverb in constructions where English cannot. For example, in the story says of
: . Literally this means He very beautifully / attractively smoked, but thats not
really English. Its not hard to understand what the Russian phrase means, but giving an exact translation can be
difficult.
Here are some other examples where Russian has a perfectly normal phrase with an Adverb for which there is no
exact English equivalent:
.
My mother is a really good cook. (She cooks

deliciously.)
lectures.
The professor is a boring lecturer. (He reads the

lectures boringly.)
Liza always has something interesting to say. (She

talks interestingly.)
We cant give you any absolute rules about which Adverbs you can use in Russian but not in English. The
most important thing is to be able to recognize this difference (and eventually introduce these Adverbs into your
speech).
Translate into Russian. Don't worry if your answer does not match but be sure to listen and
repeat. All the sentences contain an Adverb.
1. She smokes in a very attractive manner.
2. Hes a bad student.
3. Genas mother is a good cook.
4. Everything in the store was expensive.
5. In Moscow everything is inexpensive.
6. Hes an excellent singer.
: ()-3
1.
Example Sentences With the New Vocabulary
(There are not sufficient pauses on the recording for you to repeat. You will need to use the .)
We suggest that you:
1) Look first at the Russian, then quickly at the English, then again at the Russian as you hear the sentence for
the first time.
2) Repeat the sentence once or twice.
3) After you go through all the sentences once, go back and this time look only at the English. Try to translate
before the text is read. Then repeat after you hear the Russian.

1. -
.
1.
Natasha speaks English as though she

were an American.
2. .
2.
I read that book a long time ago.
3. + ? ,
.
3.
+ Is his new wife old? No, she's quite

young.
4. .
4.
Yelstin lives in Moscow.
5. - .
5.
Princeton is an excellent university.
6.
.
6.
I don't know why my husband doesnt like

America.
7. .
7.
It's never boring here.
8. .
8.
We decided to dance on the table.
9.
.
9.
Sara studied for a semester in Russia.
10.
.
10. We decided to live in Petersburg for a

year.
11. + ? , !
11. + Where is Borya's girlfriend? I think

I saw her with Misha!
12. .
12. He studied all day.
13. .
13. She lived in London for a whole year.
14. .
14. There are beautiful buildings in

Petersburg.
15. ,
.
15. At the party everyone drank, sang, and

danced.
16. ,
.
16. If Styopa was against it, he would have

said.
17. .
17. My friend goes to Harvard.
18. , .
18. Everyone was there, even Oksana.
19.
.
19. I saw a very nice-looking black cat.
20. .
20. It was very cold in the hall.
21.
.
21. We usually drink expensive French red

wine.
: ()-4
1-
/
22.
.
23.
?
22. There was a very attractive blond guy

there.
()
24. .
24. Shaq is very tall.
25. , ,
.
25. Everything in Princeton, I must say, is

very expensive.
(),
26.
. .
26. He walked up and said, Hello, my name

is Tim.
27.
.
27. Mercedes is a first-class car.
/ !
28. + !
?! .
28. + The movie was very boring! What

do you mean!? (Come on!) Its a good
movie.
29. , ,
.
29. By the way, his name is Grisha, not

Misha.
30. + , .
. + .
30. + Valya, this is Misha. Nice to meet

you. + Nice to meet you.
31. .
31. They smiled very strangely.
32. ,
.
32. Masha goes to Princeton and I also go to

Princeton.
23. Why are you looking at that blond

woman?
: ()-5
:
Exercise 1
Answer the questions on the recording. -, :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
( describe)
( about + Location ending)
7.
Exercise 2 Be as truthful as you wish and write 5 sentences using an Adverb(ial) form
1.
2.
S1-6
:
3.
4.
5.
Exercise 3
1. Whose mother is standing in the hall and smoking?
2. My younger sister is tall.
3. I would like to study a whole semester in Moscow.
S1-7
1.

Lets not be so formal
This is the first part of a story we will read over the course of the year. We will cover each part of the story in two lessons.
On the first day, we will focus on the text itself, while on second day we will examine a specific grammar point (or two)
contained in the story. The oral section of exams will cover the story.
What to do:
1) Listen to the recording and fill in the blanks. You will need to use your knowledge of the grammar to
determine the endings of many words (because the endings often get reduced).
2) Listen to the story several times, again glancing at the vocabulary. The recording is only about two minutes,
but you should plan to spend at least 40 minutes listening to and repeating the text.
3) Make up cards (or add to your list whatever you prefer) of new vocabulary.
4) Read and listen to the story again, making sure you understand everything. If anything is at all unclear, ask
about it in class.
5) Translate the story in English. Well go over the difficult parts in class
6) Learn the new vocabulary.
Everyone was against (it)
_______________________________________________________________________,
_________________________________________________________________. .
________________________________________________________________________ !
, ______________________________________________________ ee.
______________________________, e, ___________________________________________.
, e __________________________________ e .
eee, _____________________________________,
_____________________________________________________, e e.
9
10
11
e : e ___________________________________, _______________
____________________________________________________, e .
: ()-1
Story Part 1 Text
12
___________________________________ e _____________________________.
13
e , ____________________________________________, e .
14
, , , ________________________________________________.
15
e , ______________________________________________, :
16
_________________________________________________________ . ?
, e?
17
____________________________________________________________________ e.
18
e?! ________________________________________________! e
19
e. , ________________________________________________________________.
20
e. ! e e .
21
, e , . e , .
22
e , e ___________________________________________________.
23
_________________________________________________________________________!..
: ()-2
1-
as if; as though
long ago
young (related to )
Moscow
(Actually, in the USSR there were very few universities. Most institutions of
higher learning were called . Since 1991 many former have
changed to )
America
( is pronounced [])
boring (Neuter ending is used because the clause has no real Nominative subject.)
decide
(dont put an extra e before the final )
(girl)friend (If a male uses this term, it normally indicates romance. The same is
true if a female uses see below.)
whole, entire
year
Petersburg (The official name of the city is , but that is rarely

said. Theres even a slang name , sort of like how we can say Philly.)
everyone (takes a plural verb unlike English)
against
(boy)friend (see above for usage)
10
even
10
a female
11
hall(way)
11
usually
13
blonde (male ~ female)
13
tall (lit.: of tall height. Use this fixed phrase in place of an adjective)
13
(I / one) must say; (I / one) must admit
14
(),
walked up (to) (use the Past Tense only for now)
18
first class; top notch
20
/ !
come on!; youre cant be serious
21
by the way
21
nice to meet you (lit: very pleasant)
21
smile (use only in the Past Tense for now)
22
also (You can only use when the verb/predicate is the same as the previous
sentence. Much more on later in the course.)
the prefix - gives the meaning for a short time
Everyone was against it (note you dont translate it in Russian here)
: ()-3
The Conjunctions , ,
- :
(A few of the examples contain words you have not seen yet. Just look at the English to confirm that you understand
everything.)
Three Little But Tricky Words: The Conjunctions , ,
You may recall that in Lesson 3 we saw the following exchange:

. ?
My name is Misha. Whats your name?
You may also recall that the word had no overt translation in the English. You may not recall (since it did not
happen) that we never really explained the various uses of , as well as and . The time has come.
and
is used to link two non-contradictory notions, and always corresponds to English and.
.
Vera is kind and attractive.
I bought bread and milk.
Vera and Sasha are playing chess.
This is Borya and his new wife.
To say both...and, used ...:
He knows both Russian and German.
Both Masha and Sasha slept poorly last night.
and; but;
can appear as several different words in English (and in some cases, as no word at all).
1) A is often used when presenting people, things, and is translated and.
, .
This is Vitya, and this is his wife.
, .
My computer is here, and next to it is my printer.
. , ?
OK. (I understand.) Thats you, and who is that?
: ()-1

Compare vs. in the following:
, .
This is Vitya, and this is his wife.
This is Borya and his new wife.
Certainly the two sentences mean nearly the same thing. The only difference (besides vs. ) is the extra
in the first sentence, which forces the use of .
To be perfectly honest, in the above sentences it is not impossible to have , but a is much preferred.
2) A is used to link two phrases which are in contrast to but not contradiction with each other. This use of a can
be translated and or but depending on the strength of the contrast. (Often this use of a corresponds to
whereas.)
, .
Hes young and (whereas) she is old.
, .
He used to drink a lot, but (whereas) now he

(drinks) little.
, .
This is a cat and thats a dog.
In the last example, because of the nature of cats and dogs, a definite contrast is felt.
3) A is used when a positive statement is contrasted with a negative statement, and is translated either but or
and, depending on the syntax:
, .
Hes doesnt work, but rather he goes to school.
, .
Misha is a fool and not a genius.
, .
They dont live in Moscow, but in Petersburg.
4) In some cases a has no translation in English; it is used simply to move conversation along. (Sometimes so is
a close approximation.)
. ?
My name is Misha. Whats your name?
So, how was it there?
Why did he say that?
: ()-2
2-
is reserved for rather sharp contrasts or contradictions, and is almost always translated but.
,
.
, .
He studies all the time but gets bad grades.
, .
She read everything but didnt understand

anything.
, !
The wine was fantastic but really expensive.
,
!
I love you very much, but we cannot be together.
Hes smart but not very attractive. (A positive trait

is contradicted by negative one.)
To be honest, the use of these three conjunctions is more complicated than what we have presented here. In many
cases more than one of the words is possible. Both a and are often possible in the same context, the choice
depending on the strength of the contrast. And and are sometimes interchangeable. Our suggestion: Learn
whats here and keep you eyes and ears open for how Russian writers and speakers use these words.
Insert the correct conjunction into the sentences.
1. , __________ .
2. ______________ .
3. , _____________ . (No need to repeat the verb.)
4. , , ____________ .
5. , _____________ .
6. _________ .
7. _________ -, _________ -, __________ -!
8. , ________ .
9. . _________ ?
10. , ______________ .
11. ___________ .
12. __________ ?
13. , __________ .
14. , ____________ !
: ()-3
1. , .
1.
Maybe these are Igors keys.
[]
2. + ?
.
2.
+ What's your girlfriend's name?

That's none of your business.
3. -, .
3.
I think that drinking is bad for you.
4. + ? .
4.
+Where are thou from? Let's use

you.
5. .
5.
They are absolutely correct.
, ,
6. ,
.
6.
My father thinks that he's always right.
7. .
7.
It's very hard to quit smoking.
8.
.
8.
My younger sister is in high school.
9. .
9.
The text was very difficult.
Adverb is e
10. .
10. It was not easy to quit drinking.
11. + .
.
11. + I can't quit drinking. I'll help you.
e e
?
12. .
?
12. Thanks. And how can I help you?
13. , .
13. Vera asked me where I lived.
14. + ? - .
14. And then what? Well see.
ee
15. .
15. I don't want to live in the dorm.
16. .
16. I always sleep well.
17. -.
17. I can't stand rap music.
(F)
18. !
18. What garbage!

-e
19. + .
-.
19. + I like warm juice. To each his own.
[]{+ / +}
20. ?
20. What was you mother's name?
21. .
21. My younger brother has brown hair.
22. .
22. He drinks a lot.
23. ,
.
23. When she saw him, she didnt say

anything.
+...
24. ?
24. Why didn't you say hello?
25. .
25. He pointed to the book.
[Noun in NOM]
26. . - .
26. There's a cookie for you. Over there on

the table.
: ()-4
"
Exercise 1
Answer the following questions, using full sentences
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
S2-5
"
Exercise 2
Insert the correct conjunction
1. , _______________ .
2. ____________ .
3. , _______________ .
4. water, ___________ .
5. __________ __________ .
6. , ___________ .
7. __________ ?
8. , __________ -.
9. , _______________ .
10. , ______________ .
"
Exercise 3
1. His sisters (female) cat was named Friskey. (Think about Case and Tense!)
2. Thats none of his business.
3. No one wants to live in the dormitory.
S2-6

1
2
2.

, e , e _______________________________ , _____________________,
_____________________________________________, .
, , ___________________________________________________________.
, _______________________________________________________________________.
, . . ___________________________________________________.
, ______________________________________________. __________________________
________________________________ . ______________________________? .
_________________________________________________________________________________.
_________________________________ . e ___________________________________.
10
____________________________________________, .
11
? ______________________________________________________________________!
12
______________________________________. _____________________________________________,
13
14
, ____________________________________________ ee. e . ?
15
_______________________________________. e e ? .
16
e . , .
17
e, e, ______________________________________________________,
: ()-1
Story Part 2 Text
18
-________________________________ __________________________________________
19
___________________________________. e , _______________________________________
20
__________________________________ __________ . e.
21
. _________________________________________________ e.
22
_____________________________________________________ . , e
23
________________________________________. -e, _______________________
24
____________________________________________________. , ______________________
25
______________________________________________________...
26
27
28
e _________________________, _____________________ ,
______________________ ____________________________ :
Te _____________________________. , _________________________________________.
: ()-2
2-
32-
Note: From now on, for Adverbs derived from Adjectives will list the Adjective, along with any relevant notes concerning
stress.
1
maybe (lit: can [to] be). The stem of is + can; able, where the
mutates to . Also notice the shift in stress. Well discuss this later on.
[]
its not [whose] business
harmful; bad for you
lets (switch) to ; lets not be so formal
absolute
, ,
right; correct (This is a Short-Form Adjective. Note that the shifting stress
pattern is the same as that found in Verbs: Stem-Stress, except for Feminine.)
quit (+ Infinitive) (lit.: throw)
(high) school
13
difficult
15
(The in both words is

pronounced as .)
easy (not difficult); light (not heavy)
Adverb is e
14
I will help you (Learn as a phrase for now. Well explain later why its future.)
15
e e ?
How can I help you?; What can I do for you? (Learn as a phrase for now.)
15
ask (a question) (Use in the Past and Infinitive for now. Weve seen the verb
+ with the same meaning. The only difference is that +

indicates a one-time action, while + indicates a repeated action.
Well be discussing this important difference at length in a few weeks.)
16
well see (The prefix - makes this verb Future! We'll also be discussing this
in a few weeks.)
17
ee
dormitory
17
always
18
rap music (Note the use of the letter in this foreign word.)
20
(F)
filth; garbage; crap
20
e to each his own (lit.: Everyone goes out of his mind in his own way)
21
[]{+ / +}
[Persons] name was...We saw this construction back in Lesson 3, but now we
include the Past Tense of this double-stem Verb.
22
brunette (male ~ female)
23
a lot; much; many
26
see; catch sight of (Similar to + but - adds the meaning catch sight of. )
26
+...
say hello; great someone (one-time action) (Related to .)
as always
27
point (Present Tense isnt what you think; use Past only for now)
28
[Noun in NOM]
there's a [Noun] for you (This is similar to the phrase we saw in Lesson 8:
. In case youd like to know, both and are Dative case
pronouns.)
: ()-3
A. Introduction to Ellipsis
. The Position of Nouns vs. Pronouns
. Sample Sentences
- :
3A.
Leaving Words Out in Russian: Introduction to Ellipsis
In Russian, as in English (and probably every language in the world), it is sometimes possible to omit certain
words when the meaning is clear from context. The fancy term for this is ellipsis. Here are a few examples from
English, with the words omitted in parentheses:
verb
I went to Boston, John (went) to Chicago.
subject (+ verb)
(Are you) having a good time?
preposition
+ Would you like that with fries or onion rings?

(With) fries, . (Always be polite when asking for fries!)
In Russian, given the right context, it is possible to leave out just about any element in the sentence (except the
Preposition see below). If youre reading something in Russian, and it just doesnt make sense, quite often a
word (or two or three) may have been omitted. So you need to get used to mentally filling in whats missing.
Here are some examples of various elements that can be left out:
Subject
+ ?
() .
+ Wheres Masha?
I dont know.
() ?
Do you want some coffee?
+ ?
, () .
+ Is Nina at home?
Yes, shes sitting on the sofa and watching TV.
***Subject ellipsis is not required in Russian, as it practically is in Spanish. In some cases, you must include the
subject. We cant give any exact rules for this, because so much is dependent on the context. In general, when
you begin a conversation, you cannot leave out the subject. When it is absolutely clear who the subject is, it may
be possible to omit it (or it may not).
In case youre interested, linguists have a special term to refer to the dropping of a subject consisting of a
Pronoun: pro-drop (very creative, no?). So, pro-drop is practically required in Spanish, while in Russian pro-drop
is sometimes possible, sometimes not.
: ()-1
Verb
Recall that the very first fixed phrase we learned had no verb: ? Other, regular verbs, not just to be
can be omitted. For example, in Part 2 of the story, says to , , which literally means
lets to you-informal. The verb left out is switch to. Here are some other examples of verb ellipsis:
, ( )
Masha bought towels, but I didnt buy anything.
()?
Where are you coming from? (This is a different

question than the phrase with the same two words
which we saw in Lesson 34. In this context, you
run into someone obviously coming from
somewhere, and you wish to find out from where.)
Direct Object
In Russian it is possible to omit the various objects (direct, indirect), something that is not normally done in
English. Notice that you cannot omit the direct objects in the English, even though it is perfectly clear from
context what is being referred to.
+ ?
, ().
+ Did you see Dima?

Yes, I did.
Also note in the above example that in Russian the main verb () is repeated in the answer, while in English
an auxiliary verb (did) is used. Russian has no auxiliary verbs in the past and present. Well see an auxiliary
verb when we examine the future tense.
().
He bought vodka and quickly drank it up. (The

prefix - indicates a one-time completed action.)
+ ?
() ().
+ Wheres your notebook / laptop (computer)?

I sold it.
In these last two examples, note that the English contains the pronoun it in the second clause. In Russian, it is
theoretically possible to insert / in the second clause, but most of the time no pronoun would be used.
Do Not Omit Prepositions in Russian

The one element that you cannot omit in Russian (as opposed to English) are Prepositions. (This was discussed
in Lesson 36)
+ ?
.
+ Where are you from?

Petersburg.
+ ?

+ Whom did he fall in love with?

Marina
: ()-2
3-
Conclusion: Ellipsis is Complicated

Giving precise rules governing ellipsis is next to impossible. (A few years ago a graduate student did her
disseration just on direct object ellipsis.) The most imporatant thing is that you get used to filling in whats
missing, either when youre reading or listening to a Russian speaker. It takes time to introduce ellipsis into your
own speech, but eventually you will get used to it.
Try your best to figure out what words will be omitted. Keep in mind that context determines
a lot, so dont worry if your answer doesnt match the recording.)
1. + Do you want to dance? No, I dont want to.
2. Wheres your new red car? I sold it.
3. Where are you coming from?
4. Where are you from? Im from New York.
5. I want to quite smoking but I cant.
6. He likes vodka, but I like red wine.
7. Was Borya at the party? Yes, he was there.
8. Do you have a computer. Yes, I have one.
9. Who is he looking at? Nina.
10. Lena bought a printer, but I didnt buy anything.
3.
More On Word Order: Full Nouns Follow / Pronouns Precede
As a very general rule (to which there are many exceptions), when used as a Direct Object, Indirect Objects or
Object of a Preposition full Noun Phrases (, , []
) normally follow the Verb, while Pronouns (, , [] ) precede the Verb.
Full Noun After the Verb
Pronoun Before the Verb
(Dative).
Of course, when used as the Subject, both full Nouns and Pronouns normally appear in initial position:
.
Also, question phrases, which often contain a Pronoun, normally appear in initial position:
?
?
Giving simple rules about word order is next to impossible, in large part because context and intonation play
such an important role in determining the exact meaning (intent) of a phrase.
: ()-3
Translate into Russian. Pay special attention to word order.
1. Do you know my fathers brother?
2. Do you know him?
3. Where did Lena buy that brown backpack?
4. Where did Lena buy it (brown backpack)?
5. Marina bought a printer for him.
6. Marina bought a printer for Gleb.
7. I cant stand green towels.
8. I cant stand them.
9. How are things with (by) your younger sister?
10. How are things with her?
3.
...
...
1. ,
, ,
.
1.
On the one hand, shes a great student,

but on the other hand, shes not very nice.
2. ?
2.
Do you have an envelope?
+ GEN
3. ?
3.
Where's the letter from Natasha?
-, -, -
4. .
4.
She's always very busy.
5. !
5.
I don't want to write a JP / Senior Thesis.
6. !
6.
You are so sweet!
+ + Infinitive
7. .
7.
Lena started to smoke and drink.
8. .
8.
We used to live together.
+ (End-stressed
Greasy Zeke)
9. .
9.
He helped me yesterday.
10. .
10. He's in a hurry. (To him there is no time.)
11. .
11. Liza always helps me.
12. .
12. I know everything about everything.
13. , !
13. Of course not!
14.
.
14. I really like Russian literature.
15.
.
15. My father used to write some decent

poetry.
16. .
16. Pushkin is my favorite poet.
17. .
17. She took a look at him (it).
18. .
18. I want a different car.
19. .
19. You have beatiful handwriting.
20. , !
20. Daer Vanya, I love you!
21. !
21. You really offended her.
22. .
22. I want to know the whole truth.
23. .
23. He thought for a bit, and started to write

further.
(Recall that the prefix - can indicate

for a while:
)
: ()-4
"
Exercise 1
Answer the questions on the recording, using full sentences
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
S3-5
"
Exercise 2
Use the following new vocabulary items in a sentence NOT related to the story
1. ...
2.
3.
4.
5.
"
Exercise 3
1. This is a different camera.
2. When did you (F) start to listen to rap music?
3. Misha and I usually study together.
4. I dont have a favorite poet. (Think!)
S3-6
...,
...,
On the one hand..., but on the other hand
On the one hand..., but on the other hand
, ___________________________ ________________________ .
__________________________________________________________, . ,
_____________________________________. _____________________________________________,
e e - . ___________________________________ !
. e ____________________
e. e ______________________________________________, e
. __________________________________________ . , ________________
. __________________________________________________________,
_____________________________________ e. ___________________________
10
______________________________, _______________________________________________
11
__________________________________________________________________. , e
12
______________________________________________________________. ____________________
13
. e , ____________________________________________________
14
. e _____________________________________, e _________________.
15
_____________________________________________________________. .
16
e, e e. e ? __________________
17
_______________________________________________.
18
19
___________________________________________________________________________.
20
_________________________________________________, __________________________________
21
e e. _______________________________________________________________________
22
_______________________________________________ .
23
________________________________________________. ,
24
_________________________________________________________________. __________________
25
________________________________________________________ e.
: ()-1
3-
on the one hand (Here the Preposition = from, and takes the Genitive.
= side. Literally the expression means from the one side.)
right away; immediately
envelope
+ GEN
from (a person) (Earlier we saw also followed by the Genitive with the
meaning from [a place].)
-, -, - (short-form Adj.)
busy; occupied
term paper (The noun is implied, which explains the gender)
kind; nice; sweet
but on the other hand (See above for explanation.)
+ + Infinitive
start (to do something) (Note that is another loser consonant, which is lost in
the Past and the Infinitive.)
together (Note that its an Adverb not derived from an Adjective.)
+ (End-stressed Greasy
Zeke)
help one time action (Take DATIVE case, which we have not seen yet. For now
use this verb only in the Past Tense)
Dative of
help repeated action
Dative of (We saw this on the first day of class: to me there is no

time.)
Prepositional (Locative) of (The consonant cluster needs to be busted up,

which is why the Preposition becomes .)
adds emphasis does NOT mean yes in this sentence
about (This is the same as in O !. For some reason, in front

of , an extra syllable is thrown in. There really doesnt seem to be any
justification for this.)
literature
13
poetry; verses (plural in Russian)
14
poet
15
take a look one time action (We had the verb , which describes repeated
or ongoing action. Much more on this distinction in a few weeks.)
16
different; not the same; another
16
handwriting
18
dear (just as 'dear' in English can also mean 'expensive')
21
offend one time action
22
truth
25
further
: ()-2
A. Seeing/Hearing
. Declining Foreign Names
. Have the right
. Sample Sentences
- :
Friendly reminder: Be sure to listen to (and repeat) the story a few more times, especially after you go over the grammar
explanations. Everything will make a whole lot more sense and mastering the vocabulary will be that much easier.
4.A
Seeing / Hearing Someone Do Something: English vs. Russian
To indicate that you saw () or heard () something, you must insert the place holder (which
is preceded by a comma). The observed subject appears in the lower clause in the Nominative. (Of course, the
Verb can also be in the Present Tense.)
, .
I saw her dancing.
, ?
Do you see them kissing?
, .
Masha heard those people speaking German.
-, , .
I think I hear Kolya singing.
Notice that in English the seen/heard person(s) actually appears in the Direct Object form:
I saw them (Robert and Judy) kissing.
A literal translation is impossible in Russian. Why? Well, if you think about it, them is actually serving two
functions in the above sentence: 1) the Direct Object of saw (only the pronoun them vs. they makes it clear
that its the Direct Object; proper names dont reflect grammatical function); 2) the Subject of kissing (after all,
they were the ones kissing). In Russian, you cant have a noun with two different functions? Why not? Case.
Since a Noun is marked with just one Case, it can only have one grammatical function.
Well see other examples later on where, because of Case, Russian requires buffer, along the lines of .
1. Linda said that she saw Robert and Judy kissing
2. I think I hear someone (-) speaking Russian.
3. I saw Nina drinking the vodka.
4. We heard Vera crying.
5. Thank goodness, no one saw us kissing
6. I heard that Masha is getting married. (think do

you need here?)
: ()-1
4.
Declining Foreign Names: An Introduction
Here well concentrate on non-Russian first names. (Decline last names, especially Russian last names, can get
ugly.)
Female Names ending in an -a (sound) decline regularly. (We say sound because the actual
letter could be a consonant: Sarah.) All other names (ending in either a consonant or another
vowel) do not decline.
, .
I like Barbara, but Leslie I cant stand.
Wheres the letter from Melissa?
Hes talking about Sandra and Michelle.
Masculine Names in a consonant (sound) decline normally. Names in a vowel sound (except -a
a detail well ignore for now) do not decline.
Vika fell in love with Ken at first sight.
- .
She did it because of Bill.
Everyone is thinking about Larry.
Homer helped Apu (Nahasapeemapetilon).
1. Bill fell in love with Monica at first sight.
2. Monica fell in love with Bill at first sight.
3. Bill fell in love with Kathleen at first sight.
4. Does Bill love Hillary?
5. Jim has three sports cars.
6. Laura doesnt have any money.
7. I cant stand Moe.
8. Wheres the letter from Courtney?
4.
Have the right: + / +
Here we actually see a real Verb have +. Its an -stem, which behaves exactly like all the -stem
Verbs weve seen (+, +, +, etc.), except the vowel preceding the is different.
The phrase + have the right is normally followed by an Infinitive:
, .
I have the right to say everything that I think.
-.
Everyone had the right to listen to rap music.
When this phrase is negated, the Direct Object become Genitive (due to the Genitive of Negation).
.
You dont have the right to stand here.
Before, women didnt have the right to vote.
: ()-2
4- ()
Translate into Russian. Pay special attention to word order.
1. I had the right to do everything I wanted.
2. You dont have the right to lie.
3. Before women didnt have the right to go to

Princeton.
4. He doesnt have the right to criticise +

us
5. I have the right to live in Siberia.
6. Not everyone has the right to buy beer.
4.
Sample Sentences
1. ,
.
1.
The thing is, he doesnt know anything.
+...
2. .
2.
Vera started going out with Grisha.
3. .
3.
He told me that unofficially.
+ GEN
4. ,
.
4.
Everyone was at the party except Dima.
5. .
5.
I didn't hear anything about that.
6. .
6.
My brother works in a cafe.
7. : ,
.
7.
Homer thought for a second and said

Hmm...no. (He refused to wear pants
when walking in front of the living room
window.)
8. ?
8.
What are you doing tonight?
9. , .
9.
I saw them playing tennis.
+...
10. !
10. They kissed all night!
11. !
11. You are such a sleazebag!
12. .
12. Vitya is my close friend.
13. !
13. He is such a swine.
14. ,
.
14. My parents arent here, so I can drink

and smoke.
15. .
15. That's our cat.
16. .
.
16. It's a big secret. Absolutely no one knows

about it.
+...
17. , .
17. I hope that you like caviar.
/ (o)
+
18. .
18. He makes mistakes all the time.
19. ?
19. Who wrote Anna Karenina?
20. ?
20. Who told you that?
- + ACC
21. .
21. He really upset me.
+ GEN
22. .
22. My younger brother sends his greetings.
+...
23. ,
.
23. When we saw them, we rejoiced.
: ()-3

+
24.
.
24. I want to read Eugene Onegin.
- + GEN
25. - .
(+... remain; o rain)
25. We stayed home because of the rain.
26. .
26. You don't have the right to sit here.
27. , , .
27. Everything that he said is not true.
...
28. ?
28. And what if they're right?
29. .
29. I never lie.
/ /
30. ?
30. And what if he made a mistake?
31. .
31. I seriously doubt that he's a good doctor.
+ + Infinitive
32. .
32. He wouldn't help me.
33. ?
33. What did you hope to accoplish by doing

that?
: ()-4
"
Exercise 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. to Sara (for your answer)
8. reaction
9.
10.
S4-5
"
Exercise 2
Use the following new vocabulary items in a sentence NOT related to the story
1. +
2. +
3.
4. +
5.
"
Exercise 3
1. I hope that no one saw us dancing together.
2. No, it cant be! He made a mistake (was mistaken).
3. Last night I saw them in the club.
S4-6
4.
?
To what end? (With what goal?)
Story
?
To what end? (With what goal?)
( )
1
2
, _____________________________________________ e.
_______________________________, e. e ___________________________
___________________________ . _____________________________________________
, , _____________________________________________________________
_________________________________. ___________________________________________
e ee e, e. ____________________________
! ___________________________________________________________
_________________________________. ! _____________________________,
10
_____________________________________________________ e.
11
, e , _______________________________.
12
________________________________________________________________________ .
13
______________________________ ______________________________
14
15
_________________________________________________________________________.
16
_________________________________________________, ,
17
_______________________________________. e, e, , -
18
_______________________________. ___________________________________
19
____________________________ , _________________________. ?
20
________________________________________________. , e
21
e? . ______________________________________ e, e .
22
: ()-1
Story Part 4 Text
Dont be scared by what appears to be an enormous list of new vocabulary items. Almost half of the items are either
cognates or slight variations on words we have already seen.
2
the thing is that (You cannot leave out the word , as in you can in English: The
thing is, (that) he wrote every day.)
+...
meet (one another); see each other; date
un/official
+ GEN
except (for)
about this ( is the Prepositional Case of . The is added to the preposition

before a vowel sound. We already saw the ending {O} in )
cafe (doesnt decline ) Also note that the is pronounced HARD.
think (The prefix - indicates a quick conclusion, a single thought. A One-Time

Action Verb.)
at night (You can combine this with other time expressions.)
+ + Sentence (subject
in Nominative)
see someone do something. (Well discuss this construction in Part 2.)
+...
to kiss (each other). (Without the suffix - the verb is transitive:

He is kissing her.)
scoundrel; cad
close (in various senses)
swine
10
so; therefore; thus
10
here: our (Lit.: our with you)
10
secret
11
+...
hope (Conjugates like a regular 1st-conjugation Verb: , , .

Well examine this more in Part 2.)
11
/ (o)
+
mistake
11
One-time action form of +
11
Indirect Object (Dative) form of . We saw in the Part 2 of the story:

. The Verb takes Dative.
13
+ + ACC
upset someone; cause someone to get upset
14
+ GEN
greetings from (Russian really like to send greetings from and to other people.)
16
+...
to rejoice
17
One-time action form of +
17
- + GEN
because of; due to; on account of
last night
tonight
tomorrow night
make a mistake
: ()-2
4-
have the right (+ means have, but as we saw in the last chapter, its not the
normal way of expressing possession. More on this is Part 2.)
the right
19
everything that (Here a different relative pronoun not is used.)
19
...
and what if...
lie; tell untruth Conjugation is
18
19
, . , , ,
, ,
20
; ,

be mistaken (Stick to the past tense for now Works like a Greasy Zeke verb, even
though the final stem consonant is . So we could call the group Greasy Zekes
Beer. This is the only useful verb in . The other common verb is very obscene.
21
its not likely; its doubtful
21
+ + Infinitive
(subject) wouldnt do (verb) (Theres no sense of starting in this verb phrase.)
22
to what end?; for what purpose?; Lit.: with what goal? (This is the same preposition
with we saw in . It takes a Case we have not yet seen: the
Instrumental. We wont get to it until next semester.)
(F)
goal
: ()-3
A. The Future Tense: An Introduction

. - Some. Relative Tense
. Sample Sentences
- :
5.A
The Future Tense: An Introduction
Like English, which uses will, Russian can use a helping verb to form a Future Tense verb. Combine the stem
+ with the Infinitive of a Repeated Action Verb:
Future Tense (First look)

+ Infinitive (Repeated Action Verb)
.
Tomorrow Im going to study all day.
Are you going to sing at the party?
Shes going to write a book about Tchaikovsky.
No one will help him.
Were going to play golf on Saturday.
Are you going to spend the night at the dacha?
They are going to sing Russian songs.
Well learn later on how to form the future tense of One-Time Action verbs like +, + , +, etc.
The Verb + can be used on its own, without an Infinitive, to mean will be:
I will be home all day today.
Where will you be at 6:00?
They will be in Princeton on Saturday.
1. I am going to sleep on the floor.
2. Are you going to spend the night in the dorm?
3. When is Dima going to listen to (his) parents?
4. No one is going to go to sleep at 8:00.
5. We are going to live in an apartment in Petersburg.
6. Where are yall going to wait?
7. They are going to get up every day at 5:00.
8. When will you be in Moscow?
9. I will be at home tonight.
10. They will be in Princeton a whole week.

: ()-1
5.
Some-
You can attach the particle - to various Question words to give the meaning some-
- Phases
-
someone
something
somewhere
(to) somewhere
from somewhere
some (kind of)
somehow
for some reason
- , .
Someone said that you bought a car for me.
- . .
Something happened. Hes not home.
- , .
She works somewhere; I dont remember where.
- .
Vera headed off to somewhere.
- .
His girlfriend arrived from somewhere (or other).
- .
Some guy was standing in the hall.
- .
He somehow opened the door.
- .
For some reason, she cant fall asleep.
Notice that all of these uses of - words are in statements (about either the past or present). You generally
cannot use - in questions or statements about the future. (Yes, we will teach you what to use for these later on.)
While the attached particle - is fixed, the Question word can change CNG (where applicable):
-
someone (ACC / GEN)
some kind of (ACC)
some kind of (ACC / GEN)
some kind of (LOC)
o -
something (LOC)
: ()-2
5- ()
- , .
Masha invited someone; I dont know who.
- .
She is reading some book.
- .
Misha is from some small town in Texas.
- .
Theyre talking about something.
A few question words do not attach - to give a normal some- meaning. For now, avoid -. The word
for sometimes is . (In case youre interested, - means at one point in the past.)
Sometimes we study in the library.
Sometimes I really want to dance.
1. Someone said that Vadik is getting married.
2. For some reason, no one wanted to iron my pants.
3. She bought some kind of German camera.
4. Hes from a small country in Asia ().
5. Vera fell in love with some guy.
6. I saw your keys somewhere in the living room.
7. Masha said something about Shura.
8. They saw someone at () the dacha.
5.
Relative Tense: An Introduction
Weve seen numerous sentences where the English translation contains a verb in a different tense than the
Russian. In each instance so far, the Russian verb is in the present tense, while the English has past tense:
Russian Present Tense
English Past Tense
Mitya knew that I had a boyfriend
... ,
... but I thought that they were probably just

studying together
,
(Verb is Present Tense of be - )
Judy always said that she was your close friend
... ,
... I had the right to do everything I wanted
We dont want to sound chauvinistic, but this difference is really a problem with English. It turns out that
English has something called sequence of tenses. (Supposedly you learned about this in high school English
class. Violating the sequence of tenses rule is a typical error in writing.) In English, when the first verb in a
sentence is in the Past Tense, all following verbs must also be in the Past. In English it doesnt matter whether the
following verbs refer to an action previous to (past), concurrent with (present), or after (future) the original Past
Tense verb: everything must be in the Past.
Russian does not have a sequence of tenses rule. Russian puts the verbs following the initial past tense verb in
whatever tense they actually refer to relative to the first past tense verb. In the first example, Mitya knew (past)
that Sara currently had a boyfriend, so the present tense is used. In the second example, Linda thought
(past) that Judy and Robert were currently studying, so, again, the present tense is used.
: ()-3

When translating from Russian > English, the sequence of tenses rule does not create too much of a problem
after all, you are all native speakers of English and you know what is grammatical in English. The problem
comes in when going from English > Russian. You need to get out of the habit of translating literally. (Of course
this applies in general, but it is especially importatnt when sequence of tenses is involved.)
Lets take a look at what the actual meaning of the above sentences would be if you translated literally from
English > Russian:
,
Mitya knew that I had (previously) had a boyfriend
... ,
but I thought that they had (previously) been

studying together
Judy always said that she had (previously) been your

close friend
... ,
I had the right to do what I had (previously) wanted to

do
This is an important (and somewhat complex) topic, which well return to in a later lesson.
Question:
I seem to remember the following line in Part 4 of the story:

, I saw them kissing
Why is the verb in the Past Tense? She (Linda) saw an ongoing
action? Why isnt it in the Present Tense?
Answer:
Super-fantastic question! Well have to wimp out and say that this involves a
rather complex explanation thats not worth going into (at this level). (Of
course, thats a fancy way of saying we really have no great answer.)
1. I thought that you loved him.
2. We heard that she played tennis well.
3. He knew that I had 10 sports cars.
4. Everyone thought that you went to Brown.
5. When I saw them I asked how they were getting

along.
6. Rita said that she lived in California.
: ()-4
5- ()
5.
Sample Sentences
()
1. .
1.
She headed to the library.
+ ACC
2. .
2.
We went to the new caf.
3. .
3.
I dont have any plans.
+ ACC of Time Phrase
4. .
4.
He came (over) for two hours.
5. .
5.
I studied all weekend.
()
6. ?
6.
Are you free tonight?
7.
.
7.
My parents bought a small dacha.
8. .
8.
The nature there is beautiful.
9. ,
.
9.
She asked me, but I didnt answer.
{+ / +}
10. .
10. I will be in the living room.
()
11. .
11. She lives alone.
+ NOM
12. ?
12. What is that book?
13. .
13. His room is always dirty.
+ + Infinitive
14.
.
14. Were going to see a German film.
15. .
15. She often spends the night at her

boyfriends.
16. -
.
16. Seryozha for some reason didnt want to

dance with Tamara.
17. ?
17. Who threw this party?
18. ?
18. Why didnt you invite Ira?
19. - .
19. He left something on the table.
+ GEN
20. !
20. I can't live without you!
21. .
21. This morning I got up at 5:00.
22. ?
22. Did you take a shower today?
+...
23.
.
23. She quickly got dressed and headed to the

club.
24. .
24. I saw Petya at the train station.
()
25. .
25. They arrived at 1:00.
26. .
26. She fell asleep on the sofa.
: ()-5
Story: Part 5
"
Exercise 1
___________________________________
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
S5-6
Story: Part 5 Homework
"
Exercise 2
Use the following new vocabulary items in a sentence NOT related to the story.
Remember, for One-Time Action Verbs, stick to Past or Infinitive.
1. +
2.
3. ()
4.
5. ()
"
Exercise 3
1. + What are you going to do tomorrow? - Were going to sit at home and think about Russian grammar
2. Yesterday for some reason I got up at 5:00, took a shower, got dressed, and headed to the library.
3. I cant live without cheap American beer!
S5-7
:5.
?
What are your plans for the weekend?
Story
What are your plans for the weekend?
e _________________________________________________________________.
____________________________. , ___________________
___________________________, _______________________________________
____________________________________. ? e
e. , _____________________________________________________ e .
, ________________________________________ ? .
. ______________________________________________________?
8
9
10
.
_______________________________________ ________________________ .
e , e ________________________________________ ?
11
e , . _____________________________ ____________________
12
________________________? e? _________________________________________?
13
14
15
, . , ? ?
.
16
_______________________________________________________________________.
17
? __________________________________________________
18
? .
19
__________________________________, . .
20
_____________________________________________________________________ .
21
- _______________________________ _________________________.
22
- , _______________________________________________
23
_______________________________. _____________________________________________
24
____________________________. _____________________________________________
25
___________________________________________________.
26
_________________________________ ____________________________________,
: ()-1
Story Part 5 Text

27
, . , , ,
28
______________________________________________________________________________.
29
30
31
! _______________________________________________?
.
_______________________________________. ________________________________
32
. - __________________________________________________________,
33
_________________________________________________________ .
34
________________________________________________ ? .
35
. __________________________________________________ ,
36
37
___________________________________________ .
, ____________________________________________________________ .
: ()-2
5-
()
go to; head to (Past Tense! The Present and Infinitive of this verb are irregular.
One-time Action.)
+ ACC
To
Plan
+ ACC of Time Phrase
for (a time period)
Weekend
()
free; not occupied (Short-Form Adjective)
dacha; summer house
10
nature; countryside
11
answer (One-time Action.)
+]
11
{+ /
13
()
Alone
14
+ NOM
what kind of [Noun] is it?
14
Room
17
+ + Infinitive
will (This is one way to express future. More on this on Tuesday.)
18
+ What verb type is this?
spend the night (Repeated Action.)
21
for some reason
21
arrange; throw (a party) (One-time Action.)
22
invite (One-time Action.)
22
some (Much more on this on Tuesday.)
24
+ GEN
Without
26
in the morning (Similar to at night.)
27
+
(See note about stress)
take a shower (One-time Action.) This verb has an odd stress pattern:
Past (shifting from first syllable to last): , ,
Infinitive (2nd syllable)
27
+...
get dressed (One-time Action.)
27
train station
27
()
arrive (One-time Action.) The prefix - indicates arrival.
33
fall asleep (One-time Action.)
be (The Present Tense stem indicates Future: I will. This is a Repeated

Action Verb.)
: ()-3
A. Accusative Nouns of Direction

. Introduction to the Verbal Suffix
. Double Adjectives/Adverbs
. Introduction to Verbal Prefixes
- :
6.A
The Accusative of Direction with Nouns:
In Lesson 45 we saw that the Accusative is used with verbs of motion that indicate Direction (as opposed to
Location): / . The Accusative of Direction also applies to certain
Nouns. In this lesson we have ticket, which combines with the Preposition or (depending on the
destination) + Accusative:
.
We bought a ticket to Moscow.
, , .
Excuse me, this ticket is to London, but I wanted a

ticket to Paris.
I bought two tickets to the opera.
To say round-trip ticket to [place], use / [place Accusative]. (You can also put
the place phrase in front of .)
- ?
How much does a round-trip ticket to Moscow

cost?
- .
They bought two round-trip tickets to Chicago.
1. How much is a round-trip ticket to London?
2. She bought three tickets to the opera .
3. Where can I buy a cheap ticket to Moscow?
4. A round-trip ticket to New York, please.
6.
The Verbal Suffix (-) An Introduction
Recall that after a consonant the spelling of this verbal suffix is (, ), while after a vowel its
(, ).
Believe it or not, there has been a large number of dissertations and scholarly articles written on the meaning of
the verbal suffix . (Ask your instructor for various references.) This gives you some idea of the difficulty of
defining what means in a sentence or two. The one (nearly) inviolable rule is that:
Verbs in cannot (repeat CANNOT) take an Accusative direct object

: ()-1

Here lets look at one use of , as we compare a pair of closely related verbs, one with , one without:
Without Verb Takes Accusative Direct Object
With No Direct Object
*+ ( + [Accusative])
+...
kiss someone (on [body part])
kiss one another
*In the story we saw the one-time action verb +, but for our purposes here, the repeated-action verb
+ carries the same meaning.
With the verb +..., the suffix means each other. The important thing to note, as we mentioned above,
is that the verb with cannot take a direct object. Of course, not all verbs without take an Accusative direct
object. For example, you cannot have a direct object after + or +.
Well return to in a later lesson. (Its worth the wait.)
6.
Double Adjectives: -
In Russian, much more so than in English, its possible to repeat an Adjective or Adverb to give the meaning
really; very; extremely:
-!
Shes really attractive.
-.
Its really quiet in the forest.
-.
His house is huge.
-.
My car is really old.
1. He kissed her on the cheek.
2. His house is really big.
3. That course is really boring.
4. Vera is really kind.
5. My room is really dirty.
6. I saw them kissing.
Unfortunately, you cannot double every Adjective and Adverb (and its really hard to predict). For example (and
please dont ask us why) you normally cannot double , even though you could double .
: ()-2
6- ()
6.
Verbal Prefixes with Motion Verbs: An Introduction
In this part of the story (as well as in the previous part), weve seen a number of verbs with the Past Tense stem
- () with various prefixes. As in English, a prefix can significantly change the meaning of a word (compare
import / export/ deport/ report; produce / reduce / deduce/ induce.) Lets look at the prefixes and their meanings
(at least in this motion verb):
Prefix / Meaning
-
set off; head to
Examples
.
He woke up and headed to the university.
.
We headed into the other room.
arrive
?
When did you get here?
.
Natasha arrived at 7:00.
()-
enter
.
Vika opened the door and walked into the house.
.
We went into the library.
1. When did he arrive?
2. She got up and headed to the store.
3. Who walked into her room?
4. Vera arrived at 1:00.
5. Where did he go (to)?
6. Everyone walked into the dorm.
: ()-3
6.
Sample Sentences

{+ / +} + ACC
ACC:
[]
()
+

ACC/GEN
[]!
[] +
[ / ]
/ []
()
- [] +
ACC
ACC:
PLUR:
1. .
2. ?
3.
.
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. ,
.
8.
.
1.
She left the ticket at home.
2.
How much does a round-trip ticket to

Florida cost?
3.
They arrived at the train station and

immediately got on (boarded) the train.
4.
Vera will be in Moscow in a month.
5.
He watched TV for two hours.
6.
I like to be outside
7.
Unfortunately, the air here is very dirty.
8.
The Mississippi is the largest river in

North America.
9. !
.
10. , .
.
11. .
12. ,
: !
13. , !
14.
.
15. .
16. !
17. , ?
18. .
19. .
20. ?
21. -, -
.
22. .
23. , !
24. o
.
25. . !
26. .
9.
You are such a scoundrel. I cant even

put it into words!
27. -
.
27. My sister has really red cheeks.
10. Come in, please. Everyone is waiting for

you in the living room.
11. We walked into the kitchen.
12. When Vera walked into the living room,
we yelled out Happy Birthday!
13. Masha, Happy Birthday!
14. All of my friends are juniors.
15. He has a lot of friends.
16. The heck with Nina!
17. How do you know what his name is?
18. I dont have a passport.
19. I once took a trip to Mongolia.
20. What kind of food do you like?
21. I think Czech beer is the tastiest.
22. They finally arrived.
23. Borya, thanks a lot.
24. Thats very kind of your brother.
25. Shes great. Everyone is great.
26. Kolya kissed Nadya on the cheek.
: ()-4
"
Exercise 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
S6-5
Story: Part 6
"
Exercise 2
___________________________________
1. He kissed Vera on the lips .
2. We arrived at 4:00.
3. + Happy Birthday! -- What are you talking about? My birthday is in April.
4. That is so nice of your older sister.
5. My friends invited me to the movies.
6. Unfortunately, the air in Trenton is rather dirty.
7. When I walked into the kitchen everyone yelled out You are a great guy!
8. Two hours later, we arrived at the store.
S6-6
How much does a round-trip ticket cost?
How much does a round-trip ticket cost?
( _________________________________)
1
2
________________________________________________________________________
?
___________________________________________________________________.
________________________________________________________
_______________________________.
____________________________________________ .
, , : ______________________________________________
, _____________________________________ , ________________________
10
. !
11
____________________________________________________________ :
12
, .
13
.______________________________________________ :
14
! !
15
_____________________________________ _________________________.
16
______________________________________. , _______________
17
___________________________, , __________________________________.
18
19
, ____________________________________________ ?
20
_______________________________________________ , .
21
. _________________________________________
22
_____________________, ______________________________________ .
: ()-1
6-
23
_________________________________________________.
24
___________________________________ : ____________________________,
25
___________________________________________________________________, ,
26
_____________________________________________________ , ,
27
_____________________________________________. !
28
_________________________________! ? .
29
________________________________________________:
30
, ! .
31
__________________________________! ! ____________________________,
32
: ()-2
Story Part 1
Lesson 27
ticket
(Not active vocabulary)
small town outside of Moscow where dachas may be found
there and back
{+ / +} + ACC
get on (train / horse) (One-Time Action)
in; later; after
hour
here: in (the countryside)
air
ACC: (stress shifts)
river
10
[]
[Person] is speechless (Lit.: [Person] has not words)
12
go in (Imperative)
13
()
entered (Use in Past Tense only. Note the prefix - means motion into.)
13
yell out (One-Time Action)
14
Happy Birthday (Lit.: with day of birth. The Preposition takes a case we
havent seen yet. Learn this as a fixed phrase.)
15
ACC/GEN
friends (Irregular plural of . has a regular plural .)
18
the heck (hell) with her (Lit.: the devil with her)
19
[] +
how did/does [Person] know
21
passport
21
once; one time (in the past)
24
food
24
imported
27
Czech
29
finally
30
[ / ]
thank you
30
[] that's so nice of [Person] (Lit.: that is kind from [Persons] side)
30
so; such
31
()
Impossible to translate this very common word. Most dictionaries list Good guy,
which sounds ridiculous. is said to someone after they do something
you really approve of. Perhaps Way to go is close.
32
+ [] + ACC
kiss [Person] on [Part of body]
32
ACC: (stress shifts)

PLUR:
cheek
: ()-3
A. [noun]
.
.
. Sample Sentences
- :
7.A
[noun]...
Its [noun] who / that...
To place special emphasis on exactly who, what, where, for whom, etc., take frozen followed by the Noun or
Preposition Phrase in whatever Case is required by context. The Nominative is probably found most often in this
construction, but all Cases are possible. You simply keep the Noun (or Prepositional Phrase) in the same form it
would normally appear and move it to the front, following .
Generally, this construction is marked, i.e., you cant just start a conversation with it. Often this is used to
contradict a previous statement. This contradiction can be expressed with / / /
, etc. see below for examples.
The closest translation in English is Its [Phrase]...; It was [Phrase]...
Note that you do not need any form of or in these sentences, as you sometimes do in English
(which, who). Also, you do not need to insert the verb to be, as in English. The Tense is determined by the main
verb.
( ).
It was Nina who did everything (and not me).
( ).
Its Masha (whom) he loves (and not Nina).
( ).
Its Vera everyone is talking about (and not you).
(
).
It was for Kolya whom he bought the present (and

not for Vika).
( ).
It was to Moscow they went (and not to London).

( ).
Its on Friday that were going to play tennis (and

not on Saturday).
1. It was Tanya Vadik kissed, and not Natasha.
2. It was Tanya who kissed Vadik, and not Masha.
3. Its you everyone is talking about.
4. It was on Tuesday they went to Moscow, and not

on Saturday.
5. Its Grisha who speaks slowly, and not me (I).
6. It was from Vera Dima was hiding everything.
7. Its on Wednesday that I will be in New York.
8. It was my older sister who said that.
9. Its my roommate who is lying.
10. Its Zina I love, and not you.
: ()-1
7.
Absence in the Past Tense
We actually introduced this point earlier, but it probably warrants special attention. To indicate absence in the
Past Tense, put the subject in the Genitive (singular or plural, depending on context) and use the verb phrase
. Sentences with have nothing in the Nominative.
Note:
1) The stress falls only on the . There is no stress on .

2) The default Neuter Singular form of the verb () is used. Thats because there is no
Nominative Subject with which the verb can agree.
+ Genitive is most commonly used:
1) to indicate who or what was not in a particular place:

.
He wasnt home.
Dima was not at the university yesterday.
No one was in the library.
They werent there.
There wasnt any bread in the store.
There was no milk in the refrigerator.
2) to indicate what [person] did not have (with the construction):

.
I didnt have any money.
We didnt have any caviar.
No one had a watch.
Recall that in the Present Tense the form is used, also with Genitive of Negation:
His older sister is not home.
Theres no mystery meat in this store.
No one has a pen.
1. They werent home yesterday.
2. Unfortunately, I didnt have a camera.
3. There were no good books in that store.
4. There are no good books in that store.
5. There were no interesting people at the party.
6. Vera isnt home.
7. No one had a rifle.
8. He didnt used to (previously) have an accent

.
9. I dont have a car.
10. There wasnt any beer in the refrigerator.

: ()-2
7- ()
7.
(Genitive Plural = Nominative Singular)
The word for time; occurence is . Quite unexepectedly, the Genitive Plural is also (instead of the
expected ). After numbers ending in 2, 3, 4 you get the expected Genitive Singular form :
.
I called you 100 times.
We went to the dacha many times.
He saw that film twice.
Ive only been to Paris once.
It turns out that there are two or three other common Masculine Nouns whose Genitive Plural is the same as the
Nominative Singular. In case youre interested, the most important is , but you are not responsible for
knowing this yet. (There are some other details about well get to later.)
1. She asked about him 5 times. (Repeated action!)
2. We rehearsed the dialogue 10 times.
3. I was in Petersburg twice.
4. He saw Austin Powers (it declines, baby!) 25

times.
5. I went to the library just one time.
6. I read that book many times.
: ()-3
7.
Sample Sentences
1.
.
, ...
2. 2. Despite the fact that Grisha lived in

London for a year, he didnt speak
, .
English well.
3. ,
.
3.
I went to Moscow 10 times, and my sister

(went there) 22 times.
4. .
4.
They are rehearsing the dialogue.
5.
.
5.
We had a strange conversation.
6. ,
.
6.
Vadik always gets nervous when he talks

to Vera.

()
7. ?
7.
Is everything OK with him?
+ GEN
8. .
8.
We dont have enough milk.
9. ,
-
9.
Hes not reading Anna Karenina, but

(rather) something else.
10.
.
10. He did me a big favor.
+ Infinitive
11. .
11. You shouldnt smoke here.
12. + -, .
- , !
12. + I think shes telling the truth. No, its

all nonsense.
13. !
13. Its Nina (whom) I love!
+ + Accuastive

14. , -
.
14. If Im not mistaken, Misha is hiding

something from his wife.
15. ?
15. Do you know how to play chess?

{+ / +}

16.
, .
16. He gave me his word 100 times that he

would not drink any longer
17. .
17. No one was home yesterday.
18. ,
.
18. OK (Fine), I wont sing at the party

tonight.
+...
19.
.
19. It gets cold here in November.
20. . .
20. Warm wishes. Bye.
1.
He always speaks very slowly.
: ()-4
"
Exercise 1
1. (to Robert a case we have not yet seen)
2. (him indirect object, which the verb + takes)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. (hang up the phone)
10.
S7-5
Story: Part 7
"
Exercise 2
___________________________________
1. +
2. +
3.
4.
5. +
"
Exercise 3
1. Despite the fact that Dima was born and grew up in Moscow, he doesnt speak Russian.
2. Is everything OK?
3. I really miss you (You are sorely lacking.)
S7-6

1
2
Honest, I swear to you
Honest, I swear to you (I give you my word)
_________________________________. ,
, .
_____________________________________, .
, _________________________________________.
, ? ? !
? __________________________________________________ - ...
? , .
, . _______________________. ,
____________________________________________________ .
10
! !
11
, __________________ ________________________.
12
! _______________________________________________________,
13
_____________________________________________________________________.
14
! ? !
15
, ... , . __________________________________
16
_____________________ . ______________________________________________
17
___________. . ! .
18
______________________________. . .
19
- , _____________________________
20
________________________________!
21
, , , . , ...
22
, ? ? __________________________________________________?
23
, . _______________________________________________. , .
24
25
. .
, , _________________________________________! . .
: ()-1
7-
slow
, ...
despite the fact that...
time; instance (The Genitive Plural of this noun is , not the expected .)
+ ({O}-verb)
rehearse; go over
conversation
be nervous; get nervous

()
everything is OK
+ GEN

SOMETHING / SOMEONE (in Genitive) is sorely lacking (and the person regrets
it)
something different
do me a favor (Literally; Do to me a favor. For now, learn this as a phrase.)
+ Infinitive
dont [Verb]! (This can be It is not necessary to [Verb], but that is not the
meaning here. Here its a command: Dont lie!)
11
(together) with her (Its best to translate this and her.)
12
nonsense; a lie
15
it is YOU; YOU are the one who (More on this in the Grammar Section.)
17
+ + Accuastive hide; conceal something from someone

+
order
have the ability; know how [to do something]. (Russian has two different words
for English can. This verb indicates skill, ability to perform an action vs.
permission or strictly physical ability, for which + is used. More on this
important distinction later.)
19

honest! I swear (its so)
{+ / +} give your word; swear something to be true
19
Past tense of (Notice that with the negated noun, the Neuter Singular verb is
use and the stress moves to the .)
23
OK; fine; agreed
24
+...
become; getting
25
(This is the Present Tense -form of kiss, but it is also used as a parting word,
something a bit more intimate and much more common than warmest
regards.)
: ()-2
A.: /
. : Titles of books, plays, movies, etc.
.:
.: Friend in Russian: ~
.: + Accusative
.:
.: Sample Sentences
:
8.A
Home(ward)
We saw previousy that there is a special Adverb of location used to express (at) home (answers question
?) There is also a special Adverb of destination, used to express motion homeward (answers
question ?). Both of these special home Adverbs are used without a Preposition. Note that in English,
normally appears simply as home, not homeward:
.
They finally got home.
+ ? - .
+ Where are you going? - Im headed home.
I will walk you home.
I went home (and came back) on Saturday.
If you want to specify that a person entered a house (from outside), use the phrase - () . (This is
the Past Tense we havent learned the other tenses yet.)
.
Vera opened the door and walked into the house.
+ ? - ,
.
+ Are they outside? - No, they already went

inside.
8.
Titles of books, movies, plays, etc.
There are two ways to indicate what book you are reading, film you saw, ballet you went to, etc.
1.
Decline the name of the book (movie, play) as if it were a regular Noun:
Im reading Anna Karenina.
Did you see Austin Powers?
We went to Swan Lake.
Everyone was talking about David Copperfield.

(The book, not Claudia Schiffers ex.)
: ()-1
2.
Insert the Noun (, , etc.) in the required case, followed by

the title in Nominative:
Im reading (the book) Emma.
Did you see (the movie) Forrest Gump?
I really like the ballet Sleeping Beauty.
Everyone is talking about Toni Morrisons new

book Paradise.
I dont know anything about (the movie)

Magnolia.
Either of these two constructions is perfectly grammatical, though, to be honest, Russians usually use the first
construction and decline the name of the book (movie, ballet, opera, play). There are, however, certain cases
where even a native speaker would use the second construction and keep the name in the Nominative. (Its not
worth going into here, but generally when the name of the work contains animate plural noun, the second strategy
is used.)
1. We went to Swan Lake on Wednesday.
2. Did you see Austin Powers? (Yeah, baby!)
3. My sister is reading Anna Karenina.
4. Im reading (the book) Anna Karenina.
5. Everyone is talking about (the movie) Sara in

Moscow.
6. What time did they get home?
7. He often goes home.
8. Kira wasnt home yesterday.
8.
An Odd Construction: Infinitive Infinitive ( )
In the story we find the phrase , which translates as if youre going to splurge, then go ahead
and splurge. This construction Infinitive Infinitive can be used with almost any verb (as long as it still
makes sense), meaning if youre going to (Verb), then go ahead and (Verb), dont hold back!
Two things to note:
1) Only a bare infinitive is used no Adverbs or Direct Objects are possible.

2) Only Imperfective Infinitives are used (even though it seems like a One-Time action)!
If youre going to drink, then drink!
If youre going to study, then study!
* !
If youre going to buy (it), then buy (it)!
*The direct object (whatever it is) has been ellipted it should be clear from the context.
: ()-2
8- ()
8.
Friend in Russian: ~ ; ~
There are several ways of translating friend into Russian, and we should warn you that using the wrong word can
lead to definite miscommunication. Friendship is taken very seriously in Russia.
~ : close friend (boyfriend ~ girlfriend)

(Recall that the Nominative Plural of is , the Accusative/Genitive Plural is ).
/ means a very close friend, not just someone you happen to know. If a Russian uses this word, it
really has significance for them. In many cases, it refers to boyfriend/girlfriend:
?
What do you know about Boriss new girlfriend?
She has a lot of strange friends.
All our friends were at the dacha.
~ : person you know; acquaintance

(Note that these are Adjectives used as Nouns, and that there is a separate masculine and feminine form.)
~ literally means known (person), and the best translation is acquaintence. Of course, in
English, we dont use the word acquaintance all that often. (At least I dont.) In English, its not uncommon to
refer to someone with whom you dont even keep in touch as a friend of mine. You cannot use ~ in
that case, you must use ~ .
I read about an old acquaintance of mine in the

newspaper today..
A former acquaintance of mine is living in Prague

now.
From now on, we will (slightly artificially, in our view) distinguish between acquaintance and friend.
Question:
Is there a middle ground? What about someone you hang out with
occasionally, but do not consider a really close friend?
Answer:
Good question. Yes, there is yet another word for friend, ~

, which is a not-too-close friend. For now, the two listed above
should suffice.
1. If youre going to work, then work!
2. I saw your acquaitence Vera.
3. I dont know his friends very well.
4. If you going to sing, then sing!
5. If youre going to play, then play!
6. What do you know about Ninas ex-boyfriend?
7. I was thinking about an old (male) acquaintance.
8. If youre going to kiss (her), then kiss (her).
: ()-3
8.
Thanks for
(not !)
To say thanks (very much) for [Noun] use () + Accusative.

.
Thank you for the present.
Thanks a lot for the book.
Thanks (to you) for everything.
We have made this a separate grammar point to alert you to the danger when translating English for. Previously
we had + Genitive, and even Bare Accusative (in time phrases) with the meaning for:
?
Who did she buy this scarf for?
Is this all for me?
He studied for six hours.
Leslie studied in Petersburg for a whole semester.
Acutally, there are probably a dozen other meanings of for. Well see another three or four later in the course.
8.
good night
First, we strongly recommend that you learn good-night as a fixed phrase. Still, you may be
wondering about the form of this noun phrase what case it is in and why. Actually, its Genitive (singular).
because there is a Verb that has been ellipted (it happens to be + wish someone but you dont have to
know that, yet), which marks the thing wished in Genitive.
The Adjective literally means peaceful; calm. In any case, learn as a phrase!
1. Thanks for the dictionary.
2. I bought this for you.
3. I lived in Moscow for six months.
4. Thanks for the vodka. Good night.
: ()-4
8- ()
8.
Sample Sentences
1.
.
1.
Veras son goes to the theater every

Friday.
()
2.
2.
My favorite ballet is The Nutcracker.
(M)
3.
.
3.
We saw a large beautiful swan.
Plural:
4. .
4.
There is a small lake in Princeton.
5.
?
5.
How will you get tickets to Swan Lake?
+ Accusative
6.
.
6.
Nina got tickets through a relative.
7.
.
7.
An old friend of mine plays in a rock

band.
8.
.
8.
He always gets good tickets through

connections.
9.
.
9.
My ex-wife is a famous ballerina.
10.
.
10. We had dinner in a new Chines

restaurant.
11.
.
11. We bought a bottle of excellent Georgian

wine.
12.
.
12. There are no good inexpensive

restaurants in Princeton.
Gen Pl
13. -
.
13. Some strange man is sleeping on the

bench.
+ Genitive
14.
.
14. I live near the new Italian restaurant.
15. ?
15. What are you holding in your hand?
16.
.
16. There was a very beautiful bouquet of

white roses on the table.
17. .
17. I like yellow roses.
18. !
18. She really helped me.
+ +
Infinitive
19.
.
19. Kolya convinced me to study Russian.
+ Accusative
20. !
20. Thanks for everything!
21.
.
21. The portions in this restaurant are very

large.
22. .
22. She dances really well.
23. .
23. His sister is a famous actress.
24. .
24. Hes a lousy dancer.
+ Genitive
25. .
25. After the exam, he went to a bar.
: ()-5
+ ()
26. ,
.
26. If you want, I can walk you home.
27. + ? - .
27. + Where are you going? - Im going

home.
28. .
28. He turned the car to the right.
29. .
29. She said that very gently.
Accusative
Singular
Nom/Acc Plural

30. .
30. She has extremely red lips.
31. , .
31. Good night. See you tomorrow.
32. . !
32. See you tomorrow. Later.
: ()-6
"
Exercise 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. to Sara
6.
7. explain
8.
9.
10.
S8-7
Story: Part 8
"
Exercise 2
___________________________________
1.
2. +
3.
4. {+ / +} // +
"
Exercise 3
1. What are you holding in your hand?
2. Everything was wonderful!
3. My lip hurts. (Think about how to express my.)
S8-8
He got tickets through connections
He got tickets through connections
_________________________________________________________
. ________________________________________
, - , . (_______________________________________
_________________________ - ____________________________.)
__________________________________________________
________________________________________ . , !
_________________________________________ ,
___________________________________. ______________________________
_____________________________________ .
10
11
12
13
14
15
_____________________________________, ________________________
______________________________________________________________________.
, __________________________________________________________.
____________________________________________________________________________.
. , _______________________________
________________________________________. .
16
___________________________________________________________.
17
__________________________________. ?
18
. ______________________________
19
. _________________________________________
20
________________. : ______________________________________
21
22
23
________________________________________________,
.
24
, _______________________________________________________.
25
______________. ___________________________________________!
26
27
28
____________________________________________, __________________
__________________ .
, . .
: ()-1
8-
()

(M)
Plural:
+
+ Accusative
~
1
1
2
2
3
4
5
6
6
6
7
7
8
9
9
14
14
15
17
18
18
18
22
23
23
27
27
27
28
28
(No in Russian!)
, !
Gen Pl
+ Genitive
+
+ + Infinitive
+ Accusative
+ Genitive
+ ()
Accusative Singular
Nom/Acc Plural

theater
ballet
Swan Lake
swan
lake
get; obtain (One-Time Action)
through; via
friend (See grammar explanation for difference between / and
/.)
through connections (Learn this as a fixed phrase for now. is Dative Case,
which we have not yet seen.)
connections; influence
ballerina
have dinner (One-Time Action)
Georgian (Note: The review of the restaurant in this story in no way reflects on
the overal quality of Gerogian food. In fact, Georgian food is some of the most
delicious you can find in Russia.)
guess
if youre going to splurge, then splurge (See grammar explanations for details.).
bench
near
hold (Repeated Action)
bouquet
rose
help (One-Time Action)
convince someone to do something (One-Time Action)
thanks for
portion
marvelous; wonderful
famous
male ballet dancer (Note: Again, the story is slightly inaccurate. In fact,
and lived and danced in Leningrad, not in Moscow. Of
course, they did tour the country, so it is entirely possible that Sara and Mitya did
see them dance.)
after
see someone (to a destination) (One-Time Action)
homeward (See grammar explanation for details on the difference between
and .)
turn (a thing) (One-Time Action)
gentle; tender
lip
good night (See grammar explanation for details on the form of this expression.)
see you tomorrow
: ()-2
A. The Prepositions /
.
.
. Sample Sentences
- :
9.A
vs.
The English Prepositions to (destination) and at (location) can each be translated by (at least) two different
Prepositions in Russian, either or .
First recall that both and govern either Accusative (direction/destination) or Locative/Prepositional
(location):
/ + Accusative (= Direction)
/ + Prepositional (= Location)
He headed off to the library
He works at the library
We went to a great concert.
We were at a great concert.
Now the question arises: How do you know whether to use or ? After all, there doesnt seem to be any
difference in English.
First, we can tell you that the choice between and can be very tricky, but for now well stick to one basic
opposition:
Use for Physical Locations // Use for Events

Here are some Nouns weve had so far, categorized by versus :
(Place)
(Event)
(Nearly) all place names take : ; ; ; .

Well be updating the / list as the year goes on.
: ()-1
9- ()
Question:
I seem to recall that it was . What the heck kind of event is ?

That sure seems like a location to me.
Answer:
First, you have an excellent memory. It is . We told you versus

was complex.
Add water (and provide the correct Prepostion). Dont forget about Location vs. Motion.
1. / / / + / (present)
2. / / / {+ / +} /
3. / +() /
4. / / + / (present)
5. / / +/ (present)
6. (masc) / + / / (past)
7. / /
9.
/ (present)
8. / /
+ Past Tense Verb
To indicate that you have never (not a single time) done something, been somewhere, etc., use the Adverbial
Phrase + Past Tense Verb:
Since there is a complete lack of accomplishment, only an Imperfective Verb can be used with .
With the Verb be, the stress shifts to the in all forms except the Feminine, where is stays on the - in :
Also, note that in English we say been to (London, a concert), which might lead you to try to use the Accusative
after (or ). But after the Verb // you must use Prepositional. (And when translating from Russian, you
do not want to be to literal: is I have never been to Moscow; in Moscow sounds
awkward, at least to me.
I have never eaten in a Georgian restaurant.
She has never been to London.
He has never been to Vladivostok.
They have never eaten caviar.
Question:
What Case is ? Since theres negation involved, shouldnt it be Genitive,

i.e., ?
Answer:
Wow, you are really sharp. It turns out, however, that is Genitive. There
are a small number of Masculine Nouns that sometimes have a Genitive form
in {U}. We wont see many this year, but when you come across a Noun in
{U} and nothing except Genitive makes sense, youll be able to look back
fondly on this note.
: ()-2
9- ()
Indicate what the person has never to, where s/he has never been:
1. (male) / been to Paris
2. (female) / been to Moscow.
3. (female) / dined in a Russian restaurant.
4. / drank vodka.
5. / baked a cake
6. (male) / saw snow
7. (female) / read that newspaper
8. (male) / been to Toronto
9.
Plans for (time):
+ Accusative
In the story Mitya asks Sara: ? What are you plans for vacation? To indicate
what someones plans are for a certain time period (morning, Saturday, a week, March), use +
Accusative (where Accusative is possible):
?
What are your plans for Wednesday?
I dont have any special plans for the summer.
*?
What are Vikas plans for tomorrow?
We already have plans for this week.
* (which is most likely an Adverb) does not decline. We also saw: See you tomorrow.
We actually see a very similar + Accusative of Time in the sentence:
.
I would like to go to Petersburg for a week.
Well discuss this exact use of a little later on. (Its basically the same as , but it requires a little
more explanation.)
1. What are your plans for Friday?
2. I dont have any special plans for tomorrow.
3. What are his plans for the summer?
4. They dont have any special plans for December.
5. Unfortunately, I already have plans for vacation.
6. What are your plans for next week?
: ()-3
9- ()
9.
Sample Sentences
1. -
.
1.
There are a lot of great museums in New

York.
2. .
2.
My friend often goes to the theater.
3.
.
3.
We were at a great concert yesterday.
4. -
?
4.
You dont have any special plans for

tomorrow?
+ Perfective only
5. .
5.
I went to Trenton on Saturday.
6.
.
6.
My friend spent two semesters studying in

Petetown
7. .
7.
Were going to Moscow for two months.
8. .
8.
We were there a week.
9. !
9.
After all, hes your son!
()
10.
.
10. She has never been to California.
11. .
11. She always has good ideas.
12. , !
12. Dima, you are so smart!
13.
.
13. The Hermitage is one of the best museums

in the world.
14.
.
14. We walked on/along Broadway for about

an hour.
15. ()
.
15. There are a lot of interesting buildings on

Nevsky (Prospect).
16. .
16. Ive read a lot of Gogol.
+ Infinitive
17.
?
17. Is it worth dining in this restaurant?
18. ?
18. What have you read of Dostoevsky?
19. -
.
19. Gogol is the author or the book Dead

Souls.
20.
.
20. I really want to read Crime and

Punishment in Russian.
21.
.
21. My friend immediately fell in love with

Petersburg.
22.
.
22. He knows everything about American

culture.
{+ / +} // -
23. ?
23. Where are you going this summer?
24.
?
24. When is exam period this semester?
+
Accusative
25. ,
.
25. Unfortunately, that doesnt suit him/thats

not OK with him.
: ()-4
9- ()
!
26. .
!
26. Were going to Russia. I cant wait!
+ Genitive
27. .
27. They were absolutely crazy about the

concert.
, ,
,
28. ,
, ,
.
28. I want to go to Pushkin, and to Pavlosk,

and to Petergof, and to Gatchina.
29.
.
29. My professor goes to a bar practically

ever night.
: ()-5
Story: Part 9
"
Exercise 1
___________________________________
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. 3 Give 3 reasons
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
S9-6
"
Exercise 2
1.
2.
3.
4.
"
Exercise 3
1. I would like to go to California for a week.
2. Does that suit your father? (Is that OK with your father?)
S9-7
I cant wait!
I cant wait!
_______________________________________________________________________.
, , _____________________________________________, ,
. ______________________________________________________________
. ___________________________________________________________ .
, ___________________________________________________________.
, ________________________________________________________________?,
.
__________________________________. ?
. __________________________
____________________________________. ?
______________________________________________________?
. _______________________________________________ ! !
. ,
- _______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________!
, ________________________________________.
- . _______________________________
, ?
. _________________________________________________________,
__________________________________________________ .
, ________________________,
. ____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________ . ?
__________________________________ . ?
. - ! , __________________________
________________________________ . .
___________________________________________________________________________.
___________________________________________________________________.
, , __________________________________________
___________________________, , . _____________________________
, , , . ! ____________
____________________________________________________________________________.
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
: ()-1
9-
1
2
3
9
10
10
10
10
11
11
13
13
14
14
14
15
18
18
21
22
22
23
24
24
25
25
26
27
32
32
+ Perfective only
guess
for (a period of time)
()
never, not one single time (Well discuss this form in the next grammar.)
guess
guess
special; in particular
make a round trip (by vehicle); go
colloquial term for , along the lines of Philly for Philadelphia,
Frisco for San Francisco, LA for Los Angeles, etc. Even though the official
name of the city was , many natives referred to their city as .
week
after all (This is an emphatic particle, which is sometimes difficult to translate
exactly.)
guess
smart person (This is similar to , another very positive thing to say about
someone. indicates that the person had a great idea.)
The Hermitage Museum
+ Infinitive
its worth (doing [Verb])
Dead Souls written by . Satire on the corrupt system of serfdom.
walk around (for a while)

along Nevsky Prospect (Learn this as a phrase for now. Well explain the Case
endings shortly.) Nevsky Prospect is the main street in Petersburg.
Nikolai Gogol (1809-52) Great Russian satiric writer. Author of a series of short
stories about Saint Petersburg: , The Nose,
The Overcoat.
Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-81) Great Russian novelist
Best way to say Russian Literature course. More on this preposition and the
form of the Noun Phrase later.
Crime and Punishment written by .
come to love (This is slightly different from +.. , which means fall in
love with. This verb actually reflects more complete feeling of love than
+...)
{+ / +} // -
guess
+ Accusative
!
+ Genitive
, , ,
exam period
go (by vehicle). (We realize that we have given you several verbs that all translate
as go. Well sort this out a little later.)
suit someone; be agreeable to someone
I cant wait (Learn as a phrase for now.)
(be) in ecstasy over; be crazy about
Suburbs of Saint Petersburg in which many magnificent czarist palaces are
located. Worth the trip! (You dont have to memorize these name.)
nearly; practically; almost
: ()-2
A.
.
.
. Sample Sentences
- :
10.A
+ (Perfective) Infinitive
To express that [Person] managed (or did not manage) to accomplish something (after encountering some
difficulty), use a Dative subject together with the fixed Verb + Infinitive. Normally a Perfective
Infinitive is used.
(The default third-person neuter form is used because there is no Nominative subject with which to
agree.)
.
I managed to convince Vera to quit smoking.
He managed to write 50 pages yesterday.
Were you able to get tickets to Swan Lake?
My parents didnt manage to see Paris
(In case youre interested, it is possible to find in the Future (will manage), as well as the Imperfective,
but well stick to the Perfective Past for now.
Say who managed or didnt manage to do what:
1. I / open the window
2. We / convince him
3. She / buy a car
4. He / get tickets to Swan Lake
5. They / save (+) the horse
6. Vera / see Moscow
7. Vadik / take a nap (sleep a bit)
8. No one / close ({+ / +}) the door
: ()-1
10.
Not a good thing!
The word means foreign accent and is considered something negative (though perhaps charming). You
cannot say: this is an oxymoron. Some more examples:
- .
He has some kind of strange accent.
That woman has a Russian accent.
She has a very slight German accent.
To say [Person] speaks with a French/German/Dutch accent, you need to use a Case we havent seen yet. Well
be getting to it very soon.
Also, in case youre wondering the way to say [Person] has good/bad pronunciation use the Noun
:
10.
He has good pronunciation.
You have awful pronunciation.
Perfective use of More common than you might think
Given what we said about Aspect, you might not expect to find the Verb forget {+ / +} used in the
Perfective Future, especially if its negated. But, in fact, the Perfective Future is by far the most commonly found
form:
Ill never forget you.
Sara will never forget the New Year she rang in

with Mitya.
, .
I think he will forget us.
1. He has a Russian accent.
2. I will never forget him.
3. She will never forget that New Years.
4. You have a good accent.
5. Masha will never forget Sasha.
6. She has a slight Chinese accent.
7. I will never forget my trip ( +

Accusative) to Russia.
8. He speaks Russian without an accent.
9. She has a horrible accent.
10. I think she will forget me.
: ()-2
10- ()
10.
Sample Sentences
(Indeclinable!)
1. .
1.
It was hot in the train compartment.
2. !
2.
Its so stuff here.
/ ()
3. ?
3.
Could you open the window?
4. .
4.
We talked all day.
5. .
5.
Shes leaving in August.
{+... /
+...} //
+...
6. .
6.
Hes going to stay in Princeton for the

summer.
7. !
7.
Thats already significant progress.
8. .
8.
We lived in Moscow for half a year.
9. .
9.
He has a German accent.
10. !
10. Hes a complete fool!
+...
11. .
!
11. Dont worry. Everything will be OK.
(Soft!!)
12. .
12. Its spring-like weather today.
{+ / + }
Perfective
13. .
13. They will arrive on Saturday.
()
14. .
14. He arrived at the end of March.
15.
.
15. We (together with them) played chess all

day.
+... // -
16.
.
16. I met Vera at a party.
, -, -
17. .
17. Im very happy to hear that.
18. ,
.
18. Shes sure that he will like the movie.
+ // +

19.
?
19. Where are you going to ring in the New

Year?
{+ / +}
20.
.
20. On Friday night Natasha and I were

guests at Vasyas place.
()
21. .
21. She said at home alone and cried.
22. , , .
22. Lets put it this way hes a complete

bore.
+ // {+ /
23.
23. He always forgets (his) keys on the table.
: ()-3

+}
(Adjective
as Noun)
24.
.
24. They drank 6 bottles of French

champagne.
25.
!
25. At 12:00 everyone yelled out Happy New

Year
+ //
26.
.
26. He told us about (his) parents fabulous

dacha.
(F)
27. .
27. I dont want to hear all the details.
: ()-4

Exercise 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
S10-5
Story: Part 10
Exercise 2
___________________________________
1.
2.
3. +...
Exercise 3
1. How did you manage to get tickets to the ballet?
2. Were sure that you will like the concert.
3. I will never forget the fantastic Russian course which I took when I was a freshman.
S10-6
, !
, !
Sara, dont leave!
Sara, dont leave!
______________________________________________ _____
____________________________________. .
, . ________________________________________
_____________________________________ _______________________
. ____________________________________________________,
____________________________________ ____, ,
, ____________________________________________
, ! _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________.
10
, ___________________________________
11
, , .
12
, . _________________________________________________.
13
______________________________________________ . ,
14
_____________________________________, ____________________________.
15
_________________________________________ __________________
16
17
________________________________________________________! .
18
! _____________________________________________________
19
. , ________________________________________________.
20
________________________________________________ !
21
__________________________________________.
22
23
. __________________________________________________
24
_______________________________________________ !
25
: ()-1
10-
2
2
3
3
5
8
9
10
11
11
11
12
13
15
15
16
16
18
19
19
21
22
22
22
22
24
24
25
25
(Indeclinable!)
/ ()
+ Perfective
Infinitive
+
+
!
{+... / +...} //
+...
compartment in a train
stuffy (from lack of air)
window
we didnt manage to [Verb] (More on this in the Grammar.)
talk; converse
leave
dont leave! (Imperative)
stay; remain; not leave
+...

(Soft!!)
{+ / + } Perfective
()

+... // , -, -
...{I}, ...{A}
+ // +
{+ / +}
()

+ // {+ / +}
(Adjective as Noun)
!
+ // +
(F)
guess (Note that in Russian they dont use a Verb in this phrase.)
half a year
foreign accent (You cannot say: . This is an
oxymoron. In case youre interested, you would say
You have good pronunciation.)
completely; totally
worry
dont worry (Best to learn as a phrase for now. This is the Imperative, which
well get to soon.)
spring (adjective)
arrive (We wont see the Imperfective for a while.)
end
with them
become acquainted; meet
happy; glad (Only appears in the Short-Form)
(Endings for the Plural of a strange, exotic Case called the Instrumental. Best
to learn as a phrase .)
sure, certain
ring in the New Year; greet the New Year
be out at friends
alone
lets put it this way...
forget
champagne
Happy New Year! (This is the same construction as !)
tell; relate; narrate
detail
: ()-2
A. The Particle -
. Arrive / Leave (By Vehicle)
. X Interests Y
. Sample Sentences
- :
11.A
The Particle - Some- (Someone, Something, Somewhere, etc.)
The particle - can be added to question words to give the meaning some- (someone, something, somewhere,
etc.) in the sense of a specific, but un-named person, place, thing, etc.
Like the particle - any, - never changes, regardless of what form the preceding question word is in.
-, -, -, etc.
someone
-, -, -, etc.
something
-, -, etc.
some (kind of)
-, -, -, etc.
someones
somewhere
(to) somewhere
from somewhere
for some reason
at one time; at some point (**Not

sometimes see below)
Generally, - words are found in STATEMENTS about the Past or Present (but NOT in questions, or in
statements about the Future. More on that later):
-, . I heard from someone that you dont love me anymore.
- .
Masha is making something really tasty.
- , .
Some young woman called when you were asleep.
- .
I found someones dog.
- .
She lives somewhere not far from Pittsburgh.
? - .
Wheres Dasha? She went somewhere.
- .
They arrived from somewhere (or other).
- .
For some reason he doesnt like to study in the library.
- .
He somehow managed to finish his dissertation.
: ()-1

Also note the meaning of - , which does not mean sometimes (which is ), but, at some point (in
time). It can also be translated once, at one time (in the past):
1.
3.
5.
7.
- -.
At one point (in the past) I spoke German well.
- .
My son once studied at Princeton.
Make the underlined phrases specific but unnamed, using the particle -.
.
.
.
.
11..1
2.
4.
6.
8.

1901.
, .
.
- Versus -
As we stated above, the particle - is found in positive statements about the Past and Present.
The particle - is normally found in four environments: 1) Questions; 2) Conditional Sentences (remember
?); 3) Statements about the Future; 4) Commands (which we just learned!)
-
Past and Present Statements
-
Questions
- .
- ?
She told someone about it.
Did you buy anything?
- .
Hes writing something.
Conditional Sentences
,
.
*If I saw anyone (someone), I would have
told you.
Future
-
*Ill bring you something.
Commands
- .
*Buy me something in Paris.
*Note that in sentences with the Conditional, Future and Imperative the - word may be translated in
English with some-, instead of any-. This brings up some rather complex issues about both English and Russian,
which well avoid for now. To be honest, the question of - vs. - is (much) more complicated than this.
But if you learn to use these two particles based on the above rules, youll be fine almost always.
: ()-2
11- ()
11.
Arrive / Leave (By Vehicle)
Over the next few weeks well be seeing various Verbs of Motion. Lets look at two of the most common:
+ // {+ / +}
arrive (by vehicle)
+ // {+ / +}
leave (by vehicle)
As you can see, the prefix - means arrival (motion toward). We saw this with the Verb + //
+ bring, which literally means carry to.
On the other hand the prefix - indicates leaving (motion away). What would + // + mean?
* ?
When is he arriving?
* .
I'm leaving at the end of March.
They will arrive on Saturday.
Nina left last night.
*As in English, a Present Tense Verb can be used to describe a Future action.
11..1
Both Verbs Can Take the Prepositions + Genitive / + Accusative
You can express the place the person has arrived (will arrive) from or left, using the Preposition + Genitive.
Notice that in English we say simply She left Russia, with no Preposition. You must include in Russian:
.
They arrived from Kiev on Tuesday.
Polya will arrive from Boston tomorrow.
Vera's family left Russia when she was five years

old.
Im going to leave Princeton in August.
Likewise, you can express the place the person arrived (will arrive, etc.) in or left for using + Accusative.
.
We arrived in America in May.
When will your grandfather arrive in California?
They left for America in August
Were going to leave for Italy after winter break.
Try not to let the various English Prepositions for, in (or ) trip you up; in Russian (so far) its / .
: ()-3
11.
(Subject) Interests (Person)
There are two ways in Russian to say I am interested in music / politics / computers, etc. (Well only look at one
of the two because the second one requires the Instrumental Case, which we havent seen yet.)
The subject (music / politics / computers) is in the Nominative Case and controls agreement on the Verb
+. The person is actually the direct object in the Accusative. (Literally these constructions mean
Music / Politics / Computers interest me, but well use the more natural sounding I am interested in...)
This is yet another construction where I (which is lower-case in Russian!!). We recently saw several of these
when looking at the Dative Case: I like...; I need...; I feel like...; I am 20 years old. So, when you see (or think of)
I, dont automatically blurt out . Look at the entire clause!
(subject) (person)
.
Everyone is interested in computers now.
-.
Lena used to be interested in rap music.
He's not interested in anything.
11.
Sample Sentences
1. .
Its going to be like winter tomorrow.
+ // +
2. ?
Whos going to meet you in Petersburg?
(-)
3. -,
.
I thinks its boring to work at the airport.
4. ,
,
.
We stayed in an inexpensive but nice hotel

when we were in Moscow.
()
5.
.
I live near your grandmother.
6. -
.
Lenins mausoleum is on Red Square.
+ // +
(, )
7.
.
We spent three weeks in (the) Ukraine.
8.
.
He knows a lot about Chinese history.
9. ?
Whats your grandmothers name?
10.
.
A lot of people emigrated to America.
11.
.
I read an interesting book about the Russian

revolution.
: ()-4
11- ()
12. .
She has a large family.
+ // {+ / +}
13. .
They left for France.
14. .
She didnt say a single word.
15.
.
My great-grandfather on my fathers side was

born in India.
16.
.
Kiev is the largest city in Ukraine.
17. ,
?
What do you think, is there life on Mars?
18.
.
Our son has started to be interested in girls.
19. - .
I did it somehow (or other).
20. -,
.
I think that you idealize Princeton.
21.
.
Ive read a lot about the economic problems in

Russia.
22.
.
Vera read an article about the political system

in Canada.
23. , .
Marx said that capitalism is a bad economic

system.
24.
.
Baryshnikov left the Soviet Union.
25.
.
The political system in America is corrupt(ed).
26. .
Theres corruption everywhere.
27. .
My brother has already been everywhere.
Noun Noun
28. .
Politicians are all the same.
29. .
Im serious. (I really mean it.)
30. .
I dont have any problems.
31.
Theres practically no crime in Singapore.
32.
.
Theres high unemployment in France.
( /
)
: ()-5
Story: Part 11
"
Exercise 1
___________________________________
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
S11-6
"
Exercise 2
1. ...
2. ()
3. +
"
Exercise 3
1. Some people arrived in Russia at the end of September.
2. My grandfather on my mothers side was born and grew up somewhere in England ().
3. American history for some reason does not interest me.
S11-7
People are people
People are people
_____________________________________ ___________________________
, _______________________________________________.
. ______________________________________________________,
, _____________________________
_______________________. __________________________
, , _____________________________________________.
______________________________________________.
- . ____________________________________________
________________, , ________________________________________
10
_______________________. ___________________________________
11
______________________. - .
12
, _____________________________________________________________
13
-, ______________________________________________________________.
14
______________________________________________________________
15
. ___________________________________________________________,
16
. ______________________________________________,
17
-, _______________________________________________________,
18
______________________________. _________________________________,
19
- __________________________________________________.
20
_____________________________________,
21
. , .
22
. , _______________________________
23
, ___________________________________________________,
24
_______________________________________________________. ,
25
, , ______________
26
______________________________________________________________.
: ()-1
11-
(Soft!)
winter (Adjective)
(Accusative is )
winter (Noun)
+ // +
meet (at a place)
(Prepositional in -)
airport
hotel
() + Genitive
(not) far from
Red Square (What is gender of ?)
+ // + (, )
spend time (somewhere, at someones place)
history
grandmother
emigrate
revolution
family (Dont forget that means last name.)
+ // {+ / +}
leave
10
not a single word (Note the Genitive of Negation.)
11
grandfather
great-grandfather / great-grandmother
11
( / )
on my/his/etc. fathers / mothers side
11
Ukraine
in the Ukraine
(There is a raging debate about which preposition to use with this
newly formed country, either , which is normally used for
countries, or ,which is often used for territories. In Russian was
used, but many Ukrainians and Russians from the Ukraine insist that
now be used. In the US, many newspapers and TV station have
dropped the the and now refer to the country as Ukraine.)
14
(Fem)
life (Even though the word ends in -, the gender is somewhat

predictable, given that this is an abstract noun, which tend to be
Feminine.)
16
Person-ACC + Thing-NOM
Subject (Nominative) interests Person (Accuastive)
19
19
idealize
20
economic
20
political
20
system
21
Soviet Union
: ()-2
Story Part 11
21
, -, -, -
corrupt(ed)
21
corruption
21
everywhere (The - is the same as in , just as and

share -)
22
Noun Noun
Noun are Noun
22
serious
23
problem
25
(Fem)
crime (Crime in the abstract sense as a social problem. A single

crime is .)
25
Figure this one out
: ()-3
A. The Irregular Verb

. Food
. Approximation
. Sample Sentences
- :
12.A
A Truly Irregular Verb:
e // - eat
The verb eat is one of just two really irregular verbs in Russian (the other is , which we saw a few weeks
ago). The Past is more or less normal, but the Present (especially the singular) looks nothing like any verb weve
seen so far. (Not only that, but the Perfective prefix contains the rarely encountered hard sign , which serves the
purpose of representing a /y/ sound after the and before the e: {E}):
// -
eat
PRESENT
PAST
INFINITIVE
()
()
()
, ,
()
()
()
()
, ,
()
IMPERATIVE
, ,
()
()
() ()
()
(Tip: In the Plural forms of the Present, the 2nd-conjugation endings are added to -.)
12.
Food
As mentioned in the , many foods that appear in the plural in English are singular in Russian.
.
My son eats potatoes every day.
Our children dont eat carrots.
, .
Sorry, I dont eat beets.
One exception is tomato, which does appear in plural:

.
We really like tomatoes.
: ()-1
Quick Chameleon:
1. (, , ?, , , , )
2. (, , , )
1. I eat beet salad every morning.
2. Who ate up the garlic?
3. I want to try the beef-stroganoff.
4. What vegetables does your daughter eat?
5. Nina ate up the soup.
6. We eat only shchi.
7. How can you eat potatoes without sauce?
8. I dont eat tomatoes.
9. For the main course, I will order chicken.
10. For dessert we ate ice cream and cake.
12.
Approximation:
(We actually saw this point exhibited when discussing how to give approximate age. Heres the full explanation.)
Russian has a pretty cool way of making approximations with numbers. Take the noun and move it in front of the
number. Keep the noun in whatever case it was in originally (either Genitive Singular if the number ends in 2,
3, 4; or Genitive Plural for numbers ending 5; or even Nominative Singular if the number is 1). So, before
you can utter the noun, you have to know the number youre about to say.
.
I bought 10 books.
.
His computer costs $900.
.
I bought about 10 books.
.
His computer costs around $900.
If the main noun has an attached Genitive (bottle of wine), leave the Genitive noun behind:

I bought 10 bottles of wine
I bought about 10 bottles of wine.
If theres a prepositional phrase, move the noun in front of the preposition. One very common instance of this is
with time:
.
Roma arrived at 2:00.
Liza got up at 5:00.
Roma arrived at around 2:00.
Liza got up at around 5:00.
: ()-2
12- ()
*You cant do this with 1:00, which isnt expressed using a number. Instead use .
In general: Be careful with Prepositions + Numbers. We still dont know how to say things like I am writing
about two countries, which would require the word two in the Prepositional. We wont get to the complete
declension of cardinal numbers until next year.
Make the number phrases approximations:

1. .
2. .
3. . (The
prepositional phrase here is irrelevant)
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. .
10. .
12.
Sample Sentences

+ Dative
+ // +
()
+ // +
+ // -
+ // {+ / +}
+ Genitive
1. ,
.
2. ,
.
3.
.
4. -,
.
5. ,
.
6.
.
7.

.
8.
?
9. .
10. .
11. ?
12.
.
13. .
14.
.
15. !
To be honest, the dinner was nothing

special.
Vitya felt awkward that he forgot about his
wifes birthday.
The prices in this store are very high.
I think $100 for a textbook is too expensive.
I dont know what dish to order.
A quarter of the students sleep during the
lesson.
What is his monthly salary
Our Russian professor has a small salary.
How much does you father earn a year?
My mother is a nurse.
He always orders chicken.
Did you try the soup already?
The dog wants to try by beef stroganoff.
I like French food.
The professor always begins the class with
an exam.
Well begin the dinner with ice cream!
: ()-3
(Gen is )
+ Nominative

+ ACC

+... // +...
16.
.
17.
.
18. - .
19. .
20. ?
21. , .
22. ?
23. .
24. .
25. ?
26.
?
27.
.
28. .
29.
.
30. .
31.
?
32. .
33. .
34. , ,
35.
.
36. ?
37. ,
.
38.
.
39. .
40. , .
.
41. ?
42.

.
I cant live without your borscht.

This tomato is too green.
Beets are my favorite vegetable.
Nina eats shchi every day.
What is vinaigrette?
He doesnt know what shchi is.
What kind of soup do you like?
Russians eat a lot of cabbage.
My son doesnt eat vegetables.
Whats your favorite vegetable?
Why do you eat just meat and potatoes?
Bugs Bunny really likes carrots.
I like pizza with onions.
She ordered pizza without garlic.
I ate up the beet salad.
How can you eat pizza without sauce?
One should eat salad every day.
We ordered chicken for the main course.
Everyone except me ate beef stroganoff.
My parents eat chicken every day.
What did you order for dessert?
In Princeton there is very delicious, but
rather expensive ice cream.
My mother is allergic to dairy products.
Im allergic to dogs.
Homer often says Hmmm, finger-lickin
good.
When will you be back?
She returns home every evening around
7:00.
: ()-4
"
Exercise 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
S12-5
Story: Part 12
"
___________________________________
2 Discuss the eating habits (likes/dislikes) of the following people/animals.
1.
2. ( )
3.
4. /
"
3 Answer as truthfully as you wish using approximations.
1. What time do you usually wake up?
2. How many pages a week do you read?
3. How many hours a day do you study?
4. How many books do you have?
5. How many squirrels (Nominative Singular is / ()) are there in Princeton?
S12-6
Finger lickin good!
Finger lickin good!
, ___________________________________________________
. _____________________________________________________,
. , _______________________________________
. ___________________, , -
5
6
__________________________________ ,
_____________________________________ .
__________________________________________.
. ______________________________
9
10
__________________________________________ .
? . ____________________________________
11
- _______________________________________________ .
12
13
14
15
16
, , , .
, , ,
___________________________________________________________, .
. __________________________________________ :
, , , _________________________________ , .
18
______________________________ , .
. - ? .
19
, _____________________________________ ,
17
20
, .
22
. ___________________________________________ , .
, .
23
_____________________________, .
24
, ,
21
25
26
.
_______________________________ ? .
27
______________________________, .
28
_____________________________ , , .
29
30
______________________________________________________! !
________________________________ .
31
, ; ______________________________________________.
32
______________________________________________, - .
: ()-1
12-
(Yes. we do realize that there is a lot of vocabulary for this part of the story. Not to worry. There are quite a few cognates,
and a large number of concrete nouns food items which are easily remembered.)
4
4
5
5
6
6
6
7
8
10
11
11
12
12
12
13
+ Dative

+ Accuastive
(F) + Genitive

+ // +
()
+ // +
+ //
+ // {+ / +} + Genitive
(Plural only; Genitive: )

+ Nominative
13
()
13
16
16
16
13
15
15
16
17
18
19
22
22
22
23
[Person] feels awkward

price
around $25 (Well see in the Grammar section that this
inversion of number and noun gives the meaning
approximately.)
for (Compare with + GEN, which means for the sake of)
dish (of a meal)
quarter
monthly salary (Russians, like most Europeans, talk about how
much they earn per month, as opposed to per year.)
earn
nurse (female/male)
order (in a restaurant)
try (food, drink, etc.)
(besides kitchen) cuisine; food; cooking
begin with (Notice c takes Genitive; that is not always true.)
borsht a soup made from beets (and or tomatoes)
schi (See explanation in text)
what is X? (This phrase never changes, regardless of the
number or gender of the thing in question.)
Guess
tomato soup (Well soon seen that literally the phrase
, etc. means soup with tomatoes, etc., but thats
what we say in English.)
beet (rather popular in Russia)
tomato
cabbage
vegetable (Very often plural)
potato(es) (The singular is used where English has plural:
.)
carrot (As above, the singular is use:
.)
onion
garlic
beet salad
sauce
Guess
main course (Adjective used as a noun)
for the main course
beef Stroganoff
chicken
dessert; sweets (Adjective used as a noun)
: ()-2
Story Part 11
23
24
25
25
27
29
30

+ Accusative

+... // +...
ice-cream (Adjective used as a noun)

gladly; lit.: with pleasure;
eat (3sg Present) (More on this irregular verb in the Grammar
section.)
dairy products
be allergic to (X)
finger lickin good (lit.: fingers you will lick all over.)
return; go back
: ()-3
A.
.
.
The Vocative Case

Each Other
Sample Sentences
- :
13.A
The Vocative Case: ! ! ! !
When addressing someone directly, Russians often use a slightly different form of the addressees first name (or
title), the so-called Vocative Case. (The Vocative is not officially a case, but it certainly is used in everyday
speech, so you should be aware of it.)
Forming the Vocative Drop that {A}, I said drop it!
First names (as well as other forms of address) of both genders ending in {A} drop the vowel (and sometimes, as
expected, reveal a soft consonant, spelled with a soft sign). Names not ending in {A} do not have a special
Vocative form.
First Name, etc.
Vocative
N/A ()
N/A ()
*This doesnt work with or , which do not change.

You can only use the Vocative with someone you are on terms with. Using it with your professor would be
a real faux pas, sort of like addressing him/her Dude!
: ()-1
Turn these statements into addresses, and use the Vocative Case when possible:
Example: .
, .
1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
5. ?
6. , .
7. - .
8. () .
13.
Each Other: -
Each other is rendered by -. The first never changes, while the second -, which declines
like an animate singular noun, gets its Case from either a verb or a preposition (appearing between the two
s. Remember, nothing can come between a preposition and its complement see more below).
Even though by definition - refers to two people, it takes Singular forms on the second part. Theres
no / / anywhere in sight.
Speaking of , recall that the Accusative/Genitive is the only form in the plural without a soft-sign.
All other forms contain : , , , (Instrumental well get it very soon).
- with verbs:
. ACC
We love each other.
. ACC
They cant stand each other.
. DAT
My parents bought each other potatoes.
. GEN
They are afraid of each other.
For semantic reasons, - does not appear in the Nominative.
- with prepositions:
The prepositions goes between the two s! (Quite different from English)
. o + PREP
They think about each other all the time.
. + GEN
We bought towels for each other.
- . - + ACC
They are hurting emotionally because of each other.
. + GEN
They cant live without each other.
. + ACC
The children were looking at each other.
. + DAT
They walked up to each other and kissed.
: ()-2
13- ()
Also note for reference:

as each others (Genitive case)
.
They saw each others cars.
They lived in each others houses.
1. The lawyers are talking about each other.
2. They are afraid of each other.
3. Masha and Dima often think about each other.
4. His parents bought a car for each other.
5. They can't live without each other.
6. Why are they looking at each other?
7. The actors started yelling at each other.
8. They are hurting emotionally because of each

other.
13.
Sample Sentences
1.
.
My parents arrived the next day.
2.
.
I saw Natasha on Palmer Square.
3.
.
Stalin used to lie in the mausoleum on Red

Square (A true fact he was right next to
Lenin until he was removed in 1956.)
4. .
We stood IN line for three hours. (I

absolutely refuse to acknowledge the
erroneous ON line!)
...
5. ,
?
Don't you think that Mitya is a good looking

guy?
6. .
Vera sang unenthusiastically.
7. , .
Lena, be careful.
()
8. .
My grandfather is always careful.
(e)
9. !
They are so nave.
Subject +
?
10. ?
What does Masha mean by that?
11. - ,
.
In NY I feel as if Im in a foreign country.
12. , ?
?
Katya, why are you crying? Are you lonely?
13.
.
Americans and Russian like each other.
: ()-3
14. !
She is so happy!
15. , .
No one knows what happiness is.
+ + Gen
16. !
17. , .
I'm not afraid of anyone!
+ // -
18. ,
, .
Borya was really hurtwhen he realized that

Vera didn't love him.
+ //
+
19. ?
20. .
What time does the film end?
+ Infinitive
21. .
22. !
Don't talk so loud.
()
23. .
My grandmother is not very practical.
+
+
24.
,
, .
25. ,
!
When Homer Simpson opened the

refrigerator and saw that there was no beer,
he burst out crying.
I'm afraid that you will not understand (won't

get it).
Everything turned out OK.

Dont (do that)!
When Sara walked in the room everyone

yelled out 'Happy Birthday!'
: ()-4
"
1 Answer the questions about the story:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
"
2 Use - in four sentences (Accusative, Genitive, Dative,

Prepositional)
1.
2.
3.
S13-5
Story: Part 13
___________________________________
4.
"
3 Translate
1. I don't like to stand in line.
2. Vera, what do you mean by that?
3. Why is everyone afraid of Sveta? (think about Case)
4. Borya , be careful!
S13-6
: ,
Sara, be very careful
Sara, be very careful
, __________________________________________________
. __________________________________________________________
, ________________________________________________________ .
, _______________________________________? .
, , ____________________________________________________ .
, - . ?
, .
? , ______________________________________________.
, ________________________________________________, .
10
11
__________________________________________________________________________.
12
__________________________, .
13
_____________________________________________________________________________?
14
_____________________________ . _____________________.
15
_____________________________________________________________________. .
16
______________________________________________ !
17
, ? _________________________________________
18
, __________________________________________________________ ,
19
20
21
22
23
_____________________________________________. .
, , . - ______________________________
. , .
. . ____________________________________.
, ________________________________________________ .
24
, , _______________________________________________________ .
25
. ___________________________________________.
26
, , , .
27
_________________________________________________________.
28
, __________________________________________________ . .
: ()-1
13-
the next day (Note that here with the Preposition is , not .)
mausoleum
(F)
line
...
isnt it true that?; dont you think that?
(Plural is . More
on this and other irregular
plural forms later.)
voice
(figure it out)
Ma! (Vocative Case of Well discuss this in the Grammar section.)
()
careful
still (We also saw with the meaning else, in addition: what else.)
10
(figure it out)
11
Subject
?
what does Subject mean by that?
14
foreign; not ones own
15
lonely
16
each other (More in the Grammar section.)
18
happy
20
happiness
21
+ + Genitive
(A - verb like +)
fear; be afraid
21
later on; in the future
21
+ // -
suffer; be unhappy; get hurt emotionally
23
now; right now (This word consists of two parts: this + hour. We saw
the Genitive of in , literally of this day. Except for a few fixed
expressions, is not found in modern Russian.)
24
+ // +
end up; turn out (Intransitive)
25
+ Infinitive
dont (Verb); dont do that. (Here this does not mean it is not necessary to Verb,
though that meaning is possible.)
27
practical
next, following
The Short-Form has the cluster buster e as do the Short-Forms of several other
Adjectives in this lesson: , ,
28
{+ / +}
Past
, ,
Infintive
28
+ // {+ // + ()}
Infintive
grasp; understand (This Verb is the Perfective of , sort of. Well

discuss it in the Grammar section.)
leave; go away (Were going to discuss Verbs of Motion in depth later in the
course. For now, if you learn a few here and there, everything will be that much
easier to learn later on.)
: ()-2
A.
.
.
Review of -/-
The Same
Sample Sentences
- :
14.A
Review of the Particles - / -
- vs. -
, the use of these two particles is pretty straightforward: - = some-, - = any-.
, there are many instances where this correspondence breaks down. Specifically, there are
instances in which - shows up as some- in English.
some-
any- (ever)
-, -
Basically, the particle - refers to an un-named but specific, concrete item (person, place, etc.), while -
refers to an un-named but not identified item (person, place, etc.).
Generally, - is found in: 1) questions; 2) statements about the Future; 3) conditional statements (remember
?); 4) commands. On the other hand, - occurs in statements about the Present or the Past
Examples with -
- ?
Did anyone call?
- ?
Do you ever fight with your parents?
- , . He will buy you something when hes in Paris.

- .
Vera will call someone tomorrow.
- , .
If she had bought anything (something), I would

have killed her.
- .
Buy me something (or other) in the Russian store.
Examples with -
- , .
Someone called you when you were at the concert.
She ran away to some place.
- .
He has something in his right hand.
- - .
Someone is making something in the kitchen.
: ()-1
Nice rule about Aspect: After - Past-Tense verbs must appear in the Imperfective:
- ?
How you ever bought caviar?
- ?
Did he ever help (his) uncle?
- ?
Did Kolya ever wake up at 6:00?
Insert the correct particle:
1. -***
.
2. -*** ?
3. -*** ?
4. -*** .
5. -*** .
6. -*** .
7. -*** .
8. -*** ,
.
9. -*** ?
10. -***
.
Why - can be tricky

In the story Mitya says to Sara (about her parents):
, - .
This is not one of the four environments (question, future, conditional, command) described above for -,
yet this is the correct form. Why? Here the meaning is They probably think that I want something (or other) from
you. Its clear (at least to Mitya) that they think he wants something, but it not clear what that something is. Here
a few more examples where - corresponds to something/one/where or other:
- .
Hes always writing something or other.
- .
Shes always yelling at someone or other.
- .
Kira is always strolling somewhere or other.
As we said, at times the use of - vs. - can be rather subtle. As with Aspect, this is not the sort of question
that can be covered in full in this textbook. For now, try to follow the basic guidelines given above.
Be careful with anyWhen we presented (multiple) negation in Russian, we mentioned that English does some strange things with the
prefix any-. Specifically, negative expressions in English with any-, which are found when accompanied by a
form of the helping verb do or the word never, are equivalent to Russian - + + verb.
: ()-2
14- ()
ENGLISH NEGATIVE WITH ANY-
RUSSIAN: -
I didnt buy anything.
He never helps anyone.
We didnt go anywhere.
They didnt buy any books.
. (Genitive
of Negation)
ENGLISH NON-NEGATIVE
RUSSIAN: -
WITH ANY-
Is anyone home?
- ?
Do you trust anyone here?
- ?
Did you see Nadya anywhere?
- ?
So, whenever you see any-, you need to be very careful.
1. Did you buy anything?
2. I didn't buy anything.
3. Will he ask anyone a question?
4. He won't ask anyone a question.
5. Did you go anywhere? (use +)
6. We didnt go anywhere.
7. Are you thinking about anyone?
8. He never thinks about anyone.
14.
()
the same (sometimes)
To indicate that a thing / place / person is the same as that which was previously mentioned (or implied), use the
phrase (). Generally, including adds emphasis (the very same), though in Russian its not
quite as strong as in English.
is another Nounjective, which, as you recall, means that in the Nominative and Accusative it takes Noun
endings, while in all other cases, it takes Adjective endings. Also note that the dictionary form , like , has
an extra syllable -. The basic stem is just plain -.
For now, well stick to the Singular. (The Plural has a nasty change of vowel.)
Both (Nounjective) and (regular Adjective) decline!
: ()-3
I took the same course (that was just mentioned) last

year.
Shes talking about the same film (that was just

mentioned).
,
.
When we were in Moscow we stayed in the same

hotel (that was just mentioned).
He received a letter from the exact same person (that

was just mentioned).
One nasty detail: The Masculine/Neuter Instrumental Singular is (instead of expected or ). To some
extent, given what we saw with , (unexpected softening), this shouldnt come as a complete shock:
.
Im crazy about the same author (that was just

mentioned).
Notice that in each of the above examples, earlier in the discourse someone has already mentioned a course / film
/ hotel / person / author. As we will see below, English same does not always involve reference to something
previously discussed.
The Neuter Singular (which does decline) is used to refer to an idea or notion, rather than a specific
Noun:
.
He said the same thing (that was just mentioned) last

week.
I heard the same thing (that was just mentioned) from

Nina.
We were thinking about the same thing (that was just

mentioned).
Be careful with same; its not always ()

Notice that in the following English sentences the same does not refer to something previously mentioned. It is
possible that the Nouns following same are appearing for the first time in the discourse:
They live on the same street.
She and I have the same last name.
John and I fell in love with the same woman.
For these sentences, you cannot use (). (Dont worry about what you should use its a secondyear point.)
: ()-4
14- ()
Read the sentence given and create a new sentence with (). Note that some
sentences have , some dont there is no difference in meaning.
Example: . ()
. () .
1. . ()
2. . ()
3. . ()
4. . ()
5. . ()
6. . ()
7. . ( think!)
8. . ()
14.
Sample Sentences
+ //
(irregular)
1. .
The children ran away from the big dog.
+ Gen
2. .
They returned from the exhibit(ion).
+ Dat
3. .
We go to (our) aunt('s place).
4. .
He always forgets (his) umbrella at home.
()
5. : .
Be careful - the floor is wet.
()
6.
.
There's always a long line in the dining hall
+ //
+
7. ,
, .
I said that I was going to study all night, but

then I changed my mind.
8. , ?
!
Sasha, what happened? Your all wet

(soaking wet)!
+... // - ( +
Instr)
9. ?
Did they argue (fight) often?
10. !
I really miss you!
+ // +
11. ?
Why doesn't anyone trust me?
12. ,
.
Unfortunately my uncle is very poor.
13.
.
Bill Gates is the richest man in America.
Subject
+
14. ,
.
As far as I know, the food in this restaurant is

really good (they cook well in this
restaurant).
15. .
Everything is clear. (I get it.)
: ()-5

16. ,
.
Borya ordered shchi, and I ordered the same

thing.
{+ / +}
17. ,
.
If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't yell at

Sasha.
{+ / +} //
18.
.
He always asks the professor good questions.
...?
19.
?
You mean you dont know my little brother?
+... // -
20. .
She never gets mad at (her) husband.
21. , .
I was sleeping when the phone rang (out).
22.
.
I really envy Mr. Smiths wife.
+....
23. .
.
Don't worry about me. Everything will be

OK.
24. , .
(Hold on) one second, Ill just grab (take) the

money.
25. + ? - ?
+ Hello? - May I speak to Viktor?
+...
26. ,
.
I hope that it won't rain tomorrow.
27. + , ! .
+ Im really sorry! Dont worry about it.
: ()-6
"
Answer the questions about the story:
Circle the correct form (- or -) and translate into English
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
"
1. - / - ?
2. - / - .
3. - / - .
S14-7
Story: Part 14
___________________________________
4. - / - .
5. - / - , .
6. - / - .
"
1. If I were in your shoes, I wouldnt get angry at (with) Vera.
2. I really (very) miss you.
3. Sara's parents had an argument.
4. I heard the same thing from Gena.
S14-8
?
1
?
Why are you mad at me?
Why are you mad at me?
_______________________________________________ .
, ______________________________________________ .
___________________________________________, .
_______________________________________________?
_________________________. ? , ?
________________________________________________________________.
______________________________? ________________________________
___________________________________________________? ?
, _________________. .
10
, -, . _________________________________
11
12
13
___________________________________________. .
, ________________________________________________.
, .
14
. ____________________________________________
15
_________________ , . ,
16
. , , ___________________________________
17
_____________________________________. _______________________________ .
18
. , , ________________________________
19
_______________________________ .
20
21
, ? ____________________
22
_____________________________________________, - ?
23
24
____________________________________________________________________.
25
26
? _________________________________________________________.
: ()-1
14-
27
______________________________________________ . , .
28
. . . _____________________________________________...
29
, .
30
31
, . , _________________________________.
32
33
34
, .
____________________________________________. ,
. , .
35
, . . .
36
. ________________________________________,
37
38
.
_________________________________________________________________________.
: ()-2
Story Part 14
1
1
1
2
3
5
5
5
9
11
13
15
15
16
18
18
19
21
22
23
25
27
28
28
30
32
34
+ // (Irregular in
Present more on this Verb later)
+ Genitive
run away (Once again we find the prefix - with the meaning away.)
from (Weve also seen and with the meaning from. Well explain
which preposition to use a little later on. Also recall weve seen +
Genitive before in the expression
, which literally means from one side...from the other side.)
+ Dative
to someones place; toward
umbrella
wet
()
(dry)
long
()
(short)
+ // +
change ones mind (Lit.: re-think. The prefix - has the meaning re+ re-write, + re-read, etc.)
(e)
all wet; soaking wet
+... // - ( + Instrumental)
fight verbally with; get into an argument with (Pronounce the double - as
one long [])
+ + Dative
miss someone; long for someone
+ // + + Dative
trust (*Note this Verb unexpectedly takes Dative.)
poor (Translating the Adverb here is tricky. In the story it basically means
People are poor, but literally its live poorly. Russian has a number of
adverbs that have no exact English equivalent.)
rich
Subject +
as far as [Subject] can tell
understandable; clear

the same thing

the same [Noun](Well explain how this phrase works later on.)
{+ / +} -
be in someones place (shoes) (Note: Sometimes instead of the
Prepositional / , you will find the Genitive
following the phrase: / .)
{+ / +} // ask; pose a question to someone (Weve also seen this verb with the direct
+ Dative
object give homework. You cannot say + //
+ .)
...?
could it really be true that...; is it possible that... ( adds doubt.)
+... // - + Accusative
get mad at
+
ring out (Note: This is yet another Verb with the prefix - in the meaning
start to.)
~
Mrs.~ Mr.
+... ( + Accusative)
worry (about)
(Often pronounced [])
one second; hold on; (Ill do it) right away (lit.: (right) now)
Here really is closest to hello. Many people answer the phone with .
+...
hope (Note that the first name means hope just like the English
first name Hope.)
(1st-conjugation: ,
, )
here: forget about it; its nothing; no biggie
: ()-3
A.
.
Ask
Sample Sentences
- :
Theres only one grammar point in this lesson, but its a really important (and often confusing) point. Please go over this
very carefully; the differences in some of the forms may be slight, but the differences in meaning are enormous.
15.A
Verbs of Asking (Three Ways)
There are three distinct (and non-interchangeable) ways that the verb ask shows up in Russian. Weve had two of
the three in previous lessons, and the third in this part of the story. You have to pay close attention to what kinds
of phrases (in what Cases) appear after the verb.
+ // + /, etc. = ask someone for information

After the verb can appear:
1) The person asked in the Accusative.
.
I already asked Masha.
(You) have to ask everyone.
2) A phrase, beginning either with a question word, or a prepositional phrase. (The person asked may also
appear.)
, .
Misha asked me where Lena lives.
, My wife used to ask me why I was always cold.

.
?
Whom was NIna asking about me?
Everyone is asking Dima about his father.
I would like to ask you about a (certain) student.
3) The actual question being asked in quotes. (Weve seen this in the story dozens of times.)
? .
Is everything OK? asked Mitya.
With the verb + // + you cannot use the word question. To say He asks a lot of
questions, see directly below.
: ()-1
{+/} // () = ask (someone) a question

The direct object is required. The person asked (in the Dative) is optional:
.
Kolya asked Zina a very good question.
Gera always asks such stupid questions.
? How can you ask me such a question?
+ // - + Infinitive = ask/request that someone do something

.
Sara asked Mitya to help her.
Im asking you not to smoke.
,
.
I asked (my) sister to wash the dishes, but she said No.
Note the expression:

/ !
Please! / Im begging you!
1. Vera asked Gleb a good question.
2. Who asked you to open to window?
3. Someone asked me why I never clean my room.
4. Nina is always asking our poor professor stupid

questions.
5. Vanya asked (his) father to take out the garbage.
6. What are you plans for the weekend? asked Galya.
7. Why is everyone asking me about Russian

grammar?
8. Please! / I'm begging you!
9. Polya asked me who does the laundry at home.
10. I want to ask someone about something.
: ()-2
15- ()
1. .
1.
He speaks too fast.
2. .
2.
A Ferrari is a fast car.
3. .
3.
They left at the beginning of May.
4. ?
.
4.
Why is Sasha working? Today is a

holiday.
5.
.
5.
Christmas is my favorite holiday.
6. .
6.
Vera is leaving in five days (from now).
7. .
7.
We will arrive in about three weeks.
8.
.
8.
March 8th is a very big holiday in Russia.
9. ,

.
9.
If I understood Dima correctly, he

doesnt want to invite you to the party.
10. ,
.
10. Today is Wednesday, so the day after

tomorrow is Friday.
11.
.
11. In America there's no such holiday as

International Women's Day.
12. -,
.
12. In my opinion, the UN is the most

important international organization.
13. .
.
13. Borya brought Dasha flowers. She was

very touched.
14.
.
14. My mother buys groceries every day.
+ //
{+/+}
15. .
15. I clean my room twice a year.
16. . .
16. It's really dirty in here. (You) have to

clean up.
{+ / +}// -
17. ?
17. Who usually washes the dog?
18. .
18. I hate washing the dishes.
+ // -
19.
.
19. Sasha asked me to bring caviar.
20. ,
.
20. I think / In my opinion, the man should

do the laundry.
(Review)
21. .
21. Everyone should help the poor.
() + Infinitive
22. ,
.
22. My father told me that I should think

about (my) grades.
23. .
23. Tanya does the laundry every

Wednesday.
+ Accusative
Singular is ()
, ,
+ // -
: ()-3
+ // +
24. .
.
24. It smells bad in here. (Someone) should

take out the garbage.
25. , -
.
25. Unfortunately, in NY there's a lot of

garbage on the streets.
26. .
26. He has a heavy backpack.
27.
.
27. I had a hard / difficult life.
28.
.
28. Many Americans do not like beets.
: ()-4
"
Circle the correct form of the Verb ask.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
"
1. / , ?
2. / .
3. / .
4. / .
5. / ?
6. / .
S15-5
Story: Part 15
"
___________________________________
1. If Im not mistaken, the concert will be in three days. No, it will be the day after tomorrow.
2. Who usually washes the dishes and takes out the garbage?
3. I think (don't use +) that the husband should do the laundry.
S15-6

th
March 8 is two days from now
March 8th is two days from now

1
2
. ____________________________________________.
__________________________________________________________.
, _____________________________________________ ? .
? ____________________________________________________?
, . .
, , . _________________
8
9
___________________________________________________?
. _____________________________________________
10
. ____________________________________, .
11
_____________________________________________________ ?
12
13
. _______________________________________________________,
. ____________________________________________ .
14
. __________________________
15
________________________________________ ,
16
_____________________________________________________, , .
17
________________________________________ , .
18
____________________________________________? ,
19
____________________________________________.
20
. __________________________________________ ? ,
21
_____________________________________________________ .
22
_____________________________________________________________________________________.
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
______________________________ . ___________________
, _________________________________________________________.
___________________________________________________________?
, , ________________________________________________
___________. - , __________________________ .
, . ___________________________. ,
_________________________________ . ________________
_______________________________. ______________________________________
________________________________.
______________________________________________________?
: ()-1
15-
fast
beginning
holiday
+ Accusative
in; from now; hence; later (when used with a past tense verb)
a week from now; in a week
They left two days later.
March 8th International Womens Day (Note that a Neuter Adjective is used to
express a date. More on this in a later lesson.)
right; correct
the day after tomorrow
Womens Day = March 8th
10
international
15
flowers (Note that the singular has the suffix -().)
Singular is ()
15
groceries
16
+ // {+/ +}
clean up; straighten up
16
{+ / +}// -
wash (Previously we had the same verb with the suffix -. The verb given here
is transitive and takes a Direct Object while the version with - is
intransitive. Well discuss the meaning of - in a later lesson.)
16
dishes (A singular [collective] noun is used for this.)
17
+ // -
request; ask someone to do something (See grammar explanation.)
18
be of the opinion; think (Russian very often use this verb instead of +.)
19
, , +
Infinitive
[Person - Nominative] must, is obligated to
19
+ // -
do the laundry
19
+ // +
take out; carry out (More on the meaning of the prefix - later.)
20
garbage (The famous Russian composer is .)
21
heavy; hard; difficult
23
many (There is a rather subtle difference between and . Well

leave this question open for now.)
28
in this/that respect
31
immediately; right away
: ()-2
A.
.
Dates
Sample Sentences
- :
16.A
Expressing Dates
In the previous part of the story Sara and Mitya discussed the holiday March 8th / Womens Day.
The Neuter Singular of the ordinal numeral was used () followed by the Genitive Singular of the month
( dont capitalize it!). However, were sorry to inform you that talking about dates is a bit more
complicated. Lets look at the possibilities (There are only two of them.)
16.A.1
Asking / Stating the date
The normal question for asking todays date is ? Whats todays date? The Neuter Singular
is used because the word date is Neuter Singular. Everything here is in the Nominative.
If you want to inquire about another days date, keep the basic question, just change the day (and keep the Neuter
3rd Singular form of the verb be, which agrees with ). Here are various possibilities:
Whats todays date?
What was yesterdays date?
()* ?
Whats tomorrows date?
?
?
What was the date last Wednesday?

What will the date be this Friday?
*When asking about tomorrows date, can be omitted.

The answer is the day of the week (normally ) followed by the Neuter Nominative Singular of the
ordinal. The month, which is optional (as in English), goes in the Genitive:
().
().
().
().
Todays the 3rd (of April).

Tomorrows the 13th (of December).
Friday will be the 8th (of February).
Yesterday was the 30th (of June).
: ()-1

In case youve forgotten, here are the Ordinals 1-30 (ready to go in the Neuter Singular). Recall that only the final
part of a compound number declines. Thus in 23rd, 31, etc., and remain fixed.
1st ..............
2nd .............
3rd ...............
4th ...............
5th ...............
6th ...............
7th ...............
8th ...............
9th ...............
10th .............
11th .............
12th .............
13th .............
14th .............
15th .............
16th .............
12th .............
12th .............
12th .............
20th .............
21st ............
30th.............
31st .............
Other than this specific question or statement, you cannot use the Neuter Nominative Singular to express a date.
(More directly below.)
Compare how Americans and how Russians write dates:
US: 4/6/00
6.IX.00 (6/IX 2000)
(Nearly every other country we know of also writes Date > Month > Year.)
Form questions and answers
1. / 5
2. / 23 /
3. / 7 /
4. future / 1
5. / 16 /
6. / 30
7. / 11 /
8. / 26 /
9. / 10
10. future / 12
11. / 2 /
12. / 6
16.A.2
Expressing on a certain date (or an occasion)
To say when something happens (when an event occurs), you must use the Genitive Singular of the ordinal!
The question is either ? or ?, the Genitive of :
} ?
When
} did Galya arrive?
On what date
} ?
When
} are we going?
On what date
} ?
When
} did Sashas uncle die?
On what date
: ()-2
16- ()
The answer also contains the date in the Genitive Singular. If the month is mentioned, it is also in the Genitive:
().
She left on the 1st (of October).
().
I turned in my JP on the 6th (of May).
o ().
He died on the 23rd (of March).
This applies not only to concrete actions, but also to occasions, where there doesnt seem to be any specific
action taking place. Here the verb be agrees with the occasion in Gender and Number:
/ ?
( / ?)
What day / What is your birthday?
( / )
.
(My birthday is) the 23rd of August.
/ .
The exam was / will be on the 21st of April.
/ ().
The exhibit was / will be on the 7th of September.
Question:
Why is the Genitive used to express when something happens? Whats

Genitive about this?
Answer:
Good question to which we have no good answer. (There have been several
rather theoretical articles attempting to explain why the Genitive is used. Well
be happy to show them to you.)
Sometimes this use of the Genitive can be tied to the use of on (a certain day), but as you can see from several of
the above examples, the use of on is not consistent in English. Just try to remember that except for the rather
formulaic use of asking and reporting (normally todays) date ? / , all
dates must appear in the Genitive. This does take some getting used to.
State when something takes place:
Example:
(4 / )
1. (14 / )
2.
(22 / )
3. died (10 /
)
4. (6 / )
5. (9 /
true fact)
6. (18 / )
7. attacked
(7 / )
8.
(25 / )
9.
(16 / )
10. (3 / )
11. (30 / )
12. (1 /
)
: ()-3
1. , .
1.
I hope that hell leave soon.
2. .
2.
Spring is my favorite season (= time of

the year).
+ //
{+/+}
3.
.
3.
Many Russians love to gather

mushrooms in the forest.
4.
.
4.
I found a humongous white mushroom in

the (back)yard.
5.
.
5.
Once I had a conversation with the

president of the US.
+... // -
6. !
.
6.
Be careful! Its very dangerous to swim

in this river.
(ACC: )
7. .
7.
She drinks a lot water.
8. !
8.
Dont drink that water!
9.
.
9.
Lunch in this restaurant is unbelievably

expensive.
10. -
? -
!
10. How did you like Bergmans last film? It

was indescribable.
11. !
! !
11. I cant stand him! What a snake! Im

speechless!
{
+/+}
//
12.
.
12. I had to hand in my JP last week.
+ GEN
13. .
13. Everyone was crying by the end of the

movie.
+... //
{
+... /
+...} + Inf
14. ?
?
14. What are your plans for the summer?

What are you planning to do?
15. -
. -
, !?
15. Im planning on going to Harvard

Business School. What are you, joking
or something!?
16. . .
16. I dont trust Lyova. Hes always making

something up.
17. .
- .
17. Its always interesting to be with Nina.

Shes always coming up with something.
18. ,
?
18. Is that true, or did you make that all up?
+ GEN
19.
.
19. My parents left in the middle of March.
21. -
?
+ //
+
20. , 20. I was so bored that I left in the middle of

.
the movie.
21. Have you ever been to Yasnaya
Polyana?
: ()-4
16- ()
22. .
.
22. My uncle is loaded. He has a real estate.
23.
. -,
.
23. Last year I read War and Peace. In

English, of course.
24. .
24. I want to see it with my own eyes.
25.
, ,
.
25. If I didnt see it with my own eyes, I

would also have thought that Vera made
it all up.
26.
.
26. I would like to read Dostoyevsky in the

original.
+ //
{+ / +}
27.
.
27. My aunt always forgets to close the

window.
28. !
28. I will never forget you!
29.
.
30. ,
.
29. My sister stood over her husbands

grave and quietly cried.
31.
.
31. He asked me a very simple question.
(Adv/SF
Neut: )
32.
!
(Fem)
30. No one knows where Mandelshtams

grave is.
32. You simply know nothing about me!
33. .

.
34. .
33. Ira is a very calm young woman. She

never gets angry at anybody.
35.
.
35. I will never forget my trip to South

America.
36.
?
36. How was your trip to Moscow?
37. ,
?
37. What do you think, is there life after

death?
38.
.
38. Tolstoy has a short story Three

Deaths.
39.
.
39. Anna Karenina is my favorite novel of

Tolstoys.
40.
?
40. Which novels of Dickens have you read?
34. Good night (lit.: peaceful night GEN!)
: ()-5
Story: Part 16
___________________________________
Indicate when two occasions (birthday, anniversary) or events took / take /

will take place.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
1.
2.
S16-6

3
1. What is today's date? If I'm not mistaken, today is the 24th of March.
2. When do you intend to read War and Peace? By the end of the spring.
3. If I had not gone (/) to Yasnaya Polyana, I would not have seen Tolstoys grave with my own eyes.
4. I like to gather mushrooms in the forest.
V O D (Verb of the day ): Forget
+
Verb Type______________ / Conjugation Type _______________
PRESENT (& IMPERATIVE)
PAST (& INFINITIVE)
___________________________________
____________________________________
()
___________________________________
____________________________________
___________________________________
____________________________________
Imperative
___________________________________
Infinitive
____________________________________
{+ / +}
Verb Type______________ / Conjugation Type _______________
FUTURE (& IMPERATIVE)
PAST (& INFINITIVE)
___________________________________
____________________________________
()
___________________________________
____________________________________
___________________________________
____________________________________
Imperative
___________________________________
Infinitive
____________________________________
S16-7
Ill never forget Tolstoys grave.
Ill never forget Tolstoys grave
___________________________________________________. ,
_____________________________________________________, a
________________________________.
__________________ . _____________________________________
___________________________. ___________________________________________
_______________________, . __________________________________
______________________________, __________________________, ,
____________________________________. .
, _______________________________________________________________ ,
10
___________________________________________________________.
11
. _______________________________________________
12
______________, ___________________________________________________.
13
, _________________________ . -
14
_________________________________________________!
15
, ?
16
-, () _______________________________________
17
18
_____________________________________________?
______________________________,
19
___________________________________________________, , .
20
__________________________________________________________________________.
21
______________________________________________________?
22
________________________________________.
23
______________________________________________________________________.
24
25
_________________________________________________________________, .
26
________________________________________________________________?
: ()-1
16-
27
________________________________________________________.
28
______________________________________ ?
29
. __________________________________________________________
30
. ____________________________________________________________.
31
, _______________________, , . .
32
33
34
, ________________________________________________________________
.
___________________, ,
35
_____________________________________________________________________________
36
-, , , .
37
______________________________________,
38
. , ___________________________________
39
_________________________________________ , ,
40
_______________________________________________________________________________.
41
. __________________________
42
__________________________________ . .
43
_____________________________________________ _________ ____:
44
. ______________________________________________________________
45
_________________________________________________________________________.
For some excellent photographs, check out:
http://www.ibiblio.org/sergei/Exs/YasnayaPoliana/yp1.html
(There are five pages in all be sure to see the last page to see what Saras talking about.)
: ()-2
Story Part 16
4
4
7
7
9
11
11
12
13
13
15
18
27
28
29
30
34
36
+ // {+/+}
soon
spring
gather; pick; collect (See line 25 for the same verb, but with the suffix -,
with a totally different meaning.)
mushroom (Note: Every Russian who proofread this part immediately objected to
the factual inaccuracy of having them pick mushrooms in the spring. In Russia,
mushrooms are found normally in the fall, not the spring. But it is true that many
Does appear in Plural: ,
Russians go to the woods to pick mushrooms. Dont try this without an
, , ,
experienced guide; every year several people die from eating poison
mushrooms.)
wonderful; marvelous
once; one time

+... // swim (Do NOT confuse this verb with buy; they look very close)
(Accusative is )
water
incredibly (Lit.: without ones mind)

I have no words; Im speechless
?
Whats todays date? (More on this in the Grammar Section)
date
{+/+} // (irreg.) turn in; submit

+ GEN
by the end of; toward the end of
()
end
+... //
intend (to do something)
{+... /+}+ Inf
+ // +
+ GEN

think up; come up with (Our familiar verb think with the prefix -, which
weve seen having the meaning of arrival)
in the middle (of)
middle
Yasnaya Polyana (Lit.: Clear Glade If you drive down Route 206 about 7 minutes, on
the right youll notice an estate called Jasna Polana. This is the former residence of Basia
Johnson, a Polish nurse who married the head of Johnson and Johnson (and inherited $500
million or so). She named her estate after , before she sold a few years ago.
Its now an exclusive country club - just what would have wanted.)
36
37
38
39
41
41
42
42
43
43

Genitive Plural
(SF Neut: )
(Fem just like )
estate
War and Peace (Note that only the first word in a title is capitalized.)
with ones one eyes
eye
original
grave
simple
peaceful; calm
trip (by vehicle)
death
novel
: ()-3
A.
.
Verbs of Motion
Sample Sentences
- :
S17.A
Verbs of Motion (Part One)
If you feel completely confused about how to say go in Russian, theres a good reason for it: Weve seen bits and
pieces of an explanation in previous lessons (e.g., vs. ), but we really havent explained it in full
yet. The whole question of Verbs of Motion (as they are affectionately known in Russian) is a bit complicted,
but not nearly as difficult as many textbooks make it out to be. First well look at the general notion of Verbs of
Motion, and then in this lesson well focus on how to express a single round-trip (which is probably the most
common use of the word go).
Most of the verbs we have seen have come in a pair consisting of two forms, Imperfective and Perfective
read
tell
ask
Perfective
+
Imperfective
+
+
+
Verbs of Motion (VoM), a small but very important group of verbs, have three possible forms, still just one
Perfective, but two possible Imperfective forms: Imperfective Determined (Heading; Making Ones Way) and
Non-Determined (Non-Heading, Non-Making Ones Way). (In the chart below we use the Infinitive forms for
conveniences sake. More on the forms below):
Verbs of Motion (VoM)

go
Imperfective
Perfective
NON-DETERMINED
DETERMINED
: ()-1
S17.A.1
Forms of Verbs of Motion

Non-Determined (Imperfective)
Stem
Present
Past
Infinitive
Imperative
()
()
Determined (Imperfective)
Stem
Present
Past
Infinitive
Imperative
{+ / + ()}
{+ / +}
()
()
Perfective
Stem
Present
Past
Infinitive
Imperative
{+ / + ()}
{+ / +}
()
()
: ()-2
17- ()
Comments on forms of Verbs of Motion:
1) The Non-Determined forms (+ and +) are garden-variety -stem verbs, both of which have mutation
of > in the -form.
2) The Determined forms are both rather odd double-stem verbs. {+ / +} is more or less normal, except for
the Imperative /, while the Determined form whose Infinitive is is really wacky. The
Present stem is +, while the Past Tense forms are (), , , . (But if you think about it,
English has a crazy Past Tense for go: went. If its any help, the in resembles the w in went.)
3) The Perfective is based on the Determined form basically you just add the prefix -. For , the >
in all forms, and in the Infinitive the disappears. Got all that?
Why Motion Verbs Are Problematic: (At Least) Four Verbs for Go
One of the main reasons that Verbs of Motion can be difficult is that there are two rather tricky distinctions which
must be made, neither of which exists in English: 1) Riding vs. Walking (which we covered in Lesson 45, and see
below) and; 2) Determined ( / ) vs. Non-Determined ( / ) motion. This means that
there are (at least) four possibilities for go.
In this lesson, well ignore the second distinction (Determined vs. Non-Determined), which is probably the
trickier of the two. (Not to worry, well get to this in the very next lesson.)
Lets quickly review distinction between / / (motion specifically by vehicle) and /
/ (motion either on foot or by vehicle).
: ()-3
S17.
Riding vs. Walking (Review from Lesson 45)

Go in Russian: Riding vs. Walking (or Riding)
vs.
Notice that in the English version of the above two sentences the verb is the same: We went to Moscow / We went
to the movies. In Russian, different verbs are used to distinguish between travel that must be by vehicle from
travel which is either on foot or by vehicle.
Clues indicating when to use / / vs. / /
MUST BE BY VEHICLE
/ /
/ /
Context clues:
Context clues:
1. Geographical place name ( ,

, moon)
1. Destination is an event ( , ,
) or a landmark ( ,
, )
2. A vehicle is mentioned: Use +

Prepositional Case (e.g., ,
) or bare Instrumental (,
). Also, if you see someone in a
car/train/bus, you must use a vehicle
verb.
2. Use of the Adverb on foot.
Desire to specifcally emphasize vehicle or walking ( ? , .)

So, does not imply that he plans to walk there. Even if he is going to drive (or
take the train), and you know that hes going to drive, you should still use because there is no reason to
emphasize how hes going to get there and back.
On the other hand, if you mention the geographical place name, you must use a vehicle verb:
. The place name trumps the event.
Curious fact: With the noun you must use vehicle verbs // because by definition a
is something out in the countryside, to which one must drive: .
Some more examples:
? (Meeting someone walking down
the street)
*Where are you headed?
? (Meeting someone on the train)
*Where are you headed?
Im going to a Tchaikovsky opera today.
I'm going to Siberia this summer.
-.
They went to New York yesterday.
: ()-4
17- ()
.
We went to the movies yesterday. (It may have

been in New York.)
We took the train from Moscow to Kiev.
He walked to Trenton (and back) yesterday!
*Tomorrow well discuss why where are you headed (as opposed to going) is the best way to translate these
sentences.
Choose between Riding and Walking (or Riding)

? ()
Example:
? ()
? ()
.
.
.
1. ? ()
2. ? ()
3. ? ()
4. ? ()
5. ? ()
6. ? ()
7. ? ()
8. ? ()
9. ? (-)
10. ? ( )
S17.
A Single Round Trip Broken Down By Tense, Infinitive
Probably the most common (and most troublesome) point involving motion is expressing a single round trip. Its
really not difficult. Honest! The only thing that makes it somewhat tricky and illogical in our opinion is that
different forms (Non-Determined vs. Determined vs. Perfective) are used depending on the Tense (or for an
Infinitive).
In other words you cannot simply take Past Tense Kostya went to Moscow (one time)
and change the tense on (the Non-Determined form) to get Future Kostya will go to Moscow. The sentence
(with the Future of Imperfective ) has a different meaning and does not
mean Kostya will go to Moscow (one time). Instead, as we will see below, you need to use a different Verb, the
Determined form: is the Future of . Is this logical? Heck no!
(And were only using heck to be polite.) ?!
We strongly suggest that you memorize the following (rather short) examples or at least one from each group.
Past (Completed): Non-Determined
A single round trip in the past can be expressed with a Verb of Motion ( / ) or with the Verb be.
Thus, you can say either or .
.
My parents went to Moscow in March.
We went to the opera yesterday.
: ()-5
Past (In Progress): Perfective
The Past Perfective is used when a person has left but not yet returned (but is expected to return in the not too
distant future).
-.
.
*Masha left for New York. She wont be back until

late.
. .
Kolya's not home, He went to the store for the

newspaper.
*As we will see when we examine Prefixed Verbs of Motion, there are several ways of saying left for.
Here are the four ways of saying She went...:
She went to the store / Moscow...

and is back: Non-Determined Past
and is still gone: Perfective Past
.
.
.
.
Present (as Future): Determined
To some extent, a round trip cannot really be in progress because you cannot simultaneously be making both
legs of the trip. In any case, the Present Tense of Dtermined Verbs is used to describe a single round trip which
is either begun or, much more commonly, which is intended for the future. Notice that in English we also use a
Present Tense Verb to describe a future action just look at the translations:
.
Im going to the ballet tonight.
Kira is going to Paris this summer.
Future: Perfective (or Determined):
() / ()
As we mentioned directly above, to express a future single round trip you can use a Present Tense Determined
Verb. In addition, you can also use a Perfective Verb. The difference between using Imperfective Determined
( / ) and Perfective ( / ) to express a future single round trip is rather subtle. We
suggest you use the Imperfective Determined, though the Perfective is 100% grammatical.
() ?
When is he going to the store?
() .
Pasha is going to London without his wife.
: ()-6
17- ()
Infinitive:
(Positive) Perfective:
(Negative) Determined
/
/
With positive statements, use a Perfective Infinitive:

-.
I really want to go to the new Van Gogh exhibit.
Shes planning on going to the Sahara.
With negative statements, use an Imperfective Determined Infinitive.

.
He doesnt want to go anywhere.
I dont plan on going to Boston.
Actually this Positive=Perfective, Negative=Imperfective applies to almost all Infinitives, not just to Verbs of
Motion.
It is worth noting what forms we did not see above:

No Determined Past Tense (, , , / , , , )
No Non-Determined Present (, , / , , )
No Non-Determined or Determined Future ( , / , )
No Non-Determind Infinitive ( / )
Well see how these forms are used in the next lesson, when we move beyond a single round-trip.
1. We went to Petersburg in the winter.
2. Whos going to Moscow in the summer?
3. For some reason, he doesnt want to go to Alaska.
4. Im planning on going to France in June.
5. I really want to go to that concert.
6. I went to the opera on Saturday.
7. Gera just left for Trenton. Hell be

home around 9:00.
8. Were going to a play on Saturday.
9. Were not planning on going to the lecture.
10. Vika is not home. She went to the library.
: ()-7
S17.
Practice Sentences
1. .
1.
Were going to the Tretyakovsky gallery

today.
2. .
2.
I really want to go there.
3.
?
3.
Do you know how to get to Red Square.
4.
Do you remember how to get to the

Hilton hotel?
5.
I've been to Yasnaya Polyana several

times.
6.
He got married several times.
4. ,
?

5. .
6. .
+ // {c+ //
+} (Inf )
7. !
7.
Sit down.
8. .
8.
She sat down on the sofa.
9. .
9.
I take the bus a lot.
10. ?
10. Where does this bus go?
11. -
.
11. In NY there are a lot of interesting

galleries.
12.
?
12. Is this bus number 64?
(Gen Pl:
(no Cluster Buster))
13. , .
13. Sorry, I got the numbers mixed up.
14. .
14. My uncle works in the police deparment.

(Most likely this implies he is a cop.)
+ // -
15. .
15. Ill call him at work.
16. .
16. Dont call me at home.
/ ()

+ // -
( , )
17. .
17. He constantly makes mistakes.
18. .
18. I took Mityas book by mistake.
19. .
19. I took the wrong key.
20. ,
.
20. I dont know whether he liked the movie.
21. !
21. Come here.
22. ?
22. How long did it take you to get here?
23. .
23. He's always late.
24. .
24. We were ten minutes late.
+ // +
+ time expression
in ACC
/ + place/event in
ACC
: ()-8
17- ()
25.
.
25. His car is 1 times more expensive than

mine.
26.
26. We have very little money.
+.. //
27. ?
{+... / +...} 28.
.
27. When does the concert start?
29. If I'm not mistaken, Vera is a Muscovite.
29. ,
.
28. The movie starts in ten minutes.
30. She married a rich Muscovite.
30.
.
31. .
31. This film is simply perfection.
+ //
{+ /
+ }
+ //
{+ /
+ }
32. .
32. The store closes at 7:00.
33. .
33. The library opens at 7:30.
: ()-9
17-
"
______________________________
Circle the correct form and fill in the endings
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
"
1. [______________ / ___________________] ____________.

2. [__________ / ______________] _____________.
3. [____________ / ______________] _____________.
4. [____________ / _______________] ____________.
5. . [___________ / _____________] ______________.
S17-10

6. + ? - [_____________ / ______________] __________________.
7. [_____________ / _____________] ___________.
8. [___________ / _______________] ________?
9. [ _______________ / _____________] ________.
10. [_______________ / _____________] ___________
11. [ _______________ / _____________] ___________.
12. [_______________ / _____________] _________?
13. [_______________ / _____________] -__________.
14. [_______________ / _____________] __________.
15. [_______________ / _____________] ____________
16. [_______________ / _____________] .
"
1. The museum closes at 4:45.
2. He bought the wrong book.
3. They were around 20 minutes late for (to) the concert.
S17-11
a
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
.
I got on the wrong bus by mistake.
I got on the wrong bus by mistake
, . ___________________________________________
____________ . __________________________________,
?
. ________________________________.
____________________________________?
, . _____________________________________________.
. ______________________________________________ . .
________________________________________ .
_______________________, , .
, ! __________________________? ____________________________?
. ______________________________________ ?
. _________________________
__________________ . .
, , ___________________________________ .
___________________________ ? .
________________________________________________?
, ___________________________. , ________________________
.
_________________________________________________________________________
, ______________________________________________________?
___________________. ________________________________________________________?
___________________________________ ______________________________.
__________________________________________________________.
. .
__________________________________________________________________,
, _____________________________.
, __________________________________. . .
, .
, ___________________________________________________ ...
, ___________________________________________________.
_______________________. ___________________________.
_____________________________________.
, .
, ____________________________________________________.
. _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________.
: ()-1
17-
Note: There are several Verbs of Motion in this part of the story. The grammar section will be devoted to clearing up this
rather tricky topic.
2
= Tretyakovsky Gallery (Rather

famous museum in Moscow)
there; thither (direction) (as opposed to which is there

location)
(destination)
how to get to (destination)
more than once (Do not confuse this with which means
never, not a single time.)
+ // {c+ // +} (Inf )
sit down; get on (a bus) (this is also directional to get into a

sitting position, as opposed to + to be in a sitting position)
(in line 8)
sit down next to (a person)
bus
11
(Just one in Russian!)
(Guess)
15
number
17
digit
21
the police
21
A note on + // -
When calling a place, use or + ACC., as opposed to DAT,

which is used when calling a person.
22
/ ()

+ // -
mistake; error
23
( , ) Preposition comes
between and .
the wrong
25
whether (in yes/no questions) (More on this tricky word in a

few lessons.)
25
here (direction); hither (as opposed to which is here

location)
26
+ // +
+ time expression in ACC
/ + place/event in ACC
be late
27
(M, N) / (F)
1 (Similar to 2, 3, 4: Followed by noun in Genitive Singular.)
29
( pronounced [])
intentional; on purpose
30
+ GEN
little; a small amount of
30
+.. //
{+... / +...}
begin (intransitive)
31
~ / ()
Muscovite (person from Moscow)
32
perfection (For the translation, think about what you would say
in this situation. Would you use a Noun?)
38
// {+ / +} close (intransitive)
// {+ / +} open (intransitive)
by mistake
make a mistake (in line 21)
by AMOUNT OF TIME
for PLACE/EVENT (This is not in the story)
: ()-2
A.
.
.
Sample Sentences
- :
S18.A
Imperative of -form: / Lets
There are two ways to form a so-called Imperative, which very often corresponds to English lets:
1) Simply use the Non-Past form and let context take over. Most often a Perfective form is used.
.
Lets (Well) talk about it tonight.
Lets go to a restaurant.
Lets do that together.
Lets sing that song.
Note the use of the Past Tense with these Perfective VoM. This is quite limited.
!
Lets go!
Lets go!
Lets go!
2) Use / followed by either a) the Imperfective Infinitive; b) the Perfective Non-Past form; c)
plus the Imperfective Infinitive. Use when talking about yourself and just one other person
(with whom you use ). Otherwise, use (with more than one other person, or with someone you
call ).
a) / + Imperfective Infinitive
/ . Lets pay each other compliments.
/ .
Lets have dinner this week at 7:00.
/ .
Lets study together.
b) / + Perfective Non-Past form

/ .
Lets forget about it.
/ !
Lets drink!
/ .
Lets get acquainted. (This has become a fixed expression in

Russian. We really dont have an exact equivalent in English.)
: ()-1

c) / + + Imperfective Infinitive
/ .
Lets not think about that.
/ .
Lets try not to bother each other.
/ .
Lets not argue / fight.
Warning: Illegal Sentences Below!!!!!!

So, you do not find: 1) / (Imperfective Present Tense); 2) / (Perfective
Infinitive); 3) / ( + Imperfective Future)
Translate. Dont worry if your answer differs from whats on the recording.
1. Lets swim every morning.
2. Lets talk about honest politicians.
3. Lets bark like a dog.
4. Lets go! (at least two ways)
5. Lets not think about the Accuastive Case.
6. Lets bake a cake.
7. Lets drink!
8. Lets not talk about him again.
9. Lets dance! (Use Perfective)
10. Lets not argue.
S18.
Imperative of Third-Person Forms: /
Use the word ( is a more colloquial form) plus the subject in Nominative + Verb, etc. (Note that in
English after let we find the Accusative her, him, them not so in Russian.) The Verb following
() may be in either Imperfective Present or Perfective Future (depending on what meaning you wish to
convey). Generally you do not find Imperfective Future (+ + Infinitive) following ().
.
Let Sasha do it.
Let Sasha wash the dishes every day.
Let the children sleep.
, .
Let Mitya grasp (realize) what a jerk he is.
Let Nina think a bit about that.
. .
Let him call all day. I dont care.
: ()-2
18- ()
Translate. Again, dont worry if your answer differs from whats on the recording.
1. Let Vera do it.
2. Let Sonya take out the garbage every day.
3. Let my parents give him the money.
4. Let her cry. (a little Hootie sorry, the word for

Blowfish escapes us)
5. Let the children swim in the river.
6. Let Masha realize what a bore she is.
7. Let Borya help her.
8. Let Grisha clean the apartment (today).
9. Let everyone sing.
10. Let them bark like a dog.
S18.
Practice Sentences
+ //
1. .
She slowly walked away from the window.
2.
.
I walked away from him and took off for
+... //
+...
3. .
I apologize.
4. ,
.
I already apologized 100 times, but hes still

mad at me.
+ / - ,
5. , .
Shes just pretending to be asleep,.
6. ,
.
Denis pretended that he didnt hear

anything..
+ // {+ /
+}
Past: , ,
Infinitive:
7. ,
.
If I understood correctly, he's not going to be

there.
8. , .
Get this into your head, I don't love you.
9.
.
I was in all the large concert halls in Europe.
+ // +
10.
?
Where can I hang this photograph?
11. .
.
Take the phone (receiver). Masha wants to

talk to you.
12. !
Don't hang up!
13. !
We've been waiting for an hour and a half

already!
(Masc/Neut) /
(Fem) +
Genitive Singular
14. !
!
We've been waiting for a minute and a half

already. We're very important people!
: ()-3

+ Genitive
15. .
He has several wives.
16. .
I have several computers.
17. .
I called her three times.
18. .
She's been married around 10 times.
19.
.
My father had some pull at Princeton.

We got the tickets through connections.
20. .
{+ / +}//
{+}
21. , , .
Get the plate, please.
Soft!
22. .
We have an extra ticket to the opera.
23. ? !
Would you like some beer? Sure.
24.
.
She gladly helps everyone.
25. . .
It's already 2:00. It's time to go.
(/)
26.
.
On the way home we found an antique

samovar.
27. .
I was already starting to lose hope.
28. ( )
.
I used to have short hair. (Hair is

plural in Russian.)
: ()-4
"
1.
2. pay attention
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
S18-5
18-
"
______________________________
1. Let's forget about it.
2. Let Dima make dinner.
3. Let's not think about Russian grammar tonight.
4. When we were travelling around Russia, my brother pretended he didn't speak English.
"
V.O.D.:
+... return
PRESENT
PAST
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
INF
______________________________________
IMPER
___________________________________
S18-6

Let him stand there all day
Let him stand there all day
___________________________________________,
, , ______________________________________________.
() . () , .
___________________. _________________________:
! ___________________________________________________
. .
, ___________________________________________________:
, _________________________________________________________________?
, _____________________________________ ?
10
. ____________________________________________
11
________________________________________ . ,
12
___________________________________________________________________________.
13
14
15
16
17
? . ____________________________________
_________________________________________________________.
() . _________________________________________________
_________________________________________.
, ________________________________________________?
18
, ________________________________________
19
_________________________________ . ?
20
_____________________________________________________________?
21
. _____________________________________________________.
22
. ___________________________________________________?
23
! . _____________________________________
: ()-1
18-
24
___________________________________________________________________.
25
. ! ( ).
26
27
, ___________ .
28
___________________________________________ .
29
_______________________________ ___________ -
30
31
____________________________________________
32
__________________________________________, , .
33
34
____________________________________ .
35
_______________________________________ _______ ,
36
, , .
37
_____________________________________________ ,
38
_________________________________ ___________________.
: ()-2
Story Part 18
1
2
2
2
3
6
7
13
22
23
25
25
25
+ // + Genitive
+... // +...
+ / -
()
+ // {+ / +}
Past: , ,
Infinitive:

+ // +
+ Genitive
Soft!
(/)
walk away from (Here the prefix - indicates motion away from.)
apologize
pretend that
let (him...) (See Grammar)
understand, grasp (More on the forms of the Perfective in the Grammar
Section)
concert hall
hang (up)
several
extra
pleasure
gladly
its time to (+ Imperfective Infinitive 99% of the time)
= (More in Grammar)
on the way (from/to a place)
You are only responsible for the words in bold

27
27
28
28
29
30
30
31
31
32
32
33
33
33
34
34
34
34
36
36
36
37
38
38
/
+ // [] +
+...
()
Instrumental:
(= )
{+ / +} //
+ + Dative
()
lets (See grammar explanation)

exclaim
lofty; highfalutin
+...
compliment
love
moment
grieve
openly; not hiding anything
separately; not together (The word uses does not really exist.)
one after the other; in turns
assign
meaning
back biting; nasty talk
seeing that; given
Noun related to
Try to figure this out from the root of the verb itself and the context
lit.: from half a word (i.e. without having to spell everything out)
having made a mistake (This is a Gerund having Verb-ed, which well
cover next year.)
one time
again
indulge
especially because; so much the more (given that)
short
: ()-3
A.
.
.
Die / Perish
Before / After
Sample Sentences
- :
S19.A
Die vs. Perish: / vs. /
Earlier we saw the Past Tense forms of the verb die , , . There is another verb, + //
[]+, which also often appears as die, but which carries the meaning perish, die an unnatural death.
Russians really make this distinction, so be aware. It is really wrong to use if the (female) person died
in a car crash. Some examples (with a few unfamiliar words, just to make things as clear as possible):
.
My great-grandmother died last year.
His father died from cancer.
All his relatives died a long time ago.
. Vityas aunt died in a car crash.

.
Mishas parents died in the war.
Mandelshtam perished in a concentration camp in

Siberia.
Note that in the first example there is no need to specify precisely how your great-grandmother died. It is assumed
that it was of natural causes. It would not be wrong to say , but you would
normally need to give some sort of further explanation.
Insert the correct verb in the correct form
1. ____________________ .
2. ___________________ .
3. __________________ duel.
4. __________________ .
5. ________________ cancer.
6. _____________________
.
7. ___________________ .
8. ____________________.
: ()-1
S19.
Before / After: ~ vs. ~
You need to be very careful when translating before () and after () into Russian. (First note that both of
these prepositions take Genitive Case.) When a bare noun (or noun phrase) follows, you simply put it into
Genitive:
.
Before the war we lived in Paris.
Ill return before class.
You have to go to bed before 10.
After dinner I slept a bit on the sofa.
After the concert we went to a caf.
After the exam he burst into tears.
When a clause follows or , you must insert the Case absorbing phrase , after which the
clause appears, with the subject, as expected, in Nominative.
,
.
Before Masha got married, she went out with

Grisha.
, .
I went to sleep before he called.
,
.
Before Bill became president, he was a lawyer.
, .
After the class ended, everyone headed to a bar.
, .
After we had dinner, we danced a bit.
, .
We left right after Lyonya arrived.
Actually, there need not be an overt Nominative subject, as seen in these Impersonal Construction:
, .
Before it got hot, I slept well.
1. Before the lesson, I stood in the corridor and

smoked.
2. Before the lesson started the professor

drank two bottles of beer.
3. We left after dinner.
4. After I went to Yasnaya Polyana, I decided to read

War and Peace.
5. After Veras husband died, she no longer laughed.
6. Tanya called her boyfriend before the concert.
7. After the war, she was arrested.
8. Before Dima got married, he went out with Galya.
9. Before the film, everyone was sitting and

conversing.
10. After I played chess (Perfective), I took a nap.
: ()-2
19- ()
S19.
Practice Sentences
+... // - +
Dative

+ // +
+ Genitive
+ // [] +
(M).
+ //
+
+... + Dative
1. ,
.
2.
.
3.
.
4. , , .
5.
.
6.
.
7. .
8.
.
9. !
10. .
11. ?
12.

?
13.
?
14.
.
15. .
16.
-.
17. .
18. , , ,
.
19.
.
20. .
21.
.
22.
.
23. .
24. ,
.
1.
2.
I can't stand people who don't have a

sense of humor.
She has a very strange sense of humor.
3.
Solzhenitsyn wrote a lot about the Gulag.
4.
5.
6.
He is, how should I put this, a fool.

My Russian professor is a nut.
There are a lot of kooky people in
Princeton.
7.
I'm preparing (studying) for an exam

right now.
8. I have to get ready for the holiday.
9. Happy Victory Day!
10. This is a big victory for us.
11. What role does that play?
12. Who played the role of the cowardly lion
in the film The Wizard of Oz?
13. When did WWI begin?
14. The Great Patriotic War began on June
21st.
15. Pushkin is a great poet.
16. Peter the Great built the city of Saint
Petersburg.
17. My watch is very accurate.
18. I don't remember exactly, but I think his
name is Vasya.
19. During the war a lot of people perished.
20. My grandfather died in the war.
21. He earned $10 million this year.
25. .
22. There are 12,000 people living in

Princeton.
23. During the summer the children went to
(recreational) camp.
24. No one knows how many (concentration)
camps there were in the Soviet Union.
25. He was arrested last year.
26.
.
27.
?
26. The economic system in Russia is not

very efficient.
27. What do you think about (How do you
feel about) the war in Yugoslavia?
: ()-3
19-
"
______________________________
1. + describe
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
"
Insert the correct verb in the correct form
1. ___________________________________________________ .
2. ___________________________________________________ .
3. ____________________________________________________ duel.
4. _____________________________________________ cancer.
S19-4
"
Write four sentences (two each) with both kinds of before/after :
1.
2.
3.
4.
"
1. Vera was arrested on Tuesday. (Think about the 'subject' of this sentence.)
2. I often sleep during class.
3. How do you feel about rap music?
S19-5


1
_________________________________________.
________________________________________________, ,
, __________________________________________________.
. __________________________________________________
, _______________________________________.
________________________________________, ,
() .
8
9
10
11
12
, ________________________________________________? ,
, - .
? ____________________________________________________________.
?
. ________________________________________, , -
13
?- . ___________________________________, ,
14
_______________________ . ,
15
_____________________________ __________________________________________________
16
17
_____________________________________________,
18
. ______________________________________________________.
19
______________________________________ .
20
, ______________________________________________.
21
__________________________________________________.
22
, . _________________________________________,
23
, ____________________________________________
: ()-1
19-
24
(, ______________________________________
25
, ). ______________________________________
26
, , _______________________________________.
27
, ,
28
. _________________________________________________________________
29
. ,
30
. _______________________________________!
31
, _________________________________, ______________________
32
____________________________________ ,
33
________________________________________. ,
34
, _______________________________________ ,
35
______________________________________________________.
36
_____________________________________________________________.
: ()-2
Story Part 19
+ Genitive

after (+ Noun in Genitive)

after (+ Clause)
(Well explain the difference between these in the Grammar.)
sense of humor
Gulag ( - The Main

Agency of Corrective-Work Camps) Use this noun in the singular.
10
how should I put it?
16
England
21
+... // - + Dative
get ready for (prepare oneself for)
22
Victory Day May 9 (Celebrating the victory over Germany in WWII.)
23
before (See grammar explanation.)
23
role (Figure out the gender from the context.)
24
+// +
play (a role) (Note that the vowel changes when a prefix is attached to form the
Perfective.)
24
world (The noun world is , which, as you know, also mean peace.)
25
The Great Patriotic War (In Russia they usually talk about the war between
Russia and Germany, which is . To refer to the
war involving other countries the US, Japan, etc., they say
.)
great ( Peter the Great)
27
exact
27
+ Genitive
during; in the time (of) (A phrasal preposition.)
27
+ // [] +
perish; die an unnatural death (More in Grammar.)
27
million
28
After numbers 5, instead of , which is the Genitive Plural, the form

is used. Even though this looks exactly like the Nominative Singular,
its actually an old form of the Genitive Plural. We saw the exact same thing with
, which is the also both the Nominative Singular and the Genitive Plural.
29
(M)
End-stressed in the Plural
camp (Can be used to describe a summer camp, as well as a concentration camp.)
29
+ // +
arrest (It may be to believe, but approximately 350,000 Russian soldiers who
were taken prisoner by the Germans were sent to the Gulag after returning to
Russia. Apparently Stalin felt that soldiers who did not die in battle could not be
trusted entirely. Nearly all officers were sent to camps.)
30
Germany (Recall that the language is !)
32
system (Note that its feminine!)
32
+...
victory
fatherland
+ Dative
relate to; feel about; have an attitude toward
: ()-3
A.
.
.
.
Mascline Irregular Nom Plural

More Irregular Nom Plural
+ Infinitive
Sample Sentences
- :
S20.A
Masculine Nominative Plural Nouns in stressed {}
There is a small, but important group of masculine nouns that have stressed {} for the nominative plural form
(instead of the normal {I}). They are:
Nominative Singular
Nominative Plural in {}
evening
voice
city
year
( is also found)
house
forest
camp
train
professor
teacher
In fact, all forms of the plural, not just the nominative, are end-stressed for these nouns:
End-Stressed in Plural (With {} for Nominative)
: ()-1
S20.
Other Irregular Masculine Plural Nouns: in -
There are two other groups of masculine nouns with irregular plurals, both of which have their nominative plural
in -. One group has stressed -, the other unstressed -. In the genitive plural those nouns in - lose the
soft sign and end up with the ending -.1 Those in unstressed - keep the soft sign and add the {O} ending
(spelled -). (Note that nearly all are masculine people and we know some people who are barely
indistinguishable from chairs.)
Nominative Plural in - > Genitive Plural in - (No in Genitive!)
son
friend
husband
Nominative Plural in - > Genitive Plural in - (Keep in

Genitive)
brother
chair
In the other cases, both types have .

Other Cases: All in -- / -:
**Note: All forms of plural (, ) have a except the Genitive/Accusative**
Put the nouns into the correct form. Pay close attention to stress.
1. (professors) .
2. (brothers)?
3. (friends).
4. , (trains) .
5. (husbands).
6. (camps).
7. (forests).
8. (chairs)
9. (Brothers) ?
10. (cities) ?
11. (houses).
12. (voices).
Well leave unanswered the question as to whether this is the ending (similar to ) or the - ending (similar to
)
: ()-2
20- ()
S20.
+ Infinitive: (In order) to...
Previously we saw used together with a Past Tense verb to indicate what one person wants (wanted)
another person to do:
, !
I want you to leave right now!
, ?
Why didnt you want me to invite her?
, .
Dima wants you to call him.
can also be used with an Infinitive with the meaning in order to...; so as to. Note that quite often in
English in order (so as) is left out:
- ,
.
(In order) to speak Russian without an accent,

(one) must live around ten years in Russia.
One must study every day (in order) to get good

grades,
,
.
(In order) to sleep well, (one/you) should read a

little about Verbs of Motion before going to bed.
. All uses of are possible here.
1. My mother wants me to brush my teeth.
2. In order to become actor, one must brush (ones)

hair every evening.
3. One must work in order to live.
4. They dont want us to eat breakfast without them.
5. He doesnt want her to cry.
6. To feel good, one must run every morning.
: ()-3
S19.
Practice Sentences
+ //
+
1. ,
.
1.
She got up, quickly got dressed, and left.
2.
Why does it always take you so long to

get dressed?
3.
Hurry up and get dressed. Were already

late.
4.
.
4.
My sister brushes her hair for an hour

every morning.
5. , ,

.
5.
I took a shower, got dressed, combed my

hair, and took off for the university.
6.
.
6.
He has very straight and clean teeth.
7.
He doesnt brush his teeth every day.
8.
Masha smoked for around 20 years and

her teeth turned (became) yellow.
9. ?
9.
Have you had breakfast already?
10. .
10. Let's grab a quick breakfast.
+ //
11.
.
11. He walked as far as the bus stop and sat

down on a bench.
12. , ?
12. Do you know where the bus stop is

around here?
13. .
.
13. I don't believe him. He deceives

everyone.
14. .
.
14. You were cheated. This samovar is not

antique.
15. ,
.
15. In order to get good grades, you have to

study.
+ //
16. ,
.
16. Be careful when you cross the street.
17. !
17. Nina is always so cheerful!
18. .
18. We had a good time at Lyovas place.
19. .
19. I can't stand rude people.
20. !
20. Don't be so rude.
21. .
21. He was taken away to the hospital.
22. .
22. All the doctors in this hospital are fools.
23. ,
.
23. Don't bother my grandmother. She's very

ill.
2.
?
3. .
.
+ //
+ // -
7. .
8. ,
.
a+ //
+ // +
+ Infinitive
(), ,
: ()-4
20- ()
24. , .
24. I can't come today. I'm sick.
25. , .
25. You think with your heart and not your

head.
26. - .
.
+ // -
26. He has something wrong with his heart.

He should go to the doctor's.
27. .
27. We met a month ago.
28.
.
28. Everything was better 50 years ago.
29. .
29. My grandfather died of a heart attack.
30.
.
30. Vera's grandmother had a heart attack a

month and a half ago.
31. ,
.
31. I don't want to trouble you but I need

those chairs.
32.
.
32. We don't want to trouble you with our

problems.
33.
.
33. All the professors at Princeton are kooky.

34. I don't envy professors at Harvard.
34.
.

35.
.
35. He slowly walked down the hall, carrying

a samovar.
36. .
36. You have a very familiar face.
37. ,
o.
37. As I was walking down the hall, I heard

familiar voices.
38. .
38. I don't like their voices.
+ //
39. .
39. He walked into the room and sat on the

floor.
+ // +
40. ,
.
40. When I saw her, I fainted.
41. Lyuda faints about three times a week.
41.
.
: ()-5
20-
"
______________________________
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. reaction
"
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the plural noun
1. _______________________________________________ ! (professors)
2. _______________________________________________? (brothers)
3. _________________________________________? (chairs)
4. ___________________________________________. (friends)
5. - _________________________________________________. (cities)
S20-6
"
1. When he saw Sara, he almost fainted.
2. I bursh my teeth three times a day.
3. My grandmother had a heart attack six months ago. Thank goodness, now she's OK (she's in order).
"
V.O.D.:
+ offend
PRESENT
PAST
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
INF
______________________________________
IMPER
___________________________________
S20-7
...
And what if he was deceiving me...
...
1
2
And what if he was deceiving me....
. ______________________________
.
__________________________________________________________,
_____________________________, , , .
, _____________________________________________________
(), , ___________________________________________________
. _______________________________________,
. , __________________________________________________,
. _________________________________________
10
_____________________________________________.
11
__________________________________________,
12
. . , .
13
14
, _____________________________
______________________________________________________.
15
, ! ________________________________________________?
16
______________________________________________________, , ,
17
__________________________________________________________.
18
19
____________________________________________________________,
20
, ____________________________________________ .
21
22
, , _________________________________________________________,
23
, ? . - .
24
, , ____________________________________________________
25
. , _____________________________________
26
27
28
29
, _________________________________________________________________.
. ?
, _______________________________________.
: ()-1
20-
30
31
.
, ____________________________________________________________.
32
_____________________________________________________________
33
____________________________________________________.
34
_________________________________________________ .
35
, ____________________________________________________________.
36
37
, ___________________________________________________
38
_______________________________________. _______________________,
39
-____________________________________________ .
40
41
, , .
____________________________________________ .
: ()-2
Story Part 19
There are quite a number of Verbs of Motion with prefixes, which we will discuss in a later lesson.
+ //
comb (brush) ones hair
tooth
+ // -
brush ones teeth
a+ // -
eat breakfast
breakfast
/ ()
//
reach (by foot); go as far as

bus stop
11
+ //
12
+ Infinitive
in order to
13
cross (street)
20
cheerful; happy
20
rude
23
hospital
23
(), ,
sick (Short form adjective)
23
heart (Related to cardiac)
24
()
ago ( is optional, though a bit more bookish.)
25
heart attack
29
+ // -
cause someone to worry; trouble; disturb (Note that this verb takes a direct object,
while +... with does not. More on this later.)
32
(This is the Nominative Plural See the grammar explanation.)
37
down the hall (Note that this is a different meaning of + Dative than we saw in
We drove around/toured Europe)
38
familiar
38
(This is the Nominative Plural See the grammar explanation.)
40
41
+ // +
//
//
deceive; trick (Shifting stress occurs in the Perfective Future, not the Past
Tense. This is similar to +, +)
enter; walk into

faint (Lit.: fall into a fainting spell)
: ()-3
A.
.
.
- (-)
Sample Sentences
:
S21.A
The Multifaceted World of - / -
First things first:
Verbs in - (-) are never followed by an Accusative Direct Object

The verbal particle - (- after vowels) has several meanings. The one absolute rule is that you never get a
direct object in Accusative following a verb in -.1 So, all - verbs are intransitive. (In case you forgot, a
transitive verb takes a direct object. hit, see, buy are transitive; ache, smile, travel are intransitive). Lets look at
the various meanings of -:
1) Subject = Object: True Reflexive Verb He washed himself

When the action of the verb reflects back onto the subject (the subject performs the action on him/herself), -
indicates a reflexive verb:
Transitive Verbs
True Reflexive Verbs (-)
Kolya washed (his) son.
Kolya washed himself.
Lara brushed (her) daughters hair.
Lara brushed her (own) hair..
Grandmother dressed (her) grandson.
Grandmother got dressed.
For reasons that escape us, many textbooks refer to all - verbs as reflexive. It is true that all - verbs are
intransitive, but not all are reflexive.
To be perfectly honest, after the verb +... it is possible to find the Accusative: . The Genitive is also
correct: .
: ()-1
2) Subjects = Objects: Reciprocal Verbs They kissed (each other)

Some verbs with - have a reciprocal meaning, i.e., the action is not reflected back onto the subject, but rather
from one person to another. So, the verb +... does not mean kiss oneself, but kiss each other. In many
cases the reciprocal meaning of - is equivalent to a transitive verb with (but not always its
complicated). By definition, reciprocal verbs must be plural.
Transitive Verbs
Reciprocal Verbs
I kissed her.
We kissed (each other).
Kira met me.
We met (one another).
They saw each other.
They often see each other.
Make the transitive verb a - verb. Keep the same subject.
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
: ()-2
21- ()
3) Object becomes Subject (sometimes): The lesson began

In many cases when - is added to a transitive verb, the direct object (Accusative) of the transitive sentence
becomes the subject (Nominative) of the intransitive sentence. Make sure that the - verb agrees with the new
subject and not the old subject of the transitive sentence:
Transitive Verbs
Intransitive Verbs
Direct Object becomes Subject of - Verb

(ACC).
(NOM) .
The professor started the lesson.
The lesson started.
(ACC).
(NOM) .
The professor ended the lecture.
The lecture ended.
(ACC).
(NOM) .
We opened the door.
The door opened.
(ACC).
(NOM) .
They closed the window.
The window closed.
(ACC).
(NOM)
.
Chemistry interests Sasha.
Sasha is interested in chemistry.
(ACC).
(NOM) .
I broke the TV.
The TV broke.
(ACC).
(NOM).
He sold me a samovar.
Samovars are sold here.
In some cases the - verb is not the exact intransitive of the transitive verb. Sometimes the difference between
the two verbs is rather quirky (+ vs. +, for example):
Subject of - Verb is not from Transitive non- Verb
He returned the money to me.
We returned home.
Masha turned to the right.
Masha turned around.
Turn the transitive verb into a - verb.
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
: ()-3
4) No clearly obvious meaning to -: We laughed

For a number of verbs, it is hard to see precisely what meaning the - carries. Such verbs do not have a non-
counterpart (theres no +, +). Well call these meaningless - verbs. (The verbs themselves are not
meaningless, the - is.)
Meaningless - Verbs
?
What are you afraid of?
.
Were not laughing at you.
.
I admire you. / I think youre great.

.2
I study three hours every day
5) Strange but true: Imperfective has -, Perfective doesnt / He went to bed

Weve had three pairs of verbs where the Imperfective has -, while the Perfective does not. (This goes to show
why its basically impossible to give a nice, neat definition of what - means the Imperfective has the same
meaning as the Perfective, so how could the former have - and but not the latter? One of lifes mysteries.)
Imperfective: -
Perfective: No -
I usually go to bed at 1:00.
Last night I went to sleep around 4.
Have a seat.
He sat down on the sofa.
Its getting cold.
It got warm suddenly.
1. Vera used to go to bed at 1:00.
2. Yesterday Vera went to bed at 12:00.
3. What is he afraid of?
4. He greatly admires his father.
5. Its getting interesting.
6. It got cold.
7. Whom are you laughing at?
8. He studies 12 hours a day.
9. He walked in and sat down on the floor.
10. Have a seat!
Technically, there does exist a verb + occupy, but +... has really acquired a separate meaning.
: ()-4
21- ()
S21.
(By) Oneself: , , ,
To express oneself, by oneself, use the Nounjective (, , note the very strange stress pattern,
where the Neuter and Feminine are end-stressed, while the Masculine and Plural are stem-stressed.). In effect,
adds emphasis, and is not required. normally appears either directly following the subject or following
the verb phrase though you shouldnt be shocked to find it in other positions. For now, stick to the Nominative
Case (by far the most common).
Meanings of :
1) Emphatic I myself / my (very) self (and no one else)
?
Did they themselves tell you that?
, .
You yourself understand that it was impossible.
The president himself called me.
2) By oneself (without help of another)

?
Did you do it (by) yourself? (No one assisted you?)
,
.
I cant believe that he wrote the paper by himself.
Ill do everything myself.
With inanimate subjects, there can be a mysterious quality to :
The door opened by itself.
The window closed by itself.
The radio turns itself off automatically.
Add the appropriate form of / / / . Dont worry if your word order differs
from the tape:
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. . turned off
5. .
6. .
7. , .
8.
9. .
10. .
: ()-5
S21.
Sample Sentence
+ // +
1.
2.
3.
4.
+... //
+...
5.
6.
7.
8.
+
Nominative
9.
10.
?
?
.

.
.

.

.

.
?
?
11. ,
.
12. , .
(soft!)
13.
?
14.
.
15. , .
16.
.
17. ?
+... //
{+... / +...} 18. .
, ,
-, -, -
19. .
20. ,
.
+... //
21.
+... ( )
.
22. .
- .
{+ / + } // 23. ,
+
.
1.
2.
What's happening here?

When did that all happen?
3.
4.
The professor ended the lesson.

I finished my dissertation a week ago.
5.
The spring semester ends in May.
6.
The film will end in around 20 minutes.
7.
I walked into the room and immediately

sat down on the sofa.
I came home and immediately called the
police.
8.
9.
What does the Genitive Case have to do

with anything?
10. What does Nina have to do with
anything?
11. I feel bad / It's a shame that you can't
come.
12. It's too bad that you didn't see him.
13. What are your plans for spring break?
14. The spring semester starts in February.
15. I think they had an affair.

16. My grandmother had an affair with JFK.
17. When does the class start?
18. The film started around ten minutes ago.
19. I myself can't do anything.

20. You yourself understand that it was
impossible.
21. He turned around and walked out of the
room.
22. Turn around toward me. I want to show
you something.
23. I found out yesterday that my father
works for the CIA.
: ()-6
21- ()
24. ,
.
25.
?
26.
.
27.
.
28. -,
29. -, ,

30.
.
31. .
.
32. .
33. .
34.
.
35. .
36.
.
37. ,
. .
38. .
39. .
24. We'll find out tomorrow whether Masha

is coming.
25. What do you know about the situation in
Yugoslavia?
26. Im having a unpleasant time with
money.
27. He asked me a very complex question.
28. First of all, I dont know you very well
29. First of all, we dont live in a house, we
live in an apartment
30. It's impossible not to love Rusian
grammar.
31. Its impossible to understand him. He
talks too fast.
32. My uncle is a rich businessman.
33. The CIA is in Virginia.
34. After Princeton, I want to work for the
CIA.
35. My grandfather was a spy.
36. James Bond is a famous English spy.
37. I just found out from Vera that you got
married. Congratulations!
38. He just left.
39. His father was a KGB agent.
: ()-7
21-
"
______________________________
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. (2-3 sentences)
"
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of a verb, paying attention to
1. _____________________________________ .
2. __________________________________________.
3. __________________________________________ .
4. _______________________________________________ .
5. _____________________________________________ go to sleep .
S21-8

6. ____________________________________________ . (same action as 5)
7. , ____________________________________ __________________________________.
8. ________________________________________ .
9. ______________________________________________________. (same action as 8)
10. ____________________________________ .
"
1. I myself just found out that my father is a spy and that my mother works for the CIA.
2. What does Masha have to do with it?
3. I turned away from (think!) Mitya and left the room.
"
V.O.D.:
+ serve (in the army)

PRESENT
PAST
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
INF
______________________________________
IMPER
___________________________________
S21-9
?
What is going on here?
What is going on here?
? ___________________________________________________.
, ? , , , _________________________?
____________________________________,
, __________________________________________________________________,
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
, ________________________________, _______________________
_____________________________ ? .
? , , ______________________
, .
? _________________________________________________________?
.
________________________________________________,
. ?, .
, . __________________________
16
__________________________. ____________________________________
17
_______________________________, .
18
____________________, __________________________________________, .
19
, ? .
20
, . __________________________ ,
21
22
23
.
, ! _________________________________________.
!!, . .
24
_______________________________________________!
25
26
, ? , ___________________________
27
_____________________________. ?, .
28
, . -, ,
29
________________________________________________! .
: ()-1
21-
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
, ! ! ______________________________
_____________________________________! .
, _____________________________________________________________,
, , .
? , ___________________________
_____________________________________, .
___________________________________________, ,
.
38
? , .
39
, _____________________________________________________. ,
40
. . ______________________________________
41
_______________________. ,..., ___________________
42
_______________________________________________, .
43
44
? __________________________________________________________?
. .
45
________________________________________________________________________.
46
, , , _____________________________________
47
. , -. , .
48
_____________________________________________________, , ,
49
___________________ .
50
51
! . ___________________________
_____________________________________ , .
52
_____________________________________________
53
. _______________________________________
54
. , . , __________________________.
55
, .
56
57
__________________________________________________________________,
. .
58
________________________________________________.
59
___________________________________________________________________________
60
__________________________________________________________________________
: ()-2
Story Part 19
happen; occur; take place (Here we give the Present and Past Perfective, the
most common forms. This verb almost always appears in the 3rd person singular.)
+ // +
finish; complete (More in grammar explanation)
+... // +...
(come to an) end (More in grammar explanation)
+ Nominative
what does [Noun] have to do with anything here?
Person feels sorry/regrets that...
11
(soft!)
adjective from
19
romance (In addition to novel)
20
+... // {+... /
+...}
begin Intransitive (More in grammar explanation)
20
-, -, -
oneself (More in grammar explanation)
22
, + Accusative
the heck with Person
23
hate
25
+... //
+... ( )
1) with : turn towards Person

2) without : turn around
26
{+ / + +} // + find out; learn; discover
28
situation
28
/ (e)
complicated; complex
28
first of all; in the first place
30
o (o) (Feminine)
love
33
impossible
40
businessman
40
CIA ( )
44
spy
47
just (recently)
47
agentive suffix (Also: -)
49
+ Past
its impossible for (X to happen)
: ()-3

Russo 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Russo 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Dialogues:

A: Hi! How's it going?

Nina, hi! Whats up?

Dont ask. And with you?

Nothing. (Everything is pretty much OK.)

[Ne sprshivay. A u teby?]

Well, OK, see you later. (Misha walks

[Nna, privt! Chto slshno?]

Sorry, Im in a hurry. Later.

[Nu, ldno, do svidniya. (Misha walks away) Nakhl!]

Good. And with you? (How about you?)

[Izvin, mne nkogda. Pok.]

Misha, hi! Hows it going? (How are

Hi! Hows it going?

[Msha, privt! Kak del?]

Sorry, Im in a hurry. Later.

[Izvin, mne nkogda. Pok.]

Well, all right, see you later. (Nina walks

hi (used only with friends and family)

[kak del?] two words

hows it going? how are things?

and you? (lit: and by you?)

[tk sebe] two words

so-so (this is somewhat negative)

excuse (me); pardon (me); sorry

Im in a hurry; I have to run (lit: to me there is no time)

(see you) later

OK, all right (sign of agreement)

[do svidniya] two

good-bye; see you later

rude person who does not think of others; jerk (male)

whats up?; whats new? (lit.: what is audible?)

[ne sprshivay] two

nothing ( also has an adverbial meaning not bad, OK.)

(Numbers following words and phrases below refer to lines in dialogue)

Informal vs. Formal Forms of Address (Introduction)

Russian Has No Verb To Be in the Present Tense

Russian to English: Fixed Expressions

NOTE ON CHAPTER ONE:

Great! How about you?

Hi, Misha! Hows it going?

Hi! Hows it going?

Sorry, Im in a hurry (= I have no time).

[Izvin, mne nkogda. Pok.]

Well, OK, see you later. (Msha walks

[zdrstvuy] (first [v] is silent)

hi (not quite as informal as [privt])

The Russian lphabet - Part I

Listen and repeat:

RUSSIAN LETTER APPROXIMATE SOUND

t as in stop (with the tongue against the upper teeth)

TWO IMPORTANT NOTES:

Listen and repeat (keeping in mind the above two notes):

Listen and repeat:

RUSSIAN LETTER APPROXIMATE SOUND

n as in no (tongue against the upper teeth)

r as in run (but trilled)

s as in set (also: as in ice)

no exact English equivalent (roughly ch as is Bach or Scottish Loch)

Listen and repeat:

Do Oral Exercise 1 in the Homework (page 2-6) now!

Listen and repeat: