Russian Study Guide

Episode #1
NOTE: For the full episode audio, supplemental audio exercises, transcripts
(and other great resources for learning Russian) head over to
RussianMadeEasy.com
Hello, this is Mark. Welcome to Russian Made Easy. If you have any doubts
about your ability to learn Russian, you can set them aside right now. The fact is,
your success in the language has nothing to do with whether you're good at
languages or not. It all comes down to the method you use.
In these podcasts we'll be using modern language learning techniques like

contextual learning and pattern recognition to help you learn Russian in no time.
All you need to do is just follow along...and be sure to speak out loud when
prompted.
Alright, let's jump right in. I'd like you to listen to the following three Russian
words and try to guess what they could possibly mean. Even if you have no
experience at all, I bet you'll get them. Ready?
доктор, инженер, бизнесмен
[NOTE: I've chosen to not sound out the Russian words in this transcript using
English letters. So be sure to read along with the audio of the podcast. For those
who'd like to be able to read Russian -- and I assure you, it can be learned very
easily, in a few days -- I'll include a link at the bottom of this transcript to my
course on reading Russian.]
I'm going to have our native speaker say them again, and I'd like you to repeat,
out loud, after he says each one. The thing is, learning a language requires
participation. If you just passively listen to these podcasts, you won't benefit
much. So, throughout all these podcasts, I'll be asking you to say things --
out loud -- in Russian all the time. So, please repeat after the native speaker:
You probably found it easy to understand the meaning of those Russian words.
That's because they're cognates, that is, words that sound very similar between
two languages and have the same meaning.
Repeat them one more time after our native speaker. That rolled "r" will be tricky
for you at first, but we'll perfect it a bit later. So, just try your best for now.
So, in English we say doctor, and in Russian it's: доктор
We say "engineer" but in Russian they pronounce it: инженер
And we say businessman, but in Russian it's...бизнесмен
Now it's your turn. I want you to fill in the Russian occupation at the end of each
sentence. And please say it out loud.
Someone who practices medicine is a....доктор,
Someone who provides solutions to technical problems is an...инженер

Someone who owns a business is a...бизнесмен
Again, those are cognates. And the good news is that there are hundreds of
cognates between Russian and English. In essence, it means you come into the
language already knowing hundreds of useful words. We just need to "russify"
our pronunciation a bit.
Alright, now let's look at a purely Russian word. Repeat after the speaker:
Я
One more time:

Я
What does it mean? Well, the best way to learn the meaning is to let your brain
figure it out on its own, by how it's used in a sentence. This is what we call
"Learning from context." Let's give it a try.
My Dad happens to be a doctor. So, if a Russian person asked my dad what he

does, he'd answer with
two words:
Я - доктор.
My brother, meanwhile, is an engineer. So, if a Russian person asked my

brother what he does, he'd
answer with these two words:
Я - инженер.
So Я translates as....I
Try saying, all in Russian: I am a doctor.

Я - доктор.
Now say: I am an engineer.

Я - инженер.
Notice how Russian doesn't add any verb here. They literally say just:
I - engineer.
This brings up an important point. Students write to me all the time asking,
"So...In Russian they just say I engineer?? Aren't they missing the word am?"
Here's the thing: Languages are NOT translations of each other. They are each
a unique way of using sound to convey information about the world. So, if you're
trying to tell a Russian speaker, "I ....am ....a ..... doctor" you don't want to grab a
dictionary and say "OK, now what's the Russian word for "I". And the Russian
word for "am"? And so on. What you want to know is how they convey the idea
that "I'm a doctor."
So, do not expect Russian to have a word for everything that English has a
word for. But you can expect it to have some way of expressing the same things
that we need to express in English.
With that in mind, please say the following in Russian: I'm a businessman.
Я - бизнесмен.
So far so good? Great! Then let's try two more purely Russian words. Repeat
after the native speaker:
он, она
One more time:

он, она
Instead of me just telling you what ОН and ОНА mean, it's much more
effective to let you figure out the meanings on your own, by how they're used.
Again, this is what's known as learning from context. So...
We remember that my father is a doctor, right?

So, if someone asks me what my dad does, I'd say:
Он - доктор.
And if someone asks me what my brother does, I'd say:

Он - инженер.
Do you have a feel for what it means? "Он" is one of the Russian words for "he".
Try saying: He is a businessman.

Он - бизнесмен.
Now, any guess what OHA means?
Well, imagine my sister is a doctor, and a Russian person asks me what she
does. I'd tell them:
Она - доктор.
So, OHA is one of the Russian words meaning "she." So how would you say:
She is an engineer.
Она - инженер.
If you're getting all these, you're off to a great start!
V.O. And now, here's your Tip of the Day from Russian Made Easy...
This is roughly the halfway point of this podcast and I'd like to share some
thoughts about memory. In a nutshell, when learning a new language, here's the
trick to developing your long term memory:
You start by learning anywhere from three to seven new words. You need to
learn them from context, and then use them in a sentence or two. So you learn
it, then use it. And then, here's the key: You think about something else.
Look out the window, for example, and describe what you see. Or go to ESPN's
website and read about last night's game. Do something requiring all your
attention. That, of course, is what I'm making you do at this very moment. The
big variable is how long you're able to concentrate on this other task and
still retain the new information you learned. But even a minute or two will suffice.
Down the road, once you've developed your Russian vocabulary, you can do
this kind of diversional thinking in Russian instead of English.
Then the final step -- after that brief time out -- is to try to recall as much as you
can of what you just learned. If you're able to, try writing everything out.
Otherwise, just say things out loud.
So take a moment and ask yourself what were the new words and phrases we
learned so far in this podcast. I'll wait, while you find the PAUSE button.
Alright...so, how'd you do? By my count, we learned six new words, so check
your list. You should have "Doctor, engineer, and businessman"
and "I, he, she"

Я он она
If you remembered most or all of them, you're doing great. So here's your mid-
podcast exam: Please say the following in Russian:
I'm a businessman, he's an engineer, she's a doctor.

Я - бизнесмен. Он - инженер. Она - доктор.
Ready for more? Let's learn three more easy cognates dealing with professions.
As always, repeat after the native speaker:
музыкант, студент, студентка
Try to say them again, this time before our speaker. Go!
музыкант, студент, студентка
Good job! Now here they are in context:
Anyone who plays a musical instrument can be considered a музыкант

My favorite музыкант is Paul McCartney.
So, tell me. What's the Russian word for musician?

музыкант
What about the meaning of студент and студентка? Well...
If you go to school, and you're a male, you're a студент,
If you go to school, and you're a female, you're a студентка
So we see that Russian has a male and female version of the word "student"
студент for guys,
студентка for girls.
Now that we've learned them by seeing them in context, let's use them in a
sentence. Tell someone that you're a musician:
Я - музыкант
Say: She is a student.

Она - студентка
How about: Sergei is a student.

Сергей - студент
By the way, just with the tone of our voice, we can create questions with these
words. For example, what do you think this person is asking?
Он - студент?
Is he a student?
How would you ask: Is Katya a student?

Катя - студентка?
Is Nikolai a musician?
Николай - музыкант?
We've actually covered a lot of material in this podcast, and I'm tempted to stop
here to let it sink in. But there are two more reaaaaallly easy cognates I'd like to
toss in. So, take a wild guess which family members these are. Ready?
Мама
Папа
I'm sure that really stumped you guys. So, tell someone:
Dad is a doctor.
Папа - доктор.
Mom is a musician.
Мама - музыкант.
I'm a student. (if you're a guy)

Я - студент.
How would a girl say that?

Я - студентка.
Dad is a businessman.
Папа - бизнесмен.
Mom is an engineer.
Мама - инженер.
How'd you do with these? If you got most or all of these, then you're off to a
great stat already in Russian. Next time we'll talk about the biggest mistake that
virtually all language students make.
By the way, I've made a much shorter, practice version of this podcast. It has
just the exercises, without the explanations. So head over to
RussianMadeEasy.com to grab a copy of those plus a full transcript of this
podcast. I'll see you in the next episode.
Here's the link for the read Russian video series I mentioned:
Learn to Read Russian
All Rights Reserved

Unique Digital Publishing, LLC 2013
Episode #2
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to this second podcast of Russian Made Easy. Let's start by reviewing
what we learned in the first podcast. Although we learned eleven new words --
which is a lot -- eight of them were cognates, so it was still a manageable
amount of new words.
Anyway, imagine you're in Moscow with some friends of yours who don't know
any Russian. After each Russian phrase you hear, please say the English
translation out loud. Ready?
Мама - доктор.
Mom is a doctor.
[NOTE: As I mentioned in the transcript of Podcast 1, I've chosen to not sound

out the Russian words in this transcript using English letters. So be sure to read
along with the audio of the podcast. And if you'd like to be able to read Russian
-- and I promise you, it can be learned in just a few days -- I'll include a link at
the bottom of this transcript to my course on reading Russian.]
Папа - бизнесмен.
Dad is a businessman.
Он - инженер.
He is an engineer.
Я - музыкант.
I'm a musician.
Наташа - студентка?
Is Natasha a student?
Николай - студент?
Is Nikolai a student?
So, how did you do? If you got all of those, you should feel really good about
yourself. If you had trouble, then it's probably a good idea to listen to the first
podcast again, taking written notes as you go. Although, don't worry too much.
These podcasts are cumulative, so you'll get more practice and exposure to all
the words we learn.
Anyway, here's our first new word for today. Please repeat after the native
speaker:
Это
One more time:

это
Can you figure out the meaning? Imagine you're in Moscow with your friends,
John and Sandy. A Russian person has asked you who your friends are, so you
point to John and say:
Это Джон.
Then you point to Sandy and say:

Это Сэнди.
Or imagine that a Russian acquaintance is looking at a photo of your parents.

You point to your Dad and say:
Это папа.
Then you point to your mom and say...

...hmm, can you guess?
That's right:
Это мама.
So, how would you translate ЭТО?
In this context, eto translates as "This is"
Pretend your Russian friend is looking at a baby photo of you. Of course, she
can't tell who it is, so you point to the photo and say:
Это я.
In English we'd say: This is me. But in Russian they phrase it literally:
This is...I.
Listen again:
Это я.
And that brings up an extremely important point:
You need to know both the normal English version and the super-literal version
for each phrase you learn. This is what I was referring to at the end of the first
podcast: The biggest mistake that virtually all language students make is they
don't learn the super-literal translation of things...what we call the SLT. As you'll
see throughout these podcasts, I'll always point out the SLT. This is a great
shortcut to actually thinking in Russian.
OK, next...
Imagine you're having dinner at your Russian friend's house. Uncle Vadim
plunks down a shotglass in front of you and fills it with a clear liquid, telling you:
Это водка.
What do you think he said? Listen again:

Это водка.
He said: This is vodka.
So the word vodka is a cognate. We say vodka, but in Russian it has a full "oh"
sound:
водка
Listen again and repeat after our native speaker:

водка
You're still at this Russian dinner, when grandma serves you a bowl of red soup,
saying:
Это борщ.
Listen again:
Это борщ.
She said...This is borscht.

That last sound in that word is a sh-ch sound. Like, "fish chips"...shh-ch...
Repeat after the speaker:

борщ
If you've never had it, by the way, borscht is a delicious soup made with
cabbage, beets, potatoes and a bit of pork.
Now let's re-do this dinner scenario, except this time let's ask about the food or
drink. So, ask Uncle Vadim: This is vodka?
Это водка?
He nods his head,

Да, это водка.
Ask grandma: This is borscht?
Это борщ?
She smiles and nods:

Да, это борщ.
ДА as you probably guessed, is the Russian word for YES.
Of course, in normal English we're more likely to phrase those questions by

saying, "IS this" instead of the literal "This is", right? We'd ask:
Is this vodka? That's the normal English version. But they phrase it literally:
This is vodka?
ЭТО is such a useful word, we need to work with it some more. So pretend
you're showing your Russian friend some photos of your trip to Russia. She
points to one photo and asks:
Это Сэнди?
Tell her:
Yes, this is Sandy.
Да, это Сэнди.
She points to another:

Это Джон?
Tell her: Yes, this is John.

Да, это Джон.
Imagine you're showing her a family photo, now, and say the following phrases
in Russian:
This is Dad. He is an engineer.

Это папа. Он - инженер.
This is mom. She is a doctor.

Это мама. Она - доктор.
This is Jeff. He is a musician.

Это Джэф. Он - музыкант.
This is Steve. He is a student.
Это Стив. Он - студент.
This is Tanya. She is a student.

Это Таня. Она - студентка.
Let's add two new Russian words now. Repeat after the speaker:
мой....моя
One more time: мой....моя
As always, let's try to figure out the meaning from context.

Imagine that the Russian dinner you're attending has turned into a party. Lots of
people are coming and going, putting their drinks down here, and their food
down over there, and so on. You walk up to the table and pick up what you
thought was your bowl of borscht, but some woman says...
Эй, это мой борщ!
Whoa! You put the woman's soup down and back away apologetically. A bit later,
you pick up the shotglass of vodka that you're certain is yours. And yet, a guy
turns and says:
Эй, это моя водка!
Again, you put his shotglass down and wander off in search of yours.
So, how would you translate these?
это мой борщ translates as, "This is my borscht."
And это моя водка! translates as "This is my vodka."
As we see, Russian has two different ways to say "my." And actually, it has
many, MANY more ways to say "my." But first things first. Let's see if we can
figure out when to use мой and when to use моя.
In fact, I realize you have little or no experience with Russian grammar, and yet
-- just for fun -- I wonder if you can guess which to use. In three words, how
might you say:
He is my doctor.
Он мой доктор.
And how about: She is my student.

Она моя студентка.
Whether you got those right or wrong, we'll come back and look at them in a
minute. But I want to continue for just a moment by giving you two new, easy
cognates. The Russian word for pizza is:
пицца
And the Russian word for soup is...

суп
Say them out loud:

пицца
суп
Now, just by guessing, how do you think you'd say:
This is my soup.
Это мой суп.
How about:
This is my pizza.
Это моя пицца.
I bet you're catching on to a pattern here. Let's try some more, to make sure
you're getting it. Say just...
My vodka.
Моя водка.
My pizza.
Моя пицца.
My borscht.
Мой борщ.
My soup.
Мой суп.
My male student.
Мой студент.
My female student.
Моя студентка.
In your own words, how would you describe the pattern here? Hit pause and
think about it for a moment.
OK, so...If a word ends in an "ah" sound -- like пиццА студентКА and водКА --
it needs "моя." Otherwise we use "мой".
This is where so many Russian courses go wrong. They burden students right
off the bat with the intimidating grammar terms for this. They make students
memorize stuff like "nominative case" and "adjective noun agreement" and
"declension paradigms" as if that's how we actually learn grammar. Well it's not.
The superior method for teaching grammar is to simply let the student discover
the patterns. And in Russian, it's particularly easy because -- as you'll see
throughout these podcasts -- Russian grammar is based on rhyming. Listen
again...I'll exaggerate the endings of the words:
моя пицца
моя водка
And how about...
она моя студентка
I'll say it again, because this is a fundamental point: Russian grammar is based
on rhyming. These words that end in an "ah" sound: пицца...водка...студентка
and so on, are called feminine.
All the others are considered masculine. Now, admittedly, the masculine pairs
weren't really rhyming. I mean, суп doesn't rhyme with мой. Neither does
студент or доктор and so on. But masculine words WILL rhyme in many other
situations. It depends on the phrase. Just know that there is a ton of rhyming in
Russian, and I'll be pointing it out as we go.
There is one exception to this pattern, though. Listen to our native speaker say:
This is my Dad.
Это мой папа.

Это мой папа. Hmm....ПАПА ends in an "ah" sound, so why didn't we say
"моя"? Well, simply put, papa is masculine. Isn't it? I mean, your Papa is a man.
It doesn't get more masculine than that. So, despite the "ah" sound at the end of
papa, it's still treated as a masculine word. That's why it gets мой.
One last pair of new words, to wrap this all up today. Repeat after the speaker:
твой
твоя
One more time...

твой
твоя
Let's try to get them from context. To do so, let's go back one more time to that
Russian dinner party we were at. You remember how you were picking up other
people's soup and vodka, thinking they were yours? Well, the host has noticed
that and approaches with a bowl of borscht. She hands it to you, saying:
Это твой борщ.
She then hands you a shotglass...
Это твоя водка.
So, how would you translate these?
это твой борщ translates as, "This is your borscht."
And это твоя водка! translates as "This is your vodka."
So, твой and твоя are two forms of the word "your". It's an informal version
that we use with friends and family members. We'll learn the formal version in a
future podcast.
Anyway, hand your friend a slice of pizza and tell him:
This is your pizza.

Это твоя пицца.
Hand someone their soup and say:

This is your soup.
Это твой суп.
Did you get those? We used твоя because it needs to rhyme with пицца
But we used the masculine form, твой with the word суп.
твоя пицца
твой суп
Imagine you're at the party, talking with one of your friends who is a teacher.
Pointing to a kid across the room, ask her:
Is he your student?
We'll phrase it literally just: He your student?
Он твой студент?
Point to a girl and ask:

Is she your student?
Она твоя студентка?
Then you notice what seems to be a family photo on your friend's desk. Point to
the woman in the photo and ask:
Is this your mom?

Это твоя мама?
Now point to the man in the picture:

Ask: Is this your dad?
Это твой папа?
How will she answer:

Yes, this is my mom.
Да, это моя мама.
Yes, this is my dad.

Да, это мой папа.
Did you remember to use the masculine forms -- твой and мой -- for the word
папа? Good!
Alright, here's your final exam for this podcast. Try saying the following phrases
in Russian. And please say them out loud...
Is this my soup?
Это мой суп?
Yes, this is your borscht.
Да, это твой борщ.
Is this my pizza?
Это моя пицца?
Yes, this is your pizza.

Да, это твоя пицца.
Is he your doctor?
Он твой доктор?
Yes, he is my doctor.
Да, он мой доктор.
Is she your mom?

Она твоя мама?
Yes, this is my mom.

Да, это моя мама.
This is my dad. He is an engineer.

Это мой папа. Он - инженер.
I bet you did great with those, so treat yourself to a slice of pizza today. And as
you eat it, tell yourself, Это моя пицца.
In the next episode, along with teaching you some cool new phrases, I'm going
to clear up a myth that people seem to believe in about Russian pronunciation.
And in the meantime, as I mentioned at the end of the last episode, I've made a
short, practice version of this podcast. It has just the exercises, without the
explanations. So head over to RussianMadeEasy.com to grab a copy of those,
and download the transcript to this podcast, and I'll see you in the next episode.
CLICK HERE to learn to read Russian quickly and easily
All Rights Reserved

Episode #3
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to this third podcast of Russian Made Easy. Let's start by reviewing
what we learned in the previous podcast.
Imagine you're at a cafe with your Russian friend. She comes back from the
bathroom and sees that the food you both ordered has been served. Say each
of the following phrases in Russian...out loud.
Is this my pizza?
[NOTE: As I've mentioned in each transcript of this series, I've decided to not
sound out the Russian words in here using English letters. Please listen to the
podcast as you read this transcript. And if you'd like to be able to read Russian --
and I promise you, it can be learned in a day or two -- I'll include a link at the
bottom of this transcript to my course on reading Russian. Start now and in a
few days you'll be able to read all the Russian in this document.]

Is this my soup?
Yes, this is your soup.

Да, это твой суп.
Is this your borscht?

Это твой борщ?
This is my vodka.
Это моя водка.
So, how did you do? Did you remember to use the feminine version of my and
your -- that is, моя and твоя to rhyme with the feminine words like pizza and
vodka? If so, you've already grasped a fundamental aspect of Russian grammar.
So, what's on tap for today? Well, I know a lot of my listeners here are also
going through my Russian Accelerator course, so I want to address a question I
get from you guys. In Unit 1 of that course, we learn how to say: I'm an
American. Listen...
Я - американец.
Listen again, and repeat after the speaker:
The question I get is from all our non-American members. From Aussies and
Brits and Canadians, eh? Not to mention from all our European members. They
all ask, "Hey, what about us? How do you say: I'm Australian? I'm British? I'm
Danish? and so on." So, in this episode, we'll talk about nationalities. We'll learn
to introduce our friends, and we'll also dispel a common myth about Russian
pronunciation. So let's get to it.
How do you say...
I'm an American.
Now here's the thing. Remember in the first podcast, we learned two different
words for student. Right? How would a guy say:
I'm a student.
Я - студент.

Я - студентка.
Well, Russian is kinda wishy-washy on this idea of having a male and female
version for occupations. What I mean is, some occupations do have a male and
female form - like student, teacher, dancer and singer. But many others have
only one form, like doctor, engineer and author.
But when it comes to nationalities, Russian is much more consistent and

basically has a male and female version for each. So, this phrase:
...is only the way a man would say it. An American woman should say:
Я - американка.
Listen again, and repeat:

Я - американка.
So, imagine you're British and you're in Kiev with your two American friends,
Tony and Jane. Try introducing them to your new Russian-speaking
acquaintance. Say...
This is Tony. He is an American.

Это Тони. Он - американец.
This is Jane. She is an American.

Это Джэйн. Она - американка.
Let's try two more. Imagine you're at the Moscow Movie Festival, and the MC is
introducing the stars as they come in. As Russell Crowe enters, the MC says...
Это Рассел Кроу. Он - австралиец.
Then Nicole Kidman enters and the MC announces...

Это Николь Кидман. Она - австралийка.
So we heard:
австралиец
...that's an Australian man. And...
австралийка
...that's an Australian woman.
Try saying:
He is an Australian.
Он - австралиец.
How about: She is an Australian.

Она - австралийка.
Good job!
Alright, a quick review before going on. Say..
This is Steve. He is an American.

Это Стив. Он - американец.
This is Leyton. He is an Australian.

Это Лэйтон. Он - австралиец.
This is Sally. She is an American.

Это Салли. Она - американка.
This is Clara. She is an Australian.

Это Клара. Она - австралийка.
A quick side note: Bear in mind that -- just as in English -- there are other ways
to say these things in Russian. For example, in English I can say, "I'm
American." but I can also say, "I'm an American." In the first, 'American' is an
adjective. In the second, it's a noun. I can also convey the same idea by saying,
"I'm from America."
Alright. Let's add two more nationalities. Repeat this first pair after the speaker:
англичанин - англичанка
One more time...

англичанин - англичанка
So what nationality is it? Well, in the movies, James Bond is perhaps the most
well know англичанин.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth is certainly the most well-known англичанка.
So, an англичанин is an English man.

And an англичанка is a English woman.
And now our second pair. Again, repeat after the speaker:
канадец - канадка
One more time:
канадец - канадка
We'll cut right to the chase on this one.

A man born and raised in, say, Toronto, is a канадец. A woman born and raised
there is a канадка.
So the word for a Canadian male is....канадец.
And for a Canadian female? канадка
For fun, let's do a celebrity quiz. I'll name a famous person, and you say his or
her nationality. Ready?
Paul McCartney.
Англичанин
Beyonce.
Американка
Alannis Morrisette
Канадка
Crocodile Dundee
Австралиец
Queen Elizabeth
Англичанка
Nicole Kidman
Австралийка
Bruce Willis
Американец
The mayor of Montreal.

Канадец
I'd like to take a moment now to dispel a huge myth people seem to believe
about pronunciation. I get emails and sound files from our members all the time,
"I worry that my pronunciation isn't perfect." Or, "My native speaking teacher
says my Russian accent isn't perfect yet. She keeps having me practice the
same few words over and over. Help!"
Here's the fact of the matter: Your pronunciation needs to be just good enough
so that native speakers understand you. That's it. End of story. You will never
speak Russian without an accent. Never. And you'll never fool a Russian
speaker into thinking you're a native speaker. Neither will I. But so what?! All that
matters is that you speak well enough to be understood. I mean, what does it
even MEAN to speak without an accent?
Think about English. What is the correct pronunciation? American? British?

Australian? If American, then which American accent? New York? Boston? The
Southern drawl? That dry, Chicago accent? If British is the correct accent, then
which British version? North London? Cockney? Scottish? Irish? As long as we
understand each other, that's what counts.
And it kills me when native Russian speakers give students of Russian a hard
time, and criticize their pronunciation. I have never met a single Russian
speaker in the US who doesn't speak without a brutally thick accent. I've met
Russians in the U.S. who've been living there for thirty years and speak English
well, but gimme a break...the instant they open their mouth -- with just a single
word -- it's immediately obvious they're Russian. Хэлло Марк. Хау ар ю? But
again I say: So what? We understand them. They can function in our society.
They can communicate. End of story.
So please...do not obsess about trying to perfect your pronunciation. But do

check with a native speaker from time to time to be certain they understand
what you're saying. That's why we include access to our native speaking
Success Coaches with Russian Accelerator. You just need to know that your
speech is understandable.
Anyway, that rant is over, let's learn two more words and then put it all together.
Repeat after the speaker...
друг - подруга
One more time.
друг - подруга
Can you figure out what they mean? Well, imagine you're in Moscow with your
two friends, Randy and Christina. You're in a club and you're introducing them to
a new Russian acquaintance. You gesture to Randy and say,
Это мой друг Рэнди.
Then you gesture to Christina.

Это моя подруга Кристина.
So, Randy is your друг

And Christina is your подруга.
Both words translate as friend, but друг is for guys and подруга is for girls.
Think of it this way. If I tell you that my friend Pat is coming over, you have no
idea whether Pat is a man or a woman. But if I tell you in Russian, it's clear.
Listen...
Это мой друг Пэт.

We know Pat is your друг...your male friend.
Это моя подруга Пэт.
In this case, we know Pat is a female friend.
By the way, please don't think of подруга as meaning your "girlfriend". There's
no romantic associations with the word. It's simply a friend who is female. And if
you're a guy with a Russian girlfriend, don't ever call her your подруга because
it immediately makes her "just a friend." We'll learn the word for "girlfriend" -- the
kind with romantic overtones -- in a future podcast.
(Anyway,) let's put all this together.
How would you ask in Russian:

Is this your friend?
Это твой друг?
Answer: Yes. This is my friend John.

Да. Это мой друг Джон.
He is an American.
Он - американец.
Is this your female friend?

Это твоя подруга?
Yes. This is my female friend Monica.

Да. Это моя подруга Моника.
She is an American.
Она - американка.
This is my friend Leyton. He is an Australian.

Это мой друг Лэйтон. Он - австралиец.
This is my friend Nicole. She is an Australian.

Это моя подруга Николь. Она - австралийка.
My mom is a Canadian.
Моя мама - канадка.
My father is an Englishman.
Мой папа - англичанин.
This is my friend Charlie. He is a Canadian.
Это мой друг Чарли. Он - канадец.
This is my female friend Louisa. She is English.

Это моя подруга Люиса. Она - англичанка.
If you got all these, you really are making awesome progress in Russian.
In the next podcast we'll learn about greetings and introductions, plus I'll show
you a great tip for maximizing your study time.
As always, I've put an "exercise-only" version of this on my site,

RussianMadeEasy.com, so be sure to head over there and download that.
That's where you'll find the transcript as well. And in the meantime, keep on
practicing. I'll see you in the next episode.
CLICK HERE to learn to read Russian quickly and easily
All Rights Reserved

Episode #4
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to this 4th episode of our Russian Made Easy podcast. If you're just
joining me, please know that the episodes are cumulative. Each one builds on
the material learned in all the previous episodes, so it's assumed you've
mastered everything in those earlier ones.
Normally I start each podcast by reviewing the material from the previous
episode, and we'll do that in a second. But I want to start by having you try to
say the following:
здра
[NOTE: I've chosen to not sound out the Russian words in these transcripts
using English letters. If you'd like to be able to read Russian (it can be learned in
just a few days) I'll include a link at the bottom of this transcript to my course on
reading Russian.]
It's the first part of one of the longest, trickiest yet most common words in
Russian. It starts with three consonants in a row. Very Russian, and very brutal:
A "Z", a "D", and an "R"...zuh-duh-rah
Listen again to the native speaker:
з-д-ра....здра
Let's let that float around in your subconscious for a bit while we review the
material from Podcast #3.
So, imagine you're introducing yourself and your friend to a new Russian
acquaintance. How would a guy say:
I'm an American. He's an Australian.

Я - американец. Он - австралиец.
How would a girl say:

I'm an American. She's an Australian.
Я - американка. Она - австралийка.
Say: My mom is an Englishwoman.

Моя мама - англичанка.
My dad is a Canadian.
Мой папа - канадец.
Ask: Your mom is an American, yes?

Твоя мама американка, да?
Your dad is an Englishman?

Твой папа англичанин?
Tell someone: This is my friend. He is an American.

Это мой друг. Он - американец.
This is my female friend. She is a Canadian.

Это моя подруга. Она - канадка.
And since we're reviewing, what was that tricky sound I had you pronounce at
the start of this podcast?
ЗДРА
Excellent. OK..Then let's add an "st" sound to that, ready?
ЗДРА(В)СТ......(ВУЙТЕ)
One more time: ZDRAST...
NOTE: You might notice a slight "f" sound in there, directly before the "st" sound.
This is because I asked the speakers to sound out the whole word. But when
spoken at normal speeds by a native speaker, the "f" sound is dropped.
We'll come back to the rest of this word a bit later. Right now, I'd like to work with
introductions.
Pretend my name is Steve, and I've just become acquainted with a woman in a
cafe. So she asks me:
Как Вас зовут?
And I answer:
Меня зовут Стив.
Based on my answer -- Меня зовут Стив -- what do you think she was inquiring
about? She was, of course, asking my name. Notice that the question has three
words in it. Repeat each one after our native speaker:
Как
Вас
Зовут
Spoken quickly, though, the "s" sound at the end of that second word, VAS,
becomes part of the "z" sound at the start of the last word, "zavoot"....so it's
more like, kak vahh....zovute
Now, as I mentioned in an earlier podcast, a lot of courses teach this next part
incorrectly. They tell you that Kak vas zavoot means, "What's your name?"
Unfortunately, that's not very helpful. Because, although that is how we'd phrase
it in English, she's not literally asking "what....is...your....name?" She's literally
asking is:
(ME) как....вас....зовут ....how.....you.....they call?
In other words, "What do they call you?" But again, literally: How....you....they
call?
Now you say it in Russian:

And our answer was: Меня зовут Стив.

Literally: Me....they call....Steve.
Here it is word by word:

меня
зовут
Стив
Try it with your own name. I'll pretend my name is John.

Меня зовут Джон.
If you're name is, I dunno -- Sara -- you don't have to russify the pronunciation
of your own name. So it's fine to say: Меня зовут Sarah. But you can also try to
say it the Russian way:
Меня зовут Сара.
Your Russian friends, though, will have trouble saying the American version of
Sarah. They'll call you Сара instead of Sarah. Or: Марк instead of Mark, and so
on. Just a heads up, there.
So, let's try a back 'n' forth with these. How do you ask a Russian person his
name?
Как вас зовут?
How would he say:

Me they call Nikolai.
Меня зовут Николай.
You just asked him his name, now listen how he asks you the same question.
А как Вас зовут?
Did you catch how he added an "ah" sound at the start? And how he
emphasized "вас" a bit more? Listen again:
In English, the exchange would be like this:
What's your name?

My name's Steve. And what's your name?
When the Russian person responds with: "А как Вас зовут?" that "ah" sound is
functioning like that 'and".........."and what's your name?"
"a" doesn't MEAN "and"...they have a different word for that in Russian. That's
just how it's functioning here.
Do you recall that bit of a Russian word we started learning earlier in this
podcast? It started with a "z"?
ЗДРАВСТ....
Let's try the 2nd half of the word:...ВУЙТЕ
One more time: ВУЙТЕ
Give me just the first half again:

ЗДРАВСТ....
...and the 2nd half:

ВУЙТЕ
Then let's piece them together. Try to say:

здравствуйте
Again: здравствуйте
So what does it mean? It's simple: The first word you greet people with when
you see them is здравствуйте
Once again, most courses will tell you that здравствуйте means Hello.
It doesn't. Not even close. Yes, it's a Russian greeting, just like "Hello" in
English, but what you are literally saying is a command to, "Be healthy!"
здравствуйте is a formal greeting you'd use with strangers, co-workers, your
elders, your boss, and so on. You'd also use it when greeting two or more
people at the same time.
There's an informal version of this greeting that we'll learn some other time. For
now, it's best to just practice this version.
Let's try to put all this together. Imagine you've just arrived to Moscow, and your
friend has met you in the airport. There's a man with her, and he sticks out his
hand to shake yours. How will he greet you?
Greet him as well:

Ask him his name:

How would he say, "Me they call Nikolai."

Меня зовут Николай.
How will he ask:

And how do they call you?
А как ВАС зовут?
Tell him your name:
Your friend Robby is traveling with you. Say...

This is my friend Robby.
Это мой друг Робби.
Add: He is a musician.
Он - музыкант.
Is he an American?
Он - американец?
Say, He is an Englishman.
Он - англичанин.
You're also traveling with a female friend of yours named Veronica. Introduce
her by saying:
This is my friend Veronica.
Это моя подруга Вероника.
She is a student
Она - студентка
She is an American.
Она - американка.
I'd like to take a minute to share a great tip for maximizing your study time. This
is gonna sound old school, and it is, but that doesn't make it any less powerful.
I'm talking about flashcards. It's nearly blasphemy in this digital age to talk about
something so analog as flashcards, but trust me, you'll want to start making
them if you haven't already. One card for each word, and main construction you
learn.
I usually buy those blank recipe cards, and cut them in half. On one side, write
the English word, and on the other side, the Russian version. Be sure to include
the SLT, too. And when you study your cards -- this is important -- make a small
X in the corner each time you get it wrong. This let's you quickly see which ones
you need more work with.
Another tip is, if you can't remember the answer, don't give in and read it.
Instead, cover up the answer and reveal just the first letter. See if that jogs your
memory. An important rule in developing your memory is the smaller the hint, the
better.
And a final tip: Assuming you continue on and learn to read and write in Cyrillic,
be sure to go through all your cards and add the Cyrillic version for every word.
Again, this is an important part of learning a language...to physically write things
down.
It's funny, though...I know some people will be shaking their heads. They've got
their cool flashcard apps, they're not gonna bother actually writing OUT
flashcards by hand. But what they don't realize is that the physical act of writing
things down helps you learn words more deeply. It's due to something called
kinesthetic learning. Your brain is basically like, "Oh yeah, I remember learning
this word. I remember writing it down. I remember the physical motion of the
word."
So, if you want to just tell people you're learning Russian, by all means,
download some flashcard apps and show them to all your friends. But if you
actually want to learn to speak Russian, and do so in an organized and
efficient manner, I highly recommend making flashcards.
Alright...my flashcard rant is over. Let's end with a cumulative review of the first
four episodes of this podcast. Ready?
What's the Russian word we use to greet people?

Здравствуйте!
Say: This is my mom. She is a doctor.

Это моя мама. Она - доктор.
This is my dad. He's a businessman.

Это мой папа. Он - бизнесмен.
In this next one we'll use that "ah" sound we learned earlier, this time to convey
the word "whereas".
So say....
Dad is an American, whereas mom is an Australian.
Папа американец, а мама - австралийка.
Say: This is my friend, Pavel. He is a student.

Это мой друг Павел. Он - студент.
Is he an Englishman?
Он - англичанин?
He is a Canadian.
Он - канадец.
This is my friend Katya. She is an engineer.

Это моя подруга Катя. Она - инженер.
She is a Canadian.
Она - канадка.
Ask your Russian friend:

Is this my pizza?

Is this my soup?
Yes, this is your borscht.

Да, это твой борщ.
One more time, we greet people with what word?

Здравствуйте.
Tell someone your name:

Меня зовут Джордж.
Ask: And what's your name?

That's actually a lot of material we've covered. How are you feeling about things
so far? Please send me an email and let me know how the pace is for you. Am I
going too fast? Covering too much material? Not enough? I'd love to hear your
input, so drop me a line at: Mark@RussianMadeEasy.com
In the next podcast we'll learn our first question words in Russian. Very useful.
And I'll tell you the trick that memory experts use to remember tons of new
words.
And as always, head over to http://russianmadeeasy.com/ to download a

transcript of this podcast plus all the exercises from today. I'll see you next time!
All Rights Reserved

Episode #5
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to Podcast #5. Before doing our review, let's add one new occupation
which is kind of a cognate. Listen and repeat:
адвокат
reading Russian.]
One more time: адвокат
So what kind of occupation is an адвокат? Well, when the police arrest a

suspect in the U.S., they must inform him that he has the right to remain silent,
and that he has the right to hire an адвокат.
To put it another way: The person you hire to represent you in court is called
your адвокат.
So адвокат is the Russian word for lawyer. It sounds like advocate, which is
what a lawyer is, right? He's an advocate for your rights and your side of the
story. Just note how the emphasis is on the end of the word. адвоКАТ.
Say: My Dad is a lawyer.

Моя папа - адвокат.
Alright, now let's do some review.

What Russian word do we use to greet people?
Здравствуйте!
Say: My name is George.

Меня зовут Джордж.
Ask someone:
And what's your name?
Say: This is my dad. He's a lawyer.

Это мой папа. Он - адвокат.
Try saying: My dad is an American, whereas my mom is an Englishwoman.

Мой папа - американец, а моя мама - англичанка.
This is my friend. He's an Australian.

Это мой друг. Он - австралиец.
This is my female friend. She is an American.

Это моя подруга. Она - американка.
Alright, in this podcast we'll be learning two question words. Here's the first one.
Repeat after the speaker:
Кто
One more time:

Кто
Imagine I'm showing my Russian friend Natasha some photos of my friends and
family on Facebook. Can you get the meaning of КТО from our short
conversation? I point to a family photo and say...
Это Я.
А кто это?
Это моя мама.
I then show her the next photo of me and some friends. Natasha asks...
Это твой друг Джэйсон, да?
Да, это Джэйсон.
Ммм-хмм. А кто это?
Это моя подруга Нэнси.
What is she asking when she says, "А кто это?" She's asking, "And who is
this?"
So, KTO is one of the Russian words for "who"? The word is spelled with just
three letters: A "K" a "T" and an "O".
So ask someone: Who is this?

Кто это?
As we did in the last podcast, I want to show you how that little word "ah" works
in Russian.
Imagine my friend is looking at my photos in Facebook. He points to someone

and asks...
(Vlad) Кто это? Твой друг Стив, да?
(Yuri) Да. Это Стив.

(Vlad) (pointing to a girl) А кто это?
See how he used "ah" to set up a contrasting question? The actual literal
meaning of "a" in this context is along the lines of: Having processed what you
just said, I'd now like to ask the following:
I don't mean to make a big deal out of such a little word, but you'll hear it all the
time, so I just want you to really grasp it. So ask your friend:
Who is this? Your mom, yes?

Кто это? Твоя мама, да?
She answers that yes, it's her mom. So now follow that up by asking:
And who is this? Your dad?
А кто это? Твой папа?
Did you add the "ah" sound at the beginning?
This is a good point to talk about word order, which is quite a bit more flexible in
Russian than in English. For example, we might have phrased that last question
this way:
А это кто?
And this is who?
By putting the question word last, we're placing more importance on it. Again,
word order is one of those things I'll be pointing out as we go.
Now let's try our other question word for this episode. Repeat after the speaker:
Что?
And again...
Что?
So for this one, imagine you're at a Russian friend's house for dinner. Now, you
know darn well that the soup you've just been served is borscht, but you want to
practice asking questions, so you point to the soup and ask your friend Tanya...
Таня, что это?
Это борщ.
Then Uncle Tolik pours a clear liquid into your shotglass. Ask him..
Эй, Толик...что это?
Это водка.
So, ЧТО is one of the Russian words for "what"? Now you ask...
What is this?
Что это?
She tells you it's borscht, and then -- pointing to the dish of red fish eggs that
she just gave you -- follow up with...
And what's this?

А что это?
Did you add the "ah" at the beginning?
[NOTE: You could have reversed the word order and said...А это что? And this
is what? ]
Anyway she points to the red fish eggs and tells you...
Это икра.
So, ИКРА is the Russian word for caviar.
And that's why our question phrase is so useful because we can use it to learn
lots of new words, kind've "on location." So, let's repeat the word for caviar one
more time:
икра
Now here's a cool way to remember the word. Imagine you don't like caviar,
and yet someone just served you some. You kinda freak out and say..."EEK,
raw fish eggs!"
Say that again: Eek, raw fish eggs!
Do you get it? That phrase has the sound of ИКРА hidden in it. eek raw...gives
us икра
I call that kind of mnemonic device a PowerPhrase and they're a great tool for
quickly memorizing a ton of words. When I was first learning Russian I made a
PowerPhrase for just about every new word I learned. It's amazing how much
you can remember that way. And I use those same ones in our Russian
Accelerator videos, along with funny pictures to really drive home each phrase.
The visual part is really important, and it's a limitation of an audio-only format.
Because you really want to associate an image with each PowerPhrase....that
helps to make it memorable. These kinds of mnemonic devices are used by all
memory experts and advanced language students. Ask anyone who's learned a
2nd or 3rd language quickly, and they'll admit they used these kinds of
memorable phrases to help them recall words.
Alright, let's get back to our lesson today. So...pretend your Russian friend is
showing you a picture of himself sitting in a restaurant across from two men
wearing suits. Point to the older man in the picture and ask...
Who is that?
Кто это?
How will your friend reply:

This is my lawyer.
Это мой адвокат.
Then point to the other man and ask...

And who is this?
А кто это?
He answers:
This is my friend Pavel. He is a businessman.
Это мой друг Павел. Он - бизнесмен.
Then point to the bottle of alcohol in the photo and ask...
What's this?
Что это?
Listen to his answer:

Это виски.
And so, with that "что это?" question, we learned another easy word. We say
"whiskey" and Russian it's "veesky", with a "v" sound. Listen...
виски
Just one last new word to cover today, and you probably already know it. But I
just need to make sure. Try saying:
нет
That beginning sound is like from the middle of the word "onion." That transition.
Onion...NYET...
If you know the meaning of this word say, ДА ...I know it.
If you don't, then say НЕТ I don't know it.
So, Да and НЕТ are opposites.

Да means YES and НЕТ means No.
Let's work with it a little bit. Imagine showing a picture of your friend Kevin to
your Russian girlfriend. She asks:
Это Джон?
Tell her: No, this is Kevin.

Нет. Это Кэвин.
She asks: Is he a businessman?

Он - бизнесмен?
Tell her: No, he's an engineer.

Нет. Он - инженер.
Not that you could ever mistake one for the other, but point to the filled shotglass
in front of you and ask...
What is this? Vodka

Что это? Водка?
How will the person tell you:

No. This is whiskey.
Нет. Это виски.
So, practice asking these questions as you go about your day.

In the next episode we'll learn how to order food and drinks....certainly a useful
thing to know...and we'll learn how to develop fluency in Russian. Yes, even
beginners should be working towards fluency right from the start. And I'll show
you how, in the next episode. Meanwhile, head over to RussianMadeEasy.com
for today's downloads.
All Rights Reserved

Episode #6
RussianMadeEasy.com
Alright, welcome to episode number six. Let me just toss out a reminder that
these podcasts are cumulative, so if this is your first time joining us it's best to
start with episode number 1. Now, before getting to our review session, I'd like
you to listen to and repeat this two-word phrase.
Я буду
reading Russian.]
You know that first word, Я....it's the буду part that's new for us. Say the phrase
one more time:
Я буду
Ok....let that sink in for a bit and now let's do our review:
How would you ask:

What is this?
Что это?
Say: This is caviar.

Это икра.
Ask: Who is this? Your lawyer?

Кто это? Твой адвокат?
Say: No. This is my dad.

Нет. Это мой папа.
Now, what was that two word phrase we learned at the start?
Я буду
Let's see if we can figure out a good translation for it. So, imagine you're in a
cafe. The waitress comes over to take your order and you tell her,
Здравствуйте, я буду борщ.
Your girlfriend then addresses the waitress:

А я буду пиццу.
Listen to the two lines again, and think of what the translation might be, given
the situation. Remember, we saying this to a waitress who's writing down what
we say:
Здравствуйте, я буду борщ.

Means: Hello, I __blank__ borscht.
And then your girlfriend says:
Which means: And I __blank__ pizza.
In English, there's a variety of ways we'd give our orders. We might say:
I'll have the borscht.
...or...
I'll take the borscht.
...or...
I'd like the borscht.
....and so on.
Any of these translations is fine. But of course, we need to know what we're
literally saying. And as it turns out "Я буду" means, "I will". So you're telling the
waitress: "I will borscht." That's what you're literally saying.
Я буду борщ.
That might sound strange to you at first -- like there's a word missing -- but this
is the standard way Russians will order. And of course, we do the same in
English. When someone says, "Man, I'm hungry. I feel like pizza tonight," that
would actually sound strange to a foreigner, wouldn't it? He's thinking, You feel
like pizza? You feel the way a pizza feels?
In English, we also leave out the key verb. When you say, "I feel like a beer.
Anyone want one?" What you really mean is, "I feel like having a beer." Or, "I
feel like drinking a beer," right?
Now there's one other really important thing I'd like you to pick up on. Listen to
how your girlfriend orders pizza.
Did you hear how she said pizzU -- with an "uu" sound at the end, instead of
pizzA?
That is an absolutely key part of Russian grammar, and it's the real topic of
today's podcast.
Now, just based on that one example, how do you think she might say:
I'll have vodka.
Я буду водку.
Vod-KU with an "uu" sound at the end.
And yet if she orders soup, listen...

Я буду суп.
We just hear "soup". No extra "uu" sound at the end. So what's going on here? I
know I made a big point about Russian being a rhyming language -- and believe
me, it is -- but that's not what's going on here. Yes, budu does rhyme with vodku,
but that's coincidence only. What's going on is that words that normally end in an
"ah" sound -- what we called feminine words in an earlier podcast -- change
their "ah" sound to an "uu" sound when we do something to them.
Here is just a small list of what constitutes "doing something" to something.
ordering
wanting
buying
knowing
taking
holding
touching
etc, etc. These all count, linguistically, as doing something to the noun.
To really drive this point home, let me show you how English would sound if it
had this same rule. Listen to how the word "cola" (which ends with an "ah"
sound) changes in these two phrases.
This is my cola.
Who drank my colu?
Do you see how we're not doing anything to the cola in that first phrase. We're
just stating a fact: This is my cola. But in the second one, someone has done
something to the cola. They drank it. So we have to say colu.
Here's another example.
There is pasta in the cupboard.

I cooked pastu yesterday.
Again, in that first example, we're just stating a fact about the pasta's location.
But in the second phrase, we've done something to the pasta. We've cooked it.
Even people's names need to change in this same way:
This is my sister Tina.

I saw Tinu yesterday.
Seeing Tina counts as doing something to her.
Now you try it. Based on this pattern, insert the correct form of the word
"sofa"...ready?
Is this your new ____ ?
Yes. I bought this ____ at Sears yesterday.
So...Is this your new sofa?
We say just sofa because we haven't done anything to the sofa.
But: I bought this sofu at Sears.
Now we have to say sofu because we've done something to it. We bought it.
If you understand this pattern, you have mastered one of the main aspects
of Russian grammar. And speaking of Russian, let's apply it now in some all-
Russian sentences.
Tell the waitress:

I'll have the caviar.
Я буду икру.
I'll have the vodka.

Я буду водку.
I'll have pizza.

Я буду пиццу.
But now say:

I'll have borscht.
We notice that the word borscht doesn't change.

So, imagine you're sitting there in the cafe with your girlfriend. The waitress
brings the coffee that your girlfriend ordered, and just before the waitress walks
away, your girlfriend says to her,
Спасибо
The waitress responds with:

Пожалуйста
...and walks away.
Listen again:
Спасибо.
Пожалуйста.
Hmm...Let's the waitress is coming back now with the pizza you ordered. Let's
say the same thing your girlfriend did...
Спасибо.
Sure enough, the waitress responds with...

How would this exchange go in English? Like this...

Thank you.
You're welcome.
Let's listen to those words again more closely, and repeat them:
спасибо
You remember how we talked about creating PowerPhrases for new words, to
help us remember them? It's usually best if you think of them yourself, but from
time to time I'll make a suggestion. For spasibo, imagine buying some butter
made with hot peppers. You tell the lady at the grocery store , THANK YOU for
the spicy butter.
See how we get THANK YOU and spasibo in there....spicy butter...spasibo.
And what was that other word again?

Spoken very slowly, you'll often hear there's an "uu" sound in there...puh-zhal-
oo-eesta
But at normal speed it essentially gets dropped. Listen...

Now, пожалуйста does not MEAN "you're welcome". In fact, it literally means
"please", which is why we'll be adding it to our requests in a moment. So why
would they tell you "Please" after you say Thank you? Well, it makes sense if
you think of what words they're leaving out. You say...
Thank you.
And they say, "Please....there's no need to thank me."
Say that word one more time...

пожалуйста
There's something in linguistics known as a construction. That's the fancy term

they give to the simple idea of a fill-in-the-blank phrase. And that's what we've
been working with today. For example, the English phrase...
I'll have ______
...is a very common construction for ordering food. And you can fill in all sorts of
things in the blank:
I'll have the soup.
I'll have the lobster.
I'll have the pancakes
..and so on.
If you're a foreigner trying to learn English, you'd be smart to master such a

common construction. And if you practice the right way, you'll quickly become
fluent with that construction. If you do this for all the major constructions, and
you can quickly become fluent in the language. In short: Constructions are the
most efficient tool for developing fluency in a language.
So, let's practice again with our Russian construction, inserting various foods in
there.
Я буду __blank__.
Order soup:
Я буду суп.
Order borscht.
Order pizza.
Я буду пиццу.
Order caviar.
Я буду икру.
In the mood for some greens? The word for salad in Russian is a cognate.
Listen:
салат
Only, it ends in a "t" ...салаТ, and the stress is at the end...саЛАТ
So, order a salad:

Я буду салат.
Coffee is also a cognate. Listen...

кофе....кофе
So, order coffee:

Я буду кофе.
Let's try to fill out the exchange a bit more. So, there you are, sitting in a
Russian cafe. The waitress comes over and greets you...
Greet her right back:

Now, there's a few main ways she might prompt you for your order. In English
the waitress might say, "What can I get'chya?" ..or..."What would you
like?"...or..."Are you ready to order?" and so on.
So, let the waitress say her thing and then tell her...
I'll have borscht, please.

Я буду борщ, пожалуйста.
Your friend then says...
And I'll have a salad.
А я буду салат, пожалуйста.
Listen to how the waitress reads back your orders:
Борщ и салат, да?
Tell her: Yes. Thank you.

Да. Спасибо.
She says: You're welcome.

Did you catch the word for "and", as in borscht and a salad?
It was И
Борщ и салат, да?
So tell the waitress, I'll have the soup and salad, please.
Я буду суп и салат, пожалуйста.
Try saying:
Hello, I'll have a pizza and coffee, please.
Здравствуйте, я буду пиццу и кофе, пожалуйста.
Next time we'll learn perhaps the two most common and useful words in
Russian -- beyond just Да and НЕТ. So I hope you tune in for that.
As always, I welcome your feedback on these podcasts. Feel free to write me at:
mark@russianmadeeasy.com
I'd love to hear what you think, and how you're doing. And be sure to head over
to RussianMadeEasy.com for today's downloads. See you next time.
All Rights Reserved

Episode #7
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to episode number 7. Let's practice saying two new Russian words.
These are two of the most common words in the language. So, repeat after the
speaker:
есть ...again... есть
reading Russian.]
If I were to sound that out using English letters, I'd spell it y-a-y-s-t....есть
Listen one more time: есть
And now try this one:

хорошо
...one more time...
хорошо
It's long overdue, but let me finally talk a moment about the rolled R in Russian.
If you're having trouble try saying "udder"....udder...See how your tongue
bounces off the roof of your mouth? That's how a rolled R feels. So this new
word...
хорошо
...in super-slow motion would be: hо-UDDER-sho
We also have that very Russian X sound. It's almost like you're clearing your
throat, I mean, as if to spit. (demo). I know...it's a little gross. But you do need a
touch of that in there. Xuh
One more time, slowly: ho-UDDER-show
And quickly, from a native speaker:

хорошо
All three vowels there are the letter "o" by the way, but in Russian, only one O
per word can be pronounced as an "oh." The rest sound like "uh".
Try our two new words again:

есть....хорошо
Alright. As those seep into your sub-conscious, let's review the material from
podcast 6.
You've just been seated in a cafe and the waiter is ready for your order. Greet
him, and say:
I'll have coffee, please.
Здравствуйте, я буду кофе, пожалуйста.

How should you thank him when he brings it?
Спасибо.
To which he will reply:

Now wait a second. What does пожалуйста mean? Please or You're welcome?
Well, hopefully you recall that it literally means 'please', but it's also used as a
response when someone thanks you because you're telling them
PLEASE...there's no need to thank me.
Now, looking at the menu, you notice a photo of some food item that looks like
pasta. And, like so many foreign foods, the word is a cognate in Russian. Listen:
Паста
So point to the picture and ask the waiter with just two words:
Is this pasta?
Это паста?
How will he say: Yes, this is pasta.

Да, это паста.
So tell him:
I'll have the pasta, please.
Я буду пасту пожалуйста.
Did you remember to say "pastu"...with an "uu" sound at the end? Remember,
by ordering pasta we're doing something to the word. And so its "ah" ending
has to change to "uu." If you're still shaky on that, it might be worth reviewing the
previous podcast, number 6. But if you got it right and said pastu, honestly,
you're doing great!
So, do you recall those two words we started the podcast with?
есть
хорошо
Let's see if you can figure out what they mean.
Pretend I'm at my Russian friend's apartment. As he heads into the kitchen, he

asks me if I want a beer. I know he usually has a big selection of beers in his
fridge, so listen to our conversation:
Есть Хайнэкэн?
Да, есть.
Хорошо. Я буду Хайнэкэн, пожалуйста.
Let's try a similar example, but with soft-drinks. My girlfriend is standing by her
refrigerator and asks if I want a soda. I know she has all sorts of soft drinks, so I
ask her...
Есть Спрайт?
Да, есть.
Хорошо. Я буду Спрайт, пожалуйста.
Do you kind of have a feel for how those two words might translate? Here's that
first conversation in English:
"Is there Heineken?"
"Yes, there is."
"Okay, I'll have a Heineken, please."
So, есть translates as "is there" or "there is" depending on if you're using it to
ask a question or make a statement. But super-literally, it translates as "there
exists". As in:
"There exists Heineken?"
"Yes, there exists."
Awkward sounding, for sure, but important to know.
And what about that other word, хорошо? Well, that can translate a number of
ways. In these examples it's used like the English word "okay".
"Okay, I'll have a Heineken."
Хорошо. Я буду Хайнэкэн
The word is also used as a way of agreeing. Like, imagine your wife says, "I
think I'll make soup tonight. Sound good to you?" You'd reply..."Okay."
Хорошо.
You wanna go to the movies?

Хорошо.
The word has other uses and meanings that we'll pick up as we go
along...хорошо?
Anyway, let's step back into the cafe and put these words to work for us. So,
you're sitting at the table. You've already exchanged greetings with the waitress.
So ask her:
Is there soup?
Есть суп?
Listen to her response:

Да. Есть борщ и есть солянка.
So, she said: Yes, there is borscht and there is solyanka.
Since you're not familiar with that solyanka soup, let's play it safe and order the
borscht. Tell her:
I'll have the borscht, please.
Я буду борщ, пожалуйста.
But if you were feeling adventurous and wanted to try a new soup, how would
you say:
I'll have the solyanka.
Я буду солянку.
Did you remember to change the "a" at the end of solyanka to an "uu" sound?
solyanku.
Я буду солянку.
Now, you're having trouble finding coffee on the menu, so ask the waitress:
Is there coffee?
Есть кофе?
Again, listen to her answer:

Да, есть. И есть капучино.
Tell her:
Okay, I'll have the cappuchino, please.
Хорошо. Я буду капучино, пожалуйста.
Now, here are two more easy cognates in Russian. Again, they're foods. Listen
and repeat...
йогурт
маффин
So, we say yogurt, and in Russian it's йогурт with that deep "uu" sound.
And that 2nd one is muffin.
They have a "mah" sound at the beginning. And for that, envision a bluberry
muffin, or some other sweet muffin. Think cakey, not bready.
So, imagine your girlfriend has come over for breakfast, but sadly you don't have
much to offer. Tell her...
There's coffee, there's yogurt, and there's a muffin.

Есть кофе, есть йогурт, и есть маффин.
Today's tip is quick 'n' easy: When you're in Russia or Ukraine and you're using
your Russian, try asking questions that you already know the answer to.
That might sound like a dumb thing to do, or a waste of a person's time, but it's
not. Because -- since you already know the information -- you can relax and
focus all your attention on listening to the native speaker. When I was is
Moscow, for example, I'd stop people on the street from time to time and ask
how to get to Red Square....again, even though I knew exactly how to get there
-- because I wanted to analyze their answers, and their word choice, and so on,
without that stress of, "Man, I gotta make sure I remember all this."
So that's the tip of the day: From time to time, ask questions you already know
the answer to.
Alright, let's put it all together now:
So, you're in a cafe and the waitress comes over. Start by greeting her:
You're hoping to hear that same greeting, but instead she says:
Добрый день. Что Вы хотите?
Gulp! Well, don't panic. She used a different greeting: Добрый день.
And then she followed with: Что Вы хотите?
...as she pulled out her pad and pen.
So, we haven't learned all those words, but we have encountered ЧТО,
remember? In Podcast 5 we learned to point at something and ask:
What is this?
Что это?
So, ЧТО is the Russian word for "what".

So when the waitress pulls out her pad and pen and asks Что Вы хотите?
She's asking, WHAT....something something. And it's a safe bet she's asking
What do you want? or What would you like? She obviously wants to know your
order. So let's ask her:
Is there soup?
Есть суп?
How will she say:

Yes, there is. There is borscht and solyanka.
Да, есть. Есть борщ и солянка.
Tell her:
Okay, I'll have the borscht, please. And coffee.
Хорошо. Я буду борщ, пожалуйста. И кофе.
Change your mind. Tell her...

No, I'll have the solyanka.
Нет, я буду солянку.
She says: Solyanka? Ok.

Солянку? Хорошо.
Tell her: Thanks.

Спасибо.
And she says: You're welcome.

That was kind've fun. Let's try another one. The waiter comes over, so greet
him:
He, too, uses that other greeting:

Добрый день.
..and then asks you:

Что Вы хотите?
We know he's asking, WHAT....something something. I don't want to officially

learn this phrase yet. We'll cover it in a future episode. For now we're just going
to assume he's asking: What do you want?
Now, imagine that -- although it's 11am -- you haven't had breakfast yet. Let's
ask him:
Is there yogurt?
Есть йогурт?
And here's his reply:

А...завтрак хотите. Ну...есть йогурт, есть маффин, есть блины...и есть кофе
и капучино.
You'll notice this happens a lot with any foreign language you learn. Native
speakers never seem to use the exact phrases you've studied. Of course, why
would they? The assumption by native speakers is essentially: Well, he knows
those words, so he must know these words, too.
But don't worry. We can deal with this. Let's first listen one more time to his
response:
А...завтрак хотите. Ну...есть йогурт, есть маффин, есть блины...и есть кофе
и капучино.
The first four words are new to us. But then he gets to stuff we have learned:
есть йогурт, есть маффин, есть блины...и есть кофе и капучино.
He's saying:
There is yogurt, there is a muffin, there are blini -- blini are those are thin
Russian pancakes, basically like crepes -- and there is coffee and cappuccino.
So tell him:
Okay, I'll have the yogurt, please. And cappuccino.
Хорошо. Я буду йогурт, пожалуйста. И капучино.
He reads back your order:

Ok...Yogurt and cappuccino.
Хорошо. Йогурт и капучино
Tell him: Thanks.

Спасибо.
How does he say: You're welcome.

If you're comfortable with this kind of exchange, you'll do great when you visit
Russia or Ukraine. Sure, there are tons of foods that we haven't covered, but
there are also so many cognates when you're dealing with food, it's easy to get
by. Here are six food cognates off the tip of my head. Can you recognize each
one? Listen..
Омлет, грейпфрут, банан, гамбургер, хот-дог, спагетти, брокколи
We could go on forever with food cognates. So don't worry. When it comes to

ordering in a restaurant, you'll do great.
Have questions or comments? Please feel free to write me at:

And pick up today's downloads -- the exercises and today's transcript -- at

RussianMadeEasy.com
See you next time...
All Rights Reserved

Episode #8
RussianMadeEasy.com
Today's podcast is in response to an email from Matt in Arizona. He writes, "Hi

Mark, I'm really enjoying your podcasts. They go great with your
RussianAccelerator course, which is why I'm writing. In Unit 4 we learn how to
say Ты хочешь but I'm hoping you can elaborate on when you need to say Ты
and when you can leave it off. Spasibo! Matt, Chandler, AZ.
Thanks for the email, Matt, and for the kind words about the course. And yes,
your question is perfect for today's podcast. So, before getting to our review,
let's try saying
хочешь
Again...
хочешь
reading Russian.]
Alright, now it's review time:
You're in a cafe. How should you greet the waitress?

She replies with:

Здравствуйте. Я слушаю Вас.
...as she pulls out her pad and pen. We're not sure exactly what she said, but it's
pretty clear she's ready to take our order. So ask her....
Is there pasta?
Есть паста?
How will she say:

Yes, there is spaghetti and there is pizza.
Да, есть спагетти и пицца.
Tell her:
Ok, I'll have pizza and a salad, please.
Хорошо. Я буду пиццу и салат, пожалуйста.
And then she adds:

Что-нибудь попить?
We haven't learned that phrase yet in these podcasts. While we're hemming and
hawwing, saying, "Umm..." the waitress clarifies:
Ну...чай или кофе.
Ah, at last a word we understand! She said coffee. So she must be asking if we
want something to drink. Ask her if there's cappuccino.
Есть капучино?
She replies: Yes, there is.

Да, есть.
So say:
A cappuccino, please.
Капучино, пожалуйста.
And she reads back your order:

Хорошо. Значит пиццу, салат и капучино.
Sounds like she got it right. So say:

Yes. Thanks.
Да. Спасибо.
And she says "You're welcome" as she walks off.

So, what was the word we learned at the start of this episode? It started with
that "xo" sound...
Хочешь
If you haven't encountered the word before, let's try to get it from context.
Imagine you're at your friend's house. Now, as a conneisuer of soft-drinks, you
happen to like Pepsi but not Sprite. So, your friend opens his fridge
and...well...here's the dialogue:
Эй Марк, хочешь Спрайт?
Спрайт? Нет, спасибо.
Хочешь Пепси?
Пепси? Хорошо. Спасибо.
Let's try a similar set up, and then we'll go through word by word. You guys are
both hungry so again, he pops open his fridge and says...
Хочешь салат?
Салат? Ээээ....нет спасибо.

Пиццу?
Есть пицца? Хорошо, я буду.
Do you have a feel for the flow of these conversations? Let's go through them
again.
Эй Марк, хочешь Спрайт?
He said: Hey Mark, want a Sprite?
Спрайт? Нет, спасибо.

Sprite? No thanks.
Хочешь Пепси?
Want a Pepsi?
Пепси? Хорошо. Спасибо.

Pepsi? Ok. Thanks.
So, in that second one, how will he ask:

Want a salad?
So, хочешь is the casual form of the word "want". You'd use it with friends,
family members, and kids. I'd like to concentrate on just this casual form of it for
now, but we did encounter the formal form in the previous espisode. Remember
when the waitress took out her pad 'n' pen and asked us:
She's asking us formally, What do you want?

Хотите is the polite version
хочешь is the casual version
So ask your friend:
Want a cappuccino?
Хочешь капучино?
Want yogurt?
Хочешь йогурт?
Want a muffin?
Хочешь маффин?
Want pizza?
Хочешь пиццу?
Want coffee?
Хочешь кофе?
Want caviar?
Хочешь икру?
Now let me stop there for a second. Imagine you have a friend who's also
studying Russian but he's not as advanced as you are. And he says, "Wait a
second. I'm pretty sure the word for caviar ends in an "a" sound. икра. Why did
you say хочешь икру? Why the "u" sound?
What would you tell him?
My answer would be: Because when you do something to words that end in an
"ah" sound -- what we call feminine nouns -- they change their ending to an
"uu" sound. And wanting them counts as doing something to them.
That was a long buildup, but now I can answer Matt's question. Listen to this
word:
Ты
That's one of the ways to say "you" when talking to a friend. And Matt wants to
know, when do we add it before the word хочешь?
Well for starters, you have to add it when making a statement. Until now, we've
only been asking our friend questions about what he wants. But imagine you're
discussing with him where to go for dinner. You say, "I want sushi, but ...ты
хочешь пиццу."
See? There I was making a statement: You want pizza.

Tы хочешь пиццу.
I had to add the word ты there.
Next, and this is kind of subtle, but...Imagine if I'm surprised that my friend wants
vodka. After all, I thought he didn't drink. I'd say...
You want vodka?
Ты хочешь водку?
Does that make sense? If I left off the "you" part of that, and just said:
Want vodka?
Хочешь водку?
...it sounds like I'm offering him vodka.
But since we're more likely to offer our friends something than we are to make
statements about the things they want, you'll mostly be asking just: Хочешь?
And as a parting thought on the topic, that's perhaps the most common version
yet. You just hold out the thing you're offering and ask: Хочешь?
Here's a great tip. Along with making flashcards, which I really hope you're
making, you should be writing down every grammar point and every
construction you learn. The reason is, you constantly want to insert old
vocabulary into new constructions, and vice-versa. For example: By episode 3,
we knew how to say: "This is my ___."
For example, say:
This is my friend Charlie.

Это мой друг Чарли.
Or: This is my friend Monica.

Это моя подруга Моника.
So let's make sure we can do this with recent vocab. Try saying:
Is this my coffee?
Это мой кофе?
No. This is your coffee.

Нет. Это твой кофе.
Is this my pasta?
Это моя паста?
Yes, this is your pasta.

Да, это твоя паста.
Is this my salad?
Это мой салат?
Yes, this is your salad.

Да, это твой салат.
Say: This is your yogurt and your muffin.

Это твой йогурт и твой маффин.
So the main point here is to be sure to circulate older material with newer
material. Even just adding one new word -- like adding "and" as we did in
episode #6 -- should make you go back and apply it to earlier material.
Remember the word "and", as in: I'll have pizza and a salad, please.
Я буду пиццу и салат, пожалуйста.
We should use that word, И, with our earliest words. Try saying:
This is my mom and this is my dad.
Это моя мама и это мой папа.
Mom is a musician and dad is an engineer.

Мама музыкант и папа инженер.
...and so on.
Now here's a question for you. How do you think you'd ask a friend:
Want my muffin?
Хочешь мой маффин?
And the real test, now. Try asking:

Want my pizza?
Хочешь мою пиццу.
Did you catch that? He said: мою пиццу.
Before analyzing it, try asking:

Is this my vodka?
Это моя водка?
Now ask your friend:

Want my vodka?
Хочешь мою водку?
So, what's going on here? Basically, we have our two main grammar patterns
working at the same time. We know that the adjective my has to rhyme with
vodka. That's pattern #1.
And we know that водка changes to водку when we do something to it. In this
case, we were wanting it. Since водка changes to водку, the word моя has to
go along for the ride. It also has to rhyme, so it becomes: мою
Хочешь мою водку?
Ask your friend:

Want my soup?
Хочешь мой суп?
Want my pasta?
Хочешь мою пасту?
Want my salad?
Хочешь мой салат?
Want my caviar?
Хочешь мою икру?
If you got all these, you should honestly feel really good about your progress.
Those are not easy...it's actually pretty advanced stuff. But the underlying idea is
kinda simple, isn't it? Remember, grammar is all about patterns. Not rules and
charts and fancy terms.
Finally, you may've noticed we only learned one new word today. That's not me
trying to be stingy. When you first start in a new language, the brain is a sponge
and it can absorb a lot of words. That's why we were learning eleven new words
in that very first podcast. But soon the spots kind of fill up, and so we taper off
new stuff and we concentrate on mastering what we have. As your current
vocabulary becomes second nature -- which it pretty much is, by the way...just
about, after this podcast -- then the brain feels ready for the next wave of new
vocabulary. That's really how language learning works.
Anyway, head on over to RussianMadeEasy.com for the transcript and audio

exercises, and I'll see you in the next episode where you'll learn to talk about
what you want.
Quite a few listeners wrote in asking for a translation of the "Want a salad?"
dialogue in this podcast, so here it is in full:
Want a salad?
A salad? Ehhh....not thanks.

Салат? Ээээ....нет спасибо.
Pizza?
Пиццу?
Notice how he says "pizzu" because he's still asking if you want pizza, which
counts as doing something to the pizza.
Say: There is pizza? Ok, I will.

Есть пицца? Хорошо, я буду.
All Rights Reserved

Episode #9
RussianMadeEasy.com
Alright, welcome to episode #9. Today we'll learn how to talk about the things we
want. But first, let's review by asking our friend about what she wants. Ask...
Want coffee?
How would she ask:

Is there cappuccino?
Есть капучино?
Ask her:
Want pasta?
Хочешь пасту?
How will she ask:

Is there spaghetti?
Есть спагетти?
You thought she didn't like spaghetti, so ask her:

You want spaghetti?
Ты хочешь спагетти?
Now imagine you're at your girlfriend's place. She intends to make dinner for
you, so she opens her pantry to show you what your options are. All sorts of
pastas and soups and so on. So she asks:
What do you want?

Что ты хочешь?
Pointing to the spaghetti you say:

Я хочу спагетти.
Now listen again:

Я хочу спагетти.
So, Я хочу translates as "I want."
Let's practice those two pairs. To make it more concrete, try tapping your chest
-- I know that sounds silly, but -- try tapping your chest as you say this:
I want.
Я хочу
And now gesture to your friend -- or gesture as if your friend were across from
you -- and say:
You want
Ты хочешь
One more time. Tapping your chest...
I want.
Я хочу
Now gesture to your friend:
You want.
Ты хочешь
Great. Now, as I've mentioned before, there are lots and lots of food cognates in
Russian. And one of the most popular in recent years is clearly sushi. I see
sushi restaurants everywhere, now, in Russia and Ukraine. So, try saying: I want
sushi.
Я хочу суши.
Let's add a truly Russian food to our vocabulary. We encountered this word for a
moment in episode 7, but didn't officially learn it. So try saying:
блины
Note the emphasis on that last sound...

блины
In English we call them pancakes, in France they're called crepes, and in

Russian they're called...
блины
But American pancakes are big and fluffy because they add baking soda to
make the batter rise. Crepes and blini are very thin, and they usually roll them or
fold them, adding various fillings. My favorite filling, by the way, is red caviar.
Anyway, try saying:
I want blini.
Я хочу блины.
Ask your friend: Want blini?

Хочешь блины?
Now let's add one more very Russian word. Listen and repeat:
Чай
So, what is чай? Well, when you pour boiling water over the dried leaves of the
tea plant, the resulting drink is called чай.
So, we call the drink "tea" and in Russian it's чай
There's a simple PowerPhrase for this one: Imagine someone has served you
some very bad smelling tea. Tell him, "I wouldn't drink this for all the TEA in
China."
Do you hear how the word "чай" is hidden in the word "Chi-na"?
Anyway, ask your friend:
Want tea?
Хочешь чай?
How will she say:

No, thanks. I want coffee.
Нет, спасибо. Я хочу кофе.
Say: I want tea and pancakes.

Я хочу чай и блины.
Until now, we've only been adding nouns -- mostly foods -- into these, I want, or
Do you want...constructions. But we can also add verbs. In other words, just as
in English, we can ask:
Want to go?
Want to watch?
Want to eat?
...and so on.
So here's a new verb for us. Listen and repeat:

кушать
One more time: кушать
So what does it mean? Well, if you're thirsty you'd say, "I want to drink." But if
you're hungry you'd say, "I want to кушать."
So, кушать is one of the Russian verbs meaning, "to eat". So, in two words, ask
your friend:
Want to eat?
Хочешь кушать?
Or, knowing she's hungry, ask her:

What do you want to eat?
Что ты хочешь кушать?
Notice how we included the word "you" in the Russian version:

Что ты хочешь кушать?
Imagine you're mumbling to yourself as you shuffle into the kitchen one morning.
Say...
I want to eat.
Я хочу кушать.
Imagine calling out to your roomate, John, while you're in the kitchen. Ask him...
John, want to eat?
Джон, хочешь кушать?
Some native speakers might've added ТЫ there. Listen...

Джон, ты хочешь кушать?
He asks: What is there?

Что есть?
Peering in the fridge, tell him:

There is soup and there is salad.
Есть суп и есть салат.
He says: Ok, I'll have the soup.
Хорошо. Я буду суп.
Do you know what a verb conjugation is? I know, "conjugation" is one of those
fancy grammar terms I usually hate, but it's good to know, at least for today's tip.
So, in English we say: I want...You want...They want....but Steve...wants.
Or....I go, you go, we go, but she....goes.
Why is it "you go" but "she goes"? Because, in English, there's a different
conjugation for he and she.
Well, in Russian there are separate conjugations for each "doer" of the action. If
you bear with me here, I'll russify the English verb "to want" to kinda give you a
feel for all six. Listen...do NOT repeat...
I want-ayu
To a friend: You want-ayesh?
He want-ayet
We want-ayem
They want-ayoot
You guys want-aityeh
So, see the two groups? The first group is me, you, and that guy or that girl
The second group is we, you guys, and them
And again, in Russian, each of those six "doers" of the action has its own
conjugation. That is, a different ending to the verb. And we've learned two of
them so far. The two most common:
The "I" form, as in: I want tea.

Я хочу чай.
And the "you" form, as in:

You want pancakes?
Ты хочешь блины?
So, where's the "tip" in all of this? Well, the absolute worst thing you can do is
try to learn all six conjugations at once. And yet, just this morning, I got an email
from a frustrated student who is also taking private Russian lessons from a
native speaker. The woman is not only making him learn all six conjugations
right from the start, she's chiding him for not having them down...for not having
mastered them. That really frustrates me because, yes, native speakers are
experts, of course, at speaking Russian. But that does NOT in any way make
them experts at teaching it. The fact is, conjugations should be learned
gradually. One at a time. Do it that way and they're no sweat at all.
The last new word for today is a tiny one. Listen...

не
One more time:

не
So, it sounds like НЕТ but without the "t" at the end. But that's really only when
the speaker is emphasizing the word. When spoken quickly, in the middle of a
sentence, it really sounds simply like:
ни
Listen for it in this short conversation. I'm in my kitchen, and I'm taking some
leftover pizza out of the fridge. So, I ask my friend:
Нет, спасибо. Я не хочу кушать.
Listen to her answer again:

Did you hear "nyeh" or "nee"? Я не хочу кушать?
What she's saying is, "No, thanks. I don't want to eat."
She might've phrased it with fewer words. Listen to this version:
Нет. Не хочу.
There she's simply saying: "No. Don't want."
In English, we can't really leave out the word "I" like that. We have to say, "No, I
don't want." In fact, we also need to add "any", as in, "No thanks. I don't want
any."
But in Russian, it's normal and grammatical to say:

No. Don't want.
Нет. Не хочу.
This time using the word "I", say:

I don't want pizza. I want sushi.
Я не хочу пиццу. Я хочу суши.
In three words, say:

Tanya, want tea?
Таня, хочешь чай?
How will she say:

No thanks. I want coffee.
Нет, спасибо. Я хочу кофе.
How will she ask you:
Want pancakes?
Хочешь блины?
Tell her:
No thanks. I want yogurt.
Нет, спасибо. Я хочу йогурт.
Or, if you're not hungry, tell her:

No thanks. I don't want to eat.
Imagine you're in your girlfriend's pantry as you two decide what to cook for
dinner. She holds out a box of pasta. You frown and say...
No, I don't want pasta. I want soup.

Нет, я не хочу пасту. Я хочу суп.
She then pokes fun at your picky eating habits...
Ты не хочешь пасту, ты не хочешь пиццу, ты не хочешь блины....ты только

хочешь суп!
There was a new word in there, did you catch it? только Could you guess the
meaning based on what she was saying? To check, please visit
RussianMadeEasy.com. You'll find the answer the transcript of this podcast.
Meanwhile, in the next episode we're going to have you play the role of
interpreter. It's great practice and you'll be amazed at how much you've learned
and can understand. See you then!
ANSWER to today's mystery word: только = only
..as in: You don't want pasta, you don't want pizza, you don't want
pancakes...you only want soup!
All Rights Reserved

Episode #10
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to episode #10. Today we're going to have you play the role of
interpreter. Aside from being fun practice, this is also pretty realistic. After all,
you're probably the only person in your group or your family who speaks
Russian, now. So, they'll need you to interpret for them if they go with you to
Russia or Ukraine, or if a Russian speaking friend or relative comes to visit. So,
get ready to translate...
I need to mention, as I've done from time to time, that these podcasts are
cumulative. Each one assumes you've mastered the material taught in all the
previous episodes. So, if you're new, please start with Episode #1 of
RussianMadeEasy. Ok, let's dive in. Please translate the following:
Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Владимир.
Means: Hello. My name is Vladimir.
reading Russian.]

And what's your name?
Это мой друг Сергей. Он - музыкант.

This is my friend Sergei. He is a musician.
А это моя подруга Наташа. Она - студентка.

This is my friend Natasha. She is a student.
Джон - американец. A Катя - англичанка.

John is an American, whereas Katya is an Englishwoman.
Марк, это твой папа?

Mark, is this your dad?
Да. Он - адвокат.
Yes. He's a lawyer.
And this is your mom?

А это твоя мама?
Yes. She is a doctor.

Да. Она - доктор.
Мой папа - австралиец, а моя мама - американка.

My dad is an Australian, whereas my mom is an American.
Сергей, хочешьь кушать?

Sergei, want to eat?
А что есть?
And what is there?
Есть паста и салат и суп.
There is pasta and salad and soup.
Хорошо. Я буду пасту, пожалуйста.

Ok. I'll have pasta, please.
А что ты хочешь, Наташа?

And what do you want, Natasha?
А я хочу борщ.
And I want borscht.
In this next one, there's a word that's new to these podcasts. The word is ИЛИ.
Can you figure out what it means?
Хочешь чай или кофе?
Хмм..Чай, пожалуйста.
So, или translates as "or". Let's try those last two phrases again...
Хочешь чай или кофе?

Want tea or coffee?
Хмм..Чай, пожалуйста.
Hmm...Tea, please.
Imagine you're standing outside a pizzeria and a sushi bar. Your friend asks:
Что ты хочешь? Пиццу или суши?
That means: What do you want? Pizza or sushi?
Я не хочу кушать.
I don't want to eat.
To really maximize your practice time, I recommend hitting pause now and
again, and treating the phrase you heard as a construction. Then quickly input a
few different content words. For example, that last phrase was:
Я не хочу кушать.
The content word there is кушать...that's the word you can take out to insert
other words. So you might say:
I don't want pizza.

Я не хочу пиццу.
I don't want vodka.

Я не хочу водку.
I don't want sushi.

Я не хочу суши
Just a few, like that. See if you can rattle off five really quickly. That's just a good
habit to get into when you're listening to a lot of Russian. Hit pause after a
particular phrase and treat it as a construction.
Let's keep going. Translate the following...
Марк, кто это?

Mark, who is this?
Это мой друг Глэн. Он - бизнесмен.

This is my friend, Glenn. He is a businessman.
Он - канадец.
He's a Canadian.
А кто это?
And who's this?
Это моя подруга Джэнифер. Она - австралийка.

This is my friend Jennifer. She's Australian.
Хочешь йогурт или маффин или блины?

Want yogurt or a muffin or crepes?

No, thanks. I don't want to eat.
Хочешь капучино?
Want cappuccino?
Хорошо. Спасибо.
Ok. Thanks.
Икру?
Caviar?
Хмм...икру? Нет, спасибо. Не хочу.

Hmm...caviar? No thanks. I don't want.
So, how'd you do with all these? If you got most or all, then you're doing great.
This episode was kind of a mid-term, so we're getting out of class early today.
But today's exercises are longer. What I did for the download exercises was
take today's translation practice and flip it around. So, for homework, you need
to say each of today's phrases in Russian. So be sure to go to
RussianMadeEasy.com to get those, and I'll see you in the next episode.
All Rights Reserved

Episode #11
RussianMadeEasy.com
Alright, welcome to episode 11 of Russian Made Easy. Again, if you're new to

this podcast, it's best to start with episode number 1 because each new
installment assumes you've mastered all the previous material.
Anyway, no review needed today since we reviewed virtually all our vocab in the
last podcast. So let's jump right in to our first new phrase. Listen and repeat...
мне нравится
That's a tough pair of consonants at the start of that 2nd word...You have an N
and a rolled R. That's very hard to say slowly. Listen again, and also note how
the emphasis is on the first syllable.
нравится
Now let's see if you can get the meaning from context:
Imagine I've just gotten home from a trip to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. My
roommate looks at the merchandise I bought and he says.."Hmm, you bought
just one small AC/DC poster, but you got two huge Led Zeppelin posters, three
Led Zeppelin T-shirts and the entire Zeppelin box set?"
So I tell him, "That's because мне нравится AC/DC but I love Led Zeppelin."
Try making your own contextual phrase with this. For example: To me, vanilla is
an okay flavor. So I'd say, мне нравится vanilla but I love chocolate.
Hit pause and make your own.
So, how would you translate mne nravitsa? This is a classic example of where
we need to be very clear about the super literal meaning. Because, although
mne nravita translates as "I like", what you're literally saying is, to me is
pleasing.
Let's try it in a few sentences. Say..
I like borscht.
Literally: To me is pleasing borscht.
Мне нравится борщ.
Try saying:
I like pizza.
Again, literally: To me is pleasing pizza.
Мне нравится пицца.
Now you might be thinking...Wait! Why isn't it pizzU, with an "uu" sound at the
end? Doesn't liking something count as doing something to it?
No. And here's why:

WE're not taking any action in the sentence at all. Grammar-wise, the pizza is
the one doing the action. The pizza is pleasing us. After all, we're not saying
"Я"...Right? That's the Russian word for "I". Again, we're saying МНЕ....to me.
The pizza is the one doing the action.
Try saying:
To me is pleasing caviar.
Мне нравится икра.
Now say: I want caviar.

Я хочу икру.
See how we're taking action in that last sentence? I want...YA hochu.
Since we're acting upon the caviar in that second sentence, that's why we
change it now to “ikru” (икру).
Alright, let's move on. How would you say:
This is my tea.
Это мой чай.
And now -- to a friend --

This is your tea.
Это твой чай.
So, MY started with an M -- MOI.

And YOUR started with a T -- TVOI.
Bearing that in mind, here's our new word:
тебе
one more time:

тебе
And here's the meaning:
Imagine you're a big fan of rock music, whereas your roommate prefers jazz. He
suggests you both head to a club to listen to live music, but you remind him:
Мне нравится рок а тебе нравится джаз.

As we see there, "rock" and "jazz" are cognates. Listen again:
Мне нравится рок а тебе нравится джаз.
But how would you translate that phrase?
Literally: To me is pleasing rock, whereas to you is pleasing jazz.
So, тебе is the Russian word meaning "to you."

тебе
That's why I brought up MY and YOUR...мой и твой
...to compare that with...
мне, тебе
So try saying this:

My...to me
Мой...мне
Your...to you
Твой...тебе
Those aren't actual sentences. I'm just comparing the “M” stuff versus the “T”
stuff.
A minute ago we learned those two music cognates: rock and jazz. Listen one
more time and repeat:
рок
джаз
Well, blues is another cognate. Listen...

блюз
So ask a friend:
Do you like blues?
Тебе нравится блюз?
How will she answer:

No. I like rock.
Нет. Мне нравится рок.
To all my listeners who are also going through our Russian Accelerator course, I
wanted to point something out. In Unit 4 Lesson 5, we first learn about this мне
нравится construction
What I wanted to add was that нравится is the form we use with singular nouns.
Things like pizza, or rock music, or "this car", and so on. But if we want to say,
for example, that:
To me ARE pleasing crepes....plural...”crepeS”...we need to slightly change the
word. Listen:
Мне нравятся блины.
The difference is very subtle. Listen to the two different words side by side:
нравится
нравятся
Can you hear the difference? This is why I didn't bring it up in Unit 4, because
it's so subtle. And even if you use the wrong one, a native speaker's brain will
still "hear" the right one. It will basically hear the one that it grammatically
expects. But let me emphasize the difference, just so you're aware of it.
nraaaaa-veeeeet-suh
nraaa-viiiih-suh
An "ee" sound in the first, an "ih" sound for that second, plural version. Listen
one more time to the native speaker.
So, from now on, whenever it's not clear, I'll point out whether we're using the
singular version of the plural version. But honestly, at conversational speed, the
difference is almost non-existant except among speakers who really articulate
everything they say.
So, ask your friend:

Do you like sushi? (We need the plural form here)
Тебе нравятся суши?
Do you like yogurt? (Singular form)

Тебе нравится йоргурт?
Ask your friend Sergei...

Hey, Sergei...do you like my friend Linda?
Эй Сергей...Тебе нравится моя подруга Линда?
Now, for him to say:

Yes, I like her...
...listen to how he literally phrases it:
Да, она мне нравится.

Yes, she to me is pleasing.
Let's continue to play matchmaker, and this time ask Linda if she likes Sergei.
Like this...
Hey Linda, do you like my friend Sergei?
Эй Линда...Тебе нравится мой друг Сергей?
So, how will she literally phrase this:

Yes, I like him.
Literally: Yes, he to me is pleasing.
Да, он мне нравится.
Today's tip is a kind of flashback to the one I gave in episode four of this series,
where I mentioned the importance of flashcards. But now I want to add two
important things:
First, you recall how I mentioned you need to put an X on a card every time you
get it wrong. The more X's any card has, the more often you should test yourself
on it. Well, at some point, you'll have a small group of cards with lots of X's, and
a whole bunch of other cards that you always get right. So, the tip here is to re-
write those most difficult ones onto a new card or two. I could usually fit six
phrases on one side. Put that card consisting of your toughest phrases in your
wallet and test yourself a lot. In the morning as your coffee is brewing, in line at
the bank, when you're filling up your tank, etc.
The other follow-up tip here is to remember to go through your cards Russian
side first from time to time. Read the Russian word or phrase out loud and then
translate into English.
Alright, let's learn another new word. Listen and repeat:
танцевать
One more time:
танцевать
It doesn't sound like a cognate, but it actually is...at least the first syllable of it,
anyway. See if you can get the meaning:
I like to go to bars and have drinks with my buddies. My girlfriend, though,

prefers to go to clubs and танцевать with her girlfriends.
To move your body rhythmically to music is to танцевать.
Do you hear the "cognate-ness" of the word? We say "to dance" and they say
"танц....евать"
Ask your friend: Do you like to dance?

Literally: To you is pleasing to dance?
Тебе нравится танцевать?
Say:
No. I don't like to dance.
Нет, мне не нравится танцевать.
That's a lot of “n”s isn't it? Нет, мне не нравится танцевать.

Listen again:
Нет, мне не нравится танцевать.
How will your friend ask, in just two words:

Wanna dance?
Хочешь танцевать?
Say, Yes, I want to dance.

Да. Я хочу танцевать.
Let's try just a few more phrases. Ask a friend...
Want coffee?
No thanks.
Нет спасибо.
I don't like coffee.
Мне не нравится кофе.
Is there tea?
Есть чай?
And one more time, ask your friend..

Do you like to dance?
Тебе нравится танцевать?
Of course, please go to RussianMadeEasy.com to get the transcript of this

podcast, and the audio downloads. And for homework, be sure to use this very
important construction with as much of your vocabulary as you can fit in there.
Practice saying and asking... Do you like yogurt? I like yogurt. I don't like caviar.
Do you like caviar? and so on. And of course, put in all your Russian Accelerator
vocabulary too, of course.
Next time we'll take it a step further by learning to talk about the things we love.
I'll see you there!
PS: That dance song is called "Zachem" by 5sta Family. Search Youtube...it's a
great video!
All Rights Reserved

Episode #12
RussianMadeEasy.com
Alright, welcome to episode number 12. Here's our main phrase for today.
Please repeat after the speaker:
Я люблю
One more time...
Я люблю
We'll come back and learn the meaning of that in a moment, but let's review the
material from the last episode. How do you say:
I like crepes. (We need the plural form here.)

Мне нравятся блины.
And how does that literally translate?

To me are pleasing crepes.
Try saying:
I like her.
Again...what's the SLT here?
She to me is pleasing.
Она мне нравится.
Ask a friend:
Do you like rock?
Тебе нравится рок?
No. I like blues.

Нет. Мне нравится блюз.
Alright, so...What was that new phrase we started this podcast with?
Я люблю
To our Russian Accelerator members, I'm sure you remember learning that word
in Unit 5 Lesson 3. In today's podcast, we're going to get extra practice with this
very useful construction. For those who haven't encountered this phrase yet,
let's try to get the meaning from context. So...
I like milk chocolate, but Я люблю dark chocolate!
And I like spaghetti, but Я люблю пиццу!
Do you have a feel for it? Я люблю translates as "I love..."
Say: I love to dance!

Я люблю танцевать!
I love borscht!
Я люблю борщ!
Let me do a quick flashback to the previous podcast. How would you say:
This is caviar.
Это икра.
Икра with an "ah" sound at the end. That's its most basic form. But how do we
say:
I want caviar.
Я хочу икру.
икру...with an "uu" sound because we've done something to the caviar. We

wanted it.
By now, that rule is old hat for you, I'm sure. But how do you say:
I like caviar.
Мне нравится икра.
Why is it ending with an "ah" sound? Икра. Doesn't liking it count as doing
something to the caviar? And thus, shouldn't it change to икру?
Hit pause and give your own explanation for this. If you understand this point,
you'll have another major aspect of Russian grammar mastered.
So?
The reason икра doesn't change in that construction is because, in Russian, the
caviar is doing the action. Strange as it sounds, it is pleasing us. Or to us,
really. But notice how, in our new construction, we are once again the one doing
the action. That is:
I love caviar.
Я люблю икру.
...and that's why it's now икру with an "uu" ending. Let's practice this idea of
liking vs. loving.
Ask your friend:

Do you like vodka?
Тебе нравится водка?
How will he say:

Yes. I love vodka.
Да. Я люблю водку.
In that first one we had Водка with an "ah" and in the second one we had
водку with an "uu". Why? Because vodka is doing the action in the first
sentence. But in the second one, we're doing the action – we're loving vodka.
Apologies, by the way, if I'm beating a dead horse with this grammar point, but
again, if you get this, you're actually mastering a big chunk of Russian grammar.
Next, let's learn the name of two Russian cities and two Ukrainian cities. Repeat
after the speaker:
Москва
Санкт Петербург
Киев
Одесса
One more time:

Москва
Санкт Петербург
Киев
Одесса
Fill in the blank with one of those cities. Ready?

The capital of Russia is....Москва
The capital of Ukraine is....Киев
The home of Russia's world-class Hermitage museum is...Санкт Петербург
Ukraine's largest port city, located on the Black Sea is....Одесса
So, try saying:

I love St. Petersburg!
Я люблю Санкт Петербург.
I love Moscow!
Я люблю Москву!
Did you remember to change the "ah" at the end of Москва to an "uu" sound?
Москву.
I love Kiev.
Я люблю Киев.
I love Odessa.
Я люблю Одессу.
Of course, you can put any location into this construction. For example:
I love New York.
Я люблю Нью Йорк.
There's a very useful transitional word we should learn now. Listen and repeat:
Но
Of course, it sounds just like the English word "no" but that's not what it means.
As I said, it's used to make transitions. Like this...
I'd love to stay for dinner HO it's getting late...I really should go.
Or how about:
I'd lend you the money HO I left my wallet at the office.
So, HO is the Russian word for "but". So try saying:
I like Moscow but I love St. Petersburg.

Мне нравится Москва но я люблю Санкт Петербург.
I love pizza, but I don't want to eat.

Я люблю пиццу но я не хочу кушать.
One of my listeners wrote the other day and asked, "I listen to your podcasts
every day and I think I'm doing really well. But I worry that maybe my
pronunciation isn't very good. And the problem is I have no one to practice with
in my area. Any suggestions? Spasibo!” From Janet, in Vermont.
Thanks for writing, Janet. And that's certainly a common issue. So what I'd like
to offer you Janet, and any of our listeners who are in the same boat, is a
chance to use our Success Coaching over at Russian Accelerator. For free. I
wish I could offer the full, year-long access that Russian Accelerator members
get, but I can't do that. Still, I invite you to send them one recording of yourself.
So here's what to do. And again, this invite is for anyone listening to these
RussianMadeEasy podcasts.
Just record yourself speaking the Russian you've learned in these podcasts. Do
NOT say the English part. Just the Russian. And please keep it under five
minutes. Make sure it's an mp3 or wav file, and email it to: coaching@russian-
accelerator.com
Again that's: coaching@russian-accelerator.com
For the subject line of the email, please write: Podcast Offer
In a day or two, one of our coaches will have listened to it, and will get back to
you with their comments. Because, really, one of the most important things for
you, as a new student is to know that a native speaker understands you.
Alright, and here's the last new word for today. Repeat after the speaker:
тебя
One more time:
тебя
Notice it's tibya with a "ya" sound, not tebe with a "yeh" sound. Let's get it from
context:
When I proposed to my wife, I got down on one knee and told her:
“Honey, Я люблю тебя. Will you marry me?”
Я люблю тебя.
Translates as I love you.
And you'll hear it in this word order as well. Listen...

Я тебя люблю.
Either is fine but that second one is probably more common.
Ask your friend:

Do you like jazz?
Тебе нравится джаз?
I love you.
Here I'm just contrasting: тебе and тебя
Let's work once more with all of today's new words. Say...
I like Kiev but I love Odessa.

Мне нравится Киев но я люблю Одессу.
I love St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Я люблю Санкт Петербург и Москву.
Imagine you've asked a Russian woman to marry you, and you're explaining to
her child:
I love your mom.
Я люблю твою маму.
I like blues but I love rock.

Мне нравится блюз но я люблю рок.
And let's end with that most useful romantic phrase:

I love you.
Alright...As always, head over to RussianMadeEasy.com for today's audios and

transcript. And you'll find our Success Coaching email address there, too, if you
didn't write it down.
In the next podcast we'll talk about heading out and seeing the town. Keep
practicing, and I'll see you next time!
Send your 5 minute recording (mp3 or wav file) only in Russian, to:
coaching@Russian-Accelerator.com
Subj: Podcast Offer
All Rights Reserved

Episode #13
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to episode 13. We know that cognates are words that sound very
similar between two languages and have the same meaning. And we've learned
lots of them already. But there's also something known as a false cognate.
Those are words that sound similar between two languages but have totally
different meanings. For example, listen to this Russian word:
винегрет
That sounds like that kind of oil and vinegar salad dressing, doesn't it? Listen
again:
винегрет
Well, in Russian it doesn't refer to a salad dressing. Ask a Russian person for
some винегрет and he'll hand you a salad made of beets, pickles, potatoes,
carrots, and onions. The word vinaigrette in English and the word винегрет in
Russian are false cognates. They do sound the same, but they represent
different things.
So, listen to and repeat these four words. Three are cognates, but one is a false
cognate. Ready?
парк
центр
кафе
магазин
They are all common locations in a city or town. One more time...
парк
центр
кафе
магазин
Let's hear them in context. The first was парк

A large grassy area in the middle of a city is called a парк
So, we say park, and in Russian they of course roll that R: парк
Next was: центр

The main, downtown part of a city is called the центр
Hear how that's starting with a T - S sound? tsss-entr
Try saying: What's up? ....what's....ts...tssssentr
So we say "the downtown area" or the "city center" and in Russian they say just:
центр
Then we heard: кафе

An informal restaraunt, often focusing on lunch rather than dinner is called a
кафе
So in English we say: cafe, and in Russian the vowels change slightly: кафе
And finally we heard the false cognate: магазин

Any building where products are bought and sold is called a магазин
So, the Russian word магазин translates as store in English.
Ok, quiz time. Of those four locations, where might you go to have lunch?
В кафе
Where might you go to play frisbee?

В парк
Where would you go to buy something?

В магазин
And where would you go to be in the heart of the city?

В центр
As we let those percolate in your memory, let's now review the material from the
last podcast.
Imagine you're showing your friend a photo of Moscow. Tell them:

This is Moscow.
Это Москва.
Say: I love Moscow!

Я люблю Москву!
Say: I like Kiev but I love Odessa.

Мне нравится Киев но я люблю Одессу.
Ask your friend:

Do you like St. Petersburg?
Тебе нравится Санкт Петербург?
What are two ways we might say: I love you.

Я тебя люблю
or
Я люблю тебя.
So, do you remember our four new words?

Where would you go to fly a kite?
в парк
Did you notice how the native speaker added a "ff" sound in front of парк?
Listen again:
в парк
fff-park. That's because she's answering my question by saying, "to the park"
в парк
That "ff" sound means "to" in the sense of "moving towards a location."
So, adding that "ff" sound, now:

Where would you go to look at the city's tallest buildings?
в центр
Where would you go to buy a souvenir?

в магазин
Now, it's hard to say "ff" magazin...So Russians pronounce it as the letter "V"
instead: v-magazin
Listen again:
в магазин
Where would you go to have coffee and snacks?

в кафе
Alright. There are two more words I want to show you before we put everything
together today. For now, just listen and repeat the first one:
Пошли!
One more time:

Пошли!
Let's get the meaning from context:

You and some friends are standing in your home by the front door. You're ready
to head out, you've got your house keys in your hand. As you open the front
door you call out to everyone:
Пошли!
...and then you gesture for them to all follow you outside.
What might you have said in English? Probably:

Let's go!
or
Let's head out!
And that's how poshli is used. It's a call to action, to get people to head off to
some location.
And though it translates as "let's head out" or "let's go", the super-literal meaning
is:
we / they headed out on foot
It's a past-tense verb.
For example, if someone has asked you where James and Natasha are, you
might say:
James and Natasha went to the park.
Джэймс и Наташа пошли в парк.
Again poshli literally means “they headed out somewhere (on foot).” But you'll
mostly be using it as a way to encourage your friends to head out to wherever
your destination is. So, grab your keys, open the door and tell your girlfriend:
Let's go!
Пошли!
It doesn't have to be a command. It can also be a question as well:

Пошли?
And here's the other word to learn:

Куда?
Can you hear that it's a question? Listen again...

Куда?
So, there you are in your Kiev apartment, and you want to head out to grab a
bite. You open the door and have this brief exchange with your girlfriend:
Даша...Пошли!
Куда?
В кафе.
Or, imagine instead that you're in some smaller Russian city and you want to
see the main downtown area. Your conversation would go like this...
Катя....Пошли!
Куда?
В центр.
How would you translate that whole conversation?
You say: Katya, let's go!
And she asks: Kuda?
And you say, To the center.
So kuda must mean "to where?” or, "to which location are we headed?"
Of course, usually it's the person who is local who'd be the more pro-active
person. So, imagine your Russian friend is ready to head out. What will she
say?
Пошли!
And you ask her:

To where? as in, Where are we headed?
Куда?
How will she say:

To the park.
В парк.
This is a very common exchange in Russian, so I want to make sure we master

it. Before doing some more, though...it's Tip Time...
I got an email this morning from a listener named Brent in Berlin. He writes,
"Здравствуйте Марк..." That's a good way to start. "I want to thank you for
these podcasts. I'm in Moscow and so far I've been able to order all my own
meals in Russian, and I introduced myself and my business partner to the
Russians we'll be working with." He thanks me and then writes... "My request is
if you could do a podcast on colors."
Thank you, Brent, for your kind words. It's kinda the coolest part of the job, to
hear that it's working for people. But I'd like to talk for a moment about your
request to learn colors. The problem is, an all-audio format isn't really the ideal
way to teach a language, and the topic of colors is a classic example of why.
In the field of language learning -- among both students, and those who create
courses -- there seems to be an assumption that, well, language is something
we speak and something we hear, so an audio-only course should be a great
way to learn.
It's not.
I mean, here I am, making these podcasts, and I'm nevertheless telling you that
an all-audio format is not ideal. It's pretty good. I mean, you've hopefully learned
a lot here, but here's the thing:
Assuming you're not blind, then your vision played a major role in your
acquisition of language. I don't mean for reading. I mean, for learning the
meaning of words and phrases. Honestly, all five senses play a role in learning a
language, but since we are primarily visual creatures -- that is, most of what we
know about the world is processed through our vision -- that means most of
what you learned in English was done visually.
In an all-audio format, the stimulus, if you will, always has to come through your
hearing, and that's often not the ideal way. So, for me to test your recall of the
Russian word for red, for example, I have to ask you: "Ok, now how do you say
RED in Russian?"
Whereas, in a course that uses video, I can say: “You're about to see a series of
colors onscreen. Please say each one in Russian.” So I can just show you a
color and you name it. With video, I can make you think directly in Russian.
That limitation of an all-audio format is why there are a lot of topics and themes
I'm avoiding in this podcast. And it's why I always encourage you to check out
our Russian Accelerator course, because it features video. Long term, if you
really want to become conversational in Russian, a video-based course is the
way to go.
Alright, let's get back to today's new words. Imagine your Russian friend wants
to buy a new phone and is ready to head out. What will he say to you as he
opens his front door to leave?
Пошли!
Ask him:
To where? as in, Where are we headed?
Куда?
How will he say: To the store.

В магазин.
Tell him: Ok. Let's go!

Хорошо. Пошли!
One more. Tell your friend:

I want coffee.
Я хочу кофе.
She says:
And I want a cappuccino.
И я хочу капучино.
Suggest: Let's go to Starbucks?

Пошли в Старбакс?
Ok. I love Starbucks. Let's go!

Хорошо. Я люблю Старбакс. Пошли!
That's the end of today's podcast. And given that we just learned to talk about
where we're headed, next time we'll learn to talk about where we are. So, be
sure you have today's new words and constructions on your flashcards, and I'll
see you in the next podcast.
All Rights Reserved

Episode #14
RussianMadeEasy.com
Alright, welcome to episode number 14. Today we'll learn to talk about where we
are at the moment. Certainly a useful thing to know when someone calls and
asks where you are. So let's start by listening and repeating the following
Russian word:
Где?
Hear that G-D combination at the beginning? Here it is again...
Где?
Can you figure out the meaning? Imagine a guy looking for his wallet. He's
checking all the usual places...the table in the hall, his nightstand, his coat
pocket. Still no wallet. Frustrated he asks himself...
"Man, ГДЕ did I leave my wallet?"
In Russian, if you want to know the location of something, you'd ask: Где?
So, где translates as "where" in the sense of "in what location." There is no
movement associated with the word. After all, remember in the last podcast, we
learned this exchange:
Let's go!
Пошли!
And we asked: Where to?

Куда?
To the park!
В парк!
The Russian word "куда" also translates as "where" but it's related to motion.
Where to?
But our new word...do you remember it...

где
...means "where...in which location?"
Ask:
Where's Dasha?
Где Даша?
Or...imagine you're at a cafe with friends. You head to the bathroom, and when
you come back, you notice that your soup is gone. In three words, ask:
Where's my soup?
Где мой суп?
So, let's see if you can retain this new word while we review our recent
podcasts.
Imagine you've put on your coat, grabbed your keys and wallet and are opening
the front door. Your Russian roommate asks you in just two words:
Ты куда?
What did he literally ask?

You....to where?
That's his way of asking, "Where're you going?" And that's all you need to say in
Russian. Try it. Ask...
Where're you headed?
Ты куда?
Say:
To the center.
В центр.
Imagine your friend is showing you the little shoe store she just opened. Ask
her...
Is this your store?
Это твой магазин?
And back to our new word for the day, imagine you've arrived to your friend's
apartment. You thought her mom would be there, too, but she isn't, so you ask:
Where's your mom?
Где твоя мама?
Alright, so far so good. Here's our next new word:

сейчас
One more time:

сейчас
How would you translate it, based on this conversation:
Your roomate tells you: "We're out of milk. Wanna come with me to the store?"
"Sure. Сейчас or later?"
"Let's go сейчас. I've got some things to do later."
So, сейчас translates as "now" as in, "at this moment"
Imagine your friend calls your cellphone. How will she ask, in two words,
Where are you?
Ты где?
Listen to the native speaker say:

I'm now in the store.
Я сейчас в магазине.
Did you hear that? At the end of the word магазин he added a "yeh" sound. в
магазине
Listen again:
в магазине.
He also added the word "v" before the word...So he had: “v-magazin-yeh”
в магазине
That's today's very important construction. Try saying:

I'm now in the park.
Я сейчас в парке.
We add "ff" before the word 'park' and add the "yeh" sound at the end. В парке
Я сейчас в парке.
That "yeh" sound is very important, and here's why. It tells the listener that
you're *in* that location. Otherwise, as we learned in the last podcast time, the
"ff" or "v" sound means "to" or “towards: and they'll think you're on your way to
that place.
So, compare these two phrases:
Я сейчас в магазин.
There was no "yeh" sound at the end, so the speaker means:
I now to the store. He means, I'm now going to the store, or am about to head
off there.
Compare that to this...
Я сейчас в магазине.
That little "yeh" sound at the end tells us they are located inside the store at this
moment. So, that little sound "yeh" has a big impact on the meaning.
There's one exception that we should be aware of. The word cafe which in
Russian is: кафе does not change. Ever. That's because it's not really a Russian
word. It's borrowed, probably from French, and it doesn't work well with Russian
grammar. So, we don't add that "yeh" sound at the end. Of course, the next
question is...Well, how will I know if the speaker is headed to the cafe or is
actually there, when he says: Я сейчас в кафе.
Well, you don't. You'd have to ask a clarifying question, but that's kind of off the
topic at this point.
So, your phone rings and your friend asks...

Ты где сейчас?
She was asking, “You...where...now?” In other words, Where are you now?
Tell her:
I'm now at Starbucks.
Я сейчас в Старбаксе.
Here's a universal fact worth noting about languages. Short words tend to have
many meanings. Long words tend to have just one. And the reason is simple:
Languages only have so many short words to go around, so they have to use
them for lots of situations.
Take the word "on" in English. As in, "Is the TV on?" So, "on" means "currently
operating"
Are the lights on? Are the lights currently operating?
Yet if I say, The book is on the table...
.."on" has a very different meaning. The book is currently operating the table?
No. The book is located apon the table.
Yet, when we say, "I'm on the train to Boston right now." Do you really mean
you're located apon -- that is, on the upper surface of -- the train? Like you're
riding on the roof of it? No. You actually mean that you're riding inside of the
train.
I could go on and on about the different meanings of on.

The takeaway here is that little words have lots of meanings, so don't fix just one
in your head. Instead, learn a whole construction which features each particular
meaning.
Here are our last two words of today's podcast. Listen and repeat:
на работе
Let's get the meaning from context. (Just a heads up: The name Anton in
Russian is “ahn-TONE”).
My friend Антон has a standard, 9-to-5 job. So, it's no surprise that when I
called his house on Tuesday at 11 in the morning, his wife answered and said...
Антон сейчас на работе.

Anton is now....na rabotyeh.
That first word, na, is forcing the next word to take on that "yeh" ending. Do you
hear it?
на работе
But by itself, the word is just работа
работа
So let's look for a second at just the word работа in context. In English we
have a saying:
All работа and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
So, rabota is the Russian word for "work."
And на работе translates as "at work."
Remember what I explained, though, in today's tip. Small words have lots of
uses, so please don't fix the word "at" to the Russian word "на." Just learn the
phrase:
I'm now at work.

Я сейчас на работе.
Let's work with it some more. You call your friend Sergei's apartment. A guy
answers...
Алло?
Сергей?
Нет. Здравствуйте Марк. Это Владимир. Сергей сейчас на работе.
Did you catch what he said? Here it is again:

Нет. Здравствуйте Марк.
No. Hello Mark.
Это Владимир.
This is Vladimir.
Сергей сейчас на работе.

Sergei is now at work.
So ask him, "And where's Tanya?"

А где Таня?
Say: She's now at the store.

Она сейчас в магазине.
And then Vladimir asks you:

And where're you?
А ты где?
Say: I'm now downtown. Or....I'm in the city center.

Я сейчас в центре.
How about this situation. You overhear your girlfriend on the phone as she calls
her house and talks to her sister. How will she say:
And where are Mom and Dad?
А где мама и папа?
How will her sister say:

Mom is now in a store, in the center whereas Dad is at work.
Мама сейчас в магазине в центре, а папа на работе.
Maybe her parents are traveling. How would she say:

My mom is now in Moscow.
Моя мама сейчас в Москве.
My dad is now in Kiev.

Мой папа сейчас в Киеве.
My friend is now in St. Petersburg.

Мой друг сейчас в Санкт Петербурге.
My female friend is now in Odessa.

Моя подруга сейчас в Одессе.
Your friend catches you on Skype and asks where you are:
А ты где сейчас?
Tell her:
I'm now in New York.
Я сейчас в Нью Йорке.
Add...
I'm now at work.
If you got all these you're doing куфддн well. And all I can say is keep up the
great work because if you do, you're going to become a conversational Russian
speaker.
In the next episode we'll learn to talk about where we live, and ask our Russian
friends the same question. Meanwhile, head over to RussianMadeEasy.com for
today's transcript and audio downloads and I'll see you in the next episode.
All Rights Reserved

Episode #15
RussianMadeEasy.com
Alright, welcome to episode 15. Today we'll be talking about where we live. So,
let's start by repeating these two phrases:
Я живу
Ты живёшь
You might be thinking, "Wait...Didn't we already kinda learn this? In the 3rd
podcast, we learned to say things like I'm an American, and I'm Australian."
True, we did learn that. But that doesn't necessarily mean you currently live in
America or Australia. You might be living in Moscow or Kiev. Anyway, let's repeat
those two phrases again. Can you remember them?
Я живу
Ты живёшь
Also, after today's podcast you'll be able to say what city or state you live in.
Anyway, say just that first phrase one more time...
Я живу
You hear that "zh" sound? Like the end of the word "mirage"...zh. Живу
Here it is in context:
Imagine a guy who has to commute to work in New York from his home in
Boston. He'd tell people...
I work in New York, but я живу в Бостоне.
So, я живу means "I live". Try saying...
I live in New York.

Я живу в Нью Йорке.
Try saying:
I'm an American but I live in London.
Я американец но я живу в Лондоне.
Now what was that 2nd phrase we learned?
Ты живёшь
Let's say you're at a party and a friend of a friend has had too much to drink.
Since you're headed out anyway, tell him: "I can take you home. А где ты
живёшь?"
Где.....ты.....живёшь...translates as: Where do you live?
Ask your new friend:

You live in Kiev?
Ты живёшь в Киеве?
So far so good. Let's now go back and review the material from the last podcast.
With just two words, ask your friend:

Where are you?
Tы где?
Say: I'm now downtown. Or....I'm in the center.

Я сейчас в центре.
Ask, "And where's Olga?"

А где Ольга?
Say: She's now at work.

Она сейчас на работе.
Did you remember that работа requires "na" instead of that "v" or "f" sound we
would've expected? Great! Then let's keep going. Imagine you're in a cafe. Tell
the waitress:
I'll have Russian pancakes, please.

Я буду блины, пожалуйста.
Then add:
And I want coffee, please.
И я хочу кофе, пожалуйста.
And now say:

I live in Moscow.
Я живу в Москве.
Listen to those three verb phrases one more time:

Я буду
Я хочу
Я живу
I know it's only three examples, but do you notice a pattern? When a Russian
speaker starts with YA, the end of his verb will always have an "uu" sound, as
long as he's not using the past tense. Sometimes the "uu" or "yu" sound will be
right before the end, like these. Listen closely:
Я боюсь
Я занимаюсь
Do you hear the "yu" sound in there? zah-nee-MAI-yuu.....sss
Я занимаюсь
Я боюсь
To repeat: With very few exceptions, the "ya" form of verbs will end in an "uu"
sound. And that leads me to today's tip...
This is one of the most important language learning tips I can give you. Never,
ever learn grammar by memorizing rules or charts. Instead, learn grammar the
way we're designed to learn it, which is simply by noticing the patterns of
language. Because that's all grammar is: the patterns of how words change.
If a Russian teacher ever tries to make you memorize a chart of verb

conjugations, don't just walk away...RUN away, screaming. Memorizing sucks.
It's hard and it's unproductive. But learning is awesome. It's natural, it's
effortless, and it's effective. And that's what you're doing when you notice the
patterns of a language. That's what Russian infants are doing, too. They notice,
"Gosh, every time someone starts with Я there's an "uu" sound at the end of the
next word." This then helps them guess the meaning of future, unfamiliar words.
The language center of his brain absolutely understands these patterns and
what they're associated with. Fore sure, that's what's going on.
This is why native speakers usually make terrible teachers. They're teaching you
grammar the way they remember being taught in grade school. But that's not
how they learned it. They were completely fluent in Russian before they ever
even attended kindergarden. Heck, they learned all of the word endings before
they could even read. How? By picking up on the patterns. The things they
learn in school are all the fancy grammar names..all the declension charts and
all that stuff. That's what they remember and that's what they burden you with it.
I don't teach that way. Yes, eventually it's good to know certain grammar terms,
but only AFTER you have the patterns mastered. This is why I don't ever
mention any of the case names until Unit 15 of Russian Accelerator. Throughout
the course I simply help you discover the patterns of how Russian words
change.
So, speaking of patterns, let's look at another one. Pretend your friend has
ordered tea and you thought he didn't like tea at all. In three words -- including
the word "you" -- ask him:
You want tea?
Ты хочешь чай?
Ask a friend:
You live in Boston?
Ты живёшь в Бостоне?
Now we only have two examples here, but do you hear a pattern? Listen again...
Ты хочешь
Ты живёшь
When a Russian speaker starts with ТЫ, the end of the verb will always have an
"ish" sound, as long as they're not talking about the past tense. Sometimes it'll
sound like "eesh", sometimes like "ish", sometimes "aiesh"..but always that "sh"
sound at the end.
Ты хочешь
Ты живёшь
And as with the YA forms, sometimes it's right before the end. Like these...
Ты занимаешься
Ты боишься
Hear the "sh" sound in there? Ты занимаешься zah-nee-MAI-ish-.....sya
So here, the pattern is that the "tee" form of verbs will have a "sh" sound at the
end. That's the pattern you want to be aware of.
Imagine, then, that we're in a cafe with our friend. I say..

I'll have coffee.
Я буду кофе.
Now, how might you ask your friend:

What will you have?
Hit PAUSE and think about it for a second.
Ready?
What will you have?
Что ты будешь?
Let's compare the Я and ТЫ forms side by side. Repeat after the speaker...
Я буду....ты будешь
Я хочу...ты хочешь
Я живу....ты живёшь
So it's always: Ya-something-uu....and....tee-something-shh
So, from now on, try to keep your ear out for those patterns.
And let's go back, now, to our main construction of the day. Imagine you're
showing your new Russian friend some photos, one of which is of the city you
live in. Your friend will ask: Is this __blank__? And you'll answer, Yes. I live in
__blank__.
So let's try that:

Это Нью Йорк?
Say: Yes, I live in New York.

Да. Я живу в Нью Йорке.
Do you see how that exchange let's us hear the basic version of New York..and
then the "in New York" version, with that "yeh" sound at the end? Let's try
another. This time, though, I won't prompt you. Just reply to the speaker's
question the way we did in the first example.
Это Лондон?
Да. Я живу в Лондоне.
Это Санкт Петербург?

Да. Я живу в Санкт Петербурге.
Это Севастополь?
Да. Я живу в Севастополе.
Это Лос Анджелес?

Да. Я живу в Лос Анджелесе.
Это Вашингтон?
Да. Я живу в Вашингтоне.
Now, regardless of whether we're talking about a city or a state, if it ends in an
"oh" sound, it won't change. Listen...
Это Чикаго?
Да. Я живу в Чикаго.
And if the word ends in a "ya" sound, like Australia and California, listen to the
new ending...
Это Калифорния?
Да. Я живу в Калифорнии.
Instead of the expected "yeh" sound, we get a long "ee" sound.
Is this Australia?
Это Австралия?
Yes. I live in Australia.

Да. Я живу в Австралии.
Let's try a few more. Again, without any prompting, just answer the speaker:
Это Аризона?
Да, я живу в Аризоне.
Это Сан Диего?

Да. Я живу в Сан Диего.
Let's try to work this construction into a longer statement about yourself, using
stuff we've learned from earlier podcasts. Ready?
Say: Hello, my name is Tony.

Здравствуйте, меня зовут Тони.
I'm an American but I live in Odessa.

Я американец но я живу в Одессе.
If you're an American woman, you'd of course have said:

Я американка...
Anyway, speaking with you on friendly terms, that is, informally, your new friend
asks:
Do you like Odessa?
Тебе нравится Одесса?
Yes, I love Odessa.

Да. Я люблю Одессу.
Did you get all the three forms of the word Odessa correct? We heard: Одесса,
Одессе and Одессу.
If you got all three correct, give yourself an A+ for having excellent Russian
grammar. It really will impress your Russian friends that you speak so
grammatically.
Anyway, let's try that same exchange but with a different content words:
Say: Hello, my name is Robert.

Здравствуйте, меня зовут Роберт.
I'm an Englishman but I live in Moscow.

Я Англичанин но я живу в Москве.
Again, speaking with you on friendly terms, your new friend asks:
Do you like Moscow?
Тебе нравится Москва?
Tell her:
Yes, I love Moscow.
Да. Я люблю Москву.
For homework, try that exchange with some other combinations. And of course,
make sure you've made flashcards for these new constructions
In the next episode we'll learn to talk about one of the most common topics of
conversation: Where we work. Meanwhile, head over to RussianMadeEasy.com
for today's transcript and audio downloads and I'll see you next time!
All Rights Reserved

Episode #16
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to episode 16. Remember, these podcasts are cumulative, so if you're

just joining us, please start at Podcast #1.
Anyway, today we'll be talking about where we work. I'd like to start by going
back to a phrase we learned in podcast #14. Do you remember how to say:
I'm now at work.

But we also learned that the word for "work", on its own, was just:
работа
...with an "ah" ending.
Listen again and repeat:

работа
So how would you say:

I like my work.
Мне нравится моя работа.
Try saying: I love my work.

Я люблю мою работу.
To the nitpickers out there, Yes, there is another way to say this, using the
reflexive possessive pronoun свой , as in: Я люблю свою работу -- but if you
don't mind, we'll be using this more intuitive version just for now.
I love my work.
Я люблю мою работу.
So, here's our first new phrase for today. Listen and repeat:
Я работаю
One more time:

Я работаю
My friend is a barrista (a coffee maker) in Starbucks. Now, if a Russian person

asks my friend what he does, my friend would say: Я работаю в Старбаксе.
My other friend is a waitress in a cafe. If a Russian person asked her what she
does, she'd say:
Я работаю в кафе.
So...
Я работаю
...translates as: I work

Try saying:
I work in New York.

Я работаю в Нью Йорке.
How about:
I work in Moscow.
Я работаю в Москве.
Ok, here's our next new word. It's a cognate. Repeat after the speaker:
компания
One more time...

компания
Here it is in context...As defined by their market capitalization, Exxon Mobil is

the world's largest компания.
In English we say "company" and in Russian they say компания.
So here's the main construction we want to master today. In standard English

we'd say:
I work for Microsoft. We might also use the word "at" as in: I work at Intel.
Now the literal way Russians usually express this idea is:
I work in the company _____.
For example: I work in the company Microsoft.

Я работаю в компании Майкрософт.
Notice how the word "ff" changes the end of компания to a long ee sound. f--
kompanee. Listen...
в компании
Try saying:
I work in the company Intel.
Я работаю в компании Интэл.
I work in the company Exxon.

Я работаю в компании Эксон.
How would you say:
This is my company.
Это моя компания.
Did you use "моя" to rhyme with "компания"?
Ask your friend:

Is this your company?
Это твоя компания?
Ask:
Do you like your work? (Lit: To you is pleasing your work?)
Тебе нравится твоя работа?
Imagine someone calls you while you happen to be working. How would you tell
them:
I'm working at the moment.
Я работаю сейчас.
So here's a question for you...How might you ask your friend:

You're working now?
Hit pause and think about it for a second...
So, remember our two verb patterns so far?
Ya....something....uu
..and...
Tee....something....ish.
So to ask: "You're working right now?" we need to say...

Ты работаешь сейчас?
работаешь
But we remember that word order in Russian is more flexible. And a native
speaker is probably more likely to phrase that:
Ты сейчас работаешь?
By putting the word "работаешь" at the end, he's putting more emphasis on it.
It's like asking...
"Ya working now?"
Whereas, if he says it this way:

The emphasis is on "сейчас" so it's like he's asking, "You're working now??"
But again, the difference is subtle, and they can also emphasize words with their
tone, or emphasis, instead of just word order.
In my experience, one of the hardest parts for most people who are learning a
language is simply staying motivated. As soon as things get tough, their resolve
seems to weaken. The doubts creep in, like, "I'll never be able to speak Russian
like that." And then come the excuses, "I can't study this week. I've got too much
going on." Pretty soon, they stop altogether, satisfied with having learned a few
words and phrases.
What those people are missing is a powerful, underlying motivation to learn

Russian. And that's what I'd like to talk about for a moment.
For me, the motivation was to be able to travel through St. Petersburg and
Moscow on my own, completely independently. I didn't want some tour guide
telling me how long I could spend in the DaVinci room of the Hermitage
museum. I wanted to be able to rent an apartment, buy my own food, catch taxis
and all that...all by myself. So my need for independence when traveling to
Russia was my powerful motivation.
For lots of guys, the motivation is to be able to talk to their Russian wife or
fiance in her own language. They realize how much better it makes them look,
that they care enough to learn Russian. And not just to talk with her, but with her
family and friends, too. Knowing how to speak Russian also makes guys more
valuable. Things aren't so desparate for Russian or Ukrainian women these
days. I've been living here in Ukraine now for five years, so believe me, I know.
They're becoming choosier. So speaking Russian will give a guy a huge edge.
Another big motivation is the job market. Russia is the largest country on earth
and due to their vast oil deposits they stand to become a major force in
international commerce. Imagine being able to add the line, "Fluent in Russian"
to your resume. It's a great way to add value to yourself as an employee.
So now and again take a little time to think of al the benefits you'll get by being
able to speak Russian. Whether it's for travel, for romance or for business,
knowing Russian will benefit you for a lifetime.
Alright, back to it. How would you ask a new friend:

Where do you work?
Где ты работаешь?
How will she say:

I work in the company Dell.
Я работаю в компании Дэлл.
Try saying: I work downtown. (Or: I work in the city center.)

Я работаю в центре.
Try saying:
I'm an American. I live in California.
Я - американец. Я живу в Калифорнии.
Say: I work in the company Google.

Я работаю в компании Гугл.
With just two words, ask your friend:

You working?
Ты работаешь?
How will he say:

No. I'm not working now.
Нет. Я не работаю сейчас.
Let's learn two easy cognates. Repeat this first one after the speaker:
банк
And again:
банк
So in English we say 'bank' and in Russian it's банк.
And here's our 2nd cognate:

офис
I'm new to this company, so I just have a small cubicle. But one day I hope to
have my own офис.
So, in English we say office, and in Russian they deepen the "oh" sound...офис
Say: I work in a bank.

Я работаю в банке.
Did you remember to add that "yeh" sound at the end of "bank"?
в банке.
Ask your friend:

Do you work in a store or in an office?
Ты работаешь в магазине или в офисе?
Again, we need that "yeh" sound both times: в магазине .... в офисе
Imagine you've called your friend's cellphone. He answers and you ask him:
Where are you now?
Где ты сейчас?
How will he say:

I'm in the office.
Я сейчас в офисе.
How do you say:

I'm now in the bank.
Я сейчас в банке.
A friend asks you:

Where is your office?
Где твой офис?
In two words, say:

In the center.
В центре.
Let's end with some general review today. In the previous podcast, we worked
with the verb patterns for Я and ТЫ. For example, how do you say:
I'll have coffee. Whereas what will you have?

Я буду кофе, а что ты будешь?
Say: I'll have....You'll have.

Я буду. Ты будешь.
How do you say:

I live in Maryland. Where do you live?
Я живу в Мэриленде. Где ты живёшь?
Say: I live...you live

Я живу. Ты живёшь.
And how do you say:

I want pizza. And what do you want?
Я хочу пиццу. А что ты хочешь?
Say: I want...you want

Я хочу. Ты хочешь.
And of course, today we learned how to say:

I work in the company Sony.
Я работаю в компании Сони.
Ask your friend:

Where do you work?
Say: I work...you work...

Я работаю. Ты работаешь.
That wraps up today's podcast. In the next one, we'll add a new verb pattern
that'll let us say things like, "She lives in Minsk," or, "He works downtown," and
so on. That'll really come in handy and expand your vocabulary being able to
talk about other people. And we'll also talk...about talking.
I'll see you then!
All Rights Reserved

Episode #17
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to episode 17. Today we'll be speaking about speaking...that is, about
which languages we speak. We've got a lot to do, so let's get to it. Please repeat
the following phrase after the speaker:
Я говорю по-русски.
One more time, a little slower:
I was born and raised in New York, so if someone asks me what language I
speak, I'd tell them, "I speak English." Meanwhile, my friend Vlad was born and
raised in Moscow. Ask him what language he speaks and he'll tell you: Я говорю
по-русски.
He's saying: I speak Russian.
Now, if you've studied Russian elsewhere, even a little, you've probably

encountered this phrase already. Those of you in my Russian Accelerator
course learned it in the very first Unit. But whether it's new to you, or old hat,
we're going to expand on that phrase in some new directions today. Sp say it
one more time:
I speak Russian.
How would you ask your friend:

You speak Russian?
Ты говоришь по-русски?
Let's practice those verbs side by side. Say:

I speak, you speak.
Я говорю....Ты говоришь
Now, do you remember how to say:

I'm an Englishman.
Я - англичанин.
So, imagine I'm an Englishman and my Russian friend asks me...

He, of course, is asking: Do you speak Russian?
So I tell him:
No, I speak English.
Нет. Я говорю по-английски.
Slower...
Я говорю по-английски.
So how would you ask your friend:

You speak English?
Ты говоришь по-английски?
Are you feeling comfortable with all this so far? Then let's do a quick review of
the main constructions from the last podcast.
Ask your friend:

Is this your company?
Это твоя компания?
How will he say:

No, it's not my company. But this is my office.
Нет, это не моя компания. Но это мой офис.
How do you say:

I work in the company Samsung.
Я работаю в компании Самсунг.
I work downtown.
Я работаю в центре.
Ask a friend: Where do you work?

Alright, so...let's see if you remember the phrases we started this podcast with.
Say:
I speak Russian.
I speak English.
Я говорю по-английски.
Ask your friend:

You speak Russian?
You speak English?

Great! Now let's add our next new word. Can you guess what country this is?
Испания
Listen again and repeat:

Испания
Here it is in context...all in Russian.
Здравствуйте, меня зовут Рафаел. Я живу в Барселоне....это в Испании.
He said: Hello, my name is Rafael. I live in Barcelona. This is in Испании.
So, in English the country is called "Spain" and in Russian they pronounce it
Испания.
Notice there's that "ee-ya" ending. So when we say "in Spain" it gets that long
"ee" ending.
Listen again...
В Испании. (In Spain)
How would you say:

I'm now working in Spain.
Я сейчас работаю в Испании.
Now, if you asked Rafael what language he speaks, this is what he'd tell you:
Я говорю по-испански.
Ask your friend if he speaks Spanish.

Ты говоришь по-испански?
So far so good? Now imagine someone has asked me what language Rafael
speaks. Listen to my asnwer:
Рафаел говорит по-испански.

Rafael speaks Spanish.
Or I could've just said:

He speaks Spanish.
Он говорит по-испански.
This is a new verb form for us...or, to use the fancy grammar term, a new
conjugation.
Imagine you're in Moscow with your friend Jennifer. When you two meet your
landlord, he gestures to Jeniffer and asks you...
Does she speak Russian?

Она говорит по-русски?
Tell him: No. She's an Englishwoman.

Нет. Она - англичанка.
Add: She speaks English.

Она говорит по-английски.
We'll work with this new conjugation a lot more in a moment.
Since today's podcast is about speaking, it reminds me of this important tip:

When speaking Russian, speak fast. Really, the faster the better, because it's
more comfortable for your native speaker listeners. Here. You tell me: Which is
more comfortable for you to listen to, as a native speaker of English.
Wellll.....What. Can. You. Do. Live. And. Learn. Isn't. That. Right?
...or this...
Well, what can ya do? Live 'n' learn, isn(t) that right?
When I tell my students this, they often say: But I just can't think that fast. It
takes me time to think of each word!
Well...that's fine. That's normal. Take all the time you need...but do it in your
head, before actually starting to speak. Take a moment, piece the phrase
together in your head, and then say the whole thing as quickly as you can.
Since most of what I say when speaking Russian is based on constructions that
I've mastered, this isn't usually an issue for me. But once in a while I find myself
constructing a phrase with some new verb or participle or case ending. And
that's what I do. I piece the phrase together in my head and then I rattle it off as
fast as possible.
So that's today's tip: To make your listeners comfortable, think slowly but speak
quickly.
Alright, back to biz. Pretend you're with your two friends -- Vlad and Rafael --
introducing yourselves to class on the first day of college. Tell the class:
My name is James. I speak English.

Меня зовут Джэймс. Я говорю по-английски.
This is Vlad. He speaks Russian.

Это Влад. Он говорит по-русски.
This is Rafael. He speaks Spanish.

Это Рафаел. Он говорит по-испански.
So let's apply this new verb ending to other verbs we've learned. Imagine you're
with two friends at a cafe, and you're the only one who speaks Russian. Tell the
waitress:
I'll have tea, he'll have coffee, and she'll have capuccino.
Я буду чай, oн будет кофе, и она будет капучино.
Did you hear that? Try saying it again:

Я буду чай, oн будет кофе, и она будет капучино.
Let's try all three verb endings for that:
I'll have....you'll have....he'll have

Я буду....ты будешь....он будет
So say...
I'll have borscht and she'll have the viniagrette.
Я буду борщ и она будет винегрет.
You could also phrase your orders using the verb "want" so try saying:
I want a pizza and she wants a salad.

Я хочу пиццу и она хочет салат.
Say that one more time:

She wants a salad.
Она хочет салат.
So again, let's try all three verb endings for that:
I want....you want...she wants

Я хочу....ты хочешь....она хочет
Ask your friend what she wants:

Что ты хочешь?
She says:
Борщ.
So now tell the waitress:

She wants borscht.
Она хочет борщ.
How about the verb "to live"? Say...

I live in Los Angeles.
Я живу в Лос-Анджелесе.
Ask a friend:
Where do you live?
Где ты живёшь?
Now try saying:

Rafael lives in Barcelona.
Рафаел живёт в Барселоне.

Рафаел живёт в Барселоне.
So here are those three conjugations. Say...

I live....you live....he lives...
Я живу...ты живёшь...он живёт
Tell someone:
Mom lives in Kiev whereas Dad lives in Moscow.
Мама живёт в Киеве а папа живёт в Москве.
Ok, so....How about the verb "to work"? Ask you friend where he works:
So, based on that, try saying:

Sasha works in Minsk.
Саша работает в Минске.

Саша работает в Минске.
So, our three verb forms for "work" so far are:
I work....you work....she works
Я работаю....ты работаешь....она работает
Let's try using just that "he, she" form for a bit. Introduce your friend, Say...
This is Michele. She is a Canadian.

Это Мичел. Она - канадка.
She lives in Toronto.

Она живёт в Торонто.
Она - адвокат.
She is a lawyer.
Она работает в центре.

She works downtown.
Say..
He'll have tea and crepes, please.
Он будет чай и блины, пожалуйста.
....and she wants caviar.

...и она хочет икру.
How did you do with all those? I probably sound like a broken record, but it
needs to be said: If you got most of those, and if you're following along pretty
well with all this, then you're doing awesome. Seriously. I mean, you now have
mastered three of the six conjugations in Russian...just by listening to a podcast.
Anyway, be sure to visit RussianMadeEasy.com for the downloads and keep

those emails coming. My email address is: mark@RussianMadeEasy.com
Next time we'll learn to talk about the things we need. Until then, keep
practicing!
All Rights Reserved

Episode #18
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to episode 18. Today's lessons is in response to an email I got from a

listener named Sherri, in Perth, Australia. She writes, "Hi Mark, it's great how
you explained the forms of the word "need" in the course, but it's still hard for me
sometimes to choose the right one. Maybe you could give us more practice in
your podcast? Spasibo bolshoe!"
Thanks for writing, Sherri. That's a common question, which is why I like making
these podcasts. They're a good introduction to Russian for those who are just
getting started, but they're also a great opportunity for me to expand on a lot of
the main constructions you learn in Russian Accelerator. Case in point:
Practicing with that "I need" construction.
So, we'll get to that in a minute, but first there are a few new words I'd like us to
learn. Repeat this first one. It's an easy cognate:
сувенир
Again:
сувенир
I realize you know the word is, but listen to this contextual phrase all the same.
The little things we buy while on vacation -- things like mugs and magnets for
the fridge, and of course postcards -- are all considered сувениры
So, in English we call them souvenirs, and in Russian they're: сувениры

Did you hear that Ы sound at the end of the word this time? That's their plural
ending. The equivalent of our "s" in English. Like souvenir versus souvenirs.
Think, for example, about the word for crepes.
блины
It has that Ы ending because it's plural.. We're saying pancakeS.
But back to our new word, how would you say:

I want a souvenir.
Я хочу сувенир.
Let's try one more new word:

машина
It's kind of a cognate. But let's get it from context:
The Mercedes S600 is my favorite машина.

But in the U.S., the best selling машина is the Toyota Camry.
So, a машина is a car.
Ask your friend:

Do you like my car?
Тебе нравится моя машина?
And now say:
I want a car.
Я хочу машину.
Obviously we changed that "ah" ending to an "uu" sound. mashinu
Alright...let those sink into the ever growing Russian language center in your
brain and we'll do some review of the last podcast now.
How would you say:

I don't speak Spanish.
Я не говорю по-испански.
Try saying:
Jessica doesn't speak Russian.
Джессика не говорит по-русски.
Ask your friend: You speak English?

Mom doesn't work.

Мама не работает
She wants to dance.

Она хочет танцевать
My friend Pavel lives in Moscow.

Мой друг Павел живёт в Москве.
Ask your friend Sasha...

Sasha, want coffee?
Саша, хочешь кофе?
How will he answer:

Ok, I will. (As in: Ok, I'll have some coffee.)
Хорошо, я буду.
So, in that last phrase, хорошо is a way of agreeing. We translate it as "Okay"

or "Sure." But as I said when we first learned it, this very common word has
other uses as well. How do you think it would translate in this phrase. My
Russian friend tells me...
Марк, ты хорошо говоришь по-русски.
And I yell him:

Спасибо.
So, хорошо also translates as "good" or "well." As in, You speak Russian well.
So tell your Russian friend:
You speak English well.

Ты хорошо говоришь по-английски.
Ok, please repeat the following two word phrase:

мне нужен
And again:
мне нужен
Here it is in context:
Imagine you're working on your car. You thought you could turn this one bolt with
just your fingers, but it's too tight. So you call out to the friend who's helping you:
"I can't turn this bolt. Мне нужен that wrench."
Or, say you're at a friend's house and he has Wi-Fi. You're trying to log in with
your iPad, but it's asking you for the password. So you tell him, "I can't log on to
your Wi-Fi. Мне нужен the password."
So, мне нужен translates as I need. But literally it means, "To me is needed."
Which makes sense, right? After all, we learned mne nravitsa which literally
translates as, "to me is pleasing."
So try saying, all in Russian, I need a bank.

Мне нужен банк.
How about:
I need a souvenir.
Мне нужен сувенир.
Now let's learn two more easy cognates that we can use with this construction.
Listen and repeat:
компьютер
телефон
One more time:
компьютер
телефон
I bet you understand what those words mean, so let's jump right to using them.
Try saying:
I need a computer.
Мне нужен компьютер.
I need a phone.
Мне нужен телефон.
Now let me stop here for a second. In those phrases we said we needed the
following things:
банк, сувенир, компьютер, телефон.
Now, I'll give you one hundred imaginary rubles if you can tell me what all those
words have in common.
The answer? They're all masculine. That is, they all end with a consonant. And
that's why they all got "мне нужен."
So, for one thousand imaginary rubles, can you guess how to say:
I need a car.
Hit pause and think about it.
Ok...ready?
I need a car.
Мне нужна машина.
We need the feminine нужна to rhyme with the femine машина.
нужна
Imagine you're cooking Russian pancakes with caviar...
...but you're out of caviar. So as you're racing out of the house, your wife asks
you with two words:
Where're you going? (Literally: You...to where?)

Ты куда?
Tell her:
I need caviar.
Мне нужна икра.
How might you tell your friend:

You need a job. (Literally: To you is needed work.)
Тебе нужна работа.
Like today's lesson, today's tip is in response to a listener's email. Matthew
Shaw in South Carolina writes, "Hey Mark, thanks for putting together these
podcasts. I think I'm ready to get more serious with Russian now, but what do
you think...Should I learn to read Russian first, or put that off for a while? That
Russian alphabet looks kinda scary to me."
Hi Matthew. Thanks for writing. That's a very common question: Do I need to

learn to read Russian?
And the answer is, it depends. If all you plan on doing is speaking to people, and
having conversations, then no, you don't need to read. And you can definitely
get around Russia or Ukraine on your knowledge of spoken Russian. You can
order food, catch taxis, go shopping, and all that. But at some, it really is useful
to know how to read Russian. Obviously all signs here are in Russian. But
beyond that, learning to read allows you to then write in Russian, too. And to
me, that's the real advantage. Because, as I've mentioned, the physical act of
writing helps you to learn more deeply.
But you don't need to learn to read right from the start. After all, think of how
long you'd been speaking English as a child, before you ever learned to read. It
was many years, actually. That's why in Russian Accelerator, we make reading
optional by writing everything with both Cyrillic -- that is, the Russian alphabet --
and with English letters, too.
That being said, I do have a course that will teach you to read Russian in just a
few days. I'm not kidding. Most members get through the course in about a
weekend. And it uses the same very effective technique we've been using here
to learn words...that is, context. And what's cool is, the whole way, you're
learning to read real Russian street signs. It's a really cool course. So if Cyrillic
intimidates you, as you said Matthew, please go check it out. It's called 'Russian
Destroyer' and it comes free with Russian Accelerator.
Ok, so...back to our new stuff. If you're feeling tired how would you say:
I need coffee.
Мне нужен кофе.
Ask:
Where is my phone?
Где мой телефон?
Tell your friend:

I like your car.
Мне нравится твоя машина.
Let's learn one more new cognate. Listen and repeat..

интернет
One more time:

интернет
Imagine you're in a cafe in Kiev. Tell the waitress:

I need the internet.
Мне нужен интернет.
Is there Wi-Fi?
Есть Wi-Fi?
And here's our last new word of today's podcast. It's not a cognate, so listen
carefully and repeat:
квартира
And again...
квартира
Here it is in context. Can you get the meaning?
I'm giving my friend a tour of upper Manhattan. We're outside a tall building and I
point to it, "This is where I used to live. Up on the seventh floor, I had a two
bedroom квартира."
So, квартира is the Russian word for "apartment"...or a flat, I guess, if you're
British.
To me, the word sounds a like the word "quarter" in English. As in, "Someone
will show you to your quarters." Right? your quarters, in English, is your living
space. From quarters....we get ...kvarteera. It's pretty close. And I'm not sure,
but I bet they're somehow related. Anyway, try saying:
I need an apartment.
Мне нужна квартира.
Did you remember to use the feminine version, нужна, to rhyme with the
feminine квартира? If so, you're really getting the hang of how Russian works.
So let's try just a few more phrases. Ask your friend...
Is this your apartment?

Это твоя квартира?
Say: No, this isn't my apartment.

Нет. Это не моя квартира.
Ask your friend:

Is this your computer?
Это твой компьютер?
Say: Yes, it's mine.

Да, это мой.
Ask your friend if he needs the internet:

Тебе нужен интернет?
Alright. Great job today. I hope you put all these on your flashcards. In the next
episode, we'll learn how to talk about the things we have, and ask other people
what they have. I'll see you then!
All Rights Reserved

Episode #19
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to episode 19 of Russian Made Easy. As always, if you're new here,

it's best to start with Episode 1. Anyway, today we'll learn a very useful
construction to talk about what we, or other people, have. So let's start by
repeating this new phrase:
У меня есть
One more time:

У меня есть
How would you translate it? Imagine you're hanging out with your friend when
she tells you, "Darn, my battery died and I need to make a call." So you take out
your cellphone and say:
У меня есть телефон. Хочешь?
We know everything except those first two words: U minya....there is a

telephone. You want?
Although "u minya" translates as, "I have", it's important to know the super literal
translation which is: AT ME
Notice, too, that the 2nd word is меня not мне. Listen to them side by side:
min-YEH....versus....min-YAH
Мне. Меня.
So, in normal English we'd say: I have a car.

But in Russian, they phrase it literally:
At me there exists a car.
У меня есть машина.
Also notice that the feminine word 'mashina' doesn't change. That's because the
car is really the subject of the sentence. We're not doing anything to the car.
There just exists a car....at me.
Try saying:
I have a computer. (Lit: At me there is a computer.)
У меня есть компьютер.
Alright. Let's let all that percolate in the part of your brain -- and there is one,
now -- dedicated to Russian. Time for some review...
Ask your friend:

Do you need an apartment?
Тебе нужна квартира?
Tell your friend:

I like your car.
Мне нравится твоя машина.
Ask your friend: Where's your apartment? Downtown?

Где твоя квартира? В центре?
Ask your friend:
Want a souvenir?
Хочешь сувенир?
Say: No, I don't need a souvenir.

Нет. Мне не нужен сувенир.
Ask your friend: Where's your computer?

Где твой компьютер?
Tell him: I need the internet.

Мне нужен интернет.
Finally, say:
You speak Spanish well.
Ты хорошо говоришь по-испански.
Ok....let's get back to today's new construction. Imagine you just offered your
friend coffee but he said he didn't want any. Tell him...
I have tea.
У меня есть чай.
So again, we know these two forms of the word "me" now. Say...
I need a telephone. (Lit: TO me is needed a phone.)

Мне нужен телефон.
Now say: I have a telephone.

Literally: At me there is a telephone.
У меня есть телефон.
Again, that's: mne versus minya.
So, with that in mind, how do you think you'd ask a friend:
Do you have a telephone?
Hit PAUSE and think about it for a moment:
Do you have a telephone? (Lit: At you there is a telephone?)

У тебя есть телефон?
Did you hear the word "tibya"? Say it one more time:
Let's compare:
Do you need a computer?
Literally: TO YOU is needed a computer?
Тебе нужен компьютер?
Now ask: AT YOU there is a computer?

У тебя есть компьютер?
So we have:
to you = тебе
versus
at you = у тебя
тебе....тебя
Ask your friend:

Do you have a car?
У тебя есть машина?
Now let's learn how to use this construction to say or ask what other people
have. First, how do you say:
This is my friend John.

Это мой друг Джон.
Now listen to how we say:

John has a car.
У Джона есть машина.
Did you hear that? Say just..."At John..."

У Джона.
Based on that one example, how do you think you'd say:

Mark has a telephone.
У Марка есть телефон.
U Marka....At Mark. Let's discuss what's going on here in today's tip...

In Russian, there are many small words, like "U" that we just learned, and "v" or
"ff" as in, V Makdonaldsyeh. And these little words have a big effect on the
words that follow.
For example, ask: Where's the bank?

Где банк?
But now say:

I'm now in the bank.
Я сейчас в банке.
That little word, "в" forced the word банк to change to банке. And that Russian
word "у", which we've been translating as "at", also affects the words that follow.
For example, my friend's name is Vadim. But to say: At Vadim there is a
computer, his name changes. Listen...
У Вадима есть компьютер.
As we're seeing, the pattern with masculine words and names -- when we have
"uu" in front of them -- is to simply add an "ah" sound at the end. У Марка....У
Вадима...and so on.
Now listen to these:
This is Olga.
Это Ольга.
Olga has a car. (Literally: AT Olga there is a car.)

У Ольги есть машина.
How might you say: This is Svetlana. Svetlana has a computer.

Это Светлана. У Светланы есть компьютер.
So , the pattern with feminine words and names -- when we have "у" in front of
them -- is to change the "ah" sound at the end to an "ee" sound. U Svetlani....U
Olgi...and so on.
Again, the takeaway here is: Keep an eye out -- well, an kee[ ear out -- for the
effect that these little words have on the words that follow.
Alright, let's add a new word, now, to our vocabulary. Repeat after the speaker:
кошка
One more time:

кошка
The only pet I have is a koshka named Fluffy. She likes to sit in my lap and purr
when I pet her.
So, a кошка is a cat.
How would you say:

This is my cat Fluffy.
Это моя кошка Флафи.
I like your cat.

Мне нравится твоя кошка.
I want a cat.
Я хочу кошку.
I have a cat.
У меня есть кошка.
And one more new word. Listen and repeat:

ручка
Again?
ручка
Can you guess what a ruchka is? Here it is in context.
I have two writing utensils on my desk. The wooden one that writes with lead is
a pencil, and the plastic one that writes with ink is called a ручка.
So a ручка is a pen.
Ask your friend:

Do you have a pen?
У тебя есть ручка?
Say: I need a pen.
Мне нужна ручка.
Imagine your friend has a really cool, glow-in-the-dark pen. Tell her:
I want your pen!
Я хочу твою ручку!
How would you say:

Vladimir has a pen.
У Владимира есть ручка.
Say: Mom has a cat.

У мамы есть кошка.
Let's work in other recent vocabulary. Say...

This is Dasha.
Это Даша.
Dasha has an apartment in the center.

У Даши есть квартира в центре.
This is Ivan.
Это Иван.
Ivan has a car.

У Ивана есть машина.
(Notice we say Ivan, they say Иван.)
This is my dad.
Это мой папа.
Dad has a computer.

У папы есть компьютер.
Before we end, let's ask our friend one more time:

Do you have a cat?
У тебя есть кошка?
How will she say:

Yes, I have a cat.
Да, у меня есть кошка.
How are you doing with all these? I'm really interested to hear how you're doing,
so please write me an email and send it to: mark@RussianMadeEasy.com
As for today's material, try to talk about the things you have, and the things
people you know have. Really try to master this У тебя / У меня construction.
It's just so common. Meanwhile, next week we have our second major review,
so make sure you're ready for that, and I'll see you then!
All Rights Reserved

Episode #20
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to the second mid-term of these Russian Made Easy podcasts. If you
remember our first mid-term, back in podcast number 10, you played the role of
interpreter, translating the Russian you heard into English. Today we'll take it a
step further, having you translate back and forth between the languages. So,
imagine you're in a sports bar in Kiev with your friend Jason. There's a Russian
couple sitting nearby and so you decide to introduce yourself.
Let's start by saying:

Hello, my name is Anton. And what's your name?
Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Антон. А как Вас зовут?
Here's how the Russian guy replies:
Меня зовут Влад. Но...давай на ты, хорошо?
He said, "Me they call Vlad." In other words, "My name is Vlad." But then he said
something we haven't encountered in these podcasts. It was a three-word
phrase. Listen again...
давай на ты.
We'll officially learn that phrase in a future podcast, but just doe now, know that
it's an invite to speak informally. Remember, здравствуйте is a formal greeting,
but this guy wants to speak casually. So tell him:
Informally? Ok.
На ты? Хорошо.
Then Vlad asks:

Ты - англичанин?
He asked you: Are you an Englishman?
Tell him:
Yes, I'm an Englishman.
Да. Я - англичанин.
Say: I live in Liverpool but I work in Odessa.

Я живу в Ливерпуле но я работаю в Одессе.
Ask Vlad: And where do you work?

А где ты работаешь?
Vlad replies:
Здесь в Киеве. В центре. Я работаю в компании Самсунг.
Vlad's response started with a word that's new to this podcast. The word was:
Здесь
Here's a quick contextual phrase to help you get the meaning:
Ever see one of those maps in a shopping mall. It has an arrow pointing to a red
dot and it says, "You are здесь."
So, здесь translates as "here, in this location." So when you asked Vlad where
he works, he said:
Здесь в Киеве. В центре. Я работаю в компании Самсунг.

Here in Kiev. In the center. I work in the company Samsung.
And Vlad says:

Кстати, ты хорошо говоришь по-русски, Антон.
So he said: Kstati, you speak Russian well, Anton.

Kstati is a word that Russians use to change the subject. In English we'd say,
"By the way..."
Tell him: Thanks. And do you speak English?

Спасибо. А ты говоришь по-английски?
He shakes his head:

Нет.
Vlad gestures to your friend Jason, who's watching the game and asks you:
Кто это?
He asked...Who is this?
Tell him: This is my friend Jason. He's a lawyer.

Это мой друг Джэйсон. Он - адвокат.
Say: He's an American but now he lives in Kiev.

Он - американец но сейчас он живёт в Киеве.
He works for Apple.

Literally: He works in the company Apple.
Он работает в компании Эппл.
Now you point to the girl next to Vlad who's talking on her cellphone and ask
him:
And who's this?
А кто это?
He says:
Это Наташа.
Ask him: Is she your female friend?
Она твоя подруга?
He says:
Нет, не подруга. Она моя девушка.
No, not a female friend. She is my devushka.
You saw them holding hands earlier, so he must be saying, She's my girlfriend.
And he is. Though it's interesting to note that the word devushka more
accurately means "girl" or "young woman." So he's saying, "She is my girl,"
literally.
Она моя девушка.
Say the word one more time:

девушка
Vlad then asks:

А у тебя есть девушка?
And at you there is a girlfriend?
Of course, in normal English we'd say: Do you have a girlfriend?
Tell him: Yes. She's now in Odessa.

Да. Она сейчас в Одессе.
We've encountered four new words in this mid-term so far. Let's see if you
remember them.
When we met Vlad, we greeted him formally by saying:
And then he replied with this phraseL

...давай на ты, хорошо?
Do you remember what that means? It's an invitation to speak informally.
давай на ты, хорошо?
You don't have to worry about learning to say it just yet, because it's better if the
native speaker makes the suggestion to speak informally. So we just want to
recognize it for now.
Then we heard:
здесь
Imagine your Russian friend is giving you a walking tour of her city. You ask her:
Where do you work?
Stopping in front of a bank she points to it and says:

Я работаю здесь.
So she's saying: I work here.
In a cafe, ask the waitress: Is there Wi-Fi here?

Note the word order: Here there is Wi-Fi
Здесь есть Wi-Fi?
Then we heard:
кстати
Imagine your wife comes home from shopping. You tell her about your work day
and then you remember that her mom called. You say, "Kstati, your mom called.
She wants to know if we're coming over for dinner."
So, кстати is a word Russians use to introduce a new topic. Imagine you've
been chatting with your girlfriend in her home. It suddenly occurs to you that her
mom isn't there, though she usually is. So ask her:
By the way, where is your mom?

Кстати, где твоя мама?
Finally we learned the word: девушка
A girl you're just friends with is your подруга, whereas a girl you're dating is your
девушка.
Say: She is my girlfriend.
Она моя девушка.
I could've written the dialogue that we're using for this mid-term without
including any new words, but I put them in there on purpose. Why? Because
when you're speaking to people in Russian, you'll hear unfamiliar words all the
time, and I don't want you to panic. I want you to get used to it. Often you'll be
able to figure out an unfamiliar word from context, and from the situation. And for
the ones you can't figure out, well, in an upcoming podcast, I'll show you how to
ask what a word means.
That's all I really wanted to say for today's tip: Don't worry when you hear an
unfamiliar word. Keep listening and try to get the gist of the sentence. Chances
are, you'll figure it out a bit later.
So, let's get back to today's mid-term. When we left the conversation with Vlad,
he had just introduced us to his devushka, Natasha. So let's skip ahead in time
just a bit. Vlad and Natasha have stood up and are putting on their coats. He's
gesturing for you and your friend Jason to do the same, and follow them out. He
says...
Пошли!
Which means: Let's go!
Ask him: Where to?

Куда?
He says:
В кафе. Я хочу кушать.
That means: To a cafe. I want to eat.
Tell him: To a cafe? Okay.

В кафе? Хорошо.
In the cafe now, Vlad greets the waitress as she approaches:

She replies:
Добрый день. Что Вы хотите?
Then Natasha tells the waitress:
Я буду чай и блины с мёдом.

So, Natasha said, I'll have tea and pancakes ...s-myodom. We'll have to pay
attention to what the waitress brings her, to see what that means. Meanwhile,
the waitress repeats Natasha's order:
Чай и блины с мёдом.
The waitress turns to Vlad.

А Вам?
Vlad says:
Я буду омлет и капучино, пожалуйста.
So he said: I'll have an omlet and cappucino, please.
Uh-oh, now it's your turn. Greet the waitress, and then ask her: Is there salad?
Здравствуйте. Есть салат?
She says...
Да. Есть винегрет и есть греческий салат.
Tell her:
Ok. I'll have the vinaigrette, please.

Хорошо. Я буду винегрет, пожалуйста.
The waitress turns towards Jason and says...

И Вам?
Again that means" "And for you?"
Tell the waitress:

He doesn't speak Russian.
Он не говорит по-русски.
Say: He'll have the borscht.

Он будет борщ.
Vlad turns towards you and asks....

Антон, хочешь водку?
He asked: Anton, want vodka?
In four words, tell him: No thanks. (I) don't want.

Нет, спасибо. Не хочу.
Tell him: I don't like vodka.

Lit: To me not pleasing vodka.
Мне не нравится водка.
Vlad then asks:

А пиво?
Say: "Pivo"? What is this?

Пиво? Что это?
And Vlad explains....

Ну, Хайнекен, Будвайзер, Корона...или Балтика.
Say: Yes, yes....I like beer.

Да, да...мне нравится пиво.
Say: Okay, I'll have a Baltika, please.

Хорошо, я буду Балтику, пожалуйста.
Did you say "Baltiku" with an "uu" sound, by the way? If so, please give yourself
an A+ for the course so far. But let's keep going. Listen to what Vlad asks the
waitress:
Скажите...здесь есть Wi-Fi?

He said, ...something.....here there is Wi-Fi?
Try saying that...just those last three words. Ask:

Is there Wi-Fi here?
The waitress tells him:

Да, есть.
Vlad thanks her as she walks off...

Спасибо.
He then takes out his phone to use the Wi-Fi but his screen is blank. It seems
his battery died. He says...
Блин! Мне нужен интернет но мой телефон не работает.
Hmm....He said, "Pancake! To me is necessary the internet but by telephone

isn't working!"
Bleen, funny enough, is a Russian curse word. It's not a bad word, though. It's
like saying "dangit." No one's going to be offended.
Блин!
Anyway, just for practice, try repeating Vlad's last phrase. Say...
I need the internet but my phone isn't working.
Мне нужен интернет но мой телефон не работает.
He then asks you:

So he said: At you there is a phone? In other words: Do you have a phone?
In three words say: I don't have.

Literally: At me no.
У меня нет.
Then add:
But Jason has.
Literally: But at Jason there exists.
Но у Джэйсона есть.
Anyway, as dinner winds down at the cafe, Vlad suddenly ask you...
Кстати, Антон....Тебе нравится джаз?
By the way, Anton, do you like jazz?
Say: Yes, I love jazz, blues and rock.

Да. Я люблю джаз, блюз и рок.
Vlad says:
Хорошо. Значит...пошли в джаз-клуб.
Ok....Znacheet.....let's go to a jazz club.
But Natasha complains:

В джаз-клуб? Но я хочу танцевать!
To a jazz club? But I want to dance!
Vlad turns to you:

Есть проблема.
There's a problem.
Ask him: She wants to dance?
Она хочет танцевать?
He says:
Да, она хочет танцевать.
Yes, she wants to dance.
Roll your eyes and say,

Girls!
Девушки!
Did you add an "ee" sound to the end to make it plural? Listen to that word
again.
Девушки!
That's the end of the mid-term. How'd you do? My email address is
mark@RussianMadeEasy.com
And no matter how you did in this mid-term, in my book you still get an A.
Getting this far takes persistence, determination and motivation...and it deserves
recognition. So consider yourself an A student in this class. I'll see you next time!
P.S. Scroll down to see a picture of Natasha's order: Блины с мёдом

блины с мёдом
Crepes with honey
All Rights Reserved

Episode #21
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to episode 21 of Russian Made Easy. If you're just joining us, please
know that the episodes are cumulative. Each one builds on the material learned
in all the previous episodes. Speaking of which, in that last episode, in that mid-
term exam, we picked up quite a few new words and phrases, so I'd like to start
by reviewing those.
Do you remember what it means when a native speaker tells you...

давай на ты
It's an invitation to speak informally with them. But remember, unless you're a
very high level speaker, it's usually best to let the native speaker extend such an
invitation to speak casually. Of course, virtually all of our vocabulary thus far has
been confined to the casual forms anyway, but that will change starting today.
Anyway, then we heard the word: здесь
Remember the situation we encountered it in? We asked our new friend Vlad
where he works by saying...
А где ты работаешь?
And Vlad replied:

Здесь в Киеве. В центре.
So здесь is the Russian word meaning "here in this location." Imagine you're
standing outside the building you work in. Tell your friend:
I work here.
Я работаю здесь.
Ask the waiter:

Is there Wi-Fi here?
Then we heard: кстати
That has three consonants: A "k" sound, an "s" sound, and a "t"...кстати
The set-up there was you were at dinner with Vlad and his friends. You're talking
and eating and then suddenly Vlad says...
Кстати, Антон....Тебе нравится джаз?
So, кстати is a word they use to introduce a new topic. It's the equivalent of us
saying, "Oh, by the way..."
Imagine your Russian friend is giving you a tour of her town. She's talking about
a nearby park when something occurs to her. How will she say...
By the way, my female friend lives here.

Кстати, моя подруга живёт здесь.
Then we heard the word девушка. The context for this word was that you
noticed the woman sitting next to Vlad, so you asked him:
Is she your female friend?

Она твоя подруга?
And Vlad said:

Нет, не подруга. Она моя девушка.
No, not a female friend. She's my devushka.
The Russian word девушка literally means girl, or "young woman." So,
imagine you're introducing your girlfriend. Say...
This is Polina. She is my girlfriend.
Это Полина. Она моя девушка.
As a sidenote, девушка is also the way Russians call out to a waitress.
Девушка!
In English, we're so used to saying, "Excuse me, waitress?" or maybe, "Excuse

me, miss?" but in Russian it's proper to call out, "dyevushka!"
Another word we encountered that was new to these podcasts was пиво. When
talking about drinks, Vlad asked you about pivo and you responded:
"Pivo"? What is this?

Пиво? Что это?
So Vlad explained....
Ну, Хайнекен, Будвайзер, Корона...или Балтика.
So, pivo is the Russian word for beer. It's also the Ukrainian word, the Czech
word, the Polish word, the Croatian word, and so on. In Eastern Europe, pivo is
pivo whereever you go. Anyway, ask your friend:
Want a beer?
Хочешь пиво?
How will he say, "No, I don't like beer."

Нет. Мне не нравится пиво.
Admittedly, that's one phrase you won't hear too often in Russia. But a word you
will hear all the time is this:
Блин!
Do you remember when Vlad said it? He was trying to log on to the WiFi with his
phone, but it wouldn't turn on. So he said...
Блин! Мне нужен интернет но мой телефон не работает.

Pancake! I need the internet but my phone doesn't work.
So Bleen! is a very mild curse word. You can use it anywhere. I promise you,
you won't offend anyone with it.
Let's run through all those one more time.
How would your friend ask you if you have tea?

Lit: At you there is tea?
У тебя есть чай?
Say: No. But I have beer.

Нет. Но у меня есть пиво.
Let's say you're outside the building where your girlfriend works. Tell your friend..
By the way, my girlfriend works here.
Кстати, моя девушка работает здесь.
Imagine you've misplaced your cellphone. Say...

Dang! Where's my phone?
Блин! Где мой телефон?
With the exception of English, most languages -- including Russian -- have two
ways of talking to people. There's casual speech that we use with friends or with
children, and there's formal speech that we use with adults that we don't know,
or with other people that we need to show respect towards. In other words,
whether we're talking to our best friend, or to our boss, in English we'd use the
same words to ask, for example: Do you speak Russian?
But in Russian, depending on who we're talking to, we have to use different
words for the word "You" and for "speak". So if you're asking your friend, "Do
you speak Russian?" you'd say it this way:
But if asking your bossm "Do you speak Russian?" you'd say it this way:
Вы говорите по-русски?
That second version is also used when speaking to more than one person.
English just doesn't have a good word to use when addressing a group of
people. Where I grew up, in New York, we said, "You guys." Like, "You guys
wanna go bowling?" In the American South, meanwhile, they say "Y'all." "Y'all
wanna go to a party tonight?"
Anyway, the tip here is -- now that we'll be learning the formal way of speaking
to people -- it's important to bear in mind who you're speaking with.
It's an American habit to be friendly with new people and speak casually. And
that's great. But in Russia you could offend someone that way. When I first met
my Ukrainian wife's parents, I thought I'd be friendly and talk to them on Ты.
They didnt seem to mind, but when we left, she was furious. She was like,
"What was all that? Why were you speaking to my parents on Ты?" The next
day when we returned, I apologized for using Ti with them, and I haven't made
the mistake since.
So, let's learn these formal forms. First, note -- as always -- the rhyme.
Remember how to say, for example, the word "souvenirs"...
сувениры
Or "pancakes"?
блины
In Russian, the basic plural form ends in that "ы" sound. And sure enough, the
plural form of the word YOU rhymes with that:
Вы
Anyway, to get the verb ending for this formal version, it's easiest to go from the
He/She form. For example. How do you say...
He'll have a beer.

Он будет пиво.
Now listen as our speaker asks his boss:

Will you have a beer?
Вы будете пиво?
So the "t" sound at the end of the He/She form (that word "budit") changes to a
"tyeh" sound.
Listen again...
He'll have....You'll have

Он будет ....Вы будете
Again, when saying the ВЫ forms, you need to imagine that you're speaking
with an elder, or your boss...someone you need to be respectful towards. Let's
try this with another verb. How do you say:
He speaks Russian.
Он говорит по-русски.
Now listen as the speaker asks a stranger on the street:

Do you speak Russian?
Вы говорите по-русски?
Let's try those side by side:

He speaks....You speak.
Он говорит ..... Вы говорите
Let's try another verb.

Say: She lives in Moscow.
Она живёт в Москве.
Listen as our speaker asks the elderly woman standing near him:
You live in Moscow?
Вы живёте в Москве?
Sp say: She lives.....You live

Она живёт.....Вы живёте
Let's try that with the verb "to work." Say...
Mom works here.

Мама работает здесь.
Now imagine you're talking to an adult you don't know. How do you think you
might ask them:
Do you work here?
Вы работаете здесь?
So say: He works.....You work

Он работает ...... Вы работаете
So far so good? Now this next one is a weird exception.
How do you say: What does he want?

Что он хочет?
But now ask your boss:

What do you want?
So: He wants....You want

Он хочет.....Вы хотите
Let's run through those one more time. And again, imagine we're speaking with
an adult we've just met, and so we're speaking respectfully to them.
You're in a cafe with this person and you'd like to order for them, so ask:
What will you have?
Что Вы будете?
Ask them: Do you speak English?

Вы говорите по-английски?
Ask: Where do you live?

Где Вы живёте?
Ask: Where do you work?

Где Вы работаете?
With just two words, ask respectfully:

Want tea?
Хотите чай?
Next, imagine you're at the home of your Russian friend. You and her speak
informally to each other because you're friends, but her little sister will speak
formally to you, to be respectful. So listen to how she asks you:
Do you like Moscow?
Вам нравится Москва?
Вам is the Russian word meaning "to you". She's asking, of course, To you is
pleasing Moscow?
Imagine that a realtor is showing you an apartment you might rent in Kiev. How
will he ask you:
Do you like the apartment?
Literally: The apartment to you is pleasing?
Квартира Вам нравится?
It seems like your boss's battery is dead on his cellphone. So hold out your
phone and ask him:
Do you need a phone?
Вам нужен телефон?
Notice, by the way, that we still have that "v" sound: Вы and now Вам
And do you remember learning another form of the word you that also started
with a V sound? Remember how to ask someone: What's your name?
Вас is another form of the word "you." And it's the one we use in the "Do you
have" construction we learned in Podcast #19. Remember how to say:
I have a car.
У меня есть машина.
So ask your girlfriend's father:

Do you have a car?
Lit: At you there is a car?
У Вас есть машина?
Alright, that's the end of today's podcast. And from now on, make sure you're
clear about who you mean when you say "you." Are you talking with a friend,
or a stranger? Are you talking to a kid, or to your boss? and so on.
Next time we'll learn how to work with adjectives in Russian. This will really let
you express yourself more fully. And we'll also learn what the heck salo is.
Believe me, you'll want to know this. So tune in next time, and until then...keep
practicing.
All Rights Reserved
Episode #22
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to episode 22 of Russian Made Easy. We'll start today by following up

on the formal forms we learned last time. And then we'll get to today's main topic
which is adjectives. How do you say that she is beautiful, or the pancakes were
delicious? That's what we'll be working on today.
So let's start by repeating these two words:

Ваш / Ваша
One more time:

Ваш / Ваша
Pretend you're at work. A co-worker emerges from the meeting room, holding
someone's cellphone. He approaches his boss and asks:
Это Ваш телефон?
Later, you're standing in the company parking lot. Your co-worker points to a
Ferrari and asks your boss:
Это Ваша машина?
So the words Ваш / Ваша are two ways to say "your" in Russian. Imagine
someone is showing you an apartment they think you might want to rent. Ask
them, formally...
Is this your apartment?
Это Ваша квартира?
Speaking formally, ask your co-worker:

Is this your computer?
Это Ваш компьютер?
Imagine your mother-in-law cooked pizza. Speaking formally to her, say...

I love your pizza!
Я люблю Вашу пиццу.
Of course, since pizza changes to "pizzu", the word vasha has to change to
vashu, to rhyme with it.
Ваша пицца becomes вашу пиццу
And speaking of formal speech, let's review those formal verb forms we learned
in the last episode.
As you step into the company break-room to make coffee, ask your boss:
Will you have coffee?
Вы будете кофе?
Follow that up by asking:

Or do you want tea?
...или Вы хотите чай?
Ask a new acquaintance politely:

Do you live here, in the center?
Вы живёте здесь, в центре?
Ask them: Where do you work?
Tell the person:

You speak English well.
Вы хорошо говорите по-английски.
On a sidenote: The sport of baseball is a cognate in Russian. So, speaking

politely, ask your Russian father-in-law:
Do you like baseball?

Вам нравится бейсбол?
Offering him your computer, ask: Do you need the internet?

Вам нужен интернет?
Ask your friend's grandmother:

Do you have a cat?
У Вас есть кошка?
Alright. Let's learn two new words. Here's the first one...
красивый
Again:
красивый
What do Marilyn Monroe, Angelina Jolie, Heidi Klum, and Beyonce have in
common? Their looks, of course. Each is a very kraseevaya woman.
So, красивый is the Russian adjective meaning "beautiful" or "attractive." You'll

notice, though, I said each is a very kraseevAYA woman. I was using the
feminine form. So say...
She is beautiful.
Она красивая.
This is a beautiful apartment.

Это красивая квартира.
And now here's the other adjective we want to learn:

вкусный
One more time:
вкусный
I love the taste of borscht. I think it's such a вусный soup.
So the word вкусный is the Russian adjective meaning delicious or tasty.

Try saying:
This is delicious pizza.
Это вкусная пицца.
Say: This is delicious tea.

Это вкусный чай.
And let's add one very useful word. Listen and repeat:
очень
Again:
очень
If you really like the pizza, you'd say:

Это очень вкусная пицца.
If you really like the tea, you'd say:

Это очень вкусный чай.
So, ochin is the Russian word for "very". We're saying, this is VERY delicious
pizza. This is very delcious tea. And notice that the word does NOT change, no
matter how it's being used. For example:
I want VERY tasty pizza.

Я хочу очень вкусную пиццу.
The adjective had to change, to rhyme with pizzu, right? We heard "fkusnuyu
pizzu", but the word "very" -- that word "ochin" is an adverb, and adverbs don't
change in Russian.
The point of today's tip is this: Grasping the meaning of a word is NOT an all or
nothing thing. Our understanding of a word is a continuum, from having
absolutely no clue what a word means at one end, to fully understanding it at the
other end.
The best way to demonstrate this is with two new words. Listen and repeat this
first one:
Молоко
Imagine a farmer sitting on that little wooden stool beside his cow. He's pulling
on her udders, and the liquid that comes out of them is of course called moloko.
Or this example:
Each morning I fill my cereal bowl with cornflakes and pour 1% moloko over
them.
You probably feel very confident about what moloko is.
But now here's our next word: галстук
Say it one more time. галстук
Pretend someone asked me what I did yesterday. I tell them, "Nothing really. I
went to the mall to buy a new galstuk. Thrilling, eh?"
So, do you know what a galstuk is?
You're probably thinking, I have no idea. You can buy anything at the mall.
But as I said, meaning isn't an all or nothing thing. I mean, tell me, is galstuk the
Russian word for 'winter'? Is it the Russian word for "cautious"?
No? How can you be so sure? Didn't you just tell me that you have absolutely no
idea what the word galstuk means?
Do you see? Understanding the meaning of a word is a continuum. With the

word galstuk, you're somewhere in the middle. But maybe you know even more
about it than you think.
Is it the word for octopus? Well, no....an octopus isnt something you normally
buy at the mall.
Ok, then...Do you think it's the word for "plasma TV"? Probably not, because of
the guy's sarcasm about it. Remember he added, "Pretty thrilling, eh?" So a
galstuk is some unexciting thing men buy at the mall. We're not 100% sure what
it is, but we know a whole lot more than "absolutely nothing" about the word.
What's funny is, people think....Man, learning a foreign language is gonna be

scary. It seems like you're always going to be in this haze, never 100% sure
what some new word means. And I'll admit, it's kinda like that at first, but as you
get more experience, things just become clearer and clearer.
But the other thing is: It's like that for you in English, too. Tell me, do you know
what the word erudite means? You probably know it's kinda related to the word
smart, but it might be hard for you to rattle off the actual dictionary definition.
And yet it doesn't bother you much when you encounter the word in some
newspaper article, does it? So again the tip is to know that meaning is not an all
or nothing thing. It's ok...it's normal...to only kinda know what some words mean.
Alright, so...How do you say:

I have a beautiful girlfriend.
У меня есть красивая девушка.
Tell your girlfriend, with three words:

You are very beautiful.
Ты очень красивая.
Try saying: This is very tasty caviar.

Это очень вкусная икра.
Now, in today's tip, we just learned the new word moloko. And that brings up
today's other main topic. So far in the course we've talked only about masculine
nouns and feminine nouns. But in Russian there's one other type we need to
learn, and that's neuter nouns. Those are ones, like pivo and moloko which end
in an "o." Now I know it doesn't sound like it, but pivo does end with the letter
"o." There are other neuter nouns, but for now I just want to talk about these "o"
ending ones.
Now listen to how the speaker will say:

This is tasty milk.
Это вкусное молоко.
He was using the neuter form of the adjective. So try saying:

This is delicious beer.
Это вкусное пиво.
The difference between the feminine version and the neuter version of that
adjective is very subtle. Listen to them side by side:
female version = вкусная
....and the neuter version = вкусное
But the real difference comes when we do something to the words, because
only the feminine ones change. Compare:
I want a tasty pizza.

Я хочу вкусную пиццу.
Npw say: I want a tasty beer.

Я хочу вкусное пиво.
Do you see? That pair of "fkusnaya pizza" had to change to "fkusnuyu pizzu,"
because we were doing something to the pizza.
But since the word pivo is netuer, because it has that O at the end, it doesn't
have to change, and so its adjective doesn't change either. вкусное пиво
You can see why I waited until Podcast 22 to discuss this stuff. It can start to
feel overwhelming. But, it's no big deal. We'll get lots of practice with it, and soon
enough you won't even pause to think about it. So just kind of hang in there for
now.
Ok, let's learn one final new word today. This one's a classic. And as I
mentioned at the end of the last podcast, it's a must-know word if you ever travel
to Russia or Ukraine. So listen and repeat:
сало
It's a neuter word. That last letter is an O. One more time...

сало
So, what is salo? Well, imagine a slice of raw bacon....and then cut away all the
meat. What's left is salo. So, salo -- a delicacy in Russia and Ukraine -- is raw
pig fat. And they eat it in big, thick chunks.
And remember, since it ends in an "o", it won't change when we do something to

it. So, imagine you're sitting at the table with some Russian co-workers. You
haven't touched your raw pig fat that you were served, so your co-worker asks
politely:
You don't want the pig fat?
Вы не хотите сало?
Say: No, I don't want pig fat.

Нет, я не хочу сало.
Add: I don't like raw pig fat.

Мне не нравится сало.
Then again, maybe you tried the salo and you really liked it. So say...
This is delicious pig fat!
Это вкусное сало!
Alright. That was a lot of new stuff we learned. So otry to make a point this week
of working with those two new adjectives we learned, and be sure to get the
downloads for today's exercises. Next time we'll get some great practice
switching between casual and formal speech. That's something that can drive
new students of Russian crazy. And we'll also discover another one of the
biggest mistakes that language learners make.
Until then, I hope you're doing well. I'll see you next time!
For those of you reading this transcript...Remember that word we heard in

today's tip? Where I said, I went to the mall to buy a galstuk?
What's a ГАЛСТУК?
Well, I hate having to wear a suit and galstuk to work each morning.
A галстук (galstuk) is a (man's) tie.
All Rights Reserved

Episode #23
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to episode 23. I'd like to start right off the bat with a question.
Please say, in Russian:
This is your pizza.
Did you say:

Это твоя пицца.
Or did you say:

Это ваша пицца.
That is, did you use: Твоя or Ваша? Ideally you should've asked: Who are we
talking to? Are we speaking casually or formally?
In other words, I didn't really give you enough information to answer. This
concept of formal and informal speech is pretty foreign to English speakers,
which is why today I'd like to do a lot of practice with it.
I mean, think about it...Let's say you're with two people: your Russian friend, and
her grandmother who just came over for a visit. If we're all speaking English, I
can turn to my friend and say, “Would you like some tea?” I can then turn
towards her grandmother and say, “Would you?”
I don't have to change my words. I referred to both of them in English as “you.”

We don't even think about it. But in Russian....You'd certainly better think about
it. Trust me: Speak to your friend's grandmother on ТЫ without an invitation to
do so, and you're gonna hear about it later.
So let's try that in Russian. Ask your friend:

Tanya, want tea?
Таня, хочешь чай?
Now let's ask her grandmother. Just two words, literally:

Tea....want?
Чай хотите?
Another way they'd phrase all that is like this. Imagine you're in the process of
making tea, and you want to know how much to make, so you say...
Tanya, will you have tea?
Таня, ты будешь чай?
And then to her grandmother you say:

And will you have tea?
А Вы будете чай?
So you're all sitting there, drinking tea. Now as the host, you open a box of
chocolates and offer them first to your friend. With just one word, ask her:
Want some?
Хочешь?
She takes one and says Thank you...
Спасибо.
Now, with just one word, ask her grandmother:

Want some?
Хотите?
She says, No thanks.

Нет, спасибо.
So, your friend is drinking the tea. In two words ask her:
Do you like it?
Literally: To you is pleasing?
Тебе нравится?
Ask the same question to grandma:

Вам нравится?
Something on the TV in the next room causes your friend and grandma to get up
from the table and go watch. Being a good host, you pick up their cups of tea
and carry them in.
Tell your girlfriend:
This is your tea.

Это твой чай.
And then to her grandmother, say....

And this is yours.
А это Ваш.
Before going on, let's do a quick review of one of the words we learned last time.
With just two words, say:
Moscow is pretty.
Москва – красивая.
Now say:
Kiev is pretty.
Киев – красивый.
Красивый - Красивая
So Красивая is the feminine form. Whereas: красивый is the masculine form.

Now, remember how we learned in the last episode that – along with masculine
and feminine nouns -- Russian also has some neuter nouns, too? Most, though
not all, neuter nouns end with an “o” in their basic form, although it doesn't
always sound like it. For example...
молоко
...that clearly ends in an O. But this word...
пиво
...you can't really hear the “o” there. And it's the same with this word:
сало
So how do we tell if a word that has an “ah” sound at the end is neuter or
feminine? Well, one way is to wait for someone to say, “This is my _____.”
Because the word “my” will be very different. Listen:
This is my soup.
Это мой суп.
We know that version of “my” very well. We also know this version:
This is my pizza.
Это моя пицца.
But listen to how you say:

This is my milk.
Это моё молоко.
This is the neuter version of “my.” Listen again:

моё
So say: My milk.
Моё молоко
Now say:
This is my pig fat.
Это моё сало.
Ask: Is this my beer?

Это моё пиво?
How do you think you'd tell a friend:
This is your beer.
Это твоё пиво.
So that was the neuter version of the casual or informal word “your.” Listen
again:
твоё
Imagine your friend has asked you for a cup of tea and a glass of milk. As you
serve them to her, say:
This is your tea, and your milk.
Это твой чай и твоё молоко.
Say: This is your pizza and your beer.

Это твоя пицца и твоё молоко.
Let's try it with three very Russian foods. Tell your friend:
This is your borscht, your pig fat, and your caviar.
Это твой борш, твоё сало и твоя икра.
Say those three forms of “your” again:

Masculine, neuter, then feminine:
твой....твоё....твоя
All this leads me to our tip of the day....
We haven't learned any new words today yet, but that doesn't mean we're not
learning new things. This is what I was referring to at the end of the last podcast.
Another one of the biggest mistakes that new students make is what I call the
Gigantor Vocabulary mistake. They try to build a big vocabulary too fast. I
wasted my first year of Russian this way, trying to learn every word I could. I
mean, I studied the Russian word for octopus, for pond, for engine and so on.
But could I use these words? Not really. I didn't know how to say, “I saw an
octopus,” or, “I walked to the pond,” or “I need a new engine,” etc. I mean,
what's the point of learning a new word if you can't use it?
So here's my tip: It is far better to learn a smaller core vocabulary, and master it,
than it is to have a gigantic vocabulary that you can't really use. Especially in
Russian, where each word – as you now know – has many, many forms.
And here's the good news: Once you've mastered the core vocabulary of
Russian and the grammar patterns that go with them, then it's easy to pile on
new words. Take today's lesson. Now when you learn a new neuter word, you'll
know what to do with it....at least in certain constructions. You'll be able to use it.
So let's get back to it. Remember earlier in this podcast we were serving things
to our friend and to her grandmother, and that we need to speak formally and
respectfully to grandma. So as you serve each of the following items, say
simply: Your ____.
For example, as you hand grandma her salad, tell her:

Your salad.
Ваш салат.
Or: Hand your friend her soup:

Твой суп.
See how it works? Ok, now it's your turn:
Hand grandma her vodka:

Ваша водка.
Hand your friend her beer:

Твоё пиво.
Hand grandma her caviar:

Ваша икра.
Hand your friend her tea:

Твой чай.
Hand your friend her milk.

Твоё молоко.
Hand grandma her pig fat.

Ваше сало.
Hand grandma her salad.

Ваш салат.
Hand your friend her coffee.

Твой кофе.
Hand your friend her pasta.

Твоя паста
But what about the word pancakes? Listen as I hand my friend her pancakes:
Твои блины
And then I hand some to grandma:

Ваши блины
We haven't worked much with plural, but we do know there's that “ee” sound at
the end in many of the forms. Do you hear the rhyming? I'll exaggerate the “ee”
endings:
Твои блины … Ваши блины
Now listen to a native speaker again:
Твои блины ... Ваши блины
How might you ask:

Are these my pancakes?
Это мои блины?
Tell your boss:

I like your cars.
Literally, of course: TO me are pleasing your cars.
Мне нравятся Ваши машины.
This might seem like a total non-sequitor, but do you remember how to ask
someone:
What's your name?
But what are we literally asking there?

How you they call?
That's the word I wanted to bring up: The Russian word for “how” is...
как
As a question word, it's obviously one of the most common words in Russian.
Listen to how it's used:
Как твой салат? Вкусный?
She said: How's your salad? Tasty?
How will she ask you the same thing about the caviar you're eating? Listen...
Как твоя икра? Вкусная?
See how both the words “your” and “tasty” are in their feminine forms, to rhyme
with the word “ikra”?
So, as the host, ask grandma the same thing about the pig fat that she's
munching on.
Ask her: How's your pig fat? Tasty?
Как ваше сало....вкусное?
In this next one, let's add in the extremely common Russian word, “ну” which
translates as “well?” or “So?”
Ask your friend about his pizza.

Well, how's your pizza? Tasty?
Ну, как твоя пицца? Вкусная?
Ask your friend about his milk:

Ну, как твоё молоко?
Ask your friend about his pancakes...

Как твои блины? Вкусные?
Now that was a new word, kinda, in these podcasts. Listen again to the plural
form of the adjective “tasty.”
Вкусные
Hear that ending? fkuus-nee-yeh
Imagine you're leaving a cafe where you and your friends tried a few different
salads....all delicious. Comment to the waiter as you leave:
Your salads are tasty!
Ваши салаты вкусные!
Let me again exaggerate the endings there:

Ваши салаты вкусные!
So what I want you to get used to is switching between formal speech and
casual speech. As you go through your day, ask yourself whether – if speaking
to them in Russian – you'd address them formally, on ВЫ or informally, using the
ТЫ forms. Keep practicing, and I'll see you in the next episode where we'll fill
out our greetings and chit-chat. See you then!
All Rights Reserved

Episode #24
RussianMadeEasy.com
Привет! And welcome to episode 24 of Russian Made Easy. Today we'll be

beefing up on our greetings and small talk. So let's first start by repeating the
word I opened this podcast with:
привет
One more time:

Привет
So what does it mean? Well, when you see someone you know, you greet them
with “привет.” The key here is, someone you know. You can not use this word
to a stranger. By definition, it is a greeting used with people you already know. If
you say it to a total stranger, they will immediately wonder, “He knows me?
When did I ever meet this person?”
Notice how I'm not saying what all those other courses and websites tell you,
which is:
Previet is the Russian word for “hi.”
Previet is simply a friendly greeting to people you know. And this leads me to an
email I got recently from a Russian Accelerator member. She asks, “Is it ok to
use previet with people you speak formally with?” That's a great question. And
yes, it's fine. I speak formally, on ВЫ with my wife's parents, but I'll greet them
with привет. To be honest, I mix it up. I'll greet her father with zdrastvityeh, but
her mom with previet.
Now, let's say your friend Tanya has just arrived. Listen to what she says after
greeting me.
Привет, Марк. Как дела?
We know the word как. We worked with it in the last episode. Remember asking
your friend:
How are your pancakes?
Как твои блины?
So, how would you translate как дела?
Well, in English we'd say: Hi Mark, how're things?
Hopefully, you know by now what I'm going to tell you: The word “дела” does not
MEAN “things”, as in, “I bought these things yesterday.” Or, “Whose things are
these?” That's just how it translates in this context. Because, depending on
context, it might translate as “business” or “things to do” and so on.
Anyway, greet your friend Polina by saying:

Hi, Polina. How're things?
Привет Полина! Как дела?
So, how should we respond? Let's come back to that question in a moment,
after reviewing the material from recent podcasts.
Imagine your friend's grandmother has brought over some of her homemade pig
fat for you to enjoy. You love it, so tell her:
Your pig fat is very tasty!
Ваше сало очень вкусное!
Imagine your friend brews his own beer. Tell him...

I really like your beer.
Literally: To me VERY pleasing your beer.
Мне очень нравится твоё пиво.
Tell grandma: Your cat is very pretty.

Ваша кошка очень красивая.
Imagine this scenario: Both your friend and her grandmother each have a cat
they want you to take. Your friend's cat is mean and hisses at you, whereas
grandma's cat purrs and is nice. So tell your friend:
I don't want your cat.

Я не хочу твою кошку.
Then tell grandma:

I want yours.
Я хочу вашу.
Now why do we say “vashu” here? Is it to rhyme with the word “хочу”?
No. That's just a coincidence. Instead, it's rhyming with the word “koshku” which
– though we didn't actually say it – is nevertheless understood. We know that I'm
saying, I want your.....cat.
Let's try a similar set up. Pretend you're in a Russian bazzar. There's a kid
selling a pen, and an old man selling one. The kid's pen cost five cents and
writes great. The old man's pen costs ten bucks and has no ink. So tell the old
man...
I don't want your pen.

Я не хочу вашу ручку.
Tell the kid: I want yours.

Я хочу твою.
If you got these right...and more importantly, if you understand the patterns
here...you're doing awesome. Alright, let's get back to our greetings.
Greet your friend Tolik and ask him how're things:
Привет, Толик. Как дела?
Now listen to his response:
Нормально. А у тебя?
Let's just take that first word: Нормально
How would you translate it. After an uneventful trip, someone asks you how it
was. You tell them:
Нормально.
Or this example:
The lady at the deli counter is putting some salad into a container for you. She
looks at you, wondering if she put enough in. Tell her...Нормально and reach
for the container.
In that first situation, responding to the question of, “How was your trip?”, we
might've said, “Fine.”
In that 2nd example, when the deli lady wants to know if that's enough salad, we
might've said:
“That's good.”
In Russian, they say: Нормально ...which to me, is essentially a cognate. It's

their version of “normal,” but again, it's used to mean “Fine, good, okay,” and so
on. Get used to saying this word a lot.
In Russia, when a potential landlord shows you her apartment, she might ask
simply:
Well, how?
...as in...Well, how is it to you?
Ну как?
With our one new word, tell her it's fine:

Нормально.
And when someone asks you:

How're things?
Как дела?
Tell them:
Fine.
Нормально.
And then ask:

And at you?
А у тебя?
Or try this version. Ask:

And how're things at you?
А как у тебя дела?
This topic of greetings is also the subject of today's tip....
Pretend you're spending time with your Russian friend Andrei. A friend of his
shows up and says to him: Приветик, Андрюшка! Как дела?
And you're thinking? “Previeteek?” I thought it was just "previet." And

“Andryushka?” I thought his name was just “Andrei.” What's going on?
Well, what's going on is that Russians love to make certain words sound cute.
They do this by – what else – changing the endings. The fancy linguistics term
for this is “diminutives.” Which is a good name for it. Think of the word “diminish”
in English, which means to make smaller, right? It's becoming smaller and cuter.
Anyway, the two main ways Russians will make a word sound cute is by adding
either “eek” or “ka.”
So...привет becomes приветик .
And...Андрей becomes Андрюшка
If grandma has served you just a tiny bowl of salad – in her mind, a small salad
– she might ask you:
How's your little-salad?
Как твой салатик?
From салат....we get....салатик

It sounds cute, doesnt it?
If she served you little pancakes, she might ask...

How're you little pancakes?
Как твои блинчики?
Notice the plural with that "и." Блин is the word for pancake. "чик" makes it
small. And that "и" at the end makes it plural. (bleen-cheek-ee)
Как твои блинчики?
You don't need to learn these, really. You'll pick them up once you're hanging out
with native speakers. I just wanted to introduce you to them so it doesn't throw
you off when you hear these diminutive forms.
Returning to our greetings, again greet your friend Anton and ask how're things:
Привет, Антон! Как дела?
Listen to Anton's response:

Всё хорошо. А у тебя как?
We know the word “horosho”, but that word “fsyo” is new to this podcast.
Imagine you're packing a car for a long trip. You look around, seeing if any other
bags need to go in the car. You don't see anything, so you ask your friend, just
to be sure:
Всё?
He says:
Да, это всё...
...and he closes the trunk.
In English, we'd say, “Is that everything?” And in Russian, they can just say,
“Всё?”
If I were to spell that out using English letters I would spell it F-S-Y-O. Listen to
the native speaker...
всё?
So, depending on the phrase, Всё translates as either “everything” or “all.”

So say:
Everything's good.
Всё хорошо.
But again, that word всё is used in a lot of situations. For ex: After you've given
your order to the waitress, she'll make sure that's everything you want by
saying,
“Everything, yes?”
Всё, да?
Tell her, Yes, that's all. Thanks.

Да, это всё. Спасибо.
Now let's practice a typical encounter with some friends. You see a group of
Russians you know. So let's tell them,
Hello!
Здравсвтвуйте.
One of them says:

Hi, Taylor. How're things?
Привет, Тэйлор. Как дела?
Say: Fine.
Нормально.
And ask...And with you?

А у тебя?
He says:
All good.
Всё хорошо.
He notices your friend and asks:

Who is this?
Кто это?
Say:
This is my friend, Vika.
Это моя подруга Вика.
He then says...
Мы сейчас идём в парк. Хотите с нами?
Hmm...we haven't learned everything he said. But we did catch, “f park” which
means, “To the park.” Plus we heard, “хотите” which means, “Do you guys
want?” He's probably saying that they're going to the park...do you guys want to
come with us? So in two words, say:
Okay. Let's go!
Хорошо. Погли!
So, for homework, practice saying both sides of this greeting scenario. Use
different names, introduce different people. Say something about the people,
and so on. Really try to use a lot of your vocabulary, especially the stuff from the
early podcasts. Remember, we want to keep circulating older stuff with newer
stuff. Be sure to visit Russian Made Easy.com for all the downloads today, and
I'll see you next time!
All Rights Reserved

Episode #25
RussianMadeEasy.com
Привет! And welcome to episode 25 of Russian Made Easy. Как у тебя дела?
Всё нормально? Это очень хорошо!
Did you understand what I said? Let's look at it all word by word:
Как у тебя дела?

Literally: How at you things?
In normal English we'd say, "How're things with you?"
Всё нормально?
Means: Is everything fine?
Это очень хорошо!

Means: This is very good!
Alright, that's enough review for now. Repeat these two new Russian words.
говорил
говорила
They're the same word, actually. The second one just has an "a" at the end.
Listen and repeat one more time:
говорил
говорила
Before getting to the meaning, let's add a name before each one. We'll use Mark
and then Dasha. Again, repeat after the speaker:
Марк говорил
Даша говорила
Let's try one more name: Sarah. And I'd like you to guess: Which will Sarah
get...govoril or govorila? Listen...
Сара говорила
Gosh, what a surprise! Rhyming in Russian! Anyway, let's see if we can get the
meaning.
Here's the set-up. You've arrive to your friends place...the home of Natasha and
Vlad. Natasha greets you and you ask her, "What's Vlad doing?"
Now, since Vlad is on the phone in the other room talking with John, she says...
Он сейчас говорит с Джоном.
We've learned almost all that. She said, "He is now talking "s" Johnom.
Он сейчас говорит с Джоном.
That must mean, He is now talking WITH John. But here's the key part. When
Vlad gets off the phone and enters the room to greet you, he apologizes and
then explains:
Я говорил с Джоном.
Let me toss that word into an English sentence. So, if I were Vlad, I'd come into
the room and say...
"Sorry about that. I govoril with John. He said he can't make it today."
So, говорил is the past tense form of "to talk" or "to speak".
Again, imagine a guy on the phone, talking to someone named Greg. We'd
say...
He is now talking with Greg.

Он сейчас говорит с Грегом.
But after he hangs up the phone, we'd say..
He was talking with Greg.

Он говорил с Грегом.
Imagine that mom is on the phone with Brad. Try saying:

Mom is now talking with Brad.
Мама сейчас говорит с Брэдом.
Now try saying:

Mom was talking with Brad.
Мама говорила с Брэдом.
Did you say "govorila" with that "a" sound at the end, to rhyme with Mama? If so,
you get the gold star. Because here's the weird thing: In Russian, past tense
verbs reflect the sex of the person who did the action.
With just two words, say:

Mark was talking.
Марк говорил.
Now say: Dasha was talking.

Даша говорила.
So far so good? Now, what about that whole "s Johnom" thing? Well, the
Russian word "s" (spelled "C" in Russian) usually translates as "with". And as
you remember, these little words have a big effect on the words that follow. So,
that little word "s" forces the name John to become "Johnom." It forces John to
add the ending "om". So, how would you say:
With Mark
С Марком
With Vlad
С Владом
Makes sense?
So try saying:
Mom was talking with Robert.
Мама говорила с Робертом.

I was talking with Anton.
Я говорила с Антоном.
But how would a guy say:

I was talking with Anton.
Я говорил с Антоном.
Now, the name "Pat" in English is uni-sex. That is, there are guys named Pat
and girls named Pat. So if I tell you, "Pat was talking with Frank," you don't know
if Pat is a man or woman. But if I tell you in Russian...
Пэт говорила с Франком.
...now you know. Pat must be a woman because the verb "govorila" was in its
feminine form.
Today's tip is in response to an email I got from Lucy, in Naperville, Illinois. She
wanted to know when we'd be learning Russian numbers. That's a great
question, Lucy, and perfect for today's tip.
Here's the thing: Numbers in Russian are extremely complex. As you know,
there are many, many ways to say virtually every word in Russian, and that goes
for numbers, too. So, when someone asks me, "How do you say "one" in
Russian?" I always ask, "In what sentence? What's the context?" Because there
are, I don't know, a dozen or so ways to say just the number "one" in Russian.
Listen: The following all mean "one" in Russian....
один
одна
одно
одного
одному
одни
одних
одну
одной
одном
I basically had this discussion with a guy. He was like, "Just say one in Russian."
And I said, "One what?"
He's like, "I don't know. One cat."
So I asked him, "Is the cat male or female?"
He's like, "I dunno....Female."
"Mmm-hmm. And is the cat the one doing the action, or...?"
I think he gave up at that point. But as I said, the word you use -- the number
that you use -- will depend on context. If I say, I have one female cat, it'd be:
У меня есть ОДНА кошка.
ОДНА
But if I say I want one female cat, the number one is going to be different.
Я хочу ОДНУ кошку.
ОДНУ
ОДНА -- ОДНУ
odna....odnu...odnom....odnovo...You need to know the whole sentence before

you think of which version you need for each number...or for any word in
Russian.
To be honest, numbers are mind-bogglingly complex in Russian. I really can't

imagine being a Russian mathmetician, and having to work with large numbers
in various contexts all day long.
But here's the tip: Don't let it scare you. You can master numbers just the way
you've been mastering all the other material in this podcast. That is, gradually,
and always in context.
But I don't plan on teaching numbers in this podcast because an all-audio format
is not a good way to do it. You really need video for numbers, so that I can just
show you something and ask: How many objects do you see? Using video, you
can avoid having to think in English first.
Anyway, let's get back to today's lesson. How would you say:
Dad was taling with Erik.
Папа говорил с Эриком.
Remember, your dad is male, so he gets the masculine ending on his verb:
govoril...not govorila.
But how do we say:
He was talking with Mom.
Listen...
Он говорил с Мамой.
Listen to just this part..."with Mom"

С мамой
That's kind've a weird sound for us to make, as English speakers: С

мамой...that "uh-ee" sound.
Let's look at a few more. Imagine you're on the phone talking with Olga. Your
friend wants to know who you're talking with. Say...
I'm talking with Olga.

Я говорю с Ольгой.
Say: He is talking with Polina.

Он говорит с Полиной.
Female names that end with a "sha" sound, like Dasha or Natasha, get more of
an "ay" sound instead of "uh-ee". Listen....
With Dasha
С Дашей
With Natasha
С Hаташей
Try to say...
Dad was talking with Nina.
Папа говорил с Ниной.
Now, not only does the verb have to reflect the sex of the person doing the
action, it also has to reflect formal speech. Imagine I'm talking with my boss. I
of course need to speak respectfully with him, so I ask...
Were you talking with Tolik?

Вы говорили с Толиком?
Do you hear the rhyme, by the way?

Вы.....говориЛИ......Ы.....И
If you were asking the same question to your friend, you'd ask him:
Were you talking with Tolik?
Ты говорил с Толиком.
Of course, if your friend was a girl you'd ask her:

Ты говорила с Толиком?
Let's work in some older vocabulary now. Do you remember the Russian word
for "milk"? Say,
I want milk, please.
Я хочу молоко, пожалуйста.
Now imagine your friend is in a cafe and the waitress is taking his order. What
do you think he's ordering. Listen...
Я буду кофе с молоком.
He said: I'll have coffee...with milk.
Did you hear how the little word "s" forced the word "moloko" to take that "om"
ending?
Try it. Try saying...
I want coffee with milk.

Я хочу кофе с молоком.
...s molokom...
How would you say:

I work with Anton.
Я работаю с Антоном.
Ask a friend:
You work with Marina?
Ты работаешь с Мариной?
Ok. Last two phrases. Listen to this...

Влад работал с Вадимом.
That means, Vlad WAS WORKING with Vadim. So, rabotal means "was
working."
For ten thousand imaginary rubles, how would you say:

Mom was working with Mark.
Мама работала с Марком.
Did you say "rabotala" with an "a" sound at the end? If you did, give yourself an
A+ for this lesson, and I'll see you next time.
All Rights Reserved

Episode #26
RussianMadeEasy.com
Привет! And welcome to episode 26 of Russian Made Easy. Как дела? Всё
нормально?
Right to biz today. Please repeat after the speaker...
Джон сказал ДА.
Линда сказала НЕТ.
Repeat just this part, now:

Джон сказал. / Линда сказала
So, сказал and сказала are the masculine and feminine forms of a past tense
verb in Russian.
сказал -- сказала
Let's see if we can figure out what the verb means.
My Dad could be pretty strict with us when we were kids. I remember once when
I really wanted to go to a concert on a school night. "Dad, can I go see Flock of
Seagulls tonight?"
But he said, "No. It's a school night."
"Please, Dad?"
And he replied, "Я сказал НЕТ and I meant it!"
How would you translate that?

Я сказал нет....translates as, "I said no!"
How would your mom say:

I said no!
Я сказала нет.
Did you say "skazala" with an "a" sound?
Try saying:
Andrei said hi.
Андрей сказал привет.
Svetlana said thank you.

Светлана сказала спасибо.
Try this:
How would a guy say:
I was talking with Vadim.
Я говорил с Вадимом.
He said no.
Он сказал нет.
How would a woman say:

I was talking with Karina.
Я говорила с Кариной.
She said yes.

Она сказала да.
Ask your friend Jim,

What did you say?
Что ты сказал?
Now ask the same question to your friend Olga.

Что ты сказала?
Now, how would you ask that to your boss?

Что Вы сказали?
We of course have the rhyme..ВЫ...сказалИ .
We're about to segue into our tip of the day, and as we do, I want you to think
about something. What's the difference between "I was talking" and "I said"? I
mean, in both cases your mouth was open and words came out. How do they
differ?
The difference between "said" and "was talking" is basically one of process
versus a one-time thing. What I mean is, when you say, I was talking with Mom,
it creates a feeling of a conversation...the whole process of talking with
someone. Whereas "I said" gives the feeling of a one-time action. You said one
particular thing, and that's it.
This idea of emphasizing a process versus a one-time action is known as "verb

aspect" in linguistics. We solve this in English usually by using verbs that end
with "ing". For example, I was walking in the park....You get this feeling of a long
stroll. You feel the process of the walk. But if I say: I walked to the store. You
see the result. It was a one-time, completed action.
I'm bringing all this up because in Russian they solve this by having two
different verbs for the same action. Often, the verbs are totally different! For
example, to say...
I was catching big fish all day we'd use the verb:
Я ловил
Ya lovil. I was catching (or, I was fishing.) That's the process form.
But to say:
I caught a big fish.
...we'd say:
Я поймал
Ya poimal. That's the one-time, completed action.
So you have a word starting with an "L"...lovil....And a word starting with a "P"
sound: poimal.
Two totally different verbs for the exact same action of catching fish. The
only difference is "lovil" creates the impression of the process of catching,
whereas poimal is a one-time thing. You caught one fish, and that's the whole
action.
The strategy of using two different verbs for this seems unique to Slavic
languages like Russian and Polish. It's one of the things that makes them seem
to exotic to us. But if you understand this fundamental concept about verb
aspect -- the idea of an ongoing process versus a one-time, completed action --
you'll have a very bright future in Russian.
Alright, let's get back to it. Listen to this short conversation. Mike is offering Olga
a piece of pizza.
Хочешь?
Нет, спасибо. Я не хочу пиццу.
But Mike insists, telling her...

Пицца очень вкусная.
Olga is getting a little angry now...

Я сказала что я не хочу!
Listen to her last phrase again. What's that third word?
Я сказала что я не хочу!
She said: Я.... сказала ....что ...я ....не хочу.
Hmm...Didn't we learn that "что" means "what"? As in:

What is this?
Что это?
Yes, we did. But didn't I also tell you that words -- especially the smallest ones --
have many meanings and uses? (Да, я сказал это.)
In this construction: Я сказала что....
...the word ЧТО translates as "that", as in, "I said that I don't want any."
Try saying: She said that she doesn't want pizza.

Она сказала что она не хочет пиццу.
Try saying:
He said that he doesn't want beer.
Он сказал что он не хочет пиво.
How would a guy say:

I said that I don't like to dance.
Я сказал что мне не нравится танцевать.

I said that I don't want to eat.
Я сказала что я не хочу кушать.
Imagine this scenario. Your boss says...

I want to eat.
Я хочу кушать.
So you rush out and buy him some Chinese takeout. But when you deliver it to
him, he pushes it away, saying, Нет, спасибо.
Now how would you say...

But you said that you want to eat.
Но Вы сказали что Вы хотите кушать.
Imagine you just got off the phone with Greg, who said he doesn't want a salad.
Try saying..
I was talking with Greg.
Я говорил с Грегом.
Of course, if you're a woman you'd say:

Я говорила с Грегом.
Now say:
He said he doesn't want a salad.
Он сказал что он не хочет салат.
Imagine you come home and see that your wife has cooked you a big mound of
Russian pancakes. Not being hungry, though, you decline. So she says....
You said that you like pancakes.

Ты сказал что тебе нравятся блины.
With just two words, tell her...

Yes, I said
Да, сказал.
With three words, add:

But I don't want.
Но не хочу.
Let's reverse the roles and try a similar situation. You bought a big jar of caviar,
thinking you wife would like it when she comes home. And yet, she doesn't want
any. Tell her...
You said that you like caviar.

Ты сказала что тебе нравится икра.
How will she say:

Yes, I said. But I don't want.
Да, сказала. Но не хочу.
Imagine this scenario: You're in a cafe with your buddy to have a few beers. You
head off to the bathroom, and when you come back, you see that he's drinking
coffee instead of beer. Tell him...
You said that you will have a beer.
Ты сказал что ты будешь пиво.
They only carried Baltika beer, which he didn't want. So, listen to his reply:
Да, но я не хотел Балтику.
хотел translates as "wanted"
How would he say:

I wanted Heineken.
Я хотел Хайнекен.
Try saying:
She wanted pasta.
Она хотела пасту.
Imagine you're in the kitchen with your friend, eating pizza. Thinking that your
wife upstairs might want a slice, you take one and bring it to her. But then you
come back holding the slice of pizza and you explain to your friend:
She said that she didn't want.

Она сказала что не хотела.
You could've used six words, by saying "she" twice, like this:
She said that she not want.
Она сказала что она не хотела.
Imagine your friend's phone rings. It's her dad. A minute later she hangs up.
In three words, ask:
What did he want?
Что он хотел?
Ask:
What did he say?
Что он сказал?
Try saying:
She said she wants coffee with milk.
Она сказала что она хочет кофе с молоком.
You'll use this construction a lot whenever you're having to translate for people.
Imagine you're in Russia with a friend who doesn't speak Russian. Any time he
tries to communicate, you'll have to translate for him, and you'll often frame
things with that construction. He said that....whatever.
Try saying:
Jeff said that he wants to eat.
Джэфф сказал что он хочет кушать.
Maria said that she doesn't want pig fat.

Мария сказала что она не хочет сало.
Abbott said that he wants to dance.

Аббот сказал что он хочет танцевать.
...and so on. So try working this very common construction into your daily
practice routine. As the one person in your group of friends who now speaks
both languages, you'll end up using it a lot.
Keep up the great work and I'll see you in the next episode!
All Rights Reserved

Episode #27
RussianMadeEasy.com
Привет! And welcome to episode 27 of Russian Made Easy. Как дела? Всё
нормально?
Lots to cover today, so I'm going to jump right to it. Imagine you've just came
hom from the mall. You set your packages down on the table and your
roommate asks you:
Что ты купил?
What do you think he's asking? Those of you in my Russian Accelerator course,
learned -- or will learn -- this verb купить in Unit 8. But since it's new to this
podcast, let's see if we can figure out what it might mean.
In some ways, it's obvious from the context. I mean, what else might your
roommate ask when you come home with packages after shopping? We know
that "Что ты" means what....you...
...and kupil is, we can assume, a past tense verb in its masculine form. So he's
asking:
What did you buy?
Что ты купил?
If you're a guy, say:

I bought a souvenir.
Я купил сувенир.

Я купила сувенир.
Say: Dad bought a car.

Папа купил машину.
Remember: Buying the car counts as doing something to the car, so the word
mashina becomes mashinu.
Say: Mom bought a cat.

Мама купила кошку.
Ask your friend's grandmother politely:

And what did you buy?
А что Вы купили?
Using that construction we learned in the last podcast, try saying:

Mom said that she bought milk.
Мама сказала что она купила молоко.
Dad said that he bought beer.

Папа сказал что он купил пиво.
Say:
Svetlana bought an apartment in the city center.
Светлана купила квартиру в центре.
Let's try a new phrase. Repeat these two words after the speaker...
Мы были
Let's see if we can get the meaning.
You're in your apartment, waiting for your two roommates to come home. When
they finally do, you ask..."Where were you guys?" And one of them says...
Мы были в центре.
What do you think he said?
Мы были translates as "We were." So he was saying, "We were in the center."
Мы были в центре.
That's a very Russian sound, that word были. To make your pronunciation more
authentic, try puffing your cheeks as you say it. Like, try saying "Brr"...See how
you kind of puff your cheeks?..."brr"...были
Note the rhyme, of course: We.....were......Мы былиииииии
Try saying:
We were in Las Vegas.
Мы были в Лас Вегасе.
Did you remember to add that "yeh" sound. since you were "in" Las Vegas?
Say:
We were in the store.
Мы были в магазине.
Ask your friends:

Where were you?
Где Вы были?
Using the verb we learned at the start of this podcast, how do you think you'd
say:
We bought souvenirs.
Мы купили сувениры.
Say: We were in the park.
Мы были в парке.
We were in the office.

Мы были в офисе.
Imagine you're in a cafe. You and your friend both ordered coffee but the
waitress brings beer instead. Tell her...
We wanted coffee.
Мы хотели кофе.
Let's see if we can pick up on the present tense pattern of verbs when we use
"we." Imagine you're visiting Moscow with your wife. Your Russian guide asks
you...
Where do you guys live?

Где Вы живёте?
Listen to our reply:

We live in New York.
Мы живём в Нью Йорке.
Say this part again.

We live...
Мы живём
Imagine the waitress comes and asks you...

What do you want?
Here's how we'd say:

We want pizza.
Мы хотим пиццу.
Say just this part again:

We want
Мы хотим
Your friend asks the both of you:

Where do you guys work?
How do you think you might say:
We work in the company Cisco.
Мы работаем в компании Сиско.
Again, say just this part...

We work
Мы работаем
Hopefully a pattern is starting to emerge. When a verb phrase starts with "мы", it
ends with an "m" sound. So it starts with an "m" and ends with an "m".
Мы живём
Мы работаем
Let's try those three verbs again. Say..

We live in London.
Мы живём в Лондоне.
We work downtown.
Мы работаем в центре.
We want pizza and beer, please.

Мы хотим пиццу и пиво, пожалуйста.
Having learned, now, the "we" form of verbs, we've encountered five of the six
conjugations in Russian. And today's tip is to remind you to use constructions
to become fluent at switching between them. Take for example the verb "to
live." I'd run through those five conjugations we know, like this...
Я живу в Бостоне, где ты живёшь? Мы живём в Австралии. А где Вы

живёте? Стив? Он живёт в центре.
What I used to do, before I lived here in Ukraine, was create my own
conversations. I'd pretend to be talking with a friend, and go back and forth with
the Я and ТЫ forms.
Я хочу кофе, а что ты хочешь? Ты хочешь кофе? Хорошо....я буду кофе. Ты

будешь салат? Нет? Что...тебе не нравится салат?
Odd, perhaps, to have imaginary conversations, but it's good practice for your
Russian.
I'd also pretend I was speaking on behalf of myself and my wife, and talking with
someone I just met. So I'd say things like, Мы живём в Севастополе. А где Вы
живёте? Мы будем пиво...А что Вы будете? Кофе?
You might feel self-conscious talking out loud....to yourself. But it's for a good
cause. It's realistic practice, and will boost your confidence a lot.
Alright, speaking of practice...let's practice those "we" forms some more.
Say..
We live in Michigan.
Мы живём в Мичигане.
We work in the company Sony.

Мы работаем в компании Сони.
We don't want pig fat..

Мы не хотим сало.
How might you say:

We speak English.
Мы говорим по-английски.
Try saying, We don't speak Spanish.

Мы не говорим по-испански.
How about:
We were speaking with Vlad.
Мы говорили с Владом.
Say: We bought an apartment in Kiev.

Мы купили квартиру в Киеве.
Try saying: We were in Moscow and in St. Petersburg.

Мы были в Москве и в Санкт-Петербурге.
Alright, and let's add one last new verb for today. Repeat after the speaker:
Я не знаю.
One more time...
Я не знаю.
Imagine it's your first day in Moscow. You've just stepped out of your hotel, and
a fellow tourist asks you: Где метро?
They're asking: Where's the metro? That is, Where's the subway?
So you shrug your shoulders and say Я не знаю.
Someone asks you what time it is but you have no watch, and no phone with
you so you shrug your shoulders...Я не знаю.
So, Я не знаю translates as I don't know.
Ask your friend:

You don't know?
Ты не знаешь?
This negative version of the phrase -- literally: You don't know? -- also
functions the way we would say, "You wouldn't happen to know..." in English.
That is, it's a polite way of asking a question.
So let's ask a stranger on the street:
You wouldn't happen to know where there is a bank?

Again, literally: You dont know where there is a bank?
Вы не знаете где есть банк?
And we heard the cognate for "metro", that is, the subway a minute ago. Listen
again and repeat:
метро
So again, ask a stranger on the street:

You wouldn't happen to know where the subway is?
Literally: You don't know where is the metro?
Вы не знаете где метро?
Let's use this construction to politely ask our friend:
You wouldn't happen to know where my pen is?
Ты не знаешь где моя ручка?
How do you think you might say:

John knows.
Джон знает.
And finally, how might you say:

We don't know.
Мы не знаем.
Alright, that's it for today. Again, remember today's tip: Create your own back
and forth dialogue, running through as many verb forms as you can. Keep up
the great work and I'll see you next time!
All Rights Reserved

Episode #28
RussianMadeEasy.com
Привет! And welcome to episode 28 of Russian Made Easy. Let's start by

repeating these two words.
дал....дала
One more time
дал....дала
What do they mean? Well, here's the set up. You're watching a soap opera with
some friends. Unable to wait for a commercial, you go to use the bathroom and
call out to your friends, "What just happened?" Well, it turns out that the
character Vadim gave a beer to John, so your friend says:
Вадим дал Джону пиво.
Repeat that phrase after the speaker. Try to envision Vadim handing a beer to
John.
Now, you're still sitting on the toilet, and you hear your friend call out, "Oh my
gosh! You just missed it!" It turns out that Svetlana just gave a telephone to
Steve. So your friend tells you...
Светлана дала Стиву телефон.
Again, repeat that phrase after the speaker. Try to envision Svetlana handing a
telephone to Steve.
So, the Russian words дал and дала are two past tense forms of the verb "to
give", as in:
Vadim gave John a beer. Or, Svetlana gave Steve a telephone.
But did you notice how the recipient's name changed? That is, John is the one
who received the beer, and his name changed to John-u. Listen again, paying
attention to his name:
And in the second one, Steve was the one who received the beer, and so his
name changed to Steve-u. Listen closely...
So, when a guy is the recipient of something in Russian, his name adds an "uu"
sound at the end. It basically changes the meaning of the name. So, Johnu
means, "To John." And Steve-u means, "To Steve."
So try saying:
I gave a pen to Mark.
Я дал ручку Марку.
And how would a woman say that? Remember, she needs the femine version of
the verb:
Я дала ручку Марку.
And let me talk again about word order in Russian. This phrasing: Я дал ручку
Марку....
...emphasizes that I gave the pen to Mark, and not to someone else. But if the
speaker says it in this word order...
Я дал Марку ручку.
...he's emphasizing that it was a PEN that he gave Mark, and not something
else. So, the meaning is the same, but the emphasis is different.
Do you remember how to say: I like pizza.

Literally we phrase it:
To me is pleasing pizza.
Well, we can use that word mne in our new construction. Because mne literally
means, "TO me."
So try saying:
Olga gave the computer to me.

Ольга дала компьютер мне.
Again, though, that's emphasizing that she gave the computer to me, and not to
someone else. But it's more likely we'd emphasize that she gave us a computer,
and not some other gift. So try saying ...
Olga gave to me a computer.

Ольга дала мне компьютер.
Now, do you remember how to ask a friend:

Do you like raw pig fat?
Тебе нравится сало?
Well, we can use that word tebe in our new construction because tebe literally
means, "To you."
So try asking:
Pavel gave you a car?

Lit: Pavel gave to you a car?
Павел дал тебе машину?
How would you ask your friend's grandmother, respectfully:

Do you like caviar?
Вам нравится икра?
What does VAM literally mean? VAM means "To you". So how would you ask
your boss:
He gave you a computer?

Lit" He gave to you a computer?
Он дал Вам компьютер?
Are you seeing, by the way, how important it was for us to have learned the
super-literal version of every word and phrase? It really helps us to think in
Russian.
Anyway, perhaps you're wondering...Okay, but how do I say:

I gave the cat to Olga.
What's the ending we use for female recipients? Well, great question and I'm
glad you asked. See if you can pick it out.
Я дал кошку Ольге.
One more time...
Я дал кошку Ольге.
So, female names usually get a "yeh" sound when they're the recipient. So try
saying...
Mom gave Anya a souvenir.

Мама дала Ане сувенир.
Anya becomes "Anyeh".

How about:
I gave to Dasha your computer.
Я дал Даше твой компьютер.
Dasha becomes Dash-yeh.
Time for today's tip...
Remember, we do these tips after we've learned new material because it's a
way of not thinking about the stuff you just learned. You take a little break and
then try to recall what you just learned. That's the tip I explained in the very first
podcast of this series, as a way of quickly developing your long term memory.
And speaking about this series...I'm going to have to put it on hold after Podcast
30. I've been asked to consult on the creation of some other language courses
and it's a great opportunity for me to get these new methods out there for others
to use. If you've come this far, though, it means you're really committed to
learning Russian, so I hope to see you over at my online course, Russian
Accelerator.
And although it's only thirty episodes long, you nevertheless accomplished two
hugley important things in Russian: You've learned all six verb conjugations (the
sixth one is coming in the next episode) and you've learned all six grammatical
cases. You may not know the official terms yet...the cases have fancy names
like nominative case and instrumental case...but you know the endings. You
know what they mean and how they work. That's the killer part. Those two
things -- verb conjugations and case endings -- make up the bulk of Russian
grammar, and you have them pretty darn solid by now. That's a hell of an
accomplishment. In the next episode, we'll go through them all, but for now I just
wanted to congratulate you.
So what's the tip? Well, it's simple: Keep it up! If you keep practicing the way I've
shown you, you really can become a fluent, conversational Russian speaker.
Alright....back to it. Try asking your friend:

Who gave you a car?
We use the masculine form of the verb when asking "who".
Кто дал тебе машину?
Say...
My dad gave me a car.
Мой папа дал мне машину.
Let's learn one more new word for today. Repeat after the speaker:
подарок
Again:
подарок
How would you translate it?

The thing you buy for someone on their birthday or for Christmas is a podarok.
Usually, you put the podarok in a box, wrap it with colorful paper and put a bow
on it. "Here," you tell them. "I got you this podarok. Go ahead and open it."
So, a подарок is a gift or a present.
Try saying:
I bought mom a gift.
Literally: I bought FOR Mom a gift.
Я купил маме подарок.
Right? We have to say "mam-yeh". She was the recipient of the gift.
And how would a woman say that, by the way?

I bought for mom a present.
Я купилa маме подарок.
Imagine a bratty kid on his birthday, saying...

Where's my present?
Где мой подарок?
Let's do some review, now, of recent vocab. How would you ask your two
friends:
Where were you?
Где Вы были?
Remember, we use Вы when addressing two or more people, even if they're our
friends.
Anyway, say:
We were in a store.
Мы были в магазине.
Ask them:
What did you guys buy?
Что Вы купили?
Say:
I bought mom a telephone.
Lit: I bought for mom -- or to mom -- a telephone. She is the recipient.
Я купил маме телефон.
Whereas Vlad bought Tanya a present.

А Влад купил Тане подарок.
Ask: What did he buy?

Что он купил?
Say: He bought milk and pig fat.

Он купил молоко и сало.
Say: Mmm...a tasty gift!

Ммм....вкусный подарок!
Try saying:
He said Hi to me, and that's all.
We'll use the following word order:
He said to me hi...and that's all.
Он сказал мне "Привет".....и всё.
Ask your guy friend:

You bought Alina a cat?
Again, remember, Alina is the recipient of the cat.
Ты купил Алине кошку?
She bought me a pen.

Она купила мне ручку.
Again, we're using the "to me" form...that is, мне, because we are the recipient
of the pen.
Она купила мне ручку.
Try saying:
She didn't want to dance.
Она не хотела танцевать.
Imagine you're with some friends, ordering food for takeout. Say...
I talked with Anton.
Я говорил с Антоном.
He said that he wants coffee with milk.

Он сказал что он хочет кофе с молоком.
Ask a stranger on the street:

You wouldn't happen to know where the subway is?
Literally: You dont know where the metro is?
Say:
We live in the center.
Мы живём в центре.
How will the person tell you:

You speak Russian well.
Вы хорошо говорите по-русски.
That's it for today's podcast. Next time we'll learn the sixth and final verb
conjugation. Can you guess which one we're missing? Keep practicing and I'll
see you next time!
All Rights Reserved

Episode #29
RussianMadeEasy.com
Привет! And welcome to episode 29 of Russian Made Easy. In today's podcast

we're going to master the sixth and final verb conjugation in Russian. I
mentioned this at the end of the last episode: Did you figure out which one we're
missing?
First start by repeating this word:
они
One more time:

они
What does it mean? Well, jere's the set up: You see the neighbors across the
street, the Johnsons, pull into their driveway and get out of their minivan. You
ask your wife, "Did the Johnson's take a trip?" And she says...
Да. Они были в Диснейленде.
She said, "Yes, oni were at Disneyland."
So, они is one of the Russian words for "they." By now, it's no surprise that it
rhymes with all those other plural forms. Try saying:
You guys, we, they

Вы...мы...они
Вы...мы...они
Nor is it a surprise that они rhymes with the past tense, plural form of the verb.
Listen...
They were...
они были...
они были...
How would you say:

They wanted pizza.
Они хотели пиццу.
They bought a car.

Они купили машину.
They said hi.

Они сказали Привет.
Try this:
He said, she said, they said
Он сказал, она сказала, они сказали
Try saying:
They gave me a present.
Они дали мне подарок.
So, using они with the past tense is easy. And for the most part, using the
present tense is easy, too. Let's look for the pattern. First say...
I'll have the pancakes.

Я буду блины.
Now listen as he tells the waitress:

They'll have pizza.
Они будут пиццу.
So say just:
I'll have....they'll have...
Я буду...они будут
How do you say:

I live in Cleveland.
Я живу в Кливленде.
Any guess on how you might say:

They live in Oakland.
Они живут в Окленде..
Now just say:

I live....they live
Я живу...они живут
One more time:

Я живу...они живут
Say:
I don't know.
Я не знаю.
Now try saying:

They don't know.
Они не знают.
I know....they know.
Я знаю....они знают
One more time:

Я знаю....они знают
So, the plural form in the present tense ends with a "t" sound, and usually you're
just adding it on to the Я form. Let's try one more:
I work in an office.
Я работаю в офисе.
They work in a store.

Они работают в магазине.
I work, they work

Я работаю...они работают
There are some exceptions to this, which we'll get to after this Tip of the Day...
As I mentioned in the last podcast, we now have learned all six verb forms, and
all six grammatical cases. Let's do a quick run-down, first of the verb forms,
using the verb "to know." Say...
I know.
Я знаю.
Ask your friend:

You don't know?
Ты не знаешь?
Let's ask a stranger on the street:

You wouldnt happen to know where the subway is?
John knows.
Джон знает.
We don't know.
Мы не знаем.
And today's form:

They know.
Они знают.
As I said, that's a huge accomplishment. And really, much more importantly,

you've learned all six of the grammatical cases in Russian. And now that you
know the case endings, just for fun, let's take a look at some of the fancy names
linguists like to use for them. I don't expect you to memorize these. I just want
you to have had some exposure to the terms. Ok, here goes:
Whoever or whatever is doing the action in the Russian sentence is considered

to be in the nominative form. So, for example:
John wants beer.

Джон хочет пиво.
John is doing the action, so his name -- that word "Джон" is in the nominative
form.
Now, which word in the following Russian sentence is in the nominative case?
In the Russian sentence you just heard, the word pizza is doing the action, so
it's in the nominative case. Nominative is also basically the dictionary form.
When you look up a word in the dictionary, it's going to be in its nominative case.
Next:
When you do something to someone or to something, that thing goes into the
accusative case. It's a bizzarre term, but what can ya do? So..
Я хочу пиццу.
The word Я is the one doing the action, so it's in the nominative form. And we're
doing something to the pizza, which is why it's in its accusative form: pizzu.
Next:
The recipient of something, like someone who receives a gift or receives a
phone call, is in the dative case. Again...what kind of name is that? I would've
called it the recipient case. But anyway...
I gave the present to John.
Я дал подарок Джону.
John is receiving the gift, so his name has to go into the dative form, which is
Johnu.
Next:
To represent the idea of being in a particular location, the actual location word
has to go into the prepositional case. So...
I live in New York.
Я живу в Нью Йорке.
...we add that "yeh" sound to the end of New York, because that word needs to
be in its prepositional form.
Four down, two to go.
Ler's talk about the genetive case now.
Remember how we said that the small words, called prepositions, have a big
effect on the words that follow? Well, each little word forces different cases, and
one was this. Listen...
У меня есть кошка.
Literally we're saying: AT me there is a cat.
The word "меня" is actually the genetive form of Я, and it was forced into that by
the little word "У".
By the way, English also uses the genetive case. After all, we don't say:
Steve drove I home.
The word "I" has to go into the genetive case, and so we say:
Steve drove me home.
And finally, there's the instrumental case. Think of this as the "with" case, as in:
I want coffee....with milk.
Я хочу кофе с молоком.
To say "with milk" the word moloko has to change to molokom.
Or this: They were talking with Robert.

Они говорили с Робертом.
The word "Robert" has to go into its instrumental form, which is Robertom, with
an "om" at the end.
And that's it. All six grammatical cases in a nutshell. Sorry for covering all this so
lightly. I just wanted to do the briefest overview, so that the names of the cases
are no longer foreign to you.
So, why was this in the tip of the day? Well, my tip is -- as you continue to use
Russian and learn Russian beyond this podcast -- try to keep these cases in
mind. Not the names, so much, as the underlying principle for each one.
For example, if you know that the word for "jam" is a cognate:
джем
...you can then try to speak grammatically if you're in a cafe trying to order
pancakes with jam.
I would say:
Я буду блины с джемом.
If you live in Phoenix, even if you've never heard the word "Phoenix" in its
prepositional form, you can still try to guess the ending. Try saying...
I live in Phoenix.
Я живу в Финиксе.
Alright, before getting back to our new verb form that we've been working with
today, please repeat the following new word:
мёд
One more time
мёд
What is it? Well, the deliciously sweet, yellow substance that bees make is
called мёд.
So, мёд is the Russian word for honey. And it's clearly related to the English
word "mead"..m-e-a-d.
Mead is basically an alcoholic honey drink. From mead, you get:
мёд
So imagine you're with your two children in a Russian cafe. Gesturing to your
two kids, tell the waitress:
They'll have the pancakes with honey.

Они будут блины с мёдом.
Did you remember to put the word "honey" into its instrumental form...the "with"
form?
Try saying: With honey...
С мёдом
As I mentioned earlier, usually we just add a "t" sound to the end of the Я form,
to get the ОНИ form, but not always. Listen to this:
They speak Russian.

Они говорят по-русски.
There's still a "t" at the end, but listen to the difference:
I speak...they speak
Я говорю...они говорят
If I were to give you a 2nd tip for the day, it would be this: Don't be afraid to
guess. Dont be afraid to apply the pattern to new situations. Yes, you never
know when there's going to be an exception, but it's no big deal. A native
speaker will understand that you're applying the general pattern, and will gently
correct you. So if you accidentally said:
Они говор...ют?
A native speaker would just correct you and say: Говорят
No big deal.
Try asking:
Do they speak English?
Они говорят по-английски?
Alright, that's the end of today's lesson. And as I mentioned last time, that's
actually the end of new material for quite some time. I'm going to be consulting
on some new language courses which I'm really excited about, plus I'm
organizing some new Russian language workshops on location in Ukraine and
in the U.S.. But I really hope you continue your studies with my Russian
Accelerator course. With video you really can learn so much faster, and on a
deeper level.
Anyway, brace yourself for the final exam coming up in our last podcast, and I'll
see you then.
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Episode #30
RussianMadeEasy.com
Welcome to this final Podcast of Russian Made Easy. Today's our final exam.
Let's start by listening to the following Russian conversation. Then we'll go over
it line by line. Ready?
Привет Андрюшка. Как дела?
Привет Маша. Всё хорошо. А у тебя?
У меня всё хорошо...очень хорошо!

Очень?
Да. Очень. Папа купил мне машину!
Он купил тебе машину? Где она?
В гараже. Иди...смотри!
Вау! Хороший подарок!
***
So, let's translate each line. After each line, hit PAUSE and say your translation
out loud, then hit play to compare your answer.
Привет Андрюшка. Как дела?

Hi Andrei. How're things?
Привет Маша. Всё хорошо. А у тебя?

Hi, Masha. Everything's good. And with you?
У меня всё хорошо...очень хорошо!

At me everything is good....very good!
Очень?
Very?
Да. Очень. Папа купил мне машину!

Yes. Very. Dad bought me a car!
Он купил тебе машину? Где она?

He bought you a car? Where is it?
В гараже. Иди...смотри!
In the garage. Come...look.
Yes, virtually the whole last line was new to us, but garage is a cognate, and I
bet you spotted the prepositional case ending...that "yeh" at the end of garage.
And иди....смотри...Well, you would've gotten that if you were there with her.
She'd be gesturing for you to follow her to the garage.
And finally, when he sees the car, Andrei says:

Вау! Хороший подарок!
Wow! Good gift!
Let's do some random translating here. This is tough because everything's out
of context. Of course, this is your final exam. It's supposed to be tough...
Speaking politely to your friend's grandmother, ask her:

Do you need the telephone?
Вам нужен телефон?
Ask her in two words:

Want some raw pig fat?
Хотите сало?
Ask your friend:

Where's your pig fat?
Где твоё сало?
Ask Grandma:
Do you have a cat?
У Вас есть кошка?
Ask your friend:

Do you have a cat?
У тебя есть кошка?
You're headed to the kitchen to get your friend and her grandma something to
drink. You want to be certain you heard what grandma asked for, so try saying:
You said that you want beer, yes?

Вы сказали что Вы хотите пиво, да?
Careful with the tenses on that one. We had a past tense verb...you said, and a
present tense verb you want. Listen again:
Вы сказали что Вы хотите пиво, да?
To your friend, who is a girl, say...

Whereas you said that you want tea, yes?
А ты сказала что ты хочешь чай, да?
Ask Grandma:
Do you like jazz?
Вам нравится джаз?
Ask a stranger on the street:

You wouldn't happen to know where there's a bank?
We start literally with: You dont know...
Вы не знаете где есть банк?
Imagine this scenario: You're talking on the phone with some Russian relatives.
As they tell you things, you'll be rephrasing them for the Russian speakers who
are in the room with you. Like this. The person on the phone tells you...
Мы живём в Минске.
Which means, We live in Minsk.
So you tell the people in the room, in Russian....

They live in Minsk.
Они живут в Минске.
Try this next one:

Мы работаем в Риме.
Рим is how Russians say the city of Rome. Anyway, you now say...
They work in Rome.
Они работают в Риме.
On the phone the person says....

Мы говорим по-итальянски.
Say: They speak Italian.

Они говорят по-итальянски..
She then says, a tad randomly...

Мы не знаем где метро.
That means, We don't know where the metro is.
So you need to rephrase it:

They don't know where the metro is.
Они не знают где метро.
They must be calling from a restaurant because she then says...

Мы будем чай с лимоном.
Лимон is the Russian word for lemon. By saying с лимоном she was putting
the word into which case? If you said the instrumental case you win a thousand
imaginary rubles.
Anyway, tell everyone:

They're having tea with lemon.
Они будут чай с лимоном.
Then she tells you...

Мы были в Ватикане.
So tell everyone:
They were in the Vatican.
Они были в Ватикане.
Мы купили сувениры.
Say: They bought souvenirs.

Они купили сувениры.
As you hang up the phone, your friend comes into the room. Since he missed
the whole conversation tell him:
They said they're living in Rome.

Они сказали что они живут в Риме.
Let's end this exam with one final random phrase. Tell your Russian friends:
I love pig fat!
Я люблю сало!
I want to thank you for listening to this podcast, and especially for all the emails
and great feedback you sent. If you haven't written already, I'd love to hear how
you did throughout the podcast, so please feel free to email me. My email is
Hopefully you'll continue on with my RussianAccelerator.com course, but

wherever your path takes you, I hope you continue speaking Russian. Your
investment in the language will pay dividends for life.
All the best, and до свидания!

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Episode #1

In these podcasts we'll be using modern language learning techniques like

доктор, инженер, бизнесмен

доктор, инженер, бизнесмен

доктор, инженер, бизнесмен

So, in English we say doctor, and in Russian it's: доктор

We say "engineer" but in Russian they pronounce it: инженер

And we say businessman, but in Russian it's...бизнесмен

Someone who practices medicine is a....доктор,

Someone who provides solutions to technical problems is an...инженер

One more time:

My Dad happens to be a doctor. So, if a Russian person asked my dad what he

My brother, meanwhile, is an engineer. So, if a Russian person asked my

Try saying, all in Russian: I am a doctor.

Now say: I am an engineer.

One more time:

We remember that my father is a doctor, right?

And if someone asks me what my brother does, I'd say:

Try saying: He is a businessman.

Now, any guess what OHA means?

If you're getting all these, you're off to a great start!

and "I, he, she"

I'm a businessman, he's an engineer, she's a doctor.

музыкант, студент, студентка

Good job! Now here they are in context:

Anyone who plays a musical instrument can be considered a музыкант

So, tell me. What's the Russian word for musician?

What about the meaning of студент and студентка? Well...

If you go to school, and you're a male, you're a студент,

If you go to school, and you're a female, you're a студентка

Say: She is a student.

How about: Sergei is a student.

How would you ask: Is Katya a student?

I'm a student. (if you're a guy)

How would a girl say that?

Learn to Read Russian

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[NOTE: As I mentioned in the transcript of Podcast 1, I've chosen to not sound

One more time:

Then you point to Sandy and say:

Or imagine that a Russian acquaintance is looking at a photo of your parents.

Then you point to your mom and say...

So, how would you translate ЭТО?

In this context, eto translates as "This is"

And that brings up an extremely important point:

What do you think he said? Listen again:

He said: This is vodka.

Listen again and repeat after our native speaker:

She said...This is borscht.

Repeat after the speaker:

He nods his head,

She smiles and nods:

ДА as you probably guessed, is the Russian word for YES.

Of course, in normal English we're more likely to phrase those questions by

She points to another:

Tell her: Yes, this is John.

This is Dad. He is an engineer.

This is mom. She is a doctor.