Hi, everybody! Всем привет! Here we are! Spoonfed Russian and its Episode N11! Today we will learn how to use Russian verbs with nouns and pronouns.

Before we start:

• download Episode 11 - Verb Conjugation - Present time.pdf;
• and follow the topic.

 

 Episode 11 - Verbs - Present Tense: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

What is a verb? Verb is a word which plays an action role in the sentence. For example: enjoy, smile, go etc.

In dictionaries verbs are given in infinitive form:

• the majority of infinitives ends in “-ть”: работать - to work, читать - to read, писать - to write;
• some verbs end in “-ти”: идти - to go, нести - to carry;
• few verbs end in “-чь”: мочь - to be able, печь - to bake.

In Russian we have only one Present Tense - it sounds great, isn’t it? “I speak” or “I’m speaking” we say the same way “Я говорю”. But we have to change verb endings depending on the person, what we actually do in English too but not that much, for example: “I smile”, but “He smiles”.

Russian verb endings are mainly changed according to one of the two rules known as Conjugation I and Conjugation II. There are some exceptions and irregular verbs but they are also changed quite similar.

Conjugations of some verbs you can find in the file of this episode. Please open it and follow me.

* * * * *

Exercise. Упражнение.

Look at the sentence “I hear you”. In English we have to follow strict order in the sentence. In Russian we have to use “you” in accusative case (see pronouns in accusative case in Episode 9) and put it almost in any part of the sentence: Я слышу тебя or Я тебя слышу. Now try to translate yourself:

• You hear me.
• Do you hear me?
• I see you.
• I see him.
• Do you see her?

Answers are welcome to spoonfedrussian at gmail.com and you are always welcome to Spoonfed Russian! Увидимся! И до скорой встречи!

How to say in russian "This is …"? How to ask "What is it?" or "Who is it?". You can find the answers for all these questions in this grammar comment:

• download Grammar comment - What is it?.

* * * * *

Yes, it’s not that hard. As you could see Что means "What" and Кто means "Who". The only difference is that russians also call animals (to be exact, all animate nouns) with Она (She) or Он (He) as well as in questions use "Who" but not "What".

Home task. Ask a question Кто это? or Что это? for the following statements:

• Это кофе. This is coffee.
• Это собака. This is a dog.
• Это брат. This is brother.
• Это окно. This is a window.
• Это я. This is me.

Answers and questions feel free to send to spoonfedrussian at gmail.com. Всего хорошего и до скорой встречи! All the best and see you soon!

Всем привет! Hello everyone! Welcome to Spoonfed Russian and the Episode N6! Today we will taste Russian Pronouns and will learn how to identify the gender of Russian nouns.

Before we start:

• Download and open grammar comments: Episode 6 – Pronouns and Gender of Nouns (pdf);

 

 Russian pronouns and Gender of nouns: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Pronouns are used to substitute nouns or names in the sentence. Please open the grammar comments and repeat after me.

* * * * *

Now let’s practice and do some exercises.

What is the gender of the nouns and how to say “My” for the following words?

• Мама. As we can see: it’s not an exception, ends with vowel “–a”. That means it’s feminine. So “My Mom” will be Моя мама;
• Папа. It ends with vowel but we remember that it’s an exception. Dad is always masculine. And “My Dad” will be Мой папа;
• Брат. Not an exception. Ends with consonant. No doubts – it’s masculine! My brother = Мой брат;
• Сестра. Not an exception. Ends with “-a”. It’s feminine! My sister = Моя сестра;
• Имя. Ends with “-я”. You may think it’s feminine. Check once again. It ends with “–мя”, so it’s neuter. My name = Моё имя;
• Фамилия. Ends with “-я” (not “-мя”). Simple – it’s feminine. My surname = Моя фамилия;
• Отчество. Ends with “-o”. Easy – it’s neuter. My patronymic = Моё отчество.

Homework:

• For all the nouns from the above exercise: how to say “His”, “Her” and “Your” (two versions: official and friendly). You can leave your answers in comment or e-mail me.
• For more practice you can identify the gender for the words from Episode 2 - Exercises (pdf) and Cartoon Vocabulary (pdf).

Good luck and see you! Пока-пока!

How many names does every Russian have? What does the patronymic mean? You can find the answers for all these questions in this grammar comment:

• About russian names.pdf - the structure of Russian names, how they are formed and how to address the others;
• List of Russian names.pdf - the list of the most popular Russian male and female names.

A small home task for you. Write your name in Russian letters and try to make your patronymic in a Russian way :). Good Luck!