Grammar Lesson 1

8 ноября 2016

1.1. Gender of Nouns in the Nominative Case (Hard Stem)
Russian nouns belong to one of three grammatical classes called genders. They are divided into three groups: nouns of masculine (мужской), feminine (женский) and neuter (средний) gender, which is clearly expressed only in the singular nouns. The gender of a noun is shown by it's ending.
Masculine nouns are nouns end in a consonant (have Ø* ending in the Nominative case): Иван, дом.
Feminine nouns are nouns end in the vowel -а in the Nominative case: Анна, лампа.
Neuter nouns are nouns end in the vowel -о in the Nominative case: окно.
* Ø stands for 'zero' - absence of an overt ending

We will agree to label masculine gender as м.р. (мужской род), feminine gender as ж.р. (женский род), neuter gender as ср.р. (средний род).

1.2. Personal pronouns он (he), она (she), оно (it)
Nouns of any gender may be replaced by the corresponding personal pronouns.
In contrast to English the Russian pronouns он and она may replace not only animate, but also inanimate nouns.
The pronoun он replaces any masculine noun (Иван, дом - он).
The pronoun она replaces any feminine noun (Анна, комната - она).
The pronoun оно replaces any neuter noun (окно - оно).
Compare the following sentences in Russian and in English. Note what Russian pronouns are used in place of English 'it'. Click each statement to listen.

1. Это Иван. Он журналист.
1. This is Ivan. He is a journalist.
2. Вот парк. Он слева.
2. This is a park. It is on the left.
3. Это Таня. Она студентка.
3. This is Tanya. She is a student.
4. Это наша школа. Она справа.
4. This is our school. It is on the right.
5. Где письмо? - Вот оно.
5. Where is the letter? - Here it is.
1.3. "The" and "a"
In Russian there are no words for "the" and "a". So, журналист means either "the journalist" or "a journalist"; письмо means either "the letter" or "a letter".

1.4. The Verb "to be" in the Present tense
In Russian the verb "to be" is not used in the present tense. In English you would say: "He is a journalist"; "She is a student"; "Where is the letter? - Here it is", but in Russian you simply say: Он журналист; Она студентка; Где письмо? - Вот оно!