Grammar Lesson 4

16 ноября 2016

1. Personal pronouns
Memorize Russian personal pronouns:

я
ты
он, она, оно
I
you (singular)
he, she, it
мы
вы
они
we
you (plural)
they

Study the usage of personal pronouns. Click the following statements to listen, then read them aloud.

Я студент. А ты?
I am a student. And you?
Я тоже студент.
I am a student too.
Мы студенты. А вы?
We are students. And you?
Мы тоже студенты.
We are students too.
Он студент. А она?
He is a student. And she?6. - Она тоже студентка.
She is a student too.
Где письмо? - Вот оно!
Where is the letter? - Here it is!
Где студенты? - Вот они!
Where are students? - Here they are!

Remember that the pronouns он and она are used to replace not only animate nouns (such as a boy, a girl, a student, etc.), but also inanimate (such as a house, a pencil, a pen , etc.). Compare:
9. - Где карандаш? - Вот он!
9. - Where is the pencil? - Here it is!
10. - Где ручка? - Вот она!
10. - Where is the pen? - Here it is!

2. Pronouns ты and вы
In Russian there are two different words for you: ты and вы.
Вы is used whenever you are speaking to more than one person, or as a formal way of addressing one person. In a formal letter the pronoun Вы is capitalized when used to address one person on formal/polite terms.
Ты is used whenever you are speaking informally to one person only. You would use ты to address a child or a friend.
The younger generation prefer the less formal ты while older people often feel more comfortable using Вы.