Russian Lessons

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Russian Pronouns

These are the Russian pronouns that can be used as the subject of a sentence. (Known as the nominative case.)

Я – I

Ты – You (informal)

Он – He, It (m)

Она – She, It (f)

Оно – It (n)

Мы – We

Вы – You (formal, or plural)

Они – They

Вы is used as the formal singular “you”, and the plural “you” (slang: “yous” or “you all”) when talking to more than one person. Here are the Russian pronouns that can be used as the object of a sentence. (Known as the accusative case)

Меня – Me

Тебя – You (informal)

Его – (“yevo”) – Him, It (m,n)

Её – Her, It (f)

Нас – Us

Вас – You (formal, or plural)

Их – Them

You should be familiar with using different pronouns for the subject and object of a sentence (“me” instead of “I”). Just remember that unlike English,Russian uses an extra version of the word “you”. You should memorise these pronouns.

Russian Verbs

You will be pleased to know that Russian has only one present tense. In Russian there is only one way of saying “I work”, “I am working” and “I do work”. Russian verbs change their endings depending on the subject. This happens a little in English, but not as much. (Example: I work, he works). This happens according to two different patterns known as the first conjugation, and the second conjugation. (There are also some irregular verbs). Both these patterns are quite similar, and once you get the hang of it, it is not too difficult.

1. Nouns and Gender

Russian nouns have three genders: Masculine, Feminine and Neuter. You can see which gender the noun is by looking at the ending in the nominative case. Masculine nouns end in consonants or й
EXAMPLES:
адрес – address брат – brother взрослый – adult
Feminine nouns end in –а, –я, or –ия
EXAMPLES:
книга – book аллея – avenue биология – biology
Neuter nouns end in –е, –о, or –ие
EXAMPLES:
животное – animal лето – summer курение – smoking
There are a few masculine nouns that end in –a/я, such as мужчина (man), дедушка(grandfather), дядя (uncle), or diminutive forms of masculine proper names, like Вася,Андрюша, and so on. Neuter nouns ending in –о, –е or –и that are direct imports from foreign languages, such asкино, кафе or такси, do not decline (do not change the endings).

2. Personal Pronouns

These are Russian personal pronouns: я (I) ты (you – singular) он (he) она (she) оно (it) мы (we) вы (you – plural), Вы (you – singular formal) они (they)
In Russian, as in many other languages, ты is generally used among people who know each other very well. Otherwise, it is more appropriate to use formal вы. It is commonly capitalized in formal writing when used as a polite address “Вы“. In Russian language, the personal pronoun determines the form of the verb in the present tense:
EXAMPLES: 
Я делаю/строю (I am doing/building) Ты делаешь/строишь (You are doing/building) Он/она/оно делает/строит (He/she/it is doing/building) Мы делаем/строим (We are doing/building) Вы делаете/строите (You are doing/building) Они делают/строят (They are doing/building)

The first conjugation

The first conjugation is used for verbs ending in “ть” but not “ить”. It is the most common. To form the verb for each person you need to drop the last two letters of the infinitive (normally “ть”), and add the appropriate ending (“ю”, “ешь”, “ет”, “ем”, “ете” or “ют”).Let’s take a look at a verb that uses the first conjugation: работать (to work).

работать – To work. (infinitive, dictionary form)

Я работаю – I work

Ты работаешь – You work

Он, Она, Оно работает – He, She, It works.

Мы работаем – We work

Вы работаете – You work.

Они работают – They work.

Let’s try some other Russian words from the first conjugation:

понимать – To understand. (infinitive, dictionary form)

Я понимаю – I understand.

Ты понимаешь – You understand.

Он, Она, Оно понимает – He, She, It understands

Мы понимаем – We understand.

Вы понимаете – You understand.

Они понимают – They understand.

 

Знать – To know. (infinitive, dictionary form)

Я знаю – I know.

Ты знаешь – You know.

Он, Она, Оно знает – He, She, It knows.

Мы знаем – We know.

Вы знаете – You know.

Они знают – They know.

Remember you can make a statement negative by using the word “не” (not). For example:

Я не знаю – I don’t know.

Я не понимаю – I don’t understand.

Он не понимает – He doesn’t understand.

You can also form questions:

Ты знаешь? – Do you know?

Ты понимаешь? – Do you understand?

3. Present and Past Verb Tenses

The endings of the present tense verbs change depending on person and number. In order to find the correct ending for a Russian verb you need to do the following:
1. Determine the verb’s conjugation class. There are only two conjugation classes
Conjugation Class 1 Verbs that have the following suffixes before the infinitive form ending –ть: e (болеть) ова (использовать) ну (толкнуть) а,я  (most of the verbs with a and я suffixes belong to Conjugation class 1) (читать)
Conjugation Class 2 verbs that have the suffix и before the infinitive ending –ть: и ( говорить) а, я (some of the verbs with a suffix belong to Conjugation class 2 if the stress is on the personal ending) (лежать)
2. Add the ending to the stem of the verb:
Conjugation Class 1 Conjugation Class 2
я -ю (-у) -ю (-у)
ты -ешь -ишь
он / она /оно -ет -ит
мы -ем -им
вы, Вы -ете -ите
они -ют (-ут) -ят (-ат)
Conjugation Class 1 Conjugation Class 2
я читаю, использую говорю, лежу
ты читаешь, используешь говоришь, лежишь
он / она /оно читает, использует говорит, лежит
мы читаем, используем говорим, лежим
вы, Вы читаете, используете говорите, лежите
они читают, используют говорят, лежат
To make the past tense, you replace the -ть of the infinitive or the ending of the present tense with -л plus the vowel showing the gender: no vowel for masculine –a for the feminine, –o for the neuter, –и for the plural.
Gender Ending Past form
Masc. -л слушал
Fem -ла слушала
Neut. -ло слушало
Pl. -ли слушали

4. Capital Letters

Russians use capital letters only with proper names and in the beginning of the sentence.
сибирский
японец
Russians do not use capital letters with:
  • Names of months and the days of the week: май (May), четверг (Thursday).
  • Words derived from proper names: сибирский (Siberian), российский (Russian).
  • Words showing nationality: испанец (Spaniard), японец (Japanese person), англичанка(English lady).
  • Titles and forms of address: господин (mister), профессор (professor).
Thus one Russian present tense corresponds to several English present tenses. Compare:
 In Russian  In English
 я читаю  I readI am readingI have been reading

2.

 Verb Conjugation
A Russian verb has six forms in the present tense, one for each of the subject pronouns (1st, 2nd and 3rd persons, singular and plural). By looking at the ending of the verb we can tell the person and the number of the verb. This is called verb conjugation.The Present tense form consists of a verb stem followed by an ending denoting person and number.
Most Russian verbs fall into two groups: first conjugation and second conjugation.First conjugation verbs take the endings -ю(-у ); -ешь; -ет; -ем; -ете and -ют (- ут) in the Present Tense.Second conjugation verbs take the endings -ю (-у); -ишь; -ит; -им; -ите and -ят (-ат) in the Present Tense.Study the formation of the present tense:
                                     1-st conjugation verbs                       2-nd conjugation verbs
 Infinitive  читать to read  гулять to walk  говорить to speak  смотреть to watch  учить to learn (memorize)

 я – I

 ты – you

 он, она – he,she

 мы – we

 вы – you

 они – they

 чита–ю

 чита–ешь

 чита–ет

 чита–ем

 чита–ете

 чита–ют

 гуля–ю

 гуля–ешь

 гуля–ет

 гуля–ем

 гуля–ете

 гуля–ют

 говор-ю

 говор-ишь

 говор-ит

 говор-им

 говор-ите

 говор-ят

 смотр-ю

 смотр-ишь

 смотр-ит

 смотр-им

 смотр-ите

 смотр-ят

 уч-у

 уч-ишь

 уч-ит

 уч-им

 уч-ите

 уч-ат
Notes
  • Conjugations are memorized with pronouns.
  • To form the present tense of first conjugation verbs remove the ending -ть from infinitive and add the appropriate present tense ending.
  • To form the present tense of second  conjugation verbs remove three final letters (и or е and -ть) from infinitive and replace them by the appropriate present tense ending.
  • Never break a spelling rule when adding endings to verbs, i.e. after  к, г, х, ж, ш, щ, ч, ц  write у and а instead of юand я (я учу, они учат).

3.

 First conjugation verbs with stems ending in a consonant
For a few but common first conjugation verbs the stem of the present tense is different from the stem of the infinitive. Such verbs have present tense stems ending in a consonant which is not reflected in the infinitive stem. Memorize two of them for now: жить – to live (infinitive stem: жи-, present tense stem: жив-) and писать – to write (infinitive stem: писа-, present tense stem: пиш-).Study their present tense forms. Note the difference between the infinitive stem and the present tense stem:
Infinitive  жить to live  писать to write

я – I

ты – you

он, она – he,she

мы – we

вы – you

они – they

 жив-у

 жив-ёшь

 жив-ёт

 жив-ём

 жив-ёте

 жив-ут

 пиш-у

 пиш-ешь

 пиш-ет

 пиш-ем

 пиш-ете

 пиш-ут
Notes
  • First conjugation verbs with present tense stems ending in a consonant have the ending -у for я-form and -ут forони-form, instead of expected -ю, -ют. Compare: я читаю, они читают but я живу, они живут.
  • The vowel е is replaced by ё under stress in verb endings (ты читаешь, ты пишешь but ты живёшь)
  • Always learn both the infinitive and the conjugation of each verb.
  • Past tense of all verbs is formed from the infinitive stem: он жил, она жила, оно жило, они жили; он писал, она писала, оно писало, они писали.

5. Possessive construction «У меня есть» (I have)

The idea of possession is very often expressed in Russian with the help of the construction “У меня есть (I have)”.
у меня (есть) у тебя (есть) у него (есть) у неё (есть) у него (есть)
I have you have he has she has it has
у нас (есть) у вас, у Вас (есть) у них (есть)
we have you (plural and formal) have they have
Affirmative Preposition у + pronoun in the Genitive case + есть+ noun in the Nominal case. The verb естьcan be omitted.
EXAMPLES: 
У него есть машина. – He has a car. У меня есть брат. – I have a brother. У неё серые глаза. – She has grey eyes.
Negative Preposition у + a pronoun in the Genitive case + нет + noun in the Genitive case.
EXAMPLES: 
У меня нет времени. – I have no time. У нас нет денег. – We have no money. У вас нет компьютера́. – You don’t have a computer.
Interrogative Preposition у + a pronoun in the Genitive case + есть* + noun in the Nominal case. The verbесть can be omitted.
EXAMPLES: 
У тебя есть друзья? – Do you have friends? У них есть билеты? – Do they have tickets?

Possessive Pronouns

Personal Pronouns Possessive pronouns Translation
я мой (Masculine) моя (Feminine) моё (Neuter) мои (Plural) my/mine
ты твой (Masculine) твоя (Feminine) твоё (Neuter) твои (Plural) yours
он его his
она её her/hers
оно его its
мы наш (Masculine) наша (Feminine) наше (Neuter) наши (Plural) our/ours
вы ваш (Masculine) ваша (Feminine) ваше (Neuter) ваши (Plural) your/yours
они их their/theirs
Это ваша квартира.
EXAMPLES: 
Это мой дом (masculine singular). – It is my house. Это ваша квартира (feminine singular). – It is your(plural) apartment.

Russian Verbs

In Russian there is only one way of saying “I work”, “I am working” and “I do work”. Russian verbs change their endings depending on the subject.  (Example: I work, he works). This happens according to two different patterns known as the first conjugation, and the second conjugation. (There are also some irregular verbs). Both these patterns are quite similar, and once you get the hang of it, it is not too difficult.

The first conjugation

The first conjugation is used for verbs ending in “ть” but not “ить”. It is the most common. To form the verb for each person you need to drop the last two letters of the infinitive (normally “ть”), and add the appropriate ending (“ю”, “ешь”, “ет”, “ем”, “ете” or “ют”).Let’s take a look at a verb that uses the first conjugation: работать (to work).

работать – To work. (infinitive, dictionary form)

  • Я работаю – I work
  • Ты работаешь – You work
  • Он, Она, Оно работает – He, She, It works.
  • Мы работаем – We work
  • Вы работаете – You work.
  • Они работают – They work.
Let’s try some other Russian words from the first conjugation:

понимать – To understand. (infinitive, dictionary form)

  • Я понимаю – I understand.
  • Ты понимаешь – You understand.
  • Он, Она, Оно понимает – He, She, It understands
  • Мы понимаем – We understand.
  • Вы понимаете – You understand.
  • Они понимают – They understand.

Знать – To know. (infinitive, dictionary form)

  • Я знаю – I know.
  • Ты знаешь – You know.
  • Он, Она, Оно знает – He, She, It knows.
  • Мы знаем – We know.
  • Вы знаете – You know.
  • Они знают – They know.
Remember you can make a statement negative by using the word “не” (not). For example:
  • Я не знаю – I don’t know.
  • Я не понимаю – I don’t understand.
  • Он не понимает – He doesn’t understand.
You can also form questions:
  • Ты знаешь? – Do you know?
  • Ты понимаешь? – Do you understand?

Russian Family Words

Here are the words Russians commonly use to refer to members of their family:
  • Мать – mother
  • Отец – father
  • Мама – mum
  • Папа – dad
  • Сестра – sister
  • Брат – brother
  • Дочь – daughter
  • Сын – son
  • бабушка – grandmother
  • Дедушка – grandfather
  • Жена – wife
  • Муж – husband
  • Тётя – auntie
  • Дядя – uncle
  • Родители – parents
  • Дети – children
  • Внучка – granddaughter
  • Внук – grandson
  • Семья – family
Just like English, in Russian there are two ways to refer to your mother and father. For example we use the words mum and dad. Most commonly Russians use the words Mama and Papa to refer to their parents.

Basic Russian phrases

Quite often you want to tell people how many brothers and sisters you have. Here are some Russian phrases you could use.
  • У меня есть сестра – I have a sister.
  • У меня есть брат – I have a brother.
  • У тебя есть дети? – Do you have children?.
  • У меня есть сын и дочь – I have a son and a daughter.
  • У меня нет детей – I don’t have any children.
Possessive Pronouns: In order to talk about your family you normally need to use possessive pronouns. You should always choose the possessive pronoun that matches the gender of the item it owns.
  • Мой (m), Моя (f), Моё (n), Мои (pl) – my
  • Твой (m), Твоя (f), Твоё (n), Твои (pl) – your
  • Его (m n) (“yevo”), Её (f) – his, her
  • Наш (m), Наша (f), Наше (n), Наши (pl) – our
  • Ваш (m), Ваша (f), Ваше (n), Ваши (pl) – your
  • Их – their
Now you will be able to combine Russian words and phrases that your learnt in earlier lessons to talk about your family. Here are some Russian phrases and sentences you could say with words you already know.
  • Моя мама любит музыку – My mother loves music
  • Моя сестра читает газету – My sister is reading a newspaper
  • Мой брат любит спорт – My brother loves sport
  • Твой брат любит спорт – Your brother loves sport
  • Наш брат любит спорт – Our brother loves sport
  • Меня зовут Анна – my name is Anna
  • Её зовут Анна – her name is Anna
  • Его зовут Иван – his name is Ivan.

This is…

The Russian word Это means ‘this is’. Here is how you can use it with some possessive pronouns.
  • Это мой дом – This is my house
  • Это моя квартира – This is my apartment
  • Это твоя квартира? – Is this your apartment?

Common greetings

Let us have a look at some of the most common greetings in Russian.
  • Доброе утро – good morning
  • Добрый день – good afternoon
  • Добрый вечер – good evening
  • Спокойной ночи – goodnight (when going to bed)
Russian Personal Pronouns

Singular personal pronouns.

1st person 2nd person 3rd person (masc.) 3rd person (fem.) 3rd person (neut.).
English I, Me You He, Him She, Her It
Nominative Case Я Ты Он Она Оно
Accusative Case Меня Тебя Его Её Его
Genitive Case Меня Тебя Его Её Его
Dative Case Мне Тебе Ему Ей Ему
Instrumental Case Мной Тобой Им Ей Им
Prepositional Case Мне Тебе Нём Ней Нём
Plural personal pronouns.
1st person 2nd person 3rd person
English We, Us You They, Them
Nominative Case Мы Вы Они
Accusative Case Нас Вас Их
Genitive Case Нас Вас Их
Dative Case Нам Вам Им
Instrumental Case Нами Вами Ими
Prepositional Case Нас Вас Них
Note 1: Pronouns that start with vowels may be proceeded by the letter “н” when used with prepositions. Note 2: Его is pronounced “yevo”.

Russian Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns indicate who something belongs to. They may replace a person’s name in the sentence, “Ivan’s Book”. Words like “My, Your, Our, His, Her” in English. Please note that the genders indicated in the following tables refer to the gender of the noun that these pronouns modify. (ie the noun owned). For example in the phrase “My book”, you would use the 1st person (my) and feminise gender (book is feminine) (Моя). Don’t confuse this with the pronouns “his” and “her” (Его and Её).

Singular possessive pronouns.

1st Person 2nd Person
Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural
English My, Mine Your, Yours
Nominative Case Мой Моя Моё Мои Твой Твоя Твоё Твои
Accusative Case (animate) Мой Моего Мою Моё Мои Моих Твой Твоего Твою Твоё Твои Твоих
Genitive Case Моего Моей Моего Моих Твоего Твоей Твоего Твоих
Dative Case Моему Моей Моему Моим Твоему Твоей Твоему Твоим
Instrumental Case Моим Моей Моим Моими Твоим Твоей Твоим Твоими
Prepositional Case Моём Моей Моём Моих Твоём Твоей Твоём Твоих
3rd Person : Always use Его (m.n) (his, its) or Её (f) (her) regardless of the case of the noun modified. Plural possessive pronouns.
1st Person 2nd Person
Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural
English Our Your, Yours
Nominative Case Наш Наша Наше Наши Ваш Ваша Ваше Ваши
Accusative Case (animate) Наш Нашего Нашу Наше Наши Наших Ваш Вашего Вашу Ваше Ваши Ваших
Genitive Case Нашего Нашей Нашего Наших Вашего Вашей Вашего Ваших
Dative Case Нашему Нашей Нашему Нашим Вашему Вашей Вашему Вашим
Instrumental Case Нашим Нашей Нашим Нашими Вашим Вашей Вашим Вашими
Prepositional Case Нашем Нашей Нашем Наших Вашем Вашей Вашем Ваших
3rd Person : Always use Их regardless of the gender and case of the noun modified.

Reflexive possessive pronoun свой

Apart from using possessive pronouns, to express the idea of possession Russians use the reflexive possessive pronoun свой. Depending on the context, it can mean “my”, “your”, “her”, “his” etc. It is used instead of possessive pronouns and refers back to the subject of the sentence. The form depends on the gender and number of the object.
masculine feminine  neuter  plural
Nominative  свой  своя́  своё  свои́
Genitive  своего́  свое́й  своего́  свои́х
Dative  своему́  свое́й  своему́  свои́м
Accusative  своего́  свою́  своего́  свои́х
Instrumental  свои́м  свое́й  свои́м  свои́ми
Prepositional  своём  свое́й  своём  свои́х
EXAMPLES: 
Я потерял свои заметки. – I  lost my notes. Он потерял свои заметки. – He lost his notes. Мы потеряли свои заметки. – We lost our notes. Заметки on monikossa, joten oikea muoto on свои.
Talking about 1st or 2d person, you can use the possessive pronouns, but it is more natural to use свой:
EXAMPLES:
Я люблю свой дом / Я люблю мой дом – I love my home. Вы расскажете о своей поездке? / Вы расскажете о вашей поездке? – Will you tell about your trip?
Talking about 3d person, be sure to choose the right pronoun:
EXAMPLES:
Она продала свою квартиру – reflexive possessive pronoun – She sold her (own) apartment. Она продала её квартиру – possessive pronoun – She sold her (someone else’s) apartment.
Note: When talking about body parts, Russians most often omit possessive pronouns.
EXAMPLES:
Он сломал руку. – He broke his arm. Она открыла глаза – She opened her eyes.

8. What Russians need cases for

You may wonder why cases are so important in the Russian language. That is because the case of a noun shows what role the noun plays in a sentence regardless of the word order.
Nominative (именительный падеж) The initial form. It answers the questions “who?” or “what?”.
EXAMPLES:
Часы пробили пять. – The clock struck five. Пушкин – великий русский поэт. – Pushkin is a great Russian poet.
Genitive (родительный падеж) It is used to show the idea of belonging, absence or referring to something or somebody.
EXAMPLES:
У учителя нет карандаша. – The teacher has no pencil. Это книга моего дедушки. – This is my grandfather’s book.
Dative (дательный падеж) It shows that something is given or addressed to the person or the object.
EXAMPLES:
Это письмо известному актеру. – This is a letter to a famous actor. Помоги своей сестре. – Help your sister.
Accusative (винительный падеж) It shows the object of an action.
EXAMPLES:
Я люблю цветы. – I love flowers. Вася чинит машину. – Vasya is fixing the car.
Instrumental (творительный падеж) It shows the instrument by which an action is performed.
EXAMPLES:
Письмо написано карандашом. – The letter is written in pencil. Малыш ест руками. – The baby is eating with its hands.
Prepositional (предложный падеж) It shows the person or object talked/thought about or a place. This case is always used with a preposition.
EXAMPLES:
Мы думаем о море. – We are thinking of the sea. Мы плаваем в море. – We are swimming in the sea. Они говорили о деньгах. – They talked about money.

Please and Thank-You.

The two most important words you will learn in Russian are please and thank-you. You can just add these to any sentence to make it more polite.

Спасибо (“spa-see-ba”) – Thank-You

Пожалуйста (“pa-zhal-sta”) – Please (and You’re Welcome)

The word Пожалуйста is also used to mean “You’re Welcome”, after somebody says thank-you. You should always say this after someone thanks you. Пожалуйста is pronounced a little different than it is written, you can basically forget the “уй”.

Agreement with nouns

Russian adjectives agree with their nouns in gender, number and cases.
Gender/number of noun Masculine singular Feminine singular Neuter singular Plural (all genders)
Form of adjective Хороший дом (a good house) Хорошая книга (a good book) Хорошее лето (a good summer) Хорошие друзья (good friends)
Note that in the dictionaries all adjectives are given in the nominative masculine singular.
EXAMPLES:
добрый (kind) большой (big) синий (blue)
Хорошая книга
Хорошие друзья

Yes and No.

Two other very important Russian words are “Yes” and “No”.

Да (“da”) – Yes

Нет (“nyet”) – No

Saying Hello.

When you are in Russia and you meet somebody, the first thing you will want to do is to say “hello”. There are two forms of this word.

Здравствуйте (“zdra-stvooy-tye”) – Hello (Formal)

Привет (“pree-vyet”) – Hi (Informal)

Здравствуйте may be a little difficult for you to pronounce at first, but it is the most common Russian greeting so you should try to practice it. Привет is also commonly used with friends. However, keep in mind that Привет is informal (much like “hi” in English), and should only be used with friends. If somebody says Привет to you, then it is normally safe to proceed in the friendly tone.

Introducing Yourself.

In order to introduce yourself, you may need the following phrases.
  • Меня зовут … (“men-ya za-voot”) – My name is …
  • Как вас зовут? (“kak vas za-voot”) – What is your name?
  • Очень приятно (“och-en pree-yat-na”) – Pleased to meet you.
Note: The above 3 phrases are grammatically unusual. You should just learn the whole phrase, not the individual words.

10. Negation

In Russian, negation is usually made with the help of не or нет:
“Не” placed before the main verb turns the sentence into a negative:
EXAMPLES:
Я люблю яблоки (I like apples) -> Я не люблю яблоки (I don’t like apples) Он пошел в кино (He went to the movies) -> Он не пошел в кино (He didn’t go to the movies)
The word нет plays the role of no when a short negative answer is given:
EXAMPLES:
Хочешь супа? – Нет. (Do you want some soup? – No.) Сегодня холодно? – Нет. (Is it cold today? – No.)
Нет is also used to form a sentence stating the absence in the present tense:
EXAMPLES:
У меня нет денег. – I have no money. В комнате нет окон. – There are no windows in the room.
Unlike in English, the double negative is widely used in Russian: не/нет plus a negative pronoun:
EXAMPLES:
Никто не ответил. – No one answered (literally: No one didn’t answer) Я никогда его не видел. – I never met him. (literally: I never didn’t meet him) Она ничего не знает. – She doesn’t know anything. (literally: She doesn’t know nothing)
Most frequent Russian negative pronouns are: никто – nobody, no one ничто – nothing нигде – nowhere никогда – never никакой – none

How are you?

The most natural way to ask someone how they are in Russian is to ask: “how are things?”

Как дела? – How are things?

Хорошо спасибо – Good/Well thank-you

Плохо – Bad

Saying Good-Bye.

There are also two words for saying good-bye.

До свидания (“da-svee-da-nee-ye”) – Good-bye. (The до is pronounced as if it is part of the next word)

Пока (“pa-ka”) – Bye (Informal, slang)

You should generally use до свидания, which is appropriate in formal or informal situations. You may also hear people say Пока, but we suggest you only use it with friends.

Asking about languages

When you are speaking Russian you should ask questions in a different tone. The tone of your voice should rise if you are asking a question. If you are making a statement your tone will naturally fall.
  • Вы говорите по-английски? – Do you (formal) speak English?
  • Вы говорите по-русски? – Do you (formal) speak Russian?
  • Я говорю по-английски – I speak English
  • Я говорю по-русски – I speak Russian
  • Я понимаю – I understand
  • Я не понимаю – I don’t understand
The ending of the verb говорю (speak) changes depending on who the subject is.

Russian Reflexive Pronouns

Personal Reflexive Pronoun “Себя” (-self) The Russian pronoun “Себя” means self. It is used when the pronoun is the same person or thing as the subject. Example “He talked about himself (Он говорил о себе)”. Himself is a reflexive pronoun.
English Myself, himself, herself.
Nominative Case —-
Accusative Case Себя
Genitive Case Себя
Dative Case Себе
Instrumental Case Себой
Prepositional Case Себе

Reflexive possessive pronoun “Свой”

The Russian pronoun “Свой” means “one’s own”. It replaces the normal possessive pronoun when it refers to the subject. Example “Ivan loves his (own) dog (Иван любит свою собаку)”. Unlike English, in Russian the reflexive is required in the 3rd person. If you were to use the normal possessive pronoun it would indicate the dog belongs to someone else. It is optional in the 1st and 2nd person but normally used if the subject is “Ты”.
Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural
English My own, his own, her own
Nominative Case Свой Своя Своё Свои
Accusative Case (animate) Свой Своего Свою Своё Свои Своих
Genitive Case Своего Своей Своего Своих
Dative Case Своему Своей Своему Своим
Instrumental Case Своим Своей Своим Своими
Prepositional Case Своём Своей Своём Своих

Emphatic pronoun “Сам”

The Russian pronoun “Сам” is simply used to emphasise something. It translates to “myself, himself, herself” etc. It’s use is optional, it emphasises part of the sentence, rather than changing it’s meaning. Some examples could be: “I did it myself (Я сам сделал)”, “I will phone the president himself”.
Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural
English Myself, himself, herself
Nominative Case Сам Сама Само Сами
Accusative Case (animate) Сам Самого Саму Само Сами Самих
Genitive Case Самого Самой Самого Самих
Dative Case Самому Самой Самому Самим
Instrumental Case Самим Самой Самим Самими
Prepositional Case Самом Самой Самом Самих

Russian Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are commonly used when you are pointing to something, or indicating what you are talking about with your body. “This” is used to indicate something close by, and “That” is used to indicate something not so close.

This

Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural
English This
Nominative Case Этот Эта Это Эти
Accusative Case (animate) Этот Этого Эту Это Эти Этих
Genitive Case Этого Этой Этого Этих
Dative Case Этому Этой Этому Этим
Instrumental Case Этим Этой Этим Этими
Prepositional Case Этом Этой Этом Этих

That

Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural
English That
Nominative Case Тот Та То Те
Accusative Case (animate) Тот Того Ту То Те Тех
Genitive Case Того Той Того Тех
Dative Case Тому Той Тому Тем
Instrumental Case Тем Той Тем Теми
Prepositional Case Том Той Том Тех

Russian Determinative Pronouns

All

Masc. Fem. Neut. Plural
English All, the whole
Nominative Case Весь Вся Всё Все
Accusative Case (animate) Весь Всего Всю Всё Все Всех
Genitive Case Всего Всей Всего Всех
Dative Case Всему Всей Всему Всем
Instrumental Case Всем Всей Всем Всеми
Prepositional Case Всём Всей Всём Всех

Russian Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. “What?” and “Who?” have cases based on there location in the sentence. For example you would use the prepositional to ask “About what?”. Example: “What are you talking about (О чём вы говорите?)”

What?

English What
Nominative Case Что
Accusative Case Что
Genitive Case Чего
Dative Case Чему
Instrumental Case Чем
Prepositional Case Чём

Who?

English Who
Nominative Case Кто
Accusative Case Кого
Genitive Case Кого
Dative Case Кому
Instrumental Case Кем
Prepositional Case Ком
English Russian
Hello Привет – Privet
Good evening Добрый вечер – Dobryj večer
Goodbye пока – poka
See you later До скорого – Do skorogo
Yes Да – Da
No Нет – Net
Excuse me! Пожалуйста – Požalujsta
Thanks Спасибо – Spasibo
Thanks a lot Большое спасибо ! – Bolšoe spasibo !
Thank you for your help Спасибо за вашу помощь – Spasibo za vašu pomoŝ
Don’t mention it Прошу вас – Prošu vas
Ok Ладно – Ladno
How much is it? Скажите пожалуйста, сколько это стоит? – Skažite požalujsta, skolko èto stoit?
Sorry! Извините – Izvinite
I don’t understand Я не понимаю – Ja ne ponimaju
I get it Понятно – Ponjatno
I don’t know Я не знаю – Ja ne znaju
Forbidden Запрещено – Zapreŝeno
Excuse me, where are the toilets? Скажите пожалуйста где туалет? – Skažite požalujsta gde tualet?
Happy New Year! С новым годом! – S novym godom!
Happy birthday! С днём рождения! – S dnëm roždenija!
Happy holiday! С праздником! – S prazdnikom!
Congratulations! Поздравляю! – Pozdravljaju!
Looking for Someone:
English Russian
Excuse me, is Sarah here? Вы не скажете, Сара здесь? – Vy ne skažete, Sara zdes?
Yes, she’s here Да, она здесь – Da, ona zdes
She’s out Она ушла – Ona ušla
You can call her on her mobile phone Не смогли бы вы позвонить ей по сотовому? – Ne smogli by vy pozvonit ej po sotovomu?
Do you know where I could find her? Вы не скажете где я могу её найти? – Vy ne skažete gde ja mogu eë najti?
She is at work Она на работе – Ona na rabote
She is at home Она у себя – Ona u sebja
Excuse me, is Julien here? Вы не скажете Жюльен здесь? – Vy ne skažete Žjulen zdes?
Yes, he’s here Да, он здесь – Da, on zdes
He’s out Он ушёл – On ušël
Do you know where I could find him? Вы не скажете где я могу его найти? – Vy ne skažete gde ja mogu ego najti?
You can call him on his mobile phone Не могли бы вы позвонить ему по сотовому? – Ne mogli by vy pozvonit emu po sotovomu?
He is at work Он на работе – On na rabote
He is at home Он у себя – On u sebja
Restoraunt:
English Russian
The restaurant Ресторан – Restoran
Would you like to eat? Ты хочешь есть? – Ty hočeš est?
Yes, with pleasure Да, хочу – Da, hoču
To eat Есть – Est
Where can we eat? Где мы можем поесть? – Gde my možem poest?
Where can we have lunch? Где мы можем пообедать? – Gde my možem poobedat?
Dinner Поужинать – Použinat
Breakfast Позавтракать – Pozavtrakat
Excuse me! Пожалуйста – Požalujsta
The menu, please Меню, пожалуйста – Menju, požalujsta
Here is the menu Пожалуйста, меню – Požalujsta, menju
What do you prefer to eat? Meat or fish? Что ты предпочитаешь: мясо или рыбу? – Čto ty predpočitaeš: mjaso ili rybu?
With rice С рисом – S risom
With pasta С макаронами – S makaronami
Potatoes Картошка – Kartoška
Vegetables Овощи – Ovoŝi
Scrambled eggs – fried eggs – or a boiled egg Яичница болтунья; глазунья; яйцо в смятку – Jaičnica boltunja; glazunja; jajco v smjatku
Bread Хлеб – Hleb
Butter Сливочное масло – Slivočnoe maslo
Salad Салат – Salat
Dessert Десерт – Desert
Fruit Фрукты – Frukty
Can I have a knife, please? Извините, у вас есть нож? – Izvinite, u vas est nož?
Yes, I’ll bring it to you right away Да, я вам его сейчас принесу – Da, ja vam ego sejčas prinesu
a knife Нож – Nož
a fork Вилка – Vilka
a spoon Ложка – Ložka
Is it a warm dish? Это горячее блюдо? – Èto gorjačee bljudo?
Yes, very hot also! Да, и очень острое – Da, i očen ostroe
Warm Горячее – Gorjačee
Cold Холодное – Holodnoe
Hot Острое – Ostroe
I’ll have fish Я хочу взять рыбу – Ja hoču vzjat rybu
Me too Я тоже – Ja tože
Hotel Reservation:
Я хочу забронировать номер. [yah khah-CHOO zah-brah-NEE-rah-vaht’ NOH-myehr] I want to make a reservation for the room.
Сколько стоит номер? [SKOHL’-kah STOH-eet NOH-myehr] How much is the room?
Можно посмотреть номер? [MOHZH-nah pahs-mah-TRYEHT’ NOH-myehr] May I see the room?
Я хочу подняться в номер. [yah kha-CHOO pahd-NYAH-tsah VNOH-myehr] I want to go up to the room.
Я хочу поменять номер. [yah khah-CHOO pah-mee-NYAHT’ NOH-myehr] I’d like to change the room.
When making your arrangements, the hotel management may be using the following phrases to greet you and make sure that everything is the way you want it.
Я слушаю вас. [yah SLOO-sha-yoo vahs] May I help you? (lit: I listen to you.)
Одну минуту. [ahd-NOO mee-NOO-too] One moment.
Какой номер вы хотите? [kah-KOI NOH-myehr vi khah-TEE-tyeh] What room would you like?
Вас устраивает такой номер? [vahs oo-STRAH-ee-vah-eht tah-KOI NOH-myehr] Does this room suit you?
Now that you’ve chosen your room and it’s time to do the paperwork, the hotel management might ask:
Заполните бланк. [zah-POHL-nee-tyeh blahnk] Fill in the blank.
Повторите, пожалуйста, своё имя. [pahf-tah-REE-tyhe pah-ZHAH-loos-tah svah-YO EE-myah] Could you repeat your name, please?
Once the reservations are complete, you may expect the following closing phrases from the front desk.
Мы будем рады видеть вас. [mi BOO-dyehm RAH-di VEE-dyeht’ vahs] We’re looking forward to seeing you.
Всего доброго! [vsee-VOH DOHB-rah-vah] Good luck!
 
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