If you don’t know what to say to someone you’ve just met, “It’s hot today” might do the trick! Grammatically speaking, talking about the weather in Russian is a piece of cake. To say "It's hot" you need just one word: Жарко. You can add "сегодня" (today) or "сейчас" (now):
Сегодня жарко. = It's hot today.
As you can see, you don't need a verb or a subject!
You can use the same construction for other weather conditions, too:
Сейчас холодно. = It's cold now.
Сегодня солнечно. = It's sunny today.
Ветрено. = It's windy.
Туманно. = It's foggy.
Even though "жарко" is translated into English as "hot" (an adjective), in Russian it's an adverb.
It's used only in the sentences like"It's hot" or "I'm hot". If there's a noun in the sentence, we usually use
the adjective "жаркий":
Погода жаркая. = The weather is hot.
Лето жаркое. = The summer is hot.
It's a very common mistake to say "это жарко". Please, note that "it's" isn't translated, so you don’t need "это" to talk about the weather.
Here are some words and expressions that you might find useful:
Погода = weather
Жарко = It’s hot
Холодно = It’s cold
Тепло = It's warm.
Идёт дождь = It’s raining
Идёт снег = It’s snowing
Ветрено = It’s windy
Ветер = wind
Солнечно = It’s sunny
Солнце = the Sun
Облачно = cloudy
Облако = cloud
Туман = fog
Туманно = It’s foggy
Try the flashcards to help you learn the words!
Please, note that we use the verb «идти» (to go) to say «It’s raining» or “It’s snowing”, so literally it’s “The rain is going” and “The snow is going”! The Past Tense of “идти” is «шёл», so we say «Вчера шёл дождь» (It rained yesterday).
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Unfortunately, talking about age in Russian isn't as straightforward as in English. You can't just say "Я двадцать", it's a bit more complicated than that.
Look at the example:
Сколько Вам лет? = How old are you? (formal)
Мне тридцать лет. = I'm 30.
As you can see, we use "вам" instead of "вы" and "мне" instead of "я". "Вам" and "мне" are examples of pronouns in the Dative Case.
Here are all the pronouns in the Dative Case:
я - мне
ты - тебе
он - ему
она - ей
мы - нам
вы - вам
они - им
Look at the examples:
Ей тридцать один год. = She's 31.
Ему пятьдесят два года. = He's 52.
Тебе десять лет? = Are you 10? (informal)
Им три года. = They are three.
Вам двадцать пять лет? = Are you 25? (formal).
As you can see, to talk about someone's age, you use a pronoun in the Dative Case, the number and год / года/ лет.
To know which one you should use, follow a simple rule:
After 1, 21, 31 and other numbers ending 1, you use "год".
After 2, 3, 4 and numbers ending with 2, 3, 4 (22, 23, 34 etc.), you use "года".
After 5 - 20 and numbers ending in 5 - 9 or 0 (25, 46, 50 etc.), you use "лет".
Finally, to ask "How old are you?" you can ask
Сколько тебе лет? (informal)
or
Сколько Вам лет? (formal).
Practice: try this exercise
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If you think that the Present Tense in Russian is a trifle too complicated (so many endings!), you'll be pleasantly surprised by the Past Tense. It's really easy to form and has very few exceptions. Let's take the word "быть" (to be) as an example.
The verb has four forms in the Past: был (masculine), была (feminine), было (neuter), были (plural).
Олег был в Лондоне. = Oleg has been to London.
Oleg is a man, so we use the masculine form of "быть": был.
Анна никогда не была в Париже. = Anna has never been to Paris.
Anna is a woman, so we use the feminine form of "быть": была.
Небо было синее. = The sky was blue.
"Небо" is neuter, so we use the neuter form of "быть": было.
Они были там? = Have they been there?
"Они" is plural, so we use the plural form of "быть": были.
If the subject is "я" or "ты", we use "был" if the pronoun refers to a man and "была" if it refers to a woman:
Я была в Москве в прошлом году. = I was in Moscow last year. (I'm a woman)
Ты уже был в Италии? = Have you been to Italy yet? (You're a man)
We always use "были" with "вы", even if we address just one person:
Иван Петрович, где Вы были? = Ivan Petrovich, where have you been?
To use any other verb in the Past Tense, you do exactly the same thing. Let's take "говорить" (to speak) as an example.
He spoke = Он говорил
She spoke = Она говорила
They spoke = Они говорили
So, to put any Russian verb in the Past Tense, you drop "ть" and add one of the following endings:
1) "л" if the subject is masculine (читал, работал, жил)
2) "ла" if the subject is feminine (читала, работала, жила)
3) "ло" if the subject is neuter (читало, работало, жило)
4) "ли" if the subject is plural (читали, работали, жили)
Instrumental Case: Nouns
Last week you saw how easy it is to talk about your job: you just use "Я" + the job in the Nominative Case:
Я учитель. = I'm a teacher.
Vocabulary
Jobs
In this lesson you'll learn some jobs in Russian. Look and listen:
директор = a manager, a director
секретарь = a secretary
инженер = an engineer
учитель = a teacher
врач = a doctor
медсестра = a nurse
продавец = a shop assistant, a store clerk
программист = a programmer
You can get this lesson's flashards here.
Notes:
1) To ask someone what their job is, you would usually say "Кем вы работаете?" (formal) or "Кем ты работаешь?" (informal).
2) To talk about your job, you can just say, for example, "Я программист" (I'm a programmer). You don't need a verb. There's also another way of saying what your job is, but as it's a bit more complicated, we'll talk about it next time!
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Transport
In this lesson, you're going to learn some Russian words for means of transport (could come up useful if you're planning a trip to Russia!). Look and listen:
машина = a car
самолёт = a plane
автобус = a bus
поезд = a train
метро = the metro
такси = a taxi (it's neuter! "моё такси")
велосипед = a bicycle
мотоцикл = a motobike
Click here to learn the words with the help of flashcards.
Notes:
1) to say "by train", "by car" etc. we use "на" + the prepositional case:
на машине = by car
на поезде = by train
на мотоцикле = by motobike
"Метро" and "такси" never change (as they are of foreign origin):
на метро = by metro
на такси = by taxi
2) to say "to go somewhere by car / train / etc. we use the verb "ездить (ехать)" and not "ходить (идти)".
Ездить (ехать) means "to go using some kind of transport, not on foot". For more information about the verbs and their conjugation check up on this lesson.
Practice: try the exercise (means of transport, genders, prepositional case, accusative case).
]]>The Prepositional Case / the Accusative Case
As you remember, I told you about the Prepositional Case last week. Just to remind you: we mainly use it to say where something is situated (after prepositions "в" and "на") . Singular nouns in the Prepositional Case usually end in "e":
Я работаю в школе. = I work at school.
Я живу в Лондоне. = I live in London.
If you've learnt this piece of information, you can be really puzzled when you come across a sentence like
"Я иду в театр."
"Театр" is a place, right? It has "в" in front of it, right? Then why on earth don't we say "Я иду в театре"??
Well, there's a reason for this.
We use the Prepositional Case (в банке, в школе) when "в" means "in, at" (we talk about the position, not about the movement).
When "в" means "to" (we speak about the movement towards the place), we use the Accusative case:
Мы идём в кино. = We are going to the cinema.
Надя ходит в школу. = Nadya goes to school.
Вы едете в банк? = Are you going to the bank (by car)?
(if you don't remember how to form the Accusative Case, check out this lesson).
The rule also works after "на":
Я лежу на пляже. = I'm lying on the beach.
Мы идём на пляж. = We're going to the beach.
Павел работает на почте. = Pavel works at the post office.
Я еду на почту. = I'm going to the post office (by car).
(If you're wondering when we use "в" and when we use "на", click here.)
Practice: try this exercise
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The prepositional case: nouns
The prepositional case is probably the easiest of all the cases. We mainly use it to say where something is situated (after prepositions "в" and "на") . There're also some other usages that I'm not going to cover in this lesson.
Look at the examples:
Я живу в Москве. = I live in Moscow.
Мы работаем в школе. = We work at school.
Папа на балконе. = Dad is on the balcony.
Сергей работает в банке. = Sergey works at a bank.
"В Москве", "в школе", "на балконе", "в банке" are examples of the prepositional case.
As you can see, forming the prepositional case is really easy. The ending is always "e", no matter if the noun is masculine, feminine or neuter. If the noun is masculine, we just add "e", and if it's feminine or neuter we replace the last vowel with "e". As usual, there're some exceptions, but the rule works for most nouns.
However, if a feminine noun ends in "ия", the ending in the prepositional case is "ии":
Италия (Italy) - в Италии (in Italy)
Германия (Germany) - в Германии (in Germany)
Великобритания (Great Britain) - в Великобритании (in Great Britain)
Practice
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The accusative case: pronouns
You might remember that in the previous lesson I told you about the accusative case. This time I'm going to tell you about personal pronouns in the accusative case. It's probably even easier to understand for an English speaker than declination of nouns because object pronouns exist in English.
You say "I like her" and not "I like she", don't you? In Russian we also say "Я люблю её" and not "Я люблю она".
"Её" is an example of a personal pronoun in the accusative case. Here are some more examples:
Я вижу Алексея. Я его вижу. = I can see Alexey. I can see him.
Он покупает газету. Он её покупает. = He's buying a newspaper. He's buying it.
Мы любим яблоки. Мы их любим. = We like apples. We like them.
Ты меня видишь? = Can you see me?
Марина тебя не знает. = Marina doesn't know you (informal).
Я вас люблю. = I love you (formal or plural).
Родители нас не понимают. = Our parents don't understand us.
Click on the pronouns to hear them pronounced:
я (I) - меня (me)
ты (you - informal) - тебя (you - object)
он (he) - его (him)
она (she) - её (her)
мы (we) - нас (us)
вы (you - formal or plural) - вас (you - object)
они (they) - их (them)
If you like, you can check how well you remember them using the flashcards.
Please, note:
1. In Russian there's no equivalent of "it". If an inanimate noun is masculine or neuter, you replace it with "его":
Я люблю молоко (чай). Я его люблю. = I like milk (tea). I like it.
If it's feminine, you replace it with "её":
Я люблю колбасу. Я её люблю. = I like sausage. I like it.
If it's plural, you use "их":
Я люблю апельсины. Я их люблю. = I like oranges. I like them.
2. Object pronouns usually go before the verb. It's possible to put them after the verb, but it doesn't always sound natural, so I'd advise you to put them before the verb to be on the safe side. Please, remember that you never separate "не" and the verb:
Я их не люблю. = I don't like them.
Мы его не видели. = We haven't seen him.
Now you can do the exercises:
Vocabulary
Adverbs of frequency
In this part of the lesson you'll learn some adverbs of frequency. Click the words to hear them pronounced:
всегда = always
часто = often
иногда = sometimes
редко = rarely, seldom
никогда = never
Please, note:
1. The adverbs of frequency usually go before the verb:
Я часто хожу в кино. = I often go to the cinema.
Он редко смотрит телевизор. = He seldom watches TV.
2. We always need "не" after "никогда".
Мы никогда не пьём кофе. = We never drink coffee.
Ты никогда не ходишь в театр? = Do you never go to the theatre?
Exercises:
1. Matching
2. Memory game
3. Which of the sentences is correct? (this exercise also helps you practise verb conjugation (the Present) and the accusative case).
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The accusative case
If you're a total beginner you might be wondering what a case is. Well, it's a grammatical term to indicate a change in the ending of a noun, an adjective or a pronoun. The choice of the case depends on the grammatical function of the words in the sentence. If you've ever studied German or Latin, you're probably familiar with the concept. If not, it isn't as difficult as it sounds! Here's some advice to help you learn the cases:
- Don't try to learn all the six cases at the same time. You'll get confused in no time flat and it'll take ages before you manage to use them correctly.
- Don't learn the endings of the adjectives at the same time as the endings of the nouns. Try to get used to the nouns first.
- Don't learn the plural form for each case at the same time as the singular form. Wait to be at ease with the singular form first.
I believe it's the best approach while dealing with this tricky part of Russian grammar, that's why I don't give more information about each case here. It's easy to find a site or a book that give you a short description of each case and all the possible endings. What I'm trying to do is help you learn step by step.
Now you're ready for the accusative case. :)
The accusative case (винительный падеж) is mainly used for direct objects (nouns or pronouns that go directly after a verb, without a preposition). Please, note, that there're some other usages that I'm not going to cover in this lesson.
Examples:
Я читаю книгу (I'm reading a book).
Аня любит яблоки. (Ann likes apples).
Игорь пишет письмо. (Igor is writing a letter).
"Книгу", "яблоки", "письмо" are the examples of the accusatve case.
The choice of the ending depends if the noun is masculine, feminine or neuter; singular or plural; animate or inanimate.
Inanimate nouns are things. Animate nouns are people or animals. I'm going to tell you about the endings of inanimate nouns first.
INANIMATE NOUNS
Look carefully at the following examples:
Я люблю рис (I like rice).
"Рис" is masculine. As you can see, the ending doesn't change for masculine nouns in the accusative case.
Анна любит молоко (Anna likes milk).
"Молоко" is neuter. The ending doesn't change for neuter nouns either.
Мы не любим яблоки (We don't like apples).
"Яблоки" is plural. The ending doesn't change for plural nouns.
Easy, isn't it? However, there's an exception, and it concerns feminine nouns:
Я люблю колбасу (I like sausage).
"Колбаса" becomes "колбасу". So the ending changes for feminine nouns in the accusative case: "а" changes into "у".
For feminine nouns that end in "я", "я" changes into "ю".
Я вижу лилию (I can see a lily): лилия - лилию
In a nutshell:
Feminine nouns: а - у; я - ю
Masculine nouns: no change
Neuter nouns: no change
Plurals: no change
Now you can do this exercise to practice.
ANIMATE NOUNS
As I said above, animate nouns are people or animals. Here're some examples:
Я люблю Анну. (I love Anna).
Сергей любит Юлию. (Sergey loves Yulia).
As you can see, feminine animate nouns behave exactly like inanimate ones: "а" changes into "y","я" changes into "ю".
However, it's different for masculine nouns.
For masculine animate nouns you normally add "а" at the end:
Я люблю Петра. (I love Peter). Петр becomes Петра.
If the noun ends in "й" or "ь", the ending is "я":
Маша любит Алексея. (Masha loves Alexey): Алексей - Алексея
Ты видел Игоря? (Have you seen Igor?): Игорь - Игоря
In a nutshell:
Feminine nouns: а - у; я - ю
Masculine nouns: +a; й or ь - я
Now you can do the exercises:
Exercise 1 (animate nouns only)
Exercise 2 (both animate and inanimate nouns).
Good luck!
Vocabulary
The verbs "есть" and "пить"
The verbs "есть" (to eat) and "пить" (to drink) are irregular.
Look carefully at their conjugation in the present tense (click the words to hear them pronounced):
Now you can do the exercise (you'll need to be able to type in Russian).
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