Welcome to the course!
This grammar explanation will be quite thorough, which is essential for understanding the Russian language, especially if you do not speak any Slavic language, as you might not easily grasp the logic behind certain grammatical structures otherwise.
However, if you are already familiar with a Slavic language and understand how to use the verb "to be," determine noun gender, and other fundamental concepts explained here, feel free to skip ahead.
Conjugation of 'Byti' (To Be)
The verb "to be" (быть) is essential for talking about existence or identity. Its present tense forms are used to say "I am," "you are," "he is," etc., or to indicate where something is located. The forms for the present tense are:
- Я есть (rarely used, usually omitted) (I am)
- Ты есть (rarely used, usually omitted) (You are, singular informal)
- Он/Она/Оно есть (rarely used, usually omitted) (He/She/It is)
- Мы есть (rarely used, usually omitted) (We are)
- Вы есть (rarely used, usually omitted) (You are, plural or singular formal)
- Они есть (rarely used, usually omitted) (They are)
In modern Russian, the present tense forms of "быть" are almost always omitted, especially with nouns and adjectives. Instead, the noun or adjective simply follows the subject. The most common use of the present tense is in the negative or to indicate existence with "есть".
- Examples: Я студент (I am a student). Моя сестра добрая (My sister is good). Мы хорошие друзья (We are good friends). Они здесь (They are here).
There are also the archaic forms: я есмь, ты еси, мы есмы, вы есте, они суть. They are not used in today's Russian but I included them for those people who are just used to conjugating byti in their native language and are just more comfortable with it.
I won't include these archaic forms in the later chapters since they are very archaic but I want you to know that these forms exist in case you will find forms like these in an older text.
How to Determine the Gender of a Word
Russian nouns belong to one of three genders: Masculine, Feminine, or Neuter. Knowing the gender is crucial because it affects the endings of adjectives and other words used with the noun. Generally, the gender is evident from the noun's ending in its basic form (nominative singular):
- Masculine: Most nouns ending in a consonant are masculine (e.g., стол - table, учитель - teacher). Some nouns ending in -ь are masculine (e.g., день - day).
- Feminine: Most nouns ending in -а or -я are feminine (e.g., женщина - woman, книга - book, земля - earth/land). Some nouns ending in -ь are feminine (e.g., ночь - night).
- Neuter: Most nouns ending in -о, -е, or -я (after a soft consonant or vowel) are neuter (e.g., окно - window, поле - field, море - sea).
- Keep in mind: There are some exceptions to these rules, especially with nouns ending in -ь, where gender needs to be memorized.
The Nominative Case: The Subject and Naming
The Nominative case is the basic form of a noun or adjective, primarily used for the subject of a sentence (who or what performs the action) or simply to name things. This is the form you will find words in dictionaries.
Nouns: Singular forms follow the gender rules described above. Plural nouns often end in -ы, -и, or -а/-я.
- Examples: Singular: стол (m), женщина (f), окно́ (n). Plural: столы́, же́нщины, о́кна.
Adjectives: Agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Adjectives have different endings for hard and soft stems.
- Hard Stem Examples: Singular: добрый (m), добрая (f), доброе (n). Plural: добрые (all genders).
- Soft Stem Examples: Singular: си́ний (m), си́няя (f), си́нее (n). Plural: си́ние (all genders).
Examples: Добрый дом старый (A good house is old). Зелёные поля зелёные (Green fields are green). Красивые женщины говорят (Beautiful women are speaking). Синие глаза́ красивые (Blue eyes are beautiful).
Demonstrative Pronouns (Nominative) and Why Use Them
Demonstrative pronouns help us specify particular nouns, similar to using "this" or "that" in English. In the Nominative case, they must agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to. Using them helps to clarify exactly which item you mean from a group.
- Singular: этот (m), эта (f), это (n) - (this/that)
- Plural: эти (all genders) - (these/those)
- Examples: Этот дом большой (This/That house is big). Эта книга моя (This/That book is mine). Это наш город (This/That is our city). Эти люди весёлые (These/Those people are cheerful).