RUSSIAN

IN THREE MONTHS

SIMPLIFIED LANGUAGE COURSE

2.2 The Russian alphabet in its dictionary order

1 A а а
2 Б б b
3 В в V

4 Г г g
5 д д d
6 E е ye as in yesterday
7 Ё ё yo as in yonder
8 Ж ж zh pronounced as the s in pleasure.
9 3 3 z
10 И и ее as in meet (you may also hear yee)
11 Й й у as in boy
12 К к k-
13 л л 1 as in people
14 м м m
15 н н n
16 о О о as in bottle
17 п п P
18 р р r as in error (rolled as in Scots English)
19 с с s
20 т т t
21 У У oo as in boot
22 ф ф f
23 X X h pronounced as the ch in Scots loch or
German ach
24 ц ц ts as in its
25 ч ч ch as in check
26 ш ш sh as in shall
27 щ щ shsh as in fresh sheep
28 ъ ъ ‘hard sign’, a very brief pause [-]
29 ы ы approximately i as in bit
30 ь ь ‘soft sign’, a [y] sound which is always
pronounced simultaneously with the
preceding consonant, like the ny in canyon.
31 э э e as in fed
32 ю К) yoo as in your
33 я я ya as in yak
Hugo’s Simplified System

Russian in
Three Months

Hugo’s Language Books Limited

© 1988 Nicholas J. Brown
Published by Hugo’s Language Books Ltd
All rights reserved
ISBN 0 85285 128 6

This impression 1989

Written by
Nicholas J. Brown BA. (Birmingham), Dip. Gen. Ling. (Edinburgh)
Lecturer in Russian
School of Slavonic and East European Studies
University of London

Set in 9/11 pt Times by

Typesetters Limited
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Courier International Ltd, Tiptree, Essex
Contents

Introduction 5

Lesson 1 Mastering the alphabet. How to read Russian slowly. 8

Lesson 2 How to read Russian a little faster. Stress without strain. 15
Lesson 3 Some useful phrases. How to learn Russian words. Gender. 24
Lesson 4 Meet Boris and Jane. Present tense. 31
Lesson 5 Asking questions. Prepositional case. Barbara meets Andrey. 39
Lesson 6 Going places. Accusative case. Boris and Jane again. 49
Lesson 7 Describing people and things: adjectives. Nina and Mike. 57
Lesson 8 Plurals. Some Russian spelling traps. ‘This’ and ‘that’. Andrey and 67
Barbara go shopping for books and vodka.
Lesson 9 Numbers and counting. The genitive case. Mike uses the genitive 76
to buy food.
Lesson 10 More uses of the genitive. ‘Have’. Andrey and Barbara buy 87
presents - including Russian dolls for boys.
Lesson 11 Talking about the past. Past tense. Boris tries to get familiar with 97
Jane.
Lesson 12 The future. We meet aspect. Dative case. Has Boris a future with 106
Jane?
Lesson 13 More on the past and more on aspect. Some personal details about 115
our characters. A Russian cat called Liverpool.
Lesson 14 More on the future. Being hot and cold in the dative. Champagne 124
at Natasha’s.
Lesson 15 Asking people to do things. The imperative. Nina tells Mike where 133
to get off.
Lesson 16 Instrumental case. How to handle Russian names. Jane meets 141
Boris’s mother.
Lesson 17 Times, dates and ages. Boris’s father negotiates with Jane. 150
Lesson 18 Conditional mood. Comparatives. A conversation about children 160
in a Moscow restaurant.
Lesson 19 Filling in forms. Writing to Russians. Telephoning. Jane gets a 171
bad line.
Lesson 20 Reading Russian. Participles and gerunds. The fate of our 179
characters.

Key to exercises 188

Russian-English vocabulary 203
Spelling rules 214
Russian handwriting 215
Grammar tables 216
Index 223
Introduction

About Russian

Everyone ought to know some Russian. Just as educated people

once felt a need to know Latin, nowadays it is Russian which we
cannot afford to ignore. Whether you admire or fear the Soviet
Union, simply take a passing interest in that enormous and
powerful country, or prefer to think only of the great literary works
of nineteenth century Russia, an understanding of the language
and culture of the world’s largest state is undeniably important.
Is Russian difficult? It is more of a challenge for an English-
speaking learner than French or German, but much easier than
Japanese or Arabic. English and Russian have the same Indo-
European linguistic origins, so there is a lot of grammar in
common. Behind the exotic-looking alphabet, which is based on
Greek, there is a simple system of pronunciation and a large
number of familiar words. Try the lists on page 10 as a taster.

About this book

This book is a straightforward introduction to the essentials of

Russian. It is intended for those working on their own, or with a
teacher one or two hours a week, and could serve as a textbook for
a twenty-session evening-class course. Its main aims are
communicative - how to do things in Russian - but the grammar is
dealt with in detail. When you have worked through this book you
should be able to make yourself understood on everyday topics (of
the kind a foreign visitor to Moscow might need), hold simple
conversations (particularly if you use the cassettes available) and
read Russian texts with the help of a dictionary. You should also
know the basic grammar of the language and have a vocabulary of
about eight hundred of the commonest Russian words.
The book is designed for those working on their own as well as
those who have a teacher. So all you need is here in your hands:
Russian grammar explained, useful vocabulary and phrases, and
exercises with answers. The cassettes, which carry recordings by
native speakers of the lesson materials, will prove a very helpful extra.

5
6

The author has tried both to give you the tools to do things in
Russian (introduce yourself, find your way around, ask for
assistance) and also to explain how Russian works. But you can
decide for yourself what to concentrate on, whether to skim right
through the book before doing any exercises, to work methodically
through all the material in order, or to concentrate on some parts
while ignoring others.
If you are completely new to Russian, the first hurdle is of course
the Russian alphabet, so spend plenty of time on lesson 1. Once
you know the letters, you can read any word: Russian spelling is
much easier than English. You will need the cassettes if you want to
acquire a good Russian pronunciation, but it is not difficult to
make yourself understood.
After mastering the alphabet, your main task will be to learn
Russian vocabulary. Don’t worry if some of the grammar doesn’t
stick, so long as you understand the points. Concentrate instead on
learning the new words as they are given. Use the technique
suggested in 3.2 if it helps. Whether or not you master this book in
three months will probably depend on how long it takes you to
learn Russian words. Don’t be put off if you find you have to keep
relearning words - most learners do. You will find that Russian
vocabulary learning gets easier as you begin to recognize the pieces
which make up words (once you know ‘zhensheena’ means
‘woman’, it doesn’t take long to learn that ‘zhena’ means ‘wife’).
The lesson vocabularies introduce the new words used in the
conversations, so you can learn them in context. If you forget
words from previous lessons, all the vocabulary is listed in
alphabetical order at the end of the book (pages 203-213) together
with a reference to the section where it is first used.
New grammar points use as far as possible only the vocabulary
already covered. Presentation of the material varies; the basic
criterion is usefulness, but the author also considers that it is
important both to explain grammatical points and to cover all the
basic grammar of Russian.
If you are an experienced language learner and you want to go
through the grammar faster, see the tables on pages 216-222.
Do the exercises as you come to them and check your answers with
the key at the end (188-202). As an additional exercise, try putting
the English translations of the conversations back into Russian.
 7

The conversations are based on encounters between Russians and

foreigners in Moscow. You will meet secretive Jane, lovelorn Boris,
straightforward Andrey, Mike the businessman, Nina the future
factory director, and others.
Enjoy your journey into this important language!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author would like to thank Olga Abramova, Alison Brown,

Marcela Hajek, Ronald Overy, Kate Peters, Lina and Igor
Pomeranzev, Sue Reed and Alison Russell for their comments on
various drafts of this book. All the Russian has been read and
revised by native speakers.
Lesson 1

The Russian (Cyrillic) alphabet. The sounds of the letters. How to

read Russian words slowly. Reading practice.

Russian looks difficult because of its unfamiliar alphabet, but

behind the strange letters are lots of familiar words. For example,
ВЛАДИВОСТОК is simply the city of Vladivostok
VLAD IVOSTOK
You will see that some letters are the same in Russian and English,
e.g. A and О and T and K. Some letters look like English ones but
are pronounced differently, e.g. Russian В is English V. Some
letters are new, but the pronunciation is familiar, for example, Д is
English D. Can you now read this word?
ВОДКА
Yes, it’s the word v-o-d-k-a, that well-known Russian drink.
Russian C is English S and И is pronounced like ее in meet, so
what is this word?
ТАКСИ
It’s t-a-k-s-ee, which you might recognize as our word ‘taxi’.

1.1 The Russian (Cyrillic) alphabet

In this lesson we shall introduce you to the 33 letters of the Russian

alphabet in four steps and show you that, once you know their
English equivalents, reading Russian words is easy. In the next
lesson we shall tell you more about Russian pronunciation and give
you plenty of practice in reading before we tackle any grammar.
Since it is obviously very important to be able to check your own
pronunciation of Russian words, particularly if you are learning
without a teacher, we give an imitated pronunciation in English
letters of all the Russian in the first five lessons. From then on we
shall give imitated pronunciation from time to time so that you can
check that you’ve remembered the letters correctly.

8
 9

THE CYRILLIC ALPHABET

(1) Let’s start with the five letters that are almost identical in
Russian and English. Notice that most Russian small letters are
simply half-size versions of the capitals.
Capital Small Imitated pronunciation
A a a as in father
К к k as in kangaroo
M M m as in empty
о 0 о as in bottle
T T t as in tent
So you can already read the following Russian words:
KOT KOT kot This word means ‘cat’
TOM TOM tom ‘tome’ or ‘volume’
ATOM атом atom The same as our word ‘atom’
(2) Next we shall learn the seven letters which look like English
ones but are pronounced differently:
В в v as in very
E e ye as in yesterday
H H n as in enter
P p r as in error (rolled as in Scots English)
C c s as in establish
У У oo as in boot
X X h pronounced as the ch in Scots loch or
German ach
Practice. Try to read the following words, slowly, covering up the
imitated pronunciation given on the right with a piece of paper. To
make the words easier to read we divide them into syllables with
hyphens.
Imitated pronunciation
нет [nyet] (‘по’)
Нева [nye-va] (the River Neva in Leningrad)
Москва [mosk-va] (‘Moscow’)
север [sye-vyer] (‘north’)
сумка [soom-ka] (‘a handbag’)
муха [moo-ha] (‘a fly’)
вермут [vyer-moot] (the drink ‘vermouth’)
совет [so-vyet] (‘a council’ or ‘soviet’)
10

ресторан [rye-sto-ran] (‘restaurant’)

метро [mye-tro] (‘underground’, ‘subway’)
(3) Now we have some unfamiliar letters which however have
familiar sounds:
Б б b as in bed. Note the difference between the
capital and small forms.
Г г g as in get. Looks like an L upside down.
Д Д d as in dentist. Like the Greek delta.
Ё ё yo as in yonder. The letter e with two dots.
3 3 z as in zenith. Looks like the figure 3.
И и ее as in meet
Й й у as in boy
Л л 1 as in people
п п p as in pepper. Like the Greek letter pi.
ф ф f as in effort
э э e as in fed. Looks like E backwards.
ю И) yoo as in university. Looks like 10 with the
figures joined.
я я ya as in yak. Looks like R backwards.
Practice. Read the following words, slowly, syllable by syllable.
Cover up the imitated pronunciation on the right, then check.
мир mecr (‘peace’)
да da (‘yes’)
Ленинград lye-neen-grad (‘Leningrad’)
футбол foot-bol (‘football’)
спасибо spa-see-bo (‘thank you’)
до свидания do svee-da-nee-ya (‘goodbye’)
Югославия yoo-go-sla-vee-ya (‘Yugoslavia’)
спутник spoot-neek (‘sputnik’)
Владивосток vla-dee-vo-stok (‘Vladivostok’)
Россия ro-ssee-ya (‘Russia’)
Толстой tol-stoy (‘Tolstoy’)
Достоевский do-sto-yev-skeey (‘Dostoyevsky’)
Советский Союз so-vyet-skeey so-yooz (‘Soviet Union’)
Белфаст byel-fast (‘Belfast’)
Юрий Гагарин yoo-reey ga-ga-reen (cosmonaut Yury
Gagarin)
уикэнд oo-ee-kend (‘weekend’)
 11

Аэрофлот a-e-ro-flot (the airline ‘Aeroflot’)

ликёр lee-kyor (‘liqueur’)
самолёт sa-mo-lyot (‘aeroplane’)
бойкот boy-kot (‘boycott’)
парк park (‘park’)
киоск kee-osk (‘kiosk’)
Байкал bay-kal (Lake Baikal in Siberia)
телефон tye-lye-fon (‘telephone’)
(4) The last group contains letters which take a little longer to
remember:
Ж ж zh like the s in pleasure (or the j in French je)
u Ц ts as in its
4 4 ch as in check, but softer. Looks like h upside
down.
Ш Ш sh as in shall
Щ LU shsh as in Welsh sheep, a longer, softer sound than
the previous letter ш. Looks like ш with a
small tail added.
ъ ъ this rare letter, called the ‘hard sign’, has no
sound of its own. It is used io separate a
consonant from a following [y] sound (e.g. in
the letters ю [yoo] or я [ya] or e [ye]). The
effect is of a very brief pause, which our
imitated pronunciation will show with a
hyphen [-]. For example, въехал (‘drove in’)
should be pronounced [v-yehal] with a slight
break between the [v] and the [у].
Ы ы i as in bit but with the tongue tip a little further
back.
b ь this letter, which will be shown in the imitated
pronunciation as у (as in canyon) is called the
‘soft sign’. It is always pronounced
simultaneously with the preceding consonant,
making the consonant ‘soft’. In Russian
pronunciation, ‘soft’ means pronounced with a
simultaneous [y] sound. So нь sounds like the
ny in canyon, with the [n] and the [y]
pronounced simultaneously, мь sounds like the
m in mew. There is more information on soft
consonants in 2.6.
12

Practice. Try reading words using all 33 letters of the Russian

alphabet:
журнал zhoor-nal (‘magazine’, ‘journal’) [zh as in the
French pronunciation of j in ‘journal’]
Брежнев brezh-nyev (former Soviet leader Brezhnev)
царевич tsa-rye-veech (‘son of a tsar’)
гостиница Ритц go-stee-nee-tsa reetts (‘the Ritz Hotel’)
чай chay (‘tea’)
Чайковский chay-kov-skeey (the composer Chaikovsky)
Чехов chye-hov (the writer Chekhov)
финиш fee-neesh (‘finish’ in sport)
щи shshee (‘cabbage soup’) [make the shsh a
softer sound than the sh of ш]
борщ borshsh (‘beetroot soup’)
шампанское sham-pan-sko-ye (‘champagne’)
защищающий za-shshee-shsha-yoo-shsheey (‘defending’)
Шотландия shot-lan-dee-ya (‘Scotland’)
Шостакович sho-sta-ko-veech (the composer Shostakovich)
объект ob-yekt (‘object’) [the ъ is simply a slight
break between the b and the y]
сын sin (‘son’)
рестораны rye-sto-ra-ni (‘restaurants’)
Крым krim (‘Crimea’)
чёрный кофе chyor-niy ko-fye (‘black coffee’)
русский язык roo-skeey ya-zik (‘Russian language’)
Кремль kryemly (‘Kremlin’) [ly pronounced as one
sound, a ‘soft’ 1]
царь tsary (‘tsar’) [ry one sound, r and у
pronounced simultaneously, a difficult
combination for English speakers!]
Аэрофлот a-e-ro-flot (‘Aeroflot’)
note i Russian handwriting: You may not need to know the
handwritten forms unless you want to exchange letters with
Russians. For reference, Russian handwriting and a reading exercise
are given at the end of the book on page 215.
note 2 Russian italics: When printed in italics Russian г is г, д is
д, и is u, й is it, л is л, n is n, and т is m, rather like the
handwritten forms.
 13

1.2 Reading Russian slowly

If you read Russian words slowly using the pronunciation of letters

given above you will be understood. Although there are differences
between Russian spelling and pronunciation at normal
conversational speed (see lesson 2), Russian words, unlike many
English ones, are comprehensible when read syllable by syllable.
Read до свидания slowly as do svee-da-nee-ya and a Russian will
understand that you mean ‘goodbye’. Indeed, if all you need is a
‘survival’ pronunciation of Russian, it is sufficient to know the
values of the letters as given above.
When you read, join the letters into syllables, e.g. Вла-ди-во-сток
[vla-dee-vo-stok], as in the imitated pronunciation given above. A
syllable is a vowel (a [a], e [ye], ё [yo], и [ее], о [о], у [оо], ы [i], э
[е], ю [yoo], or я [ya]) + any preceding consonants. Consonants at
the end of a word go with the last vowel. If a word contains a large
or awkward group of consonants, the group can be split so that
some consonants go with the preceding vowel and some with the
following, e.g. Моск-ва [mosk-va]. The imitated pronunciation in
this book uses hyphens [-] to divide words into syllables.
Here is an exercise to check your knowledge of the letters. The
imitated pronunciation is given in the key at the back of the book.

Exercise 1
Read the following words slowly, by the syllables:
1 дача 11 пиво
2 хорошо 12 сувенир
3 доброе утро 13 Ленин
4 Владимир 14 туалет
5 Пастернак 15 аэропорт
6 Центральный Комитет 16 кофе
7 Амстердам 17 коньяк
8 Нью-Йорк 18 бюро
9 автомобиль 19 женщина
10 почта 20 человеконенавистничество
14

Exercise 2
What is the name of this drink?
Lesson 2

More on Russian pronunciation. Reading Russian words at normal

speed. Reading and pronunciation practice.

2.1 An important Russian word

здравствуйте [zdra-stvooy-tye] ‘hello’

This is the commonest Russian greeting at any time of the day.
Notice that the first в is not sounded. In this lesson we shall be
mainly concerned with the various small differences between the
way Russian is written and the way it is pronounced.

2.2 The Russian alphabet in its dictionary order

First check your Russian alphabet. In lesson 1 you learnt the

sounds of the Russian letters and how to read Russian words
slowly. As a check that you now know the letters, here is the
Russian (Cyrillic) alphabet in its normal dictionary order. Cover up
the pronunciation on the right with a piece of paper and test
yourself. A shortened version of this is printed on the cover.

1 A a a
2 Б 6 b
3 В в v
4 Г г g
5 Д д d
6 Е е ye as in yesterday
7 Ё ё уо as in yonder NOTE In most Russian
publications this letter is printed without the
dots, which makes it look identical to e (letter
no. 6). However, even without the dots it must
be pronounced yo. To help learners, the two
dots are printed in dictionaries and books for
foreigners.
8 Ж ж zh pronounced as the s in pleasure.

15
16

9 3 3 Z
10 и и ее as in meet (you may also hear yee)
11 Й й у as in boy
12 к к k
13 л л 1 as in people
14 м м m
15 н н n
16 0 0 о as in bottle
17 п п P
18 р р r as in error (rolled as in Scots English)
19 с с s
20 т т t
21 у У oo as in boot
22 ф ф f
23 X X h pronounced as the ch in Scots loch or
German ach
24 ц Ц ts as in its
25 ч ч ch as in check
26 ш ш sh as in shall
27 щ IU shsh as in fresh sheep
28 ъ ъ ‘hard sign’, a very brief pause [-]
29 ы ы approximately i as in bit
30 ь ь ‘soft sign’, a [y] sound which is always
pronounced simultaneously with the
preceding consonant, like the ny in canyon.
31 э э e as in fed
32 го ю yoo as in your
33 я я ya as in yak

2.3 Pronunciation at normal speed

If you know the pronunciation of the letters as given above,

Russians will understand you when you read words slowly.
However, you will find that when Russian is spoken at normal
speed there are certain regular differences between spelling and
pronunciation. In this lesson the main differences will be
described, in order of importance. There is no need to learn all
these details now; particularly the less important ones at the end of
the list (from 2.6 onwards). Study 2.4 and 2.5, glance through the
rest, then refer to sections 2.6-2.11 when you are puzzled by
something in the imitated pronunciation or on the tapes.
 17

2.4 Stress

When spoken at normal speed, Russian words are pronounced with

a heavy stress on one of the syllables (marked in this book with
e.g. такси [tak-se'e] ‘taxi’). English words have stress too - compare
photograph, with its stress on the first syllable, and photography,
where the stress is on the second syllable, but in Russian the stress
is heavier than in English. If the word has only one syllable, like
нет [nyet] ‘no’, you cannot get the stress wrong, but if the word has
more than one syllable (like такси [tak-se'e]), you must learn which
syllable is the stressed one. If you put the wrong stress on a Russian
word, you may not be understood. Some examples: one of the
commonest Russian male names is Владимир [vla-de'e-meer].
This name is often mispronounced by foreigners as vla-dee-meer,
which is as bad as pronouncing Belinda to rhyme with calendar;
Борис [ba-re'es] (‘Boris’) is stressed on the second syllable, and note
that the о in the unstressed first syllable becomes an a. In Russian
unstressed syllables are pronounced much less clearly than
stressed ones. It isn’t easy to guess where the stress falls on a
Russian word and different forms of the same word may have
different stresses, e.g. город [g6-rat] ‘city’ but города [ga-ra-da]
‘cities’. Here is one rule: if the word contains ё [yo], e.g. ликёр
[lee-kyor] ‘liqueur’, the stress is always on the ё.
note If you have to read a word whose stress you don’t know, the
safest thing is to read it without any stress at all, using the slow
pronunciation of lesson 1.

2.5 Unstressed syllables: pronunciation of unstressed о, e, я

In Russian words of more than one syllable, there is one stressed

syllable (marked ') and all the rest are unstressed. Vowels in
unstressed syllables are pronounced less distinctly than vowels in
stressed syllables, but the vowel which changes most is о [о]. In
unstressed syllables о is pronounced the same as Russian a.
Practise the following words and listen to the tape if you have it.
Slow pronunciation Normal speed Translation
Борис [bo-rees] [ba-re'es] Boris
спасибо [spa-see-bo] [spa-se'e-ba] thank you
Толстой [tol-stoy] [tal-stoy] Tolstoy
Россия [ro-ssee-ya] [ra-sse'e-ya] Russia
18

хорошо [ho-ro-sho] [ha-ra-sho] good, well

доброе утро [do-bro-ye oo-tro] [do-bra-ye o'o-tra] good morning
Владивосток [vla-dee-vo-stok] [vla-dee-va-stok] Vladivostok
The vowel e [ye] also sounds different in unstressed syllables: in the
speech of younger Russians it may sound like и [ее], so that в
Ленинграде (‘in Leningrad’) becomes [vlee-neen-gra-dee]. For other
speakers it is half way between e [ye] and и [ее]. In our imitated
pronunciation we shall always use [ye] for Russian e , but if you
have the tape you will hear the slight difference between Russian e
in stressed syllables and in unstressed ones.
Unstressed я [ya] before a stressed syllable sounds like и [ее] or
[уее]. This is important in words like язык ‘language’, pronounced
[(y)ee-ztk].
The following details (2.6 - 2.11) are of little importance for your
own pronunciation if you are only concerned with making yourself
understood. But they will help you to understand the
pronunciation you will hear used by Russians.

2.6 Soft consonants = consonants with a [y] sound

A soft consonant is one pronounced with a built-in [y] sound, like

the soft ny in canyon. In Russian the difference between hard
consonants (with no y) and soft ones is a very important feature of
a ‘good’ accent, though if your main concern is simply to ‘get by’
in Russian you needn’t worry about it.
In the alphabet you learnt in lesson 1 the only soft consonants are
ч , which could be shown in English letters as [chy]) and щ , which
could be shown as [shshy]. However, all the hard consonants in the
alphabet except ж [zh], ц [ts] and ш [sh] become soft consonants
when a letter containing a [y] sound is written after them. You
already know that the function of the soft sign ь [у] is to make a
consonant soft, but what is not obvious from the alphabet is the
fact that in the pronunciation of Russian native speakers the [y] of
the letters e [ye], ё [yo], ю [yoo] and я [ya] combines with the
preceding consonant in exactly the same way as the [y] of the soft
sign. So in the word
Лёнин [lye-neen] (‘Lenin’)
if you listen carefully to a Russian pronouncing the word, you will
hear that the [1] and the [y] are pronounced as one sound, ‘soft’ 1.
 19

Practise pronouncing the [y] sound simultaneously with the

preceding consonant:
нет [nyet] no
совет [sa-vyet] soviet
ликёр [lee-kyor] liqueur
бюро [byoo-ro] office
дядя [dya-dya] uncle
Кремль [kryemly] Kremlin (NB the Russian word has only
one syllable. The English added ‘in’
to make it easier to say.)
царь [tsary] tsar
Ньюкасл [nyyo'o-kasl] Newcastle (NB the first [y] combines
with the n, while the second [y] is a
separate sound.)
If you listen carefully to Russian speakers, you will also hear that
nearly all consonants become ‘soft’ before the vowel и [ее], ликёр
[lee-kyor] could also be shown as [lyee-kyor].
You may also hear that stressed e [ye] before a soft consonant
sounds closer to the Ya of Yale than to the ye of yesterday.

2.7 Three consonants ж [zh], ц [ts], ш [sh] are never soft

The letters ж [zh], ц [ts] and ш [sh] are always hard, i.e. always
pronounced without a [y] sound, regardless of any following letter
containing [у]. This means that if ж, ц, ш are followed by e [ye] ё
[yo] ю [yoo] я [ya] or ь [у], the [у] is simply not pronounced. So
жёны is pronounced [zho-ni] wives
знаешь is pronounced [zna-yesh] you know
After ж [zh], ц [ts], ш [sh], you may also be able to hear that the
letter и [ее] is always pronounced as if it were ы [i]:
жить [zhity] to live цирк [tsirk] circus

2.8 How to read prepositions

Russian prepositions - words like ‘in’, ‘from’, ‘by’ - are read as if

they were part of the following word. So, for example,
до свидания (‘goodbye’) sounds like [da-svee-da-nee-ya], as if it
20

were one word досвидания

в Ленинграде (‘in Leningrad’) is pronounced [vlye-neen-gra-dye]
with no break between the в and the л.

2.9 Voiced consonants are devoiced at the ends of words

At the ends of words the following six voiced consonants

(pronounced with vibration of the vocal cords, like English b, d, g,
v, z) are pronounced as their unvoiced equivalents (i.e with little or
no vibration of the vocal cords, e.g, English p, t, k, f, s):
Voiced becomes Unvoiced
6 [b] —► [p] You may notice that the
в [V] [f] six voiced consonants
Г [g] [k] happen to be the first six
Д [d] [t] consonants of the
ж [zh] [sh] Russian alphabet.
3 [Zj [s]

Practise:
Чехов [chye-haf] Chekhov
Ленинград [lye-neen-grat] Leningrad
гриб [greep] mushroom
этаж [e-tash] floor, storey
четверг [chyet-vyerk] Thursday
раз [ras] once

2.10 Assimilation of voiced and unvoiced consonants

Within words, the same six letters as in 2.9 above (6 [b] в [v] г [g]
a[d] ж [zh] з [z]) become unvoiced if they stand before one of the
six unvoiced consonants. To see what this means, practise the
following words:
Pronunciation Explanation
водка vodka [vot-ka] д [d] -► [t] before [k]
ложка spoon [16sh-ka] ж [zh] —► [sh] before
[k]
в саду in the garden [fsa-do'o] в [v] (a preposition
meaning ‘in’) —► [f]
before [s]
 21

In the same way, the unvoiced consonants - п [p] ф [f] к [k] т [t] ш
[sh] c [s] - become voiced if they stand before any of the voiced
consonants (except в):
вокзал station [vag-zal] к [k] —► [g] before [z]
отдать to hand back [ad-daty] т [t] -»• [d] before [d]
сдать to hand in [zdaty] c [S] -*■ [z] before [d]
BLT in
свидание meeting [svee-da- the c [s] does not change
-nee-ye] into [z] before в [v].

2.11 Exceptions: -ого, -его

Apart from the small changes described above in 2.9 and 2.10,
consonants are nearly always pronounced as written. Big
differences are rare: the commonest case is the adjective endings
-oro and -его in which the г is always pronounced в [v]. For
example, приятного аппетита ‘enjoy your meal’ (lit. ‘pleasant
appetite’) is pronounced [pree-yat-na-va a-pye-tee-ta].
Other exceptions will be explained as they occur.
The above sections 2.6 - 2.11 are for reference.

2.12 Our imitated pronunciation at normal speed

From lesson 3 onwards, all the imitated pronunciation given in this

book will be the pronunciation at normal speed. Nearly all
differences between the pronunciation given and the values of the
letters you learnt in lesson 1 should be explainable by reference to
the above list 2.4 to 2.10. Any other special cases, such as the
pronunciation of foreign words, will be explained when they occur.
As a checklist, here is a list of the symbols used in the imitated
pronunciation together with their pronunciation. Consonants are
marked C, vowels are marked V. Note that we use six two-letter
symbols, each of which represents a single sound: ch ее oo sh ts zh.
Svm bo I C/V Pronunciation
as in father
as in bed
as in cheese
22

d c as in debt
e V as in egg
ее V as in meet
f c as in father
g c as in get
h c as the ch in loch
i V as in it (BUT with the tongue tip further back)
k c in kettle
1 c as in love
m c as in mint
n c as in nine
0 V as in bottle
00 V as in ooze
p c as in pet
r c as in error (rolled)
s c as in sign
sh c as in shut
shsh c as in Welsh sheep
t c as in tent
ts c as in its
V c as in vet
у c (following a consonant) as in yet (but
pronounced simultaneously with the consonant)
У c (at the beginning of a syllable or after another
y) as in yet
У Semi- (after a vowel) as in boy
vowel
z C as in zone
zh c as the s in pleasure
- (hyphen) divides words into syllables, as an aid to pronunciation
Read the following, noting the cases (underlined) where there is a
difference between slow, spelling pronunciation and pronunciation
at normal speed:
Slow speed Normal speed Translation
Москва mosk-va mask-va Moscow
Ленинград lye-neen-grad lye-neen-grat Leningrad
Достоевский do-sto-yev-skeey da-sta-yef-skec Dostoyevsky
(at normal speed
й is inaudible
after и and ы )
Чехов chye-hov chye-haf Chekhov
 23

рубль roobly roobly rouble

(remember to pronounce Пу] as one sound)
щи shshee shshee cabbage soup
дача da-cha da-cha country cottage
Байкал bay-kal bay-kal Lake Baikal
война и мир voy-na ее meer vay-na ее meer war and peace
спасибо spa-see-bo spa-see-ba thank you
водка vod-ka vot-ka vodka
до свидания do svee-da-nee~ da-svee-da-nee- goodbye (lit.
-ya -ya until meeting)
союз so-yooz sa-yo'os union
хорошо ho-ro-sho ha-ra-sho well, good
журнал zhoor-nal zhoor-nal magazine
доброе утро do-bro-ye oo- do-bra-ye do- good morning
-tro -tra
Exercise 3
Read the following words slowly, then at normal speed. If you have
the tape, listen to the words and try to write down the imitated
pronunciation before you look at the key at the back of the book.
1 спасибо 8 ёж
2 водка 9 рестораны
3 до свидания 10 джинсы
4 пиво 11 Борис
5 спутник 12 Владимир
6 автомобиль 13 утро
7 машина 14 царь

Exercise 4
IVhat is this brand name? How would a Russian pronounce the last
letter of the name?

маклинз
С СИЛЬНЫМ ЗАПАХОМ МЯТЫ -

ЗУБНАЯ ПАСТА С ФТОРОМ

Lesson 3

Reading practice. How to learn Russian vocabulary, ‘am’, ‘is’, ‘are’.

Gender.

3.1 Reading practice

Read the following useful words and phrases, noting the imitated
pronunciation. Then cover the imitated pronunciation and read the
words and phrases again.
Imitated pronunciation
Здравствуйте. [zdra-stvooy-tye] (NB first в not
Hello/How are you? pronounced in this word)
(commonest greeting at any
time of day)
Доброе утро. [do-bra-ye o'o-tra] (NB
Good morning. pronunciation of unstressed о
as a)
Как вас зовут? [kak vas za-vo'ot?]
What is your name? (lit. ‘How
you (they) call?’)
Меня зовут Игорь/Андрёй/ [mye-nya za-vo'ot e'e-gary/
Нйна/Мэри. ап-dryey/nee-na/me-ree]
I am called Igor/Andrey/Nina/'
Mary. (lit. ‘Me (they) call...’)
Я не понимаю. [ya nye pa-nee-ma-yoo]
I don’t understand.
Говорите медленно. [ga-va-re'e-tye mye-dlye-na]
Speak slowly. (double consonants are not
usually pronounced double; hh
is simply (nJ)
Пожалуйста. NB pronounce this [pa-zhahsta]
Please.

24
 25

Exercise 5
Saг in Russian:
1 Hello. What is your name? 4 1 don’t understand.
2 Good morning. 5 Speak slowly, please.
3 My name is ... (add your name)

3.2 Russian vocabulary

For the majority of learners the most awkward problem in learning

Russian is the vocabulary. Everyday Russian w'ords are often quite
different from their English equivalents (e.g. утро [ob-tra]
‘morning’) which makes them harder to learn than the basic
vocabulary of, say, French or German. In the initial stages of
learning the language it is not much consolation to know that
much Russian specialist vocabulary is easy (mathematics is
математика [ma-tye-ma-tee-ka], university is университет [oo-
-nee-vyer-see-tyet]) when you are trying to learn that ‘I speak’ is
я говорю [ya ga-va-ryob] and ‘hello’ is здравствуйте [zdra-
-stvooy-tye].
Many learners find it helpful to practise deliberately making up
links between the English word and the Russian word they are
trying to learn. Some links are easy to make - no-one has difficulty
thinking of a link between ‘brother’ and its Russian equivalent брат
[brat]. A word like город [g6-rat] is easy to remember if you have
heard of the Russian town Novgorod (‘new town’) or notice the
same three consonants in the ‘grad’ of ‘Leningrad’. But what about
женщина [zhen-shshee-na] ‘woman’? Make up a word link. For
example, think of a woman known as generous Sheena. Often it
will take a couple of minutes to think of a link, but the link, once
made, will help the Russian word to stick. Here is some of the
vocabulary of this lesson with suggested linkwords and
linkphrases:
медленно [mye-dlye-na] slowly Imagine yourself walking slowly
by the Mediterranean with Lyena.
письмо [peesy-mo] letter Think of a letter inviting you to a
Peace Congress in Moscow.
хорошо [ha-ra-sho] well/good Think of happy Russians having
a good time watching a play by
Bernard Shaw.
26

Try reading and learning the vocabulary in the following list. The
vocabulary in this book is nearly all taken from the commonest
2000 words of Russian. Memorize these wordlists and you will have
a good basic Russian vocabulary.
я [уа] I
OH [on] he
она [а-па] she
OHO [а-пб] it
брат [brat] brother
город [gb-rat] city/town
ДЯДЯ [dya-dya] uncle
женщина [zhen-shshee-na] woman
Сибирь [see-beery] Siberia
письмо [peesy-mo] letter
утро [ob-tra] morning
такси [tak-se'e] taxi
я понимаю [ya pa-nee-ma-yoo] I understand
где [gdye] where
да [da] yes
нет [nyet] no
здравствуйте [zdra-stvooy-tye] hello
(nb first в not
sounded)
как [kak] how
медленно [mye-dlye-na] slowly
не [nye] not
спасибо [spa-se'e-ba] thank you
пожалуйста [pa-zhabsta] please/don’t mention it (in
reply to спасибо [spa-see-
-ba])
вот [vot] there is/are (when pointing
at something)
хорошо [ha-ra-sho] well/good/OK

3.3 Some basic grammar: omission of verb ‘to be’; gender

Read the following question-and-answer drills:

А Где Борис? [gdye ba-re'es?] Where is Boris?
 27

В Вот он. [vot on] There he is.

A Спасибо. [spa-se'e-ba] Thank you.
В Пожалуйста. [pa-zhal-sta] Don’t mention it.
A Где Нина? [gdye ne'e-na?] Where is Nina?
В Вот она. [vot a-na] There she is.
A Спасибо. [spa-se'e-ba] Thank you.
В Пожалуйста. [pa-zhal-sta] Don’t mention it.
A Где письмо? [gdye peesy-mo?] Where is the letter?
В Вот оно. [vot a-no] There it is.
A Где Сибирь? [gdye see-beery?] Where is Siberia?
В Вот она. [vot a-na] There it is.
A Где такси? [gdye tak-se'e?] Where is the taxi?
В Вот оно. [vot a-nd] There it is.
A Где Ваня? [gdye va-nya?] Where is Vanya?
В Вот он. [vot on] There he is.
A Спасибо. [spa-se'e-ba] Thank you.
В Пожалуйста. [pa-zhal-sta] Don’t mention it.

Two explanations:
(a) First, you will see that in these Russian sentences there is no
word for ‘is’. Russian does not require any equivalent for ‘am’, ‘is’
or ‘are’ (the present tense of the verb ‘to be’). So what is the
Russian for ‘1 am a woman’ (see the vocabulary list above)? The
answer is Я женщина [ya zhen-shshee-na].

(b) Second, Russian nouns (words like ‘woman’, ‘week’, ‘meeting’)

all belong to one of three different categories, depending on what
the last letter is. These three categories, known as ‘genders’, are
masculine (m), feminine (f) and neuter (n). Most male beings are
masculine, but so are tables, towns and houses; all these are
referred to with the pronoun он [on] ‘he’. Most female beings are
feminine, but so are week, truth and Siberia, which are all referred
to as она [a-na] ‘she’. The neuter category, the smallest one in
Russian, includes such things as mornings, letters and taxis; they
are called oho [a-no] ‘it’. Gender may be familiar to you from
French or German. If it is, you will be glad to know that the gender
of Russian nouns is easier to learn since in most cases you can tell
the gender from the ending.
28

Here are details and examples:

(a) Most masculine nouns end in a consonant or й:
город брат Лондон Борис Андрей
[go-rat] [brat] [lon-dan] [ba-re'es] [an-dryey]
town, city brother London Boris Andrey (Andrew)
Notice that the pronoun он [on] ‘he’ also ends with a consonant.
(b) Most feminine nouns end -a or -я:
женщина водка Нина Москва неделя
[zhen-shshee-na] [vot-ka] [ne'e-na] [mask-va] [nye-dye-lya]
woman vodka Nina Moscow week
Notice that она [a-na] ‘she’ also ends -a.
(c) Most neuter nouns end -o or -e (cf. оно [a-no] ‘it’):
утро свидание письмо
[ob-tra] [svee-da-nee-ye] [peesy-mo]
morning rendezvous letter
(d) There is one awkward group: nouns ending with -ь (soft sign).
Most of those are feminine but many are masculine, so it is
necessary to learn the gender with each soft sign noun. Eventually
you will begin to recognize patterns - for example, all nouns
ending чь, жь, шь are feminine. But in the vocabularies the gender
of soft sign nouns will always be shown as (m) or (f).
Feminine examples: мать Сибирь ночь
[maty] [see-beery] [nochy]
mother Siberia night
Masculine examples: царь Игорь рубль
[tsary] [ee-gary] [roobly]
tsar Igor rouble
(e) Nouns of foreign origin with the un-Russian endings -и, -у, -ю
are neuter unless they denote people:
такси [tak-see] ‘taxi’ is neuter, BUT Мэри [me-ree] ‘Mary’ is
feminine.
Unfortunately, it is one of the facts of language learning that most
linguistic rules have exceptions. In the case of Russian gender the
main exception is a logical one:
 29

(f) Nouns ending a [a] or я [ya] which denote males are masculine:
дядя Ваня папа
[dya-dya] [va-nya] [pa-pa]
uncle Vanya dad
It has to be said that grammatical gender does not mean much (the
fact that a letter is grammatically neuter and a town masculine has
nothing to do with the meaning of these words), but it is generally
true that nouns denoting males are masculine and nouns denoting
females are feminine. Thus Russian does not normally need
equivalents of Mr/Mrs/Ms to show a person’s sex. The ending is
enough: А. Каренин [a ка-гуё-neen] is a man, while А. Каренина
[a ka-rye-nee-na] is a woman.
But the main importance of gender is grammatical: how you form
the plural and the various cases, and how you form the ending of
accompanying adjectives (words like ‘big’, ‘blue’), depends on
which gender the given noun is. So in order to speak correctly, you
have to know about gender.

Exercise 6
Translate the following and say which are called он [on] ‘he’, which
are она [a-na] ‘she’, and which are oho [a-nb] ‘it’.
1 письмо 4 город
2 Андрей 5 Ваня
3 мать

Exercise 7
Read in Russian and translate:
1 Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Нина. 4 Где письмо? Вот оно.
2 Пожалуйста, говорите медленно. 5 Да, вот оно. Спасибо.
3 Я не понимаю.

Exercise 8
Say in Russian:
1 What is your name? My name is Andrey.
2 Hello. Where is the taxi?
3 There it is. Thank you.
4 What are you called? My name is Vladimir.
30

Exercise 9
Which of the actors on the right are men and which are women?

А. П. ЧЕХОВ

ДЯДЯ ВАНЯ
Сиены из деревенской жизни в 4 действиях

Действующие лица и исполнители:

Серебряков, Александр Владимирович, Народный артист СССР

отставной профессор ................ А. П, Кторов

Заслуженная артистка РСФСР

Елена Андреевна, его жена М. В. Анастасьева

Софья Александровна (Соня), его дочь Заслуженная артистка РСФСР

от первого брака ................. . Е. А. Хромова
Народная артистка РСФСР
Т. И. Ленникова

Войницкая, Мария Васильевна,

вдова тайного советника, Народная артистка РСФСР
мать первой жены профессора М. А. Титова

Заслуженный артист РСФСР

Войницкий, Иван Петрович, ее сын М. Н. Зимин

Народный артист РСФСР

Астров, Михаил Львович, врач Л. И. Губанов

Телегин, Илья Ильич, Народный артист СССР

обедневший помещик М. М. Яншин
Заслуженный артист РСФСР
А. Н. Покровский
Lesson 4

More reading practice. Talking about oneself. Making contact with

Russians. Russian grammar - word endings. Pronouns and verbs.

4.1 Reading practice

Read the following dialogue, covering up the imitated

pronunciation. After reading a section, uncover the imitated
pronunciation and check your performance. If necessary, refer to
lesson 2 for differences between spelling and Russian
pronunciation at normal speed. Important pronunciation points
are repeated in notes. Remember: exceptional pronunciation
features are marked NB.
A literal translation is given below. After reading the whole
dialogue through twice, try to memorize the Russian.

Me Boris, You Jane

В Здравствуйте. [zdra-stvooy-tye] (no first в ; oo
Hello. as in boot; ty is one sound)
J Здравствуйте. [zdra-stvooy-tye]
Hello.
В Простите, я не знаю, как [pra-ste'e-tye, ya nye zna-yoo,
вас зовут. kak vas za-vo'ot]
Excuse me, I (do) not know
how you (they) call (I don’t
know what you are called).
J Меня зовут Джейн. [mye-nya za-vdot dzheyn] (дж is
Me (they) call Jane. the Russian equivalent of
English j)
И мы не знаем, как вас [ее mi nye zna-yem, kak vas za-
зовут. -vdot]
And we don’t know how
you (they) call.
В Меня зовут Борис. [mye-nya za-vdot ba-rees]
Me (they) call Boris.
Вы американка? [vi a-mye-ree-kan-ka?]
You are (an) American?

31
32

J Нет, я англичанка. [nyet, ya an-glee-chan-ka]

No, 1 (am an)
Englishwoman.
В Вы студентка? [vi stoo-dyent-ka?]
You (are a) student?
J Нет, я учительница. [nyet, ya oo-chee-tyely-nee-tsa]
No, I (am a) teacher.
В Где вы работаете? [gdye vi ra-bo-ta-ye-tye? vlon-
В Лондоне? -da-nye?] (preposition в [v]
Where (do) you work? joined to noun)
In London?
J Нет. Я работаю в [nyet. ya ra-bo-ta-yoo vlee-vyer-
Ливерпуле. -pob-lye]
No. I work in Liverpool.
В А кто это? [a kto e-ta?[
And who (is) this?
J Это мой друг Марк. Он [ё-ta moy drook mark, on nye
не англичанин. Он an-glee-cha-neen. on a-mye-
американец. -ree-ka-nyets]
This (is) my friend Mark.
He is not English. He is an
American.
В Вы хорошо говорите [vi ha-ra-sho ga-va-ree-tye pa-
по-русски. -ro'o-skee]
You speak (in) Russian well.
J Спасибо. Мой друг [spa-see-ba. moy drook
говорит,что я говорю ga-va-re'et, shto [NB] ya ga-
по-русски очень медленно. -va-ryob pa-rob-skee 6-chyeny
Thank you. Му friend says (ny as in canyon) mye-dlye-
that I speak Russian very -na]
slowly.

4.2 On Russian grammar

You will see from the phrases above that Russian is an inflected
language. This means that grammatical relations between words
are shown by changes in the endings of words. For example, the
Russian for London is Лондон (Lon-dan) in the nominative case,
which is the form used for the subject of a sentence and the form
you find in vocabulary lists and dictionaries.
 33

Лондон - город [Lon-dan - go-rat] London is a city.

But ‘in London’ is в Лондоне [vlon-da-nye] (this ending is dealt
with in detail in 5.5 - 5.8).
English has endings too. For example, after ‘he’ and ‘she’ we add
an ‘s’ (‘she speaks’); ‘this’ and ‘that’ have the plural forms ‘these’
and ‘those’; T, ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘we’ have accusative forms ‘me’, ‘him’,
‘her’, ‘us’ but, compared with Russian, English has very few such
variations in the forms of words.
So in order to speak correct Russian you have to learn a lot of
grammatical endings. On the other hand, understanding Russian is
made easier because the endings of words tell you whether you are
dealing with a noun or a verb or an adjective and also tell you
about the structure of the sentence.

4.3 New vocabulary

and
and/but (implying
slight contrast,
‘whereas’)
американец (m) [a-mye-ree-ka-nyets] American (man)
англичанин (m) [an-glee-cha-neen] Englishman
друг(m) [drook] friend/boyfriend
Ливерпуль (m) [lee-vyer-po'oly] Liverpool
Лондон (m) (lon-dan] London
американка (f) [a-mye-ree-kan-ka] American (woman)
англичанка (f) [an-glee-chan-ka] Englishwoman
студентка (f) [stoo-dyent-ka] (female) student
учительница (f) [oo-che'e-tyely-nee-tsa] (female) teacher
Москва (f) [mask-va] Moscow
я работаю [ya ra-bo-ta-yoo] I work
вы работаете [vi ra-bo-ta-ye-tye] you work
я знаю [ya zna-yoo] I know
мы знаем [mi zna-yem] we know
кто [kto] who
мы [mi] we
они [a-nee] they
очень [6-chyeny] very
34

что [shto] (NB 4 = sh in that (as in ‘I know that

this word) he is here’); what
это [e-ta] this (see 4.6)
мой [moy] my
по-русски [pa-rob-skee] in Russian

4.5 No articles

Russian does not use equivalents of ‘a’ or ‘the’:

Я англичанин, [ya an-glee-cha-neen] I am an Englishman (lit. ‘I
Englishman’).

4.6 это [e-ta]

это [ё-ta] means ‘this’ or ‘that’ or ‘it’ in sentences of the type

‘What is this/that?’, ‘This/that/it is something’, e.g.:
Что это? [shto e-ta?] What is this/that?
Это письмо. [ё-ta peesy-mo] This/that/it is a letter.
Это мой друг, [ё-ta moy drook] This is my friend.

4.7 Personal pronouns

These are words like T, ‘he’, ‘they’. You have already met six of the
Russian personal pronouns. Here is the complete set of eight:

Я [уа] I
ты [ti] you This is used to address a member of your
family, a friend, or a child. We shall call it
the ‘familiar’ (fam) form of ‘you’.
он [on] he
она [a-na] she
оно [a-no] it
мы [mi] we
вы [vi] you More than one person, or one person you do
not know well. We shall call it the ‘polite’
(pol)/‘plural’ (pl) form of ‘you’.
они [а-пёе] they
 35

4.8 Present tense: verbs of Type 1 (знать [znaty] ‘to know’)

In the dialogue we met the verb forms ‘I work’, ‘you work’, ‘I

know’, ‘you know’. Verbs are listed in our vocabularies in the
infinitive form (‘to work’, ‘to know’), and you will find that the
infinitive of nearly all Russian verbs ends -ть [ty]. Basically there
are two types of Russian verb.
Type 1 verbs usually have -a- [a] before the ть. The Russian for ‘to
know’ is знать [znaty]. To make the equivalents of the present
tense ‘I know’, ‘he knows’, ‘I work/am working’ etc. you need, first,
the right pronoun, e.g. я [ya] ‘I’, вы [vi] ‘you’, then, secondly, you
take the -ть off the infinitive and add the required personal ending:
Conjugation (list of personal forms) of знать [znaty] ‘to know’
я знаю [ya zna-yoo] I know
ты знаешь [ti zna-yesh] you (fam) know
(nb ь [y] not pronounced
-2.7)
он/она/оно знает [on/a-na/a-no zna-yet] he/she/it knows
мы знаем [mi zna-yem] we know
вы знаете [vi zna-ye-tye] you (pol/pl) know
они знают [a-ne'e zna-yoot] they know
note зна- [zna-] is called the stem. The endings are -to [yoo],
-ешь [yesh], -ет [yet], -ем [yem], -ете [yetye], -ют [yoot].
In 3.1 we met я не понимаю ‘I don’t understand’. ‘I understand’ is
я понимаю [ya pa-nee-ma-yoo], ‘to understand’ is понимать
[ра-nee-maty]. So you can work out the conjugation:
я понимаю [ya pa-nee-ma-yoo] мы понимаем [mi pa-nee-
-ma-yem]
I understand we understand
ты понимаешь [ti pa-nee-ma-yesh] вы понимаете [vi pa-nee-ma-
-ye-tye]
you (fam) understand you (pol/pl) understand
он понимает [on pa-nee-ma-yet] они понимают [a-nee pa-
-nee-ma-yoot]
he understands they understand

Exercise 10
Work out the conjugation of the verb работать [ra-bb-taty] ‘to
work' (Type 1)
36

4.9 Present tense: Type 2 (говорить [ga-va-re'ety] ‘to speak’)

Type 2 verbs usually end -ить [eety] in the infinitive. A good

example is говорить [ga-va-re'ety] ‘to speak’, -ить [eety] is the
ending and говор- [ga-var-] is the stem. Take off the ить and add
the following present tense endings: -ю [yoo], -ишь [eesh], -ит
[eet], -им [eem], -ите [eetye], -ят [yat].
я говорю [ya ga-va-ryo'o] 1 speak
ты говоришь [ti ga-va-reesh] you (fam) speak
он/она/оно говорит [on/a-na/a-no ga- he/she/it speaks
-va-re'et]
мы говорим [mi ga-va-re'em] we speak
вы говорите [vi ga-va-ree-tye] you (pol/pl) speak
они говорят [a-ne'e ga-va-ryat] they speak
note There is only one Russian present, corresponding to both
English presents, e.g. ‘I speak/am speaking’, ‘he works/is working’.

4.10 Negation

‘Not’ is не [nye], placed in front of what is negated:

я не работаю [ya nye ra-bd-ta-yoo] I do not work
я не понимаю [ya nye pa-nee-ma-yoo] I do not understand
он не понимает [on nye pa-nee-ma-yet] he does not understand
он не англичанин [on nye an-glee-cha-neen] he is not English

Exercise 11
Read and translate the following dialogues:
Notice that in colloquial (informal) Russian the personal pronoun
(shown in brackets) can be omitted in answers to questions.
1 - Вы знаете? [vi zna-ye-tye?]
- Да, (я) знаю. [da, (ya) zna-yoo]
2 - Вы работаете? [vi ra-bd-ta-ye-tye?]
- Нет, (я) не работаю. [nyet, (ya) nye ra-bo-ta-yoo]
3 - Вы понимаете? [vi pa-nee-ma-ye-tye?]
- Да, (я) понимаю. [da, (ya) pa-nee-ma-yoo]
4 - Борис работает? [ba-rees ra-bo-ta-yet?]
- Да, он работает. [da, on ra-bo-ta-yet]
 37

5 - Где работает Джейн? [gdye ra-bo-ta-yet Dzheyn?]

- Она работает в Ливерпуле. [a-na ra-bo-ta-yet vlee-vyer-
-pob-lye]
6 - Ваня, ты знаешь, где [va-nya, ti zna-yesh, gdye ra-bo-
работают Джейн и Марк? -ta-yoot dzheyn ее mark?]
- Нет, (я) не знаю. [nyet, (ya) nye zna-yoo]
7 - Я говорю по-русски. [ya ga-va-ryob pa-rob-skee.
Борис говорит по-русски. ba-rees ga-va-reet pa-rob-skee.
Мы говорим по-русски. mi ga-va-re'em pa-rob-skee]
- Да, вы говорите по-русски. [da, vi ga-va-ree-tye pa-rob-
-skee]
8 - Джейн и Борис говорят по- [dzheyn ее ba-rees ga-va-ryat
русски? pa-rob-skee?]
- Да, они хорошо говорят. [da, a-nee ha-ra-sho ga-va-ryat]

Exercise 12
Put on the correct endings:
1 Я не зна( ). Я не понима( ).
2 Он работа( ) в Лондоне, а они работа( )в
Ливерпуле.
3 Ваня, ты не понима( ).
4 Вы зна( ), где мы работа( ).
5 Я говор( ) по-русски, а они не говор( ' ) по-русски
6 Мы говор( ) по-русски хорошо.

Exercise 13
Say in Russian:
1 I don’t know. I don’t understand.
2 I know and you (pol) know.
3 You (pol) don’t understand.
4 I speak Russian.
5 Jane speaks Russian well.
6 They don’t understand. They don’t speak Russian.

Exercise 14 (general revision)

Say in Russian:
1 Hello. My name is Jane.
2 I am an Englishwoman.
38

3 Where is Boris? I do not know.

4 I do not understand. Speak slowly, please.
5 They speak Russian slowly.
6 The woman does not understand. She does not speak Russian.
7 You (pol/pl) are working slowly.
8 Where is my friend? Jane knows where he is.
9 What is that? It is a letter.
10 I don’t know what you are called.

Exercise 15
What are Boris and Jane saying?

Борис Как вас зовут? [как vas za-vo'ot?]

Джейн Марк не говорит по-русски, [mark nye ga-va-reet ра-
-rob-skee]
Lesson 5

Asking for information (questions), ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘where’.

Prepositional case. Conjugation Type IB.

5.1 Asking for information: yes/no questions

Read these question and answer dialogues:

- Она учительница? Is she a teacher?
[a-na oo-che'e-tyely-nee-tsa?]
- Да, учительница. Yes, (she is) a teacher.
[da, oo-che'e-tyely-nee-tsa]
- Джейн говорит по-русски? Does Jane speak Russian?
[dzheyn ga-va-re'et pa-rob-skee?]
- Да, она говорит по-русски. Yes, she speaks Russian.
[da, a-na ga-va-re'et pa-rob-skee]
- Простите, вы студентка? Excuse (me), are you a
[pra-ste'e-tye, vi stoo-dyent-ka?] (female) student?
- Нет. No.
[nyet]
- Вы понимаете? Do you understand?
[vi pa-nee-ma-ye-tye?]
- Нет, (я) не понимаю. No, I don’t understand.
[nyet, (ya) nye pa-nee-ma-yoo]
In lesson 4 there were several yes/no questions like these (questions
to which ‘yes’ or ‘no’ are possible answers). You probably noticed
that in Russian such questions use exactly the same words as in the
equivalent statement and in the same order. So
Он знает [on zna-yet] means ‘He knows’, BUT
Он знает? [on zna-yet] means ‘Does he know?’

5.2 Intonation of yes/no questions

In writing, the question mark tells you which is a question, but

how do you know which is which in speech? The answer is

39
40

intonation. The key word (what you’re asking about) in the

question, usually the verb if there is one in the question, is
pronounced with a sharp rise and fall of the voice on the stressed
syllable. So
Она учительница? (‘Is she a teacher?’) is pronounced

Она учительница? [a-na oo-che'e-tyely-nee-tsa?]

with a sharp rise and fall on the stressed syllable чй [che'e]. In
English or American you hear a similar intonation pattern in
surprised questions such as ‘Oh, she’s a teacher, is she?’ with a
sharp rise and fall on ‘tea’. It is obviously important to practise this
intonation pattern because of the frequent need to ask this type of
question and to make clear that the question is a question and not
a statement. Practise:

Он говорит по-русски? [on ga-va-re'et pa-rob-skee?] ‘Does he

speak Russian?’ If you pronounce it without the rise-fall on the
[re'et] of [ga-va-re'et], your question will be understood as the
statement ‘He speaks Russian’.
This intonation pattern is the only important one you need to learn
in the early stages of Russian.

Exercise 16
Read the following. Listen to the cassette. Then translate the
answers on the right into Russian.
1
Вы говорите по-русски? Yes, I speak Russian.
[vi ga-va-ree-tye pa-rob-skee?]
Do you speak Russian?
2
Вы понимаете? Yes, I understand.
[vi pa-nee-ma-ye-tye?]
Do you understand?
3
Вы знаете, где мой друг? No, I don’t know where he is.
[vi zna-ye-tye, gdye moy drook?]
Do you know where my friend is?
 41

4 /X
Вы не знаете, где она Yes, we know where she works,
работает?
[vi nye zna-ye-tye, gdye a-
-na ra-bo-ta-yet?]
Do you know where she works?
NOTE Russians often use the negative form вы не знаете [vi nye
zna-ye-tye] ‘Don’t you know’ in requests for information. This is a
sign of politeness rather than pessimism.

Она работает в Лондоне? No, she works in Liverpool.

[a-na ra-bo-ta-yet vlon-da-nye?]
Does she work in London?

5.3 Asking for information: ‘wh-’ questions

These are questions which contain question words such as ‘what’

что [shto NB], ‘who’ кто [kto], ‘when’ когда [kag-da], ‘why’
почему [pa-chye-mob], ‘where’ где [gdye], ‘how’ как [как]. There
is no need to think about intonation here, because the question
word makes it clear that you want information.
Что это? What is this?
[shto e-ta?]
Кто здесь говорит по-английски? Who here speaks English?
[kto zdyesy ga-va-re'et pa-an-gle'e-
-skee?]
Как вас зовут? What (how) are you called?
[kak vas za-vobt?]
Почему он не знает? Why doesn’t he know?
[pa-chye-mob on nye zna-yet?]
Где работает Борис? Where does Boris work?
[gdye ra-bo-ta-ye? ba-rees?]

Exercise 17
Ask in Russian:
1 Where is she? 4 What are they saying?
2 Why is he working slowly? (‘say’ = ‘speak’ in Russian)
3 Who knows where Boris is? 5 When do they work?
42

5.4 Prepositional case after в [v] ‘in’, на [na] ‘on’, о [a] ‘about’

So far, most of our nouns and pronouns have been in the nominative
case (Лондон [Ion-dan], американка [a-mye-ree-kan-ka], он [on]
etc.). The nominative case is used for the subject of the sentence
(e.g. он in Он знает [on zna-yet] ‘He knows’) and is the form given
in vocabulary lists. But you have also met the examples
в Лондоне [vlon-da-nye] in London
в Ливерпуле [vlee-vyer-poo-lye] in Liverpool
The e [ye] ending is the prepositional case (also sometimes called
the locative). This case has no meaning; it is simply an ending
which must be used after certain prepositions (hence its name).
The commonest three prepositions requiring the prepositional case
are:
в [v] or [f] (depending on following word - see 2.8, 2.10) in
на [na] on
о [a] about, concerning: о Борисе [a-ba-ree-sye] about Boris
For example, the answer to ‘Where is he?’ Где он? [gdye on?]
might be ‘He’s in Moscow! ‘He’ is он [on], ‘in’ is в , and ‘Moscow’
is Москва [mask-va]. The complete sentence is:
Он в Москве, [on vmask-vye (preposition joined to noun - see 2.8)]

5.5 How to form the prepositional case

e [ye] is the prepositional ending for most nouns, whatever their

gender:
Лондон [Ion-dan] London
в Лондоне [vlon-da-nye] in London
Ливерпуль (m) [lee-vyer-pobly] Liverpool
в Ливерпуле [vlee-vyer-poo-lye] in Liverpool
The е [ye] replaces the soft sign ь.
трамвай [tram-vay] tram
на трамвае [na-tram-va-ye] on the tram
The е [ye] replaces the nominative ending й [у].
музей [moo-zyey] museum
в музее [vmoo-zye-ye] in the museum
 43

Москва [mask-va] Moscow

в Москве [vmask-vye] in Moscow
улица [do-lee-tsa] street
на улице [na-ob-lee-tse] in/on the street
NOTE Russians always use на [na] ‘on’, not в [v] ‘in’ with the
word for ‘street’.
письмо [peesy-mo] letter
в письме [fpeesy-mye: [f] in the letter
not [v] - see 2.10]
The о [о] nominative ending is replaced by e [ye].

5.6 Nouns with the prepositional ending и [ее]

Not all nouns end e [ye]. Feminine nouns ending in a soft sign ь
replace the soft sign with и [ее]:
Сибирь (f) [see-beery] Siberia
в Сибири [fsee-be'e-ree] in Siberia
And nouns ending ия [ее-ya] and ие [ee-ye] also have и [ее], not e
[ye], in place of the final letter of the nominative:
Россия [ra-ssee-ya] Russia
в России [vra-ssee-ee] in Russia
упражнение [oo-prazh-пуё- exercise
-nee-ye]
в упражнении [voo-prazh-nye- in the exercise
-nee-ee]

5.7 Indeclinable nouns: their endings never change

Nouns with un-Russian endings in the nominative (-и, -у, -ю) are
indeclinable. That means their endings do not change:
такси [tak-se'e] taxi
на такси [na-tak-se'e] on a taxi (= by taxi)
note Foreign female names (like Джейн) which do not end -а, -я,
or -ь are also indeclinable: о Джейн [a-dzheyn] ‘about Jane’. (If you
said о Джёйне, a Russian would assume Jane was a man.)
44

Exercise 18
Translate, and put the correct endings on the nouns in brackets:
1 Дядя Ваня в (город)? [dya-dya va-nya v (go-rat)?]
2 Он работает в (Москва)? [on ra-bo-ta-yet v (mask-va)?]
Нет, в (Ленинград), [nyet, v (lye-neen-grat)]
3 Мой друг в (Ливерпуль), [moy drook v (lee-vyer-po'oly)]
4 Они работают в (Сибирь), [a-ne'e ra-bo-ta-yoot v (see-beery)]
5 Где Джейн? В (Россия), [gdye dzheyn? v (ra-ssee-ya)]

5.8 Prepositional of personal pronouns

мне [mnye] обо мне [a-ba-mnye] about me (обо is а

rare form of о ‘about’
used with мне)
тебе [tye-bye] о тебе [a-tye-bye] about you (fam)
нём [nyom] на нём [na-nyom] on him
ней [nyey] о ней [а-пуёу] about her
нём [nyom] в нём [vnyom] in it
нас [nas] о нас [a-nas] about us
вас [vas] о вас [a-vas] about you (pol/pl)
НИХ [neeh] о них [a-neeh] about them

5.9 More on verbs: conjugation Type IB жить [zhity] ‘to live’

Type 1 (see знать [znaty] 4.8) has a variant called Type IB. The
stem of IB verbs ends in a consonant and is often hard to predict
from the infinitive form, жить [zhity] ‘to live’ is a typical example:
its stem is жив- [zhiv]. The endings of Type IB verbs are the same
as Type 1 except that they have у [oo] where Type 1 has ю [yoo],
and e [ye] becomes ё [yo] when the stress falls on it.
я живу [ya zhi-vdo] I live (cf. я знаю ‘I know’)
ты живёшь [ti zhi-vyosh] you (fam) live
он живёт [on zhi-vyot] he lives
мы живём [mi zhi-vyom] we live
вы живёте [vi zhi-vyd-tye] you (pol/pl) live
они живут [a-nee zhi-vobt] they live (cf. они знают ‘they know’)
 45

5.10 Vocabulary

Read through the vocabulary, which is in alphabetical order as in

2.1. Then use it to read the dialogue.
вас [vas] you (acc - see 6.1)
Вашингтон [va-sheeng-ton] Washington
гостиница [ga-ste'e-nee-tsa] hotel
жить [zhity] to live (5.9)
завод [za-vot] factory
на заводе [na-za-vo-dye] at/in a factory
здесь [zdyesy] here
конечно [ka-nyesh-na NB] of course
москвич [mask-veech] Muscovite
на [na] on
немного [nye-mno-ga] a little
но [no] but (strong contrast)
Новосибирск [na-va-see-beersk] Novosibirsk (capital of
Western Siberia)
почему [pa-chye-mdo] why
приятно [pree-yat-na] pleasant(ly)
проспект [pra-spyekt] avenue
на проспекте [na-pra-spyek-tye] in/on an avenue
проспект [pra-spyekt Kalinin Prospekt (major
Калинина ka-le'e-nee-na] avenue in central
Moscow, lit. ‘Prospekt
of Kalinin’)
простите [pra-ste'e-tye] excuse (me)
работа [ra-bo-ta] work
русский [roo-skee] (NB й Russian (adj)
not audible)
сейчас [syey-chas] at the moment, now
там [tam] there (opposite of
‘here’)
украинец [oo-kra-e'e-nyets] Ukrainian
улица [oo-lee-tsa] street
улица Гбрького [o'o-lee-tsa Gorky Street (Moscow’s
gory-ka-va NB] main street]
на улице [na-do-lee-tse] in/on a street
центр [tsentr] centre (of city)
язык [(y)ee-zik] language
46

CONVERSATION (The English version is given separately so that

you can first try to translate the text yourself, using the vocabulary
in the list. The key syllable in yes/no questions is underlined.)
A Westerner and a Soviet find out about each other
А Вы говорите по-русски?
[vi ga-va-ree-tye pa-ro'o-skee?]
В Да, немнбго.Вы русский?
[da, nye-mno-ga. vi ro'o-skee?]
А Нет, я украинец, но, конечно, говорю по-русски.
[nyet, ya oo-kra-ee-nyets, no, ka-nyesh-na, ga-va-ryoo
pa-rob-skee]
В Простите, как вас зовут?
[pra-ste'e-tye, как vas za-vdot?]
А Андрей. А вас?
[an-dryey. a vas?]
В Меня зовут Барбара.
[mye-nya za-vobt bar-ba-ra]
А Очень приятно. Где вы живёте, Барбара?
[6-chyeny pree-yat-na. gdye vi zhi-vyo-tye, bar-ba-ra?]
В В Вашингтоне.
[vva-sheeng-to-nye]
А А здесь в Москве?
[a zdyesy vmask-vye?]
В В гостинице «Интурист» на улице Гбрького. А вы москвич?
[vga-stee-nee-tse een-too-re'est na-ob-lee-tse gory-ka-va. a vi
mask-ve'ech?]
А Нет, я живу в Сибири, в Новосибирске.
[nyet, ya zhi-vob fsee-bee-ree, vna-va-see-beer-skye]
В Почему вы в Москве, Андрей?
[pa-chye-mob vi vmask-vye, an-dryey?]
А Здесь живёт мой друг Виктор. Он работает на заводе. Он
сейчас на работе.
[zdyesy zhi-vydt moy drook ve'ek-tar. on ra-bo-ta-yet na-za-vb-
-dye. on syey-chas na-ra-bo-tye]
В Вы хорошо знаете Москву?
[vi ha-ra-sho zna-ye-tye mask-vob?]
А Да, очень хорошо. Мой друг живёт в центре, на проспекте
Калинина.
[da, 6-cheny ha-ra-sho. шоу drook zhi-vyot ftsen-trye, na-pra-
-spyek-tye ka-le'e-nee-na]
 47

TRANSLATION (with notes)

A Do you speak Russian?
В Yes, a little. Are you Russian?
A No, I’m a Ukrainian but of course I speak Russian. (Though
the USSR’s common language is Russian, half of the USSR’s
280 million people are not Russians.)
В Excuse me, what is your name?
A Andrey. And what’s yours?
В I’m called Barbara.
A Pleased to meet you (a standard polite phrase, lit. ‘very
pleasant’, short for ‘It is very pleasant to meet you’). Where do
you live, Barbara?
В In Washington.
A And (or ‘but’) here in Moscow?
В In the Intourist Hotel (‘Intourist’, the name of the Soviet
organization which looks after foreign tourists, is also the name
of a hotel) on Gorky Street (a main street in central Moscow, lit.
‘street of Gorky [a Russian writer]’). (And) are you a Muscovite?
A No, I live in Siberia, in Novosibirsk (largest Siberian city).
В Why are you in Moscow, Andrey?
A My friend Viktor lives here (‘My friend Viktor’ is at the end in
the Russian because the emphasis is on who lives in Moscow.
Russian word order is very flexible; anything to be emphasized
[new information] is often put at the end of the sentence). He
works in a factory. He’s at work now (right now).
В Do you know Moscow (acc in Russian - see 6.2) well?
A Yes, very well. My friend lives in the centre, on Kalinin
Prospekt (Avenue) (lit. ‘Avenue of Kalinin’).

Exercise 19
Say in Russian:

1 Do you (pol) speak Russian?

2 Do you (pol) understand?
3 Do you (pol) know where Kalinin Prospekt is?
4 Is he Russian?
5 Do you (pol) live in Moscow?
6 Where is the hotel?
7 Who knows where my friend is?
8 Is this a hotel?
9 They live in Siberia.
48

10 Why does he work in London?

11 We are in Gorky Street.
12 He speaks Russian very well.
13 Do you (fam) know who this is? This is Boris.
14 You (pol) are Boris? Pleased to meet you.
15 Barbara is American and Andrey is Ukrainian.
16 We are speaking about her, not about you (pol).

Exercise 20
What is Andrey saying to Barbara?

Вы живёте в Москве? [vi zhi-vyo-tye vmask-vye?]

Lesson 6

Accusative case. Going places.

note From this lesson onwards, imitated pronunciation will be

given only for new words, words and phrases with special
pronunciation features, and, occasionally, for revision purposes.

Exercise 21
Read these sentences, which contain vocabulary you have already
met and grammar which will be dealt with in this section. Then
check your pronunciation in the Key to exercises.
1 Он знает меня. Не knows me.
2 Вы понимаете меня? Do you understand me?
3 Как вас зовут? What do (they) call you?
4 Вы хорошо знаете Москву? Do you know Moscow well?
5 Я знаю Ваню. 1 know Vanya.
6 Мы знаем студентку. We know the (female) student.
7 Вы знаете Бориса? Do you know Boris?
8 Они знают язык. They know the language.
9 Брата зовут Иван. (They) call (my) brother Ivan
(My brother is called Ivan).
10 Мы понимаем упражнение. We understand the exercise.

6.1 Accusative case of pronouns

Just as ‘me’ is the accusative of ‘Г, so меня [mye-nya] (which we

met in 3.1) is the accusative of я. As in English, verbs like
понимать ‘to understand’ and знать ‘to know’ are followed by
pronouns in the accusative case. We say ‘He knows me’, not ‘He
knows I.’
The full list of accusative personal pronouns is:
Nominative Accusative
я [ya] I меня [mye-nya] me
ты [ti] you (fam) тебя [tye-bya] you (fam)
он [on] he его [ye-vb] him (NB г is [v] here)
она [a-na] she её [ye-yo] her

49
50

оно [а-nd] it его [ye-yo] it (NB г is [v] here)

мы [mi] we нас [nas] us
вы [vi] you (pol/pl) вас [vas] you (pol/pl)
они [а-пе'е] they их [(y)eeh] them
Я знаю вас. 1 know you (pol).
Мы знаем его [уе-vo]. We know him/it.
Я не понимаю их [(y)eeh]. I don’t understand them.
NOTE Russian word order is flexible. The object (word in the
accusative) can stand in front of the verb if you do not want to
emphasize it:
Её (асе) зовут Джейн. ‘Her (they) call Jane’ (i.e. ‘She is called
Jane’) - emphasis on ‘Jane’.
Как вас зовут? ‘How you (they) call?’ (i.e. ‘What is your name?’)
Как зовут вас? is also possible if you want to stress вас, i.e. ‘What
do they call you?’

6.2 Accusative case of nouns

English nouns do not change in the accusative (‘He knows Moscow’)

and many Russian nouns do not change either. But those nouns (f
or m) which end -a or -я, and masculine nouns denoting people
and animals do have a special accusative ending:
(a) nouns ending -a change the a to у (Москву, Нину)
(b) nouns ending -я change the я to ю (дядю Ваню, Россию
‘Russia’).
Masculine nouns which denote people or animals (other than the
ones ending -a or -я) add -a, or, if the nominative ends with й or a
soft sign, they replace the й or soft sign with я.
Это Иван. Я знаю Ивана. ‘This is Ivan (nom). I know Ivan (acc).’
Это мой брат. Вы знаете брата. Брата зовут Андрей. ‘This is
my brother (nom). You know (my) brother (acc). (They) call (my)
brother (acc) Andrey.’
Note that in the ‘calling’ construction the name is not an acc object
of зовут ‘they call’ and is in the nom.
Это Игорь. Вы знаете Игоря? ‘This is Igor. Do you know Igor?’
Мы не понимаем Андрея, [mi nye pa-nee-ma-yem an-drye-ya]
‘We do not understand Andrew’
Это наш кот [nash kot ‘our cat’]. Мы любим [lyo'o-beem ‘love’]
кота. ‘This is our cat (nom). We love the cat (acc).’
 51

Masculine nouns denoting things (not people or animals) do not

change in the accusative. Nor do neuter nouns. Nor do feminine
nouns ending in a soft sign. Nor do indeclinables, of course.
Я знаю Ленинград. I know Leningrad.
Я читаю [chee-ta-yoo ‘read’] письмо. I am reading a letter.
Андрей любит Сибирь. Andrey loves Siberia.
Борис любит Джейн (indecl)? Does Boris love Jane?
If you are in doubt when to use the accusative, as a ‘rule of thumb’
test whether you would say ‘he’ (nom) or ‘him’ (acc) in an
equivalent English construction.

Exercise 22
Where necessary, change the form of the word in brackets:
1 Я знаю (Москва). I know Moscow.
2 Я знаю (вы). 1 know you.
3 Я знаю (дядя Ваня). I know- Uncle Vanya.
4 Я знаю (Владимир). 1 know Vladimir.
5 Я знаю (Сибирь). 1 know Siberia.
6 Иван знает (Россия). Ivan knows Russia.
7 Иван знает (я). Ivan knows me.
8 Иван знает (они). Ivan knows them.
9 Иван знает (женщина)? Does Ivan know the woman?
10 Кто не знает (царь)? Who does not know the tsar?
11 (Мать) зовут Анна. (My) mother is called Anna.
12 Мы (ты) понимаем. We understand you (fam).

Exercise 23
Say in Russian:
1 They call him Ivan (= His name is Ivan).
2 Do you know Boris and Vladimir?
3 This is Jane. You (pol) know her.
4 Do they understand the letter?
5 I don’t understand you (pol).

6.3 The verbs ‘to go’ in Russian: идти and ехать

Both of these important verbs are Type IB, like жить ‘to live’ (5.9).
(а) идти [ee-te'e NB] ‘to go (on foot)’, ‘to walk’. The stem is ид- [eed]
52

(think of Eve going on foot out of the Garden of Eden).

я иду [ee-ddo] мы идём [ee-dyom]
ты идёшь [ee-dyosh] вы идёте [ee-dyo-tye]
он идёт [ee-dyot] они идут [ee-dobt]
If you wish to stress the idea of ‘on foot’, add the word пешком
[pyesh-kom] ‘on foot’:
Мы идём пешком [mi ee-dyom pyesh-kom]. We’re going on foot.
(b) ехать [ye-haty] ‘to go by transport’. The stem is ед- [yed]
(think of travelling to Jeddah).
я еду [уё-doo] мы едем [уё-dyem]
ты едешь [уё-dyesh] вы едете [уё-dye-tye]
он едет [уё-dyet] они едут [уё-doot]

6.4 Going somewhere

Now that we have the verbs for ‘to go’, we can make further use of
the accusative. The Russian for ‘to (somewhere)’ is translated with
the same prepositions в and на that we met in 5.4 but this time
with the accusative case:
Я иду в гостиницу, [ya ее-dob vga-ste'e-nee-tsoo] I am going
(on foot) to the hotel.
Compare: Я в гостинице. I am in the hotel.
Я еду в Москву [ya уё-doo vmask-vdo]. I am going to Moscow.
Когда вы едете в Новосибирск? When are you travelling
to Novosibirsk?
Мы идём в центр [mi ee-dyom ftsentr]. We’re walking to the
centre.
You may remember that with some nouns (e.g. улица ‘street’, завод
‘factory’, проспект ‘avenue’) ‘in’ or ‘at’ was translated на. So with
such nouns ‘to’ is also на + acc:
Я еду на проспект Калинина.
1 am going (by transport) to Kalinin Prospekt.
Она едет на завод [a-na уё-dyet na-za-vot].
She is going (by transport) to the factory.
Вы идете на улицу? [vi ee-dyo-tye na-do-lee-tsoo?]
Are you going into the street?/Are you going outside?
 53

The word for ‘where’ with verbs of motion like ‘to go’ is куда [koo-
-da] ‘whither’:
Where are you going? Куда вы идёте? or Куда вы едете?
And the word for ‘there’ with verbs of motion is туда [too-da]:
He’s going there on foot. Он идёт туда пешком.

Exercise 24
Say in Russian:
1 Where are you (pl) going (by transport)? We are going to town.
2 We are going to Russia (by transport).
3 She is walking to Gorky Street.
4 They are travelling to Moscow.
5 Are you (pol) going on foot or (или) by transport?
note Both идти and ехать mean specifically ‘to go in one
direction’. If the going involves more than one direction, e.g. ‘He
goes to work (and comes back home) every day’ Russians use
different verbs. They are in 11.9.

6.5 Exceptional verbs: хотеть ‘to want’

Nearly all verbs in Russian are Type 1 (4.8), Type 2 (4.9) or Type IB
(5.9). However, there are a few awkward ones, e.g.
хотеть [ha-tyety] ‘to want’, a mixture of Types IB and 2:
я хочу [ha-cho'o] I want мы хотим [ha-te'em] we want
ты хочешь [ho-chyesh] you want вы хотите [ha-tee-tye] you want
он хочет [ho-chyet] he wants они хотят [ha-tyat] they want
Я хочу увидеть тебя. I want to see you.
Вы не хотите ехать в Сибирь? Don’t you want to go to Siberia?
Они не хотят, а мы хотим. They don’t want (to), but we do.

6.6 Vocabulary

Read the new words, then use them to translate the conversation.
дело [dye-la] matter, thing
54

как дела? [как dye-la?] how are things?

ничего [nee-chye-vo NB] not bad, all right
куда [koo-da] where (motion) - see 6.4
идти [ee-tee NB] to go (on foot) - see 6.3
магазин [ma-ga-zeen] shop, store
дружба [dro'ozh-ba] friendship
потом [pa-tom] next, then
на (+ асе) [na] to (a place - see 6.4)
for (with time word)
можно [mozh-na] it is possible; one can
метро (n indecl) [mye-tro] metro, underground, subway
на метро [na-mye-trb] by metro
давайте [da-vay-tye] let’s
давайте [da-vay-tye pa- let’s go (by transport)
поедем ye-dyem]
вместе [vmye-stye] together
станция [stan-tsi-ya] station (on metro); small
railway station
недалеко [nye-da-lye-ko] not far (indecl)
зачем [za-chyem] for what purpose, why
пешком [pyesh-kom] on foot
ехать (1 В) [ye-haty] to go (by transport) (see 6.3)
билёт [bee-lyet] ticket
билёт на ( + [bee-lyet na] ticket for (transport)
асе)
поезд [po-yest] train
чёрез (+ асе) [chye-ryes] after (with time words)
недёля [nye-dye-lya] week
домой [da-moy] home (= to home)
Англия [an-glee-ya] England (often used for
Britain)
родной (adj) [rad-noy] native
любить (2) [lyoo-be'ety] to love, like
я люблю [ya lyoo-blyob] I love, like
ты любишь [ti lyob-beesh] you (fam) love, like
особенно [a-so-bye-na] especially
надолго [na-dol-ga] for a long time
мёсяц [mye-syats] month
Амёрика [a-mye-ree-ka] America
обратно [a-brat-na] back
тепёрь [tye-pyery] now
хотёть(1В/2) [ha-tyety] to want (see 6.5)
 55

хотеть увидеть [ha-tyety to want to see

oo-ve'e-dyety]
вот почему [vot pa-chye-mob] that’s why
наверно [na-vyer-na] probably
слишком [slee-shkam] too
быстро [bi-stra] quickly
русская (adj) [rdo-ska-ya] Russian woman

6.7 Conversation

Jane and Boris meet again

Джейн Здравствуйте, Борис.
Борис Здравствуйте, Джейн. Как дела?
Джейн Ничего. Куда вы идете?
Борис Я иду в магазин «Дружба», потом на работу. А
куда вы идете?
Джейн В гостиницу «Метрополь».
Борис Можно на метро. Давайте поедем вместе. Станция
«Дзержинская» недалеко.
Джейн Хорошо. Зачем идти пешком, когда можно ехать?!
Борис Зачем вы идёте в «Метрополь»?
Джейн Там мой билёт на поезд. Через неделю я еду домой в
Англию, в мой родной город Ливерпуль. Там живут
мать и брат. Я их очень люблю, особенно брата.
Борис А вы надолго едете?
Джейн На месяц. Потом я еду в Америку на неделю, потом
обратно в Россию.
Борис Зачем вы едете в Америку?
Джейн Мой друг Марк теперь в Америке. Я хочу его
увидеть. И он хочет увидеть меня.
Борис А! Вы хотите увидеть Марка! Вот почему вы едете в
Америку! Вы его любите?
Джейн Борис, вы говорите слишком быстро, я вас не
понимаю. Говорите медленно, пожалуйста. Я не
русская, а англичанка.
Борис Простите.
56

TRANSLATION

Jane Hello, Boris.

Boris Hello, Jane. How are things?
Jane Not bad. Where are you going?
Boris I’m going to the ‘Druzhba’ (‘Friendship’) store (a
bookshop), then (I’m going) to work. And where are you
going?
Jane To the Metropole Hotel [where there is also an Intourist
travel office].
Boris It is possible (we can) (to go) by metro. Let’s go together.
‘Dzerzhinskaya’ (metro) station [on the square named after
Dzerzhinsky, a famous/notorious head of the secret police]
isn’t far.
Jane All right. Why go on foot when you can go by transport
(ride)?!
Boris Why are you going to the Metropole?
Jane My train ticket is there. In a week’s time I’m going home to
England, to my home town of Liverpool. My mother and
brother live there. I’m very fond of them, especially my
brother.
Boris And are you going for long?
Jane For a month. Then I’m going to America for a week, then
back to Russia.
Boris Why are you going to America?
Jane My friend Mark is now in America. I want to see him. And
he wants to see me.
Boris Ah! You want to see Mark! That’s why you’re going to
America! Do you love him?
Jane Boris, you are speaking too quickly, I don’t understand
you. Speak slowly, please. I’m not Russian, I’m English
(I’m not a Russian, but an Englishwoman).
Boris Sorry (Excuse [me]).
Lesson 7

Possessives: ‘my’, ‘your’ etc. Describing people and things using

adjectives.

7.1 ‘my’, ‘your’ etc. (possessives)

(a) Omission of possessives: You may have noticed in examples in

earlier lessons that it is quite normal in Russian to omit the
possessive if the possessor is clear from the context. This is
particularly true of family relationships:
Мать живёт в Москве. (Му) mother lives in Moscow.
Я не знаю, где брат. I don’t know where (my) brother is.
Он не знает, где друг. He doesn’t know where (his) friend is.
(b) But in many contexts you will want to specify ownership. Here
are the forms of ‘my’ мой [moy], ‘your’ (fam) твой [tvoy], ‘our’
наш [nash], ‘your’ (pl/pol) ваш [vash]:
Nom Masculine Feminine Neuter
my мой [moy] моя [ma-ya] моё [ma-yo]
your (fam) твой [tvoy] твоя [tva-ya] твоё [tva-yo]
our наш [nash] наша [na-sha] наше [na-she]
your (pol/pl) ваш [vash] ваша [va-sha] ваше [va-she]
Это моя книга [ma-ya knee-ga]. This is my book.
Где моё письмо? Where is my letter?
Это твой брат? Is that your brother?
Где твоя книга [tva-ya knee-ga]? Where is your book?
Письмо твоё [tva-yo]. The letter is yours.
Кто ваш брат? Who is your brother?
Это ваше письмо или моё? Is that your letter or mine?
Наша Джейн не понимает вас. Our Jane doesn’t understand you.
his = его [ye-vo NB] - an indeclinable word (i.e. it has
no other forms)
her = её [ye-yo] - indecl
its = его [ye-vd NB] - indecl
their = их [(y)eeh] - indecl
Notice that these four words look and sound the same as the

57
58

accusative pronouns ‘him’, ‘her’, ‘it’, ‘them’ we met in 6.1.

Это её кот/письмб/раббта. This is her cat/letter/work.
Где их кот/кнйга/таксй? Where is their cat/book/taxi?

Exercise 25
Put in the correct form of the possessive and translate:
1 Зто (your - pol) билёт?
2 Где (your - pol) кнйга?
3 Я не знаю, где (our) гостйница.
4 (Her) мать в Москве.
5 (Your - fam) письмо здесь.

7.2 Accusative forms of the possessives

Masc inanimate Masc animate Feminine Neuter

acc = nom (people, animals) acc = пот
МОЙ моего [ma-ye-vo] мою моё
твой твоего [tva-ye-yo] твою твое
наш нашего [na-she-ya] нашу наше
ваш вашего [va-she-va] вашу ваше
(NB г pronounced [v])
Я знаю вашего брата [va-she- I know your brother and your
-va bra-ta] и вашего дядю uncle.
[va-she-va dya-dyoo].
Мы не понимаем твоего We don’t understand your Igor.
Игоря [tva-ye-v6 e'e-ga-rya].
Мы знаем твою (вашу) мать We know your mother and your
и твою (вашу) сестру [tva-yob sister.
(va-shoo) sye-strob].
Я знаю ваш город. I know your town.
Вы понимаете моё письмо? Do you understand my letter?
Его, ее and их, as indeclinable words, do not change:
Вы знаете ее брата? Do you know her brother?
Мы знаем их брата и их дядю. We know their brother and their
uncle.
Exercise 26
Say in Russian:
1 Do you (pol/fam) know my sister?
2 I know his mother.
 59

3 She knows my brother.

4 He wants to see your (pol) friend.

7.3 Prepositional of the possessives

Nom Prep: т + п f
мой моём [ma-yom] моей [гпа-уёу]
твой твоём [tva-yom] твоей [tva-уёу]
наш нашем [na-shem] нашей [na-shey]
ваш вашем [va-shem] вашей [va-shey]
о моём друге about my friend в твоём письме in your letter
в нашей in our hotel на вашей улице on your street
гостинице

7.4 Adjectives

американский [a-mye-ree-kan-skee] American

английский [an-gle'e-skee] English
другой [droo-goy] different/other
книжный [kneezh-ni] book (as in ‘bookshop’)
красивый [kra-see-vi] beautiful/handsome
красный [kra-sni] red
молодой [ma-la-doy] young
новый [no-vi] new
русский [rob-skee] Russian
симпатичный [seem-pa-te'ech-ni] nice (of a person)
чистый [che'e-sti] clean
If you want to describe things by saying they are big, small, exciting
etc., you need adjectives. All Russian adjectives in their
nominative, dictionary form end in -ый [i] (й [у] not audible), -ий
[ее] (й [у] not audible) or, if the ending is stressed, -6й [бу].
Three typical examples are
новый [nd-vi] new (easy to remember - like English ‘novel’)
русский [ro'o-skee] Russian (we met this one in 5.10)
родной [rad-noy] native (родной язык ‘native language’, 6.6)
Russian adjectives, like nouns, have different endings to show
60

gender, case, singular/plural. But adjectives are easier than nouns

because there are fewer rules to learn and almost no exceptions.
Take новый [no-vi] ‘new’. The stem is hob- [nov] and the masculine
nominative singular ending is -ый [i], The equivalent feminine
ending is -ая [a-ya] and the neuter ending is -oe [a-ye]:
(m) новый дом [no-vi dom] newhouse
(f) новая улица [no-va-ya o'o-lee-tsa] new street
(n) новое слово [no-va-ye slo-va] new word
Every adjective with the ending -ый is like новый, e.g.
симпатичный [seem-pa-teech-ni] ‘nice’:
симпатичная женщина [seem-pa-teech-na-ya zhen-shshee-na]
a nice woman
Here are the endings of русский [rob-skee] ‘Russian’:
(т) русский язык [rob-skee (y)ee-zik] Russian language
(0 русская женщина [rob-ska-ya zhen- Russian woman
-shshee-na]
(п) русское слово [rob-ska-ye sl6-va] Russian word
The feminine (f) and neuter (n) endings are the same as for новый.
And adjectives like родной [rad-noy] ‘native’ and другой [droo-
-goy] ‘different, other’ have the same (f) and (n) endings, except
that the ending always has the stress:
(m) другой город [droo-g6y go-rat] another town
(f) другая женщина [droo-ga-ya zhen- another woman
-shshee-na]
(n) другое слово [droo-gb-ye slo-va] a different word

7.5 Some phrases with adjectives

Она знает английский язык. She knows the English language

(= She knows English).
NOTE When talking about languages, Russians nearly always
include the word язык ‘language’:
Я изучаю [ee-zoo-cha-yoo] I am studying Russian.
русский язык.
Русский язык красивый. Russian (language) is beautiful.
Она очень симпатичная. She is very nice.
 61

Это слово не английское, а This is not an English word.

амерканское. It’s American.
Вот Красная площадь. There is Red Square.
Джейн молодая и красивая. Jane is young and beautiful.
Это мой американский дядя. This is my American uncle.

Exercise 27
Put the adjectives in brackets into the correct Russian form:
1 Москва - (beautiful) город.
2 Нина - (nice Russian) женщина.
3 Красная площадь очень (clean).
4 Это (is a different Russian) слово.
5 Ваш (English) друг очень (handsome).

7.6 Adjectives, like nouns, have case endings

Adjectives always have to be in the same case as their

accompanying nouns. The forms in 7.4 are the nominative case
forms of adjectives. If the noun is in another case, such as the
accusative or the prepositional, the adjective has to be in that case
too. Fortunately, there aren’t many new forms to learn.

7.7 Prepositional of adjectives

If the accompanying noun is masculine or neuter, the ending to

add to the adjective stem is -ом [om]:
Он живёт в новом [vno-vam] городе. He lives in a new town,
в другом русском слове [vdroo-gom in another Russian word
rob-skam sl6-vye]
With feminine nouns, the adjective ending is -ой:

на Красной площади [na-kra-snay on Red Square

plo-shsha-dee]
Мы в другой гостинице [vdroo-goy We are in another (a
ga-stee-nee-tse]. different) hotel.
62

7.8 Accusative of adjectives

The feminine accusative adjective ending is -ую [oo-yoo] (easy to

remember if you remember that the accusative endings for
feminine nouns are the same vowels у or ю - see 6.2).
Я знаю красивую [kra-see-voo-yoo] русскую [ro'o-skoo-yoo]
женщину.
I know a beautiful Russian woman.
Мы идём на Красную [kra-snoo-yoo] площадь.
We are going to Red Square.
With masculine nouns denoting people and animals, the accusative
adjective ending is -oro (NB the г is pronounced [v]):
Джейн хочет увидеть американского [a-mye-ree-kan-ska-ya]
друга.
Jane wants to see (her) American friend.
Она знает его английского [an-gle'e-ska-va] дядю.
She knows his English uncle.
With masculine nouns denoting things and all neuter nouns, the
adjective ending is the same as the nominative:
Я знаю новое слово.
I know a new word.
Мы идём в русский книжный магазин.
We are going to the Russian bookshop.

Exercise 28
Add the required adjective endings and translate:
1 Вот нов ___ гостиница. (nom)
2 Мы живём в нов___ гостинице. (prep)
3 Это Красн___ площадь (f ‘square’). (nom)
4 Мы любим Красн___ площадь. (асе)
5 Это русск___ кнйжн____ магазин. (пот)
6 Она работает в русск___ кнйжн____ магазйне. (prep)
7 Мы любим русск___ язык. (асе)
8 Русск___ слово «площадь» очень краейв____ . (пот)
9 В Москве метро очень чйст___ . (пот)
10 Она едет на нов___ работу. (асе)
11 Я знаю её нов___ американск____ друга. (асе)
12 Англййск___ учйтельницу зовут мисс Смит. (асе)
 63

7.9 *who7‘which’: который [ka-to-ri]

The relative pronouns ‘who’ and ‘which’, as in ‘The girl who works
there is Russian’ are both translated который, which in form is an
adjective with the same gender and case endings as новый.
He talks about the girl who works in the bookshop.
Он говорит о девушке, которая работает в книжном магазине.
Которая is fem and sing because девушка is fem and sing; it is
nom because it is the subject of работает.
The girl whom (acc) he loves works there.
Девушка, которую (f sing acc) он любит, работает там.
The shop in which she works is in Gorky Street.
Магазин, в котором (m sing prep) она работает, на улице
Г брького.

Exercise 29
Put the correct ending on который:
1 Вот улица, на котор___ (on which) мы живём.
2 Я знаю девушку, котор___ (who) живёт там.
3 Магазин, в котор___ (to which) мы идём, новый.
4 Это Борис, котор___ (whom) вы уже знаете.

7.10 Vocabulary

In alphabetical order. See also adjective list 7.4.

бабушка [ba-boosh-ka] grandmother
вино [vee-no] wine
водка [v6t-ka] vodka
всё [fsyo] all, everything - see весь:
table 4
второй [fta-roy] second
девушка [dye-voosh-ka] girl
деревня [dye-ryev-nya] country, village
изучать (1) (+ асе) [ee-zoo-chaty] to study (like знать)
или [ee-lee] or
имя NB neuter! [e'e-mya] name, first name
квартира [kvar-tee-ra] flat, apartment
книга [kne'e-ga] book
64

кот [kot] (tom)cat

муж [moosh] husband
опять [a-pyaty] again
первый [pyer-vi] first
пиво [pee-va] beer
площадь (f) [plb-shshaty] square
подруга [pa-drob-ga] (girl)friend
по-моему [pa-mo-ye-moo] in my opinion, I think
самый [sa-mi] most (with adjectives)
сестра [sye-stra] sister
сладкий [slat-kee] sweet
слово [slo-va] word
старый [sta-ri] old
только [toly-ka] only

7.11 Conversation

Nina and Mike are looking at Nina’s photographs

Майк Это ваша сестра [sye-stra]?

Нина Нет, это моя подруга [pa-drob-ga] Наташа, которая
работает в книжном магазине «Дружба» на
улице Горького [gory-ka-va]. Это её друг Борис. А
это наша английская подруга Джейн и её
американский друг.
Майк Вы знаете её американского друга [a-mye-ree-kan-
-ska-va drob-ga]?
Нина Нет, я его не знаю. Я знаю только, что зовут его
Марк и что сейчас он в Америке. Наташа
говорит, что он очень симпатичный. Вот они опять
[a-pyaty], на Красной площади [na-kra-snay plo-
-shsha-dee],
Майк Я хорошо знаю Красную площадь. Это самая [sa-
-ma-ya] красивая площадь в Москве. А Марк хорошо
знает русский язык?
Нина По-моему, он знает русское слово «спасибо». И
это всё.
Майк Кто это? Ваша бабушка [ba-boosh-ka]?
Нина Да. Это наша бабушка. Она живёт в деревне [dye-
-ryev-nye], в старом доме. Она не хочет жить в новом.
Майк Где ваша сестра? [gdye va-sha sye-stra?]
 65

Нина Вот она. И вот её второй муж. А вот красивая

новая квартира [kvar-tee-ra], в которой они живут.
А это её первый муж, которого я не люблю. Он
очень любит водку, пиво и сладкое вино.

TRANSLATION

Mike Is that your sister?

Nina No, that’s my girlfriend Natasha who works in the
Friendship bookstore in (on) Gorky Street. This is her
friend Boris. And that’s our English girlfriend Jane and
her American friend.
Mike Do you know her American friend?
Nina No, I don’t know him. I only know that his name is Mark
and that he is in America at the moment. Natasha says
that he is very nice. Here they are again, in Red Square.
Mike I know Red Square well. It is the most beautiful square in
Moscow. And does Mark know Russian well?
Nina I think he knows the Russian word ‘spaseeba’. And that’s
all.
Mike Who’s that? Your grandmother?
Nina Yes. That’s our grandmother. She lives in the country, in an
old house. She doesn’t want to live in a new (one).
Mike Where is your sister?
Nina Here she is. And here is her second husband. Here is the
beautiful new flat (in which) they live in. And this is her
first husband, whom I don’t like. He is very fond of vodka,
beer and sweet wine (‘fortified’ креплёное [krye-ply6-na-
-ye] sweet wine is for the winos who want to get drunk
quickly and cheaply).

Exercise 30 (revision)
Say in Russian:

1 I do not understand you. Speak slowly please.

2 He knows English.
3 I am studying Russian.
4 Natasha is going (on foot) to the bookshop.
5 Natasha does not want to work in the bookshop.
6 We are going (on foot) to Red Square.
66

7 Jane and Boris do not want to go there.

8 When are you (pol) going to America?
9 Their grandmother lives in the Russian countryside.
10 Can you (pol) speak Russian? (use the structure in 4.1)
11 My girlfriend is called Nina.
12 Your (pol) flat is very clean.
13 She does not like your (fam) new husband.
14 I want to see (my) Russian friend Boris.
15 We love Russian wine and Russian vodka.
16 Where is the girl who is called (whom they call) Nina?
Lesson 8

How to make plurals. A spelling rule, ‘this and ‘that. хороший

‘good’ and another spelling rule. Fleeting vowels.

Exercise 31
Read these examples, which all contain vocabulary from lessons 1-7
and grammar which will be covered in this lesson. Then check your
pronunciation from the Key.
1 Она любит книги. She likes books.
2 Вы знаете эти русские Do you know these Russian
слова? words?
3 Американцы любят Americans like beautiful shops.
красивые магазины.
4 В Москве есть гостиницы, In Moscow there are hotels,
рестораны, музеи, restaurants, museums, avenues
проспекты, площади. (and) squares.
5 Ваши братья симпатичные. Your brothers are nice.

8.1 Nominative plural of m/f nouns ending with a consonant

or -a

If the noun ends бвдзлмнпрстфогц, add ы. If it ends with

one of these consonants + a, replace a with ы.
Singular Plural
магазин shop магазины [ma-ga-ze'e-ni] shops
гостиница hotel гостйницы [ga-ste'e-nee-tsi] hotels
сувенир souvenir сувениры [soo-vye-nee-ri] souvenirs

8.2 Plural of nouns ending with -ь (soft sign), -й or -я

Replace the ь, й or я with и:

вещь [vyeshshy] thing вещи [vye-shshee] things
рубль [roobly] rouble рубли [roo-ble'e] roubles
неделя [nye-dye-lya] week недели [nye-dye-lee] weeks
трамвай [tram-vay] tram трамваи [tram-va-ee] trams
(trolleys)

67
68

станция [stan-tsi-ya] station станции [stan-tsi-ee] stations

8.3 Plural of nouns ending г к x ж ш щ ч

The consonants not included in rule 8.1 are followed in the plural
by -и (not -ы):
язык language языки [(y)ee-zi-kee] languages
книга book книги [knee-gee] books
дача dacha дачи [da-chee] dachas (country cottages)
The reason for this is that Russian has a ‘spelling rule’ which
affects the spelling of grammatical endings after the seven
consonants г к x ж ч ш and щ. This list of letters is a nuisance to
learn when you first meet it, but you will find that, once learnt, it
helps you to spell correctly. These same seven letters participate in
a variety of spelling rules which regularly affect Russian
grammatical endings (see table on page 214).

8.4 Spelling rule 1

Where other consonants (see list in 8.1) are followed by -ы, after
the following seven consonants you always find и instead:
г To help you remember these, notice that these
к three are all pronounced in the same place at the
x back of the mouth
ч These are the two consonants from the alphabet
щ (2.6) which are always soft
ж These are two of the three consonants which are
ш always hard (see 2.7)
So the plural of книга has и (not ы): книги, the plural of дача
is дачи, the plural of язык is языки.

8.5 Plural of neuter nouns

(a) Replace о with a and change the stress:

слово word слова [sla-va] words
вино wine вина [ve'e-na] wines
 69

(b) Replace e with я:

упражнение exercise упражнения [oo-prazh-nye-nee-ya] exercises

8.6 Exceptions

Many nouns have plurals which are exceptions to these rules. Here
is a list of the main exceptions you need to know so far:

мать [maty] mother матери [ma-tye-ree] mothers

дочь [dochy] daughter дочери [do-chye-ree] daughters
(The extra ep makes both words look
more like their English equivalents.)
англичанин Englishman англичане [an-glee- Englishmen
-cha-nye]
брат brother братья [braty-ya] brothers
друг friend друзья [droozy-ya] friends
дом house дома [da-ma] houses
город town города [ga-ra-da] towns
сын son сыновья [si-navy-ya] sons
When a noun has an unpredictable plural, it will be shown in the
vocabulary.

Exercise 32
Put on the correct plural endings and translate:

1 завод 7 станция
2 женщина 8 подруга
3 англичанка 9 свидание
4 дядя 10 учительница
5 музей 11 площадь
6 бабушка 12 письмо

8.7 Plural of possessives

Pl
мой my мой [ma-ee]
твой your (fam) твой [tva-ee]
70

наш our наши [na-shi]

ваш your (pol/pl) ваши [va-shi]
мой друзья my friends
ваши пйсьма/кнйги/братья your letters/books/brothers
Письма наши. The letters are ours.

8.8 Plural of adjectives

Adjectives match nouns, so a plural noun needs a plural adjective.

Adjectives are easy. The ending for all genders is -ые [i-ye]:
новые [nd-vi-ye] друзья/слова/города new friends/words/towns

8.9 Plural of adjectives ending г к x ж ш ч щ

The only other thing to remember is the spelling rule (8.4), which
applies to adjectives just as it applies to nouns. After the seven
consonants гкх/жш/чщ, -ые becomes -ие:
русские [rdo-skee-ye] слова/жёнщины/кнйги Russian words/
women/books

Exercise 33
Make the following plural and translate:
1 красивая женщина 5 ваша красная книга
2 моя русская книга 6 другая гостиница
3 американский магазин 7 твой старый друг
4 новая улица

8.10 Accusative plural

The accusative plural forms are the same as the nominative forms
above except for all nouns (whatever the gender) denoting people
and animals. We shall leave the Russian equivalents of T love cats
and women’ until 10.11. But we can now say things like
I love Russian cities. Я люблю русские города.
We know the new words. Мы знаем новые слова.
She loves your shops. Она любит ваши магазины.
 71

8.11 хороший ‘good’ and a second spelling rule

If you have memorized the spelling rule we met in 8.4, you will see
why the ending of the important adjective хороший [ha-ro-shi]
‘good’ is spelt -ий (and not -ый). Now we must point out a second
spelling rule which affects adjectives ending жий, ший, чий, щий
(note that ж, ш, ч and щ, are the last four of the seven letters
which participate in the first rule). After ж ч ш and щ you find e
where adjectives like новый and русский have o. (This rule also
applies after ц - see p. 214 - but there are no common adjectives
ending -цый). So the neuter ending after these four letters is -ее
(not -oe) and the prepositional endings are -ем (m and n) and -ей
(f) instead of -ом and -ой:

Masculine Neuter
хороший good хорошее [ha-ro-sheye] вино good wine
свежий [svye-zhi] fresh свежее [svye-zhe-ye] утро fresh morning
горячий [ga-rya-chee] горячее [ga-rya-chye-ye] вино hot wine
hot
следующий following следующее утро following morning
Prepositional
в хорошей московской гостинице in a good Moscow hotel
в хорошем русском магазине in a good Russian shop

8.12 ‘this7‘that’: этот

You already know the word это [ё-ta] used in sentences like
‘This/That is ...(something)’ (see 4.6), e.g.:
This/That is our house. Это наш дом.
If you want to say ‘this house’/‘this book’/‘this letter’, you need the
word этот/эта/это ‘this’/‘that’ which agrees with its noun, like an
adjective:
This/That house is ours. Этот [ё-tat] дом наш.
This/That book is mine. Эта [ё-ta] книга моя.
This/That name is very beautiful. Это [ё-ta] имя (NB neuter)
очень красивое.
The feminine accusative is эту [ё-too]:
1 know this/that woman. Я знаю эту женщину.
72

The plural is эти for all genders:

These women/words are Russian. Эти жёнщины/слова русские.

The other singular endings of этот we need are the same as for
новый (see 7.7, 7.8).

Do you know the Englishman? Вы знаете этого [ё-ta-va]

англичанина?
They live in this hotel. Они живут в этой гостинице.

Exercise 34
Put on the endings:
1 Это хорош___ вино.
2 Мы живём в хорош____ гостинице на эт_____улице.
3 Вы знаете эт__слова?
4 В эт__магазине книги хорош .
5 Вы знаете эт__ американку?

8.13 Fleeting vowels

In 8.1 above we met the plural form американцы ‘Americans’. The

word for ‘an American’ is американец (4.3). The Russian for
‘father’ is отец [а-tyets]. Now look at these two examples:
«Отцы и дети» - хорошая книга. ‘Fathers and Children’ is a
good book.
Вы знаете этого американца? Do you know that American?
‘Fathers’ has the normal plural ending -ы (see 8.1) but the e of
отец has dropped out. Similarly, in американца (accusative of a
masculine person), the e of американец has dropped out. A vowel
e or о which vanishes from between the last two consonants of a
masculine noun whenever there is an ending on the word is called a
fleeting vowel. In the vocabularies we shall show fleeting vowels in
brackets:
д(е)нь [dyeny] day pl дни,
подар(о)к [pa-da-rak] present pl подарки
Fleeting vowels can be a nuisance when you are trying to find
words in a dictionary. If you found the form дни ‘days’ in a text,
you might have difficulty working out the nominative день. So
 73

note the fleeting vowel phenomenon and, if you can’t find a noun
in the dictionary, try inserting -e- or -o- between the last two
consonants.

8.14 Vocabulary
Ordered as they occur in the conversation:
хотеть пойти [pay-tee] to want to go (on foot)
пойти (from идти
‘to go’) - see 12.2, 13.4
сегодня [sye-vo-dnya NB] today
сделать [zdye-laty] to do some shopping
покупки
покупка [pa-ko'op-ka] purchase
покажите [pa-ka-zhi-tye] show (imper)
мне [mnye] to me
московский [ma-skof-skee] Moscow (adj)
какой [ka-koy] what (adj), what kind of
интересовать [een-tye-rye-sa- to interest
stem интересу- vaty] (1)
пластйнка [pla-ste'en-ka] record
сувенир [soo-vye-neer] souvenir
часто [cha-sta] often
покупать [pa-koo-paty] (1) to buy
stem покупа- + acc
я покупаю,
ты покупаешь
есть [yesty] is/are (exists/exist)
значит [zna-cheet] so (lit. ‘(it) means’)
интересно [een-tye-rye-sna] (that’s) interesting
надо [na-da] it is necessary; one must
надо купить [na-da koo-pe'ety] it is necessary to buy
+ acc (for купить see 12.2)
подар(о)к [pa-da-rak] present
друзья [droo-zyya] friends
(irreg pl of друг)
турист [too-reest] tourist
обычно [a-bich-na] usually
такой [ta-koy] such (adj)
вещь (f) [vyeshshy] thing
Берёзка [bye-ryos-ka] Beriozka (store name),
lit. ‘little birch tree’
74

брать [braty] (IB) + асе to take

stem бер- я беру, ты берешь
иностранный [ee-na-stra-ni] foreign
деньги [dyeny-gee] (pl) money
например [na-pree-myer] for example
фунт [foont] pound (money and weight)
доллар [do-lar] dollar
давайте [da-vay-tye pay- let’s go
пойдём -dyom]
подождите [pa-dazh-de'e-tye wait a moment
минуточку mee-no'o-tach-koo]
посмотрите [pa-sma-tre'e-tye] look (imper)
смотреть [sma-tryety] (2) (на to look (at)
+ acc)
stem смотр- я смотрю, ты смотришь
любимый [lyoo-be'e-mi] favourite
стихи [stee-hee] (pl of poetry, poem(s)
стих ‘line’)
добрый [do-bri] kind

8.15 Conversation

Andrey and Barbara plan some shopping

Андрей Здравствуйте, Барбара. Как дела? Куда вы хотите
пойти сегодня?
Барбара Здравствуйте, Андрей. Сегодня я хочу сделать
покупки. Покажите мне, пожалуйста, московские
магазины.
Андрей Какие магазины? Что вас интересует? Книги,
пластинки,сувениры?
Барбара Меня интересуют русские книги. В Вашингтоне и
в Нью-Йорке я часто покупаю ваши книги. Там
есть русские книжные магазины.
Андрей Значит, американцы покупают наши книги.
Интересно. Но вас интересуют не только книги.
Барбара Надо купить подарки. Через неделю я еду домой в
Америку. Мой друзья любят русскую водку.
Андрей Туристы обычно покупают такие веши в магазине
«Берёзка». В «Берёзке» есть очень красивые
вещи, но там берут только иностранные
 75

деньги, например английские фунты, ваши

американские доллары. Давайте пойдём в книжный
магазин «Берёзка» - этот магазин на
Кропоткинской улице - потом в «Берёзку» в
гостинице «Россия».
Барбара Хорошо.
(Andrey takes a wrapped book out of his pocket)
Андрей Подождите минуточку. (A pause) Посмотрите.
Барбара Что это?
Андрей Это подарок. Пастернак, мой любимые стихи. Я
знаю, что вы любите наши русские стихи.
Барбара Вы очень добрый, Андрей.

Exercise 35
Translate the conversation.

Exercise 36
Say in Russian:
1 Let’s go to the ‘Beriozka’.
2 In this shop (they) take only foreign money.
3 In this ‘Beriozka’ there are good books.
4 My friends live in this street.
5 These Americans know where our hotel is.

Exercise 36A
What is the name of this play? Who are Dmitriy, Ivan and Alyosha?
Ф. M. ДОСТОЕВСКИЙ

БРАТЬЯ КАРАМАЗОВЫ
Пьеса Б. Н. Ливанова rw одноименному роману
и 4-х действиях, 12 картинах

Действующие лица и исполнители:

Народный артнс! СССР

Федор Пав/к’зил Карамазов М. И. Прудкин
Заслуженный а ртис; РСФСР
Дмитрий Л. Ф. Золотухин
Заслуженны.! артист РСФСР
Иван В. С. Давыдов
его сыновья
Заслуженный артист РСФСР
Алеша И. П. Алексеев
Заслуженный артист РСФСР
\. В. Вербицкий
Lesson 9

Counting. Numbers and the genitive case.

9.1 The Russian numerals. Read and memorize.

1 один [a-de'en] (m), одна [ad-na] (f), одно [ad-no] (n)

один рубль one rouble
одна копейка [ka-pyey-ka] one kopeck (1/100 of a rouble)
одно письмо one letter
2 два [dva] with m and n nouns, две [dvye] with f nouns
два рубля [roo-blya] two roubles
две копейки [ka-pyey-kee] two kopecks
3 три [tree]
три рубля three roubles
три копейки three kopecks
4 четыре [chye-ti-rye]
четыре рубля four roubles
четыре копейки four kopecks
5 пять [pyaty]
пять рублей [roo-Ыуёу] five roubles
пять копеек [ka-pye-yek] five kopecks
6 шесть [shesty]
шесть рублей six roubles
шесть копеек six kopecks
7 семь [syemy]
8 восемь [vo-syemy]
9 девять [dye-vyaty]
10 десять [dye-syaty]
11 одиннадцать [a-de'e-na-tsaty NB second д not audible]
12 двенадцать [dvye-na-tsaty NB second д not audible]
13 тринадцать [tree-na-tsaty NB] \
14 четырнадцать [chye-tir-na-tsaty NB] j
15 пятнадцать [peet-na-tsaty NB] I NB д not
16 шестнадцать [shes-na-tsaty NB] f audible
17 семнадцать [syem na-tsaty NB] ( before ц
18 восемнадцать [va-syem-na-tsaty NB] 1
19 девятнадцать [dye-veet-na-tsaty NB] I
20 двадцать [dva-tsaty NB] /

76
 77

двадцать рублей twenty roubles

21 двадцать один (т)/одна (П/одно (п)
двадцать один рубль twenty-one roubles
двадцать одна копейка twenty-one kopecks
двадцать одно письмо twenty-one letters
22 двадцать два (т/п)/две (f)
двадцать два рубля twenty-two roubles
двадцать две копейки twenty-two kopecks
23 двадцать три
двадцать три рубля twenty-three roubles
двадцать три копейки twenty-three kopecks
24 двадцать четыре рубля/копёйки 24 roubles/kopecks
25 двадцать пять [dva-tsaty pyaty]
двадцать пять рублёй/копёек 25 roubles/kopecks
30 тридцать [tre'e-tsaty NB]
31 тридцать один (т)/одна (0/одно (п)
40 сорок [so-rak]
сорок рублёй/копёек forty roubles/kopecks
50 пятьдесят [pee-dye-syat NB]
60 шестьдесят [shez-dye-syat NB]
70 сёмьдесят [syem-dye-syat]
80 восемьдесят [vo-syem-dye-syat]
90 девяносто [dye-vee-no-sta]
100 сто [sto]
101 сто один (ш)/одна (Г)/одн6 (п)
102 сто два (т/п)/две (f)
200 двёсти [dvye-stee]
300 триста [tree-sta]
400 четыреста [chye-ti-rye-sta]
500 пятьсот [peet-sot NB]
600 шестьсот [shes-s6t NB]
706 семьсот [syem-sot]
800 восемьсот [va-syem-sot]
900 девятьсот [dye-veet-sot]
1000 тысяча [ti-sya-cha]
2000 две тысячи [dvye ti-sya-chee]
5000 пять тысяч [pyaty tisyach]
0 ноль [noly]
78

9.2 The grammar of од(й)н ‘one’

The number 1 од(й)н/одна/однб behaves like этот/эта/это ‘this/

that’ (see 8.12) with the same endings, depending on the gender
and case of the accompanying noun. Note that the и of один
drops out when you add an ending (a rare case of a fleeting и; see
8.13 for the term ‘fleeting vowel’).
одна книга one book
Он знает одно русское слово. Не knows one Russian word.
Я знаю одну англичанку (f acc). I know one Englishwoman.
Я знаю одного [ad-na-v6] англичанина (m acc of a person). I
know one Englishman.
The number 1 has the same endings in all numbers which end with
одйн, одна, or одно (21, 31, 41, 101 etc.) and the accompanying
noun is singular:
Он знает двадцать одно русское слово. Не knows 21 Russian
words, (lit. ‘He knows 21 Russian word!)

9.3 Other numbers take the genitive (‘three of book’)

All other numbers are accompanied by nouns in the genitive case

(a case form which literally means ‘of somebody or something’ as
in ‘a glass of vodka’ стакан водки (gen) or ‘the brother of Boris’
брат Бориса).
(a) After the numbers 2 (два/две), 3 (три), and 4 (четыре), and all
numbers ending два/две, три or четыре, the noun is in the
genitive singular.
So два рубля ‘two roubles’ = lit. ‘two of rouble’, рубля [roo-blya]
is gen sing of рубль (m) ‘a rouble’, the Soviet currency unit
(officially worth around one British pound or between one and two
US dollars).
Две is the form of 2 used with feminine nouns: две копейки ‘two
kopecks’ (lit. ‘two of kopeck’). Копейка ‘a kopeck’ is one-
hundredth of a rouble.
(b) The numbers from 5 up to and including 20, and all numbers
which do not end with forms of один (1), два (2), три (3) and
четыре (4), are followed by the genitive plural:
 79

пять рублей five roubles (lit. ‘five of roubles’)

шесть копеек six kopecks (lit. ‘six of kopecks’)

NOTE Apart from один and одна (see examples above), the
accusative forms of numbers are the same as the nominative:

Он знает десять (асе) слов. Не knows ten words.

Read the following examples:

Мы знаем семьдесят слов. We know seventy words.
Вот пять копеек. Here are five kopecks.
Пожалуйста, дайте три рубля. Please give (me) three roubles.
Книга стоит четыре рубля The book costs four roubles
двадцать три копейки. twenty-three kopecks.
В «Берёзке» эта книга стоит In the ‘Beriozka’ this book costs
четыре доллара. four dollars.
Эта книга стоит шесть This book costs six dollars.
долларов.
Водка стоит пять фунтов. Vodka costs five pounds.
В этом городе десять There are ten hotels in this city.
гостиниц.
В гостинице сто тридцать There are one hundred and
один турист. thirty-one tourists in the hotel.

Exercise 37
IVhat are the following numbers?

1 Тысяча двести сорок один

2 Триста тридцать два
3 Три тысячи пятьсот шесть
4 Сто девяносто восемь

9.4 The genitive case (gen)

The genitive is the most useful case in Russian after the nominative
and accusative. You will need it for four main purposes:
(1) counting (десять рублей ‘ten (of) roubles’ )
(2) possession (брат Ивана ‘the brother of Ivan’, ‘Ivanas brother’)
(3) after many prepositions (от Ивана ‘from Ivan’)
(4) in negative constructions (нет денег ‘there isn’t any money’)
80

9.5 How to form the genitive singular

(a) The masculine and neuter endings are the same as the endings
you learnt for the accusative of people and animals in 6.2, -a or -я:
(1) if the noun ends with a consonant, add -a;
(2) if the ending is -o, replace it with -a;
(3) if the ending is -ь (soft sign), -й or -e, replace it with -я.
Nom Gen
дом дома [do-ma] два дома two houses
брат брата [bra-ta] два брата two brothers
Иван Ивана [ee-va-na] брат Ивана Ivan’s brother
письмо письма [peesy-ma] два письма two letters
рубль рубля [roo-blya] два рубля two roubles
Игорь Игоря [e'e-ga-rya] дочь Игоря Igor’s daughter
свидание свидания [svee-da- до свидания goodbye (until
-nee-ya] meeting)
(b) All feminine nouns have exactly the same endings as in the
nominative plural (-ы or -и - see 8.1, 8.2):
книга книги [knee-gee] две книги two books
неделя недели [nye-dye-lee] дни недели days of the week
вещь вещи [vye-shshee] две вещи two things
дочь дочери три дочери three daughters

Exercise 38
Put the correct ending on the nouns and translate:
1 три (сестра) 4 три (станция ‘station’)
2 четыре (фунт) 5 три (трамвай)
3 двадцать две (пластинка) 6 триста два (слово)

9.6 The genitive plural

This is by far the most complicated ending in Russian. We shall

simplify things by giving only the main rules and listing other
forms in the vocabularies.
(a) Nouns which end -ь in the nominative, whether m or f, replace
the -ь with -ей:

рубль: пять рублей five roubles вещь: десять вещей ten things
 81

(b) Most masculine nouns ending with a consonant add -ob:

магазин: пять магазинов [ma-ga-zee-naf] five shops
город: десять городов [ga-ra-dof] ten towns
(c) Feminine nouns which end -a and neuter nouns ending -o
simply lose the -a or -o:
книга: пять книг [kneek] five books
слово: десять слов [slof] ten words
(d) Here are examples of other common but awkward genitive
plurals:
брат (nom pl братья): пять братьев [braty-yef] five brothers
копейка: пятьдесят копеек [ka-руё- fifty kopecks
yek]
друг (nom pl друзья): шесть друзей [droo-гуёу] six friends
неделя: десять недель [пуе^уё1у] ten weeks
месяц: семь месяцев [туё-sya- seven months
tsef]
американец (NB пять американцев five Americans
‘fleeting vowel’):
англичанин (nom pl пять англичан five
англичане): Englishmen

9.7 Other quantity words also take the genitive

Apart from its use with numbers, the genitive case (singular or
plural, according to meaning) is used with quantity words, e.g.
много [mno-ga] much, many
несколько [пуё-skaly-ka] a few
мало [ma-la] few, little, not many
сколько? [skoly-ka] how much?, how many?
несколько месяцев [пуё-skaly-ka туё-sya-tsef] a few months
сколько долларов? [skoly-ka do-la-raf?] how many dollars?
много денег [mno-ga dye-nyek] a lot of money (денег is gen pl of
the pl noun деньги money)

Exercise 39
Say in Russian:
1 Ten roubles 2 Many (a lot of) roubles
82

3 A few kopecks 4 Little (not much) money

5 A hundred (and) ten dollars

9.8 Vocabulary

стоять (2) [sta-yaty] to stand

stem сто- он стоит [sta-e'et NB stress] he stands
очередь (f) [6-chye-ryety] queue, line
яйцо [yee-tso NB] egg
gen pl яиц [yeets]
сумка [so'om-ka] bag
gen pl сумок [sob-mak])
уже [oo-zhe] already
лежат [lye-zhat] (they) lie
раз [ras] time (as in ‘many
gen pl раз times’)
два раза [dva ra-za] twice
трудный [trobd-ni] difficult
без + gen [byez/byes 2.8] without (preposition)
труд [troot] labour
без труда [byes-troo-da] without difficulty
много (+ gen) [mn6-ga] many, much
сахар [sa-har] sugar
яблоко (nom pl [ya-bla-ka] apple
яблоки)
апельсин [a-pyely-seen] orange
хлеб [hlyep] bread
каждый [kazh-di] each, every
больше (indecl) [boly-she] more
а! [al] ah! (exclamation)
понятно [pa-nyat-na] (it is) comprehensible
форма [for-ma] form
грамм [gram] gram(me)
масло [mas-la] butter
сыр [sir] cheese
килограмм [kee-la-gram] kilogramme
(also кило n indecl) [kee-16] (kilo)
колбаса (no pl) [kal-ba-sa] sausage (salami type,
eaten cold)
тогда [tag-da] then (at that time);
in that case
 83

бутылка [boo-til-ka] bottle

gen pl бутылок [boo-ti-lak])
молоко [ma-la-ko] milk
батон [ba-ton] loaf
булочка [bo'o-lach-ka] bread roll
gen pl булочек [bo'o-la-chyek])
стоить (2) stem сто- [sto-eety] to cost
сколько стоит...? [sto-eet] how much is (costs)...?
different from
стоять ‘to stand’ -
NB stress
с вас [svas] from you (c + gen 17.7)
= you owe (idiom)
дайте [day-tye] give (imper)
возьмите [vazy-me'e-tye] take (imper)
сдача [zda-cha] change (money returned)
иностран(е)ц [ee-na-stra-nyets] foreigner (male)
gen pl [ee-na-stran-tsef]
иностранцев

9.9 Conversations

Mike has difficulty buying eggs

Нина Опять вы стойте в очереди, Майк!
Майк Я покупаю яйца.
Нина Но в вашей сумке уже лежат четыре яйца. Зачем стоять
два раза?
Майк «Яйцо» - очень трудное слово. Я без труда покупаю
много сахара, яблок, апельсинов, хлеба, но когда я
покупаю яйца, я каждый раз беру только два, три или
четыре яйца, не больше.
Нина А, понятно! Вы не знаете форму «пять яиц». Да, это
трудная форма.
In many Soviet shops you pay for goods before you receive them.
This means that you have to recite a list of the things you want,
and often their prices as well, to a cashier (кассир) at a cashdesk
(касса) some distance from the various counters where the goods
are. The cashier works out the total on her wooden counting frame
(abacus), takes your money and gives you a set of receipts (чеки
[chye-kee]). You take these чеки, which simply show' the price paid,
84

to the various counters, where you tell the assistants (продавцы)

what you want and hand over the relevant чеки. It’s a good exercise
in spoken Russian; if you don’t make a written list, it’s also a
memory test.

Mike has learnt the genitive

Майк Сто пятьдесят граммов масла - пятьдесят четыре

копейки. Двести граммов сыра - шестьдесят копеек.
Два килограмма колбась! - четыре рубля шестьдесят
копеек.
Кассир Колбась!? Тогда не четыре шестьдесят, а пять
шестьдесят.
Майк Простите. Две бутылки молока - шестьдесят четыре
копейки. Два батона - двадцать шесть копеек.
Девять булочек... Простите, сколько стоит булочка?
Кассир Три копейки.
Майк Девять булочек - двадцать семь копеек. Это всё.
Кассир Все?
(She clicks the beads on her abacus)
С вас семь рублей девяносто одна копейка.
Майк Вот десять рублей.
Кассир Дайте одну копейку. Возьмите сдачу, два рубля
десять копеек. Вы иностранец? Вы хорошо говорите
по-русски, много слов знаете. Наверно, вы знаете
много языков.
Майк Нет, только два языка, русский и английский. До
свидания.
Кассир Возьмите чеки.
Майк Спасибо.
Кассир Пожалуйста.

TRANSLATIONS

N You’re standing in the queue (line) again, Mike!

M I’m buying eggs.
N But you’ve already got four eggs in your bag. Why stand twice?
M ‘eetso’ is a very difficult word. I have no difficulty buying lots
of sugar, apples, oranges, (and) bread, but when I buy eggs
each time I take (buy) only two, three or four, not more.
 85

,V Ah, I see. You don’t know the form five ‘yeets’ (gen pl). Yes, it’s
a difficult form.

V/ 150 grammes of butter - 54 kopecks. 200 grammes of cheese -

60 kopecks. Two kilogrammes of sausage - 4 roubles 60
kopecks.
C (Of) sausage? Then not 4 (roubles) 60 (kopecks) but five sixty.
M I beg your pardon. Two bottles of milk - 64 kopecks. Two
loaves - 26 kopecks. 9 bread rolls... Excuse me, how much is a
roll?
C Three kopecks.
M Nine rolls - 27 kopecks. That’s everything.
C Everything? That’ll be 7 roubles 91 kopecks.
M Here’s ten roubles.
C Give (me) (a) one kopeck (coin). Here’s your change, two
roubles ten (kopecks). Are you a foreigner? You speak Russian
well, you know a lot of words. I suppose (probably) you know
a lot of languages.
J No, only two languages, Russian and English. Goodbye.
M Take your receipts.
J Thank you.
M You’re welcome.
(Seeing that Mike is a foreigner, this cashier is a lot less abrupt
than is the norm for hard-pressed Moscow shop assistants.)
86

Exercise 40
Translate the words in brackets:
1 Я знаю (three languages).
2 Это брат (of Boris).
3 Водка стоит (six dollars).
4 Я покупаю (twenty-one bottles of vodka).
5 Дайте, пожалуйста, (200 grammes of cheese).
6 В гостинице (many Americans).
7 (How much) стоит батон? (Thirteen kopecks).
8 Я здесь уже (two weeks).

Exercise 40A
What is the name of this play? What case is the second word of the
title?

А. П. ЧЕХОВ

ТРИ СЕСТРЫ
Lesson 10

Counting with adjectives, ‘having’ and ‘not having’. More uses of

the genitive case endings.

Exercise 41 (revision)
Say in Russian:
1 Five roubles forty kopecks
2 Twenty-four dollars
3 Bread costs thirteen kopecks.
4 How much is a kilogramme of sausage?
5 Please give me five hundred grammes of butter.
6 Lots of money
7 Five months
8 Three sisters
9 Goodbye
10 Ten eggs

10.1 The genitive singular of adjectives

(a) With singular masculine and neuter nouns, the adjective

ending is -oro (NB г pronounced [v]) or -его [ye-vo] after the
spelling rule letters ж ч ш щ ц (8.11). This is the same ending as the
masculine accusative with people and animals you learnt in 7.8.
килограмм хорошего русского [rdo-ska-va] сыра
a kilo of good Russian cheese
имя американского [a-mye-ree-kan-ska-va] туриста
the name of the American tourist (= the American tourist’s name)
(b) With feminines, the ending is -ой (-ей after ж ч ш щ ц), the
same as the prepositional adjective endings (see 7.7):
килограмм русской [roo-skay] колбась! a kilo of Russian sausage
имя красивой молодой американской [kra-see-vay ma-la-ddy
a-mye-ree-kan-skay] студентки
the name of the beautiful young American student

87
88

10.2 The genitive plural of adjectives

The ending for all genders is -ых (or -их, if the last letter of the
stem is one of the seven spelling rule letters - see 8.4):
килограмм красивых свежих американских [a-mye-ree-kan-skeeh]
яблок a kilo of beautiful fresh American apples

10.3 Adjectives with numbers

As you would expect, when the noun is gen pl (after пять ‘five’
etc.), the adjective is also gen pl:
Мы знаем сто русских [ro'o-skeeh] (gen pl) слов (gen pl).
We know a hundred Russian words.
Двадцать шесть американских [a-mye-ree-kan-skeeh] (gen pl)
туристов (gen pl). Twenty-six American tourists.
But it is a peculiarity of Russian numbers that after два/две, три
and четыре, adjectives are also put in the gen plural, even though
nouns are gen singular.
В этом городе три книжных [kne'ezh-nih] (gen pl) магазина (gen
sing). In this town there are three bookshops.
Мы знаем сто двадцать [dva-tsaty] два русских [ro'o-skeeh] (gen
pl) слова (gen sing). We know one hundred and twenty-two
Russian words.
Пожалуйста, дайте эти (acc pl) четыре красных [kra-snih] (gen
pl) яблока (gen sing). Please give (me) these four red apples.

Exercise 42
Add the genitive endings and translate:
1 Джейн - учительница русск__ языка.
2 Вы знаете имя красив__ молод^__ англичанки?
3 Десять хорош__ русск___ друзей.
4 Я знаю три иностранн__ языка.

10.4 Genitive of the possessives and этот ‘this’

(а) мой, твой, наш, ваш have the same genitive endings as
хороший. So in the singular, their endings are -его (m and n) or
 89

-ей [yey] (f), and in the plural -их (all genders).

имя моего [ma-ye-vo NB stress] друга
the name of my (male) friend (= my friend’s name)
имя твоей [tva-уёу] подруги
the name of your (girl) friend (= your girlfriend’s name)

улицы наших [na-shih] городов the streets of our cities

квартира ваших [va-shih] русских друзей
the flat of your Russian friends (= your Russian friends’ flat)

(b) этот has the singular genitive forms этого [e-ta-va] (m and n)
and этой [ё-tay] (f) ‘of this’:

имя этого [ё-ta-va] американца the name of this American

But in the genitive plural the ending is -их: этих [ё-teeh] ‘of these’:
этих американцев ‘of these Americans’.

Exercise 43
Put the correct endings on the possessives and adjectives:
1 Где квартира ваш___ русск___ друга?
2 Это дом moJ__ хорош___ друзей.
3 Имя moJ__ англййск___ подруги - Джейн.
4 Мы хотим купить килограмм эт___красн___ яблок.

10.5 Genitive with prepositions

Many Russian prepositions are followed by the genitive case. Here

are four of the commonest:

для [dlya] for

подарок для моего друга a present for my friend
у [oo] by, near
у вашего дома by (near) your house
из [eez/ees] out of, from (the opposite of в + acc ‘to, into’)
туристы из Англии [eez-an-glee-ee] tourists from England
без [byez/byes] without
кофе без молока coffee without milk, black coffee (молоко
milk)
90

10.6 Genitive of pronouns

The genitive forms of the personal pronouns are the same as the
accusative forms (see 6.1):
Я меня of me МЫ нас of US
ты тебя of you вы вас of you
он его [NB ye-vo] of him они ИХ of them
она её [уе-уо] of her
OHO его [ye-vo] of it
для т ебя for you без нас without us
NOTE When его, ее or их is preceded by a preposition, the letter
н is added to the pronoun, so его, её, их become него, неё, них:
для него for him/it у них by them
без неё without her из него out of it

10.7 How to say ‘I have five roubles’

In English we have a common verb ‘to have’ to express possession.

Russian does not. To say ‘I have five roubles’, Russian has a quite
different construction which literally translates as ‘By me is five
roubles’:
У меня есть пять рублей [оо mye-nya yesty pyaty roo-Ыуёу].
есть means ‘is’ or ‘are’ (in the sense of ‘exist’). So the construction
for ‘someone has something’ is у + gen of the person + есть +
noun in the nom:
У моего брата (gen) есть деньги (nom pl)
By my brother is (exists) money.
= My brother has money.
He has a son. У него [nye-vo] есть сын.
She has a son. У неё [пуе-уб] есть сын.
They have a son. У них [neeh] есть сын.
‘Do you have X?’ in Russian is У вас есть X (nom)? The rise-fall
question intonation is always on the есть.
- У вас есть сын? [оо vas yesty sin?] Do you have a son? (lit. ‘By
you exists son?’)
- Да, у меня есть сын. [da, оо mye-nya yesty sin] Yes, I have a son.
(lit. ‘Yes, by me exists son!)
 91

Or you can answer more colloquially and simply:

- Да, есть, [da, yesty] Yes, 1 do. (lit. ‘Yes, exists!)

Exercise 44
Translate the dialogue (It’s called ‘Little hope for Boris here’):
Борис - У вас есть муж?
Мэри - Да, есть.
Борис - У вас есть дети?
Мэри - Да, дочь и два сына.
Борис - У вашего [va-she-va NB] мужа есть деньги?
Мэри - Да, есть.

10.8 ‘there is’/‘there are’/‘there exists’: есть

In 10.7 we met есть meaning ‘is’, ‘are’ (‘exist’) in the construction ‘I

have a son’ (‘By me is son’), есть is the word to use to translate
‘there is...’/‘there are...’ in sentences such as ‘In this street there is a
restaurant!
На этой улице есть ресторан. There is a restaurant in this street.
Здесь есть американцы. There are Americans here.
В Москве есть красивые парки. There are beautiful parks in
Moscow.
Есть американцы и в нашей гостйнице. There are Americans
in our hotel too. (и ‘and’ can also mean ‘too’, ‘also’)

10.9 ‘there isn’t’/‘there aren’t’: another use of the genitive

The opposite of есть ‘there is/are’ is нет ‘there isn’t/aren’t’ (a quite

different use of нет from its meaning ‘no’). In this meaning нет is
followed by the genitive case (sing or pl).
Здесь нет ресторана (gen sing).
There is no restaurant here. (lit. ‘Here is not of a restaurant!)
Нет ресторанов (gen pl).
There are no restaurants.
В нашей гостйнице нет американцев (gen pl).
There aren’t any Americans in our hotel, (lit. ‘In our hotel is not of
Americans!)
Сегодня в магазйне нет апельсйнов (gen pl).
There are no oranges in the shop today.
92

10.10 ‘I don’t have’

If ‘I have a son’ is У меня есть сын, can you guess the Russian for
‘I don’t have a son’? The opposite of есть + the nominative is нет
+ the genitive, so T don’t have a son’ is У меня нет сына (lit. ‘By me
is not of son’).
У моего брата нет денег. Му brother has no money/My brother
hasn’t (got) any money.
У моих друзей нет детей. My friends have no children.
У ее мужа нет друзей. Her husband has no friends.

Exercise 45
Give negative answers to the questions using нет + gen:
1 Здесь есть магазин? 6 У них есть яйца?
2 В бутылке есть молоко? 7 У вашего брата есть
3 У вас есть рубль? квартира?
4 У вас есть один доллар? 8 У вас есть новые книги?
5 У вас есть доллары?

10.11 People and animals: асе plural = gen plural

You know that masculine nouns denoting people and animals have
the same ending -а/-я in both the acc and gen singular:
Я знаю вашего брата (acc). I know your brother.
Это книга вашего брата (gen). This is your brother’s book.
In the accusative plural, all nouns (of whatever gender) denoting
people and animals have the same ending as the genitive plural:
Я знаю ваших братьев. I know your brothers, (ваших братьев
can also mean ‘of your brothers’)
Я знаю этих женщин. I know these women.
Я люблю котов. I love cats, (котов = gen pl of кот)

10.12 Vocabulary

девушка [dye-voosh-ka] girl, miss (addressing a young

woman)
продав(ё)ц [pra-da-vyets] sales assistant (NB fleeting vowel)
 93

экземпляр [eg-zyem-plyar] copy(of book)

для + gen [dlya] for
белый [bye-li] white (same endings as
новый)
Столичная [sta-le'ech-na-ya] Stolichnaya (‘Capital’), a
(f adj) well-known Soviet vodka
большой [baly-shoy] big, large
-ая (f), -6e (n),
-йе (pl)
маленький [ma-lyeny-kee] small
-ая (f), -ое (n),
-ие (pl)
литр [leetr] litre
пол-литра [pol-le'e-tra] half a litre (from половина
литра ‘half of a litre’)
сестра [sye-stra] sister (7.10)
nom pl сестры,
gen pl сестёр
грузинский [groo-ze'en-skee] Georgian (from Soviet
Georgia)
дети pl [dye-tee] children
gen pl детей [dye-tyey]
матрёшка [ma-trydsh-ka] matroshka (the wooden dolls
gen pl матрёшек which fit inside each other)
ещё [ye-shshyo] yet, still
ещё один one more
игрушка [ee-grdosh-ka] toy
gen pl игрушек
совсем [sa-fsyem] completely, totally
штука [shto'o-ka] thing (a colloquial word,
useful when you don’t know
the word for something or
when counting things)
родители pl [ra-dee-tye-lee] parents
sing родитель,
gen pl родителей
дома [d6-ma] at home
почти [pach-te'e] almost
музыка [moo-zi-ka] music
цент [tsent] cent

You should now have a Russian vocabulary of about 300 words.

94

10.13 Conversation

Andrey and Barbara are shopping in a ‘Beriozka’

Девушка! У вас есть книги о Москве?

Андрей
Miss! Do you have any books about Moscow?
Продавец Есть. Но новых нет.
We do. But there aren’t any new ones.
Барбара Покажите, пожалуйста. Вот эта красивая книга у
меня уже есть, а этой книги нет. Дайте, пожалуйста,
четыре экземпляра.
Show (me), please. This attractive one I’ve already got,
but I don’t have this one. Give me four copies please.
Андрей Зачем так много экземпляров?
Why so many copies?
Барбара Это подарки для моих друзей. А в этом магазине
есть водка и вино?
They’re presents for my friends. Does this shop have
vodka and wine?
Андрей По-моему, красного вина нет, но есть белое. И
водка есть.
1 think there’s no red wine, but there is white. And
there’s vodka.
Барбара Хорошо. Пожалуйста, три бутылки Столичной.
Дайте одну большую и две маленьких. Сколько в
них граммов?
Good. Three bottles of Stolichnaya (vodka), please.
Give me one big (bottle) and two small ones . How
much do they hold (How many grammes [of vodka] in
them? - Russians measure vodka in grammes, treating
a litre as equal to 1000 grammes; ‘100 grammes’ is a
generous glassful)?
Продавец В большой литр, а в маленькой пол-литра.
The big one holds a litre and the small one half a litre.
Барбара Литр для мужа моей сестры. И дайте одну
бутылку белого вина, грузинского.
The litre is for my sister’s husband. And give (me) one
bottle of white wine, (of) Georgian.
Андрей У вашей сестры есть дети?
Does your sister have any children?
Барбара Есть. Два маленьких сына, Скотт и Джейк.
Yes. Two small sons, Scott and Jake.
 95

Вот красивый подарок для них: русские матрешки.

Андрей
Here’s a nice present for them: Russian matryoshkas.
Барбара Да, у них таких игрушек нет. Сколько их?
Yes, they don’t have any toys like that. How many of
them (are there)?
Андрей Две матрёшки, три, четыре, пять матрешек,
шесть, семь, вот ещё одна, совсем маленькая -
восемь штук.
Two matryoshkas, three, four, five matryoshkas, six,
seven, here’s another one, really small - eight of them.
Барбара Хорошо. А для моих родителей я беру пять
пластинок. У нас дома почти нет русской музыки.
Сколько с нас?
OK. And for my parents I’m taking five records. We
have hardly any Russian music at home. How much
do we owe?
Продавец Какие у вас деньги? Доллары? Шестьдесят
долларов тридцать пять центов.
What kind of money do you have? Dollars? Sixty
dollars thirty-five cents.

Exercise 46 (revision)
Say in Russian (see the section references to check points):
1 Hello (2.1). What’s your name (3.1)? Mine is Jane (3.1).
2 Hello. I’m Boris. Are you American (4.1)?
3 No, I’m English. I’m a teacher (4.1).
4 Are you working in Moscow (5.1, 5.2, 5.4)?
5 Yes, but I’m going (6.3) home to England (6.4) in (‘after’ 6.6)
three months (9.3).
6 You speak Russian very well (4.1) and you understand everything.
7 I understand everything when you speak slowly.
8 Excuse (me), where are you going (on foot) (6.3, 6.4)?
9 I’m going to the bookshop on Kalinin Prospekt (5.10).
10 Let’s go together (6.6). I’m very fond of bookshops (7.9, 8.10).
11 OK. I often buy Russian books. I like Russian poetry (8.15).
12 1 like American books (8.3). But our shops aren’t very good.
13 Let’s go to the ‘Beriozka’. I need to buy (8.14) presents (8.13).
14 This shop has very few (9.7) foreign (10.2) books (9.6). (Say: In
this shop very few foreign books.)
15 Foreigners have (10.7) dollars, so (поэтому) they buy books in
the ‘Beriozka’.
96

16 I have no dollars (10.10). You too (тоже) have no foreign

money.
17 I know these Americans (10.11). They have money.
18 The vodka costs twenty roubles (9.1, 9.3) and the books
twenty-three roubles.
19 Are you buying those bottles of vodka for your husband
(10.12)?
20 I don’t have a husband (10.10) but I have many (9.7) good
(10.2) friends (9.6).
Lesson 11

More on verbs: talking about past events (past tense), reflexive

verbs, learning new verbs.

11.1 Talking about the past

Up till now we have used only the present tense (‘I am doing’, ‘I
do’). To talk about past time we need the past tense - forms such as
T did’, ‘He was doing’. Russian has only one past tense, and it is
easy to form. Simply remove the -ть of the infinitive and replace it
with the ending -л:
раббта/ть to work Борис работал. Boris worked/was
working
бы/ть to be Борис был дома. Boris was at home.
If the subject is feminine, you must add a to the л:
Нина работала. Nina worked/was working.
If the subject is neuter, add о to the л:
Письмо было там. The letter was there.
If the subject is plural, add и to the л:
Нина и Борис работали. Nina and Boris worked/were working.
So a man says: Я работал. I worked/was working.
but a woman says: Я работала. I worked/was working.
It doesn’t matter if the verb has an irregular stem in the pres tense;
the past tense is regular. So the past of хотеть ‘to want’, a difficult
verb in the pres tense (see 6.5), is straightforward:

Singular Plural
я хотел (т)/я хотела (f) мы хотели
ты хотел (т)/ты хотела (f) вы хотели (вы always has the plural
он хотел ending, even when you’re
она хотела talking to one person)
оно хотело они хотели

97
98

Exercise 47
Put in the past tense and translate:
1 Иван (читать).
2 Мы (жить) в Москве.
3 Вы (говорить) по-русски?
4 Я (woman) (знать), что вы англичанин.
5 Он (ехать) в Ленинград.
6 Майк и Нина (стоять) в очереди.
7 Они не (понимать), когда я (woman) (говорить).
Note that быть ‘to be’, usually omitted in the present tense (e.g. Я
в Москве ‘I (am) in Moscow’), has a normal past tense: был (m),
была (f) (NB stress), было (n), были (pl) ‘was/were’.
Я был в Москве. I was in Moscow, (man speaking)
Я была в Москве. I was in Moscow, (woman speaking)
Фильм был интересный. The film was interesting.
Вино было хорошее. The wine was good.
Мы были в Москве. We were in Moscow.

11.2 Stress of the past tense

The stress of the masculine, neuter and plural forms is the same as
the infinitive (with a few exceptions). But in the case of short (one
syllable) verbs (e.g. быть ) the stress of the feminine form is usually
on the -ла:
быть (to be): он был, оно было, они были вит она была was/were
жить (to live): он жил, оно жило, они жили вит она жила lived
Exception: ‘she knew’ is она знала.

11.3 Past tense of идти

Those few verbs which do not end -ть in the infinitive have
exceptional past tense forms. For example, идти ‘to go (on foot)’
has the forms:
он шёл [shol], она шла [shla], оно шло [shlo], они шли [shlee]
Борис шёл домой. Boris was going home.
Нина шла в магазин. Nina was going to the shop.
 99

The past tense of such verbs will be given as we meet them.

11.4 ‘there was’/‘there were’

To say ‘there was’ or ‘there were’ you use the past tense of быть:
There were Russian books in the shop. В магазине были (pl
agreeing with ‘books’) русские книги.
There was an American woman here. Здесь была американка.

11.5 ‘I had’

The past of У меня есть (‘I have’ 10.7) is У меня был/была/

было/были depending on the gender of the subject:
У меня была бутылка водки. I had a bottle of vodka.
У него были доллары. Не had dollars.

11.6 ‘there wasn’t/weren’t’: не было + gen

The past of нет (meaning ‘there wasn’t/there weren’t) is не было

[nye-bi-la], stressed on the не, and followed by the gen:
He было автобусов. There weren’t any buses.
У нас не было денег. We had no money, (lit. ‘By us
was not of money’).
Там не было книжного магазина. There was no bookshop there.

Exercise 48
Say in Russian:
1 I had one dollar.
2 I didn’t have a dollar.
3 There was a kilogramme of sausage in the bag.
4 There was no sausage in the shop.
5 We had friends in Moscow.
6 We had no friends in Leningrad.
100

11.7 Reflexive verbs

Russian has many verbs which end -ться (NB pronounced [tsa]).
The -ть is the normal infinitive ending and the -ся means ‘self:

одеваться [a-dye-va-tsa] ‘to dress oneself (or ‘to get dressed’)

This is a Type 1 verb like знать (4.8). Present tense:
я одеваюсь [a-dye-va-yoosy] I dress myself
ты одеваешься you (fam) dress yourself
[a-dye-va-yesh-sya]
он одевается he dresses himself
[a-dye-va-ye-tsa NB]
мы одеваемся we dress ourselves
[a-dye-va-yem-sya]
вы одеваетесь you (pol/pl) dress
[a-dye-va-ye-tyesy]
yourself/yourselves
они одеваются [a-dye-va-yoo-tsa NB] they dress themselves
So ‘myself’, ‘yourself’ etc. all translate as -ся or -сь, which is joined
to the verb ending. You find -ся after consonants and -сь after
vowels. The same rule works for the past tense:
я одевался [a-dye-val-sya] I dressed myself (man speaking)
я одевалась [a-dye-va-lasy] 1 dressed myself (woman speaking)
мы одевались [a-dye-va-leesy] we dressed ourselves
NOTE Many verbs with the -ся ending are not reflexive in meaning,
e.g. улыбаться [oo-li-ba-tsa] ‘to smile’ (Type 1) (there is no verb
улыбать):

я улыбаюсь [oo-li-ba-yoosy] I smile

ты улыбаешься [oo-li-ba-yesh-sya] you (fam) smile
она улыбалась [oo-li-ba-lasy] she smiled
родиться [ra-de'e-tsa] ‘to be born’:

Я родился в Вашингтоне. 1 (male) was born in Washington.

Я родилась в Ленинграде. I (female) was born in Leningrad.
Где вы родились [ra-de'e-leesy]? Where were you born?

Exercise 49
Use the past tense of the reflexive verbs and translate:
1 Её дочь (родиться) в Москве.
2 Почему они (улыбаться)?
3 Она(одеваться)красиво.
4 Я (учиться) (‘to study’) в этой школе (school).
 101

11,8 Verbs in the vocabularies: how to make the present tense

Each new verb is shown with its present tense conjugation pattern
(1), (IB) or (2), i.e. Type 1 (like знать ‘to know’ - see 4.8), Type IB
(like жить ‘to live’ - see 5.9) or Type 2 (like говорить ‘to speak’ -
see 4.9). To show you the stem (the part to which the endings are
added) and the stress pattern, two of the personal forms are given:
the T (я) form (which in many Type IB and Type 2 verbs has a
slightly different stem from the other forms) and the ‘you’ (fam)
(ты) form. If you have these two forms you can predict the other
four, because the stem and stress of the он, мы, вы and они forms
are always the same as in the ты form. Take the important verb
видеть [ve'e-dyety] ‘to see’ (Type 2): ‘I see’ is я вижу and ‘you (fam)
see’ is ты видишь, so the stem of the other four forms is вид- and
the stress is on the stem.

видеть to see: я вижу мы видим

ты видишь вы видите
он/она/оно видит они видят
Another Туре 2 verb любить ‘to love’: Т love’ is я люблю (note
the extra л), ‘you (fam) love’ is ты любишь, so the other four
forms must be он любит, мы любим, вы любите, они любят.
Now the verb ждать [zhdaty] (IB) ‘to wait’, which has the stem
жд-: T wait’: я жду; ‘you (fam) wait’: ты ждёшь. So the other
forms must be он ждёт, мы ждём, вы ждёте, они ждут.
note When е in a verb ending is stressed, it always turns into e.

Exercise 50
Work out the underlined form from the information given:
1 писать (IB) ‘to write’ я пишу, ты пишешь: you (pol) write
2 стоять (2) ‘to stand’ я стою, ты стоишь: they are standing
3 смотреть (2) ‘to look’ я смотрю, ты смотришь: we look
4 делать (1) ‘to do’ я делаю, ты делаешь: they do

11.9 Vocabulary

снова [sno-va] again (like опять)

приятный [pree-yat-ni] pleasant
сюрприз [syoor-prees] surprise
102

ожидать [a-zhi-daty] (1) to expect

я ожидаю, ты ожидаешь
+ gen/acc
долго [dol-ga] for a long time
ждать [zhdaty] (IB) + acc to wait for
stem жд- я жду, ты ждёшь
недолго [nye-dol-ga] not long
самолет [sa-ma-lydt] aeroplane
опаздывать [a-paz-di-vaty] (1) to be late
я опаздываю, ты опаздываешь
всего [fsye-vo NB] only (particularly with
numbers)
ну [поо] well (to show hesitation or a
pause)
рассказывайте [ras-ska-zi-vay-tye] tell (imper)
мама [ma-ma] mother, mum (fam)
ведь [vyety] you know (a word that shows
that you expect the other
person to agree or to know
the information already)
учиться [oo-che'e-tsa] (2) to study (somewhere, e.g. at
я учусь (NB spelling), ты schookOH учится в школе,
учишься; the они form is учатся а я учусь в университете.
(NB spelling) ‘He’s (studying) at school
but I’m at university?)
университет [oo-nee-vyer-see-tyet] university
время [vrye-mya] NB neuter time
gen sing времени
ходить [ha-deety] (2) to go somewhere (on foot)
я хожу, ты ходишь and return; to walk about
кино [kee-no] n indecl cinema
писать [pee-saty] (1В) to write
я пишу, ты пишешь
за [za] + асе for (in return for)
спасибо за + асе thank you for
интересный [een-tye-ryes-ni] interesting
смеяться [smye-ya-tsa] (1) to laugh
я смеюсь, ты смеёшься
сначала [sna-cha-la] at first
быть в гостях у + gen to visit (someone) (lit. ‘to be
[bity vga-styah оо] in guests by someone’)
несколько [nye-skaly-ka] + gen a few
 103

свободный [sva-bod-ni] free

д(е)нь [dyeny] (m) day
gen pl дней
ездить [yez-deety] (2) to travel somewhere and
я езжу, ты ездишь return; to travel around
давай [da-vay] let’s (fam)
давай будем на «ты» let’s use ‘ti’ to each other
[da-vay bob-dyem na-ti]
друг друга [droog-drob-ga] each other
договорились [da-ga-va-ree-leesy] that’s agreed (idiomatic
expression)
давайте поговорим [da-vay-tye let’s talk
pa-ga-va-reem]
смотреть [sma-tryety] (2) + acc to watch (also ‘to look’ - see
я смотрю, ты смотришь 8.14)

11.10 Conversation

Boris goes to Sheremetyevo

Шереметьево is Moscow’s international airport, where all flights
from the West arrive.
Борис Джейн, здравствуйте! Как хорошо, что вы снова в
Москве! Как было в Ливерпуле? Что вы делали в
Америке? Вы видели Марка?
Джейн Борис! Какой приятный сюрприз! Я не ожидала. Вы
долго ждали?
Борис Нет, недолго. Говорили, что твой - простите, ваш
самолёт опаздывает, но я ждал всего тридцать
минут. Ну, рассказывайте.
Джейн В Ливерпуле всё было хорошо. Я видела маму и
брата. Потом я была в Лондоне три дня, видела
друзей. У меня там много друзей, ведь я там училась
в университете. А вы, наверно, всё время работали.
Борис Ну, не всё время, конечно. Я ходил в кино несколько
раз, читал книги, писал письма.
Джейн Да, спасибо за интересное письмо. Вы очень хорошо
пишете. Я смеялась.
Борис Оно шло долго?
Джейн Дней десять.
Борис А где ты была, простите, где вы были в Америке?
104

Джейн Сначала я была в Нью-Йорке, потом я была в гостях

у друзей моих родителей в Филадельфии. У них было
несколько свободных дней, мы ездили в Вашингтон.
А вы...
Борис Джейн, давай будем на «ты». Ведь мы знаем друг
друга уже два месяца.
Джейн Ну, я не знаю. Если хотите...
Борис Договорились! А ты видела этого Марка, твоего
друга?
Джейн Видела.
Борис Что вы делали? Вы долго были вместе? Ты его
любишь?
Джейн Почему вы хотите всё знать? Я не хочу говорить о
Марке. Давайте поговорим о другом. Какие фильмы
вы смотрели в кино?

TRANSLATION

В Jane, hello! How good (it is) that you’re back in Moscow. How
was Liverpool? What did you do in America? Did you see
Mark?
J Boris! What a nice surprise! How unexpected. Did you wait
(Have you waited) long?
В No, not long. They said that your (fam) - I’m sorry, your (pol)
plane was late, but I waited only thirty minutes. Well, tell me
about it.
J In Liverpool everything was fine. I saw my mother and my
brother. Then I was in London for three days and saw my
friends. I have many friends there, as you know I was at
university there. But you no doubt worked all the time.
В Well, not all the time, of course. I went to the cinema several
times, read books and wrote letters.
J Yes, thanks for the interesting letter. You write well. I laughed.
В Did it take long to reach you? (lit. ‘did it go long?’; шло: past
of идти - Russian letters go on foot.)
J About ten days (inversion of the noun and number means
‘approximately’).
В And where were you (fam), I’m sorry, where were you (pol) in
America? (= Where did you go in America?)
J First I was in New York, then I visited friends of my parents in
Philadelphia. They had a few free days and we went to
 105

Washington. And you...

В Jane, let’s use ‘ti’. After all, we’ve known each other for two
months now.
J Well, I don’t know... If you (pol) want...
В That’s agreed, then! And did you (fam) see that Mark, your
friend?
J Yes, I saw him.
В What did you (pl) do? Were you together for long? Do you love
him?
J Why do you (pol) want to know everything? I don’t want to
talk about Mark. Let’s talk about something else (‘about other’
from другой ‘other’). What films did you see (‘watch’) at the
cinema?

Exercise 51
Translate into English:
1 Письма из Москвы идут медленно.
2 Джейн ездила в Америку.
3 Борис ходил в кино.
4 Борис и Джейн уже на «ты».
5 Он ждал минут тридцать.
Lesson 12

Making arrangements and plans: Talking about the future. Aspect

and the future tense. Dative pronouns.

12.1 The future

‘I shall write a letter’ is Я напишу [na-pee-shob] письмо.

In 11.9 we met the verb писать ‘to write’ (я пишу, ты пишешь). In
the example above, you can see that ‘I shall write’ (я напишу) has
the same endings as T am writing’ (я пишу). To form the future
tense, you use the same set of endings as you learnt for the present
tense (4.8, 4.9) but these endings are added to a different infinitive.
If you look up any verb, e.g. ‘to write’, in an English-Russian
dictionary, you will generally find a pair of equivalent Russian
verbs. ‘To write’ is in Russian both писать and написать, писать
is called the imperfective (non-completed) aspect of this verb, and
написать is called the perfective (completed) aspect. We shall go
into more detail on the distinction between the aspects in lesson 13.
The main thing to remember now is that the present tense is
always formed from the imperfective aspect (and all the infinitives
we have met so far have been imperfective), while the future tense
is most often (though not always - 14.2) formed from the
perfective aspect.

12.2 Imperfective and perfective pairs

Here are some examples of imperfective/perfective pairs, using

imperfectives we have already met:
Imperfective (i) Perfective (р)
понимать (1) to understand понять [pa-nyaty] (1В)
я понимаю, ты понимаешь я пойму, ты поймешь
смотреть (2) to watch посмотреть [pa-sma-tryety] (2)
я смотрю, ты смотришь я посмотрю, ты посмотришь
брать (1 В) to take взять [vzyaty] (1В)
я беру, ты берёшь я возьму [vazy-mob], ты
возьмёшь

106
 107

говорить (2) to speak/say сказать [ska-zaty] (IB)

я говорю, ты говоришь я скажу, ты скажешь
идтй(1В) to go (on foot) пойти [pay-tee] (1В)
я иду, ты идёшь я пойду, ты пойдёшь
ехать (IB) to go (ride) поехать [pa-ye-haty] (1В)
я еду, ты едешь я поеду, ты поедешь
видеть (2) to see увидеть [oo-ve'e-dyety] (2)
я вижу, ты видишь я увижу, ты увидишь
улыбаться (1) to smile улыбнуться [oo-lib-no'o-tsa] (1В)
я улыбаюсь, ты улыбаешься я улыбнусь, ты улыбнёшься
делать (1) to do сделать [zdye-laty] (1)
я делаю, ты делаешь я сделаю, ты сделаешь
покупать (1) to buy купить [koo-pe'ety] (2)
я покупаю, ты покупаешь я куплю [koo-plyob], ты
купишь
Мы смотрим фильм, (i) We are watching a film.
Мы посмотрим фильм, (р) We’ll watch a film.
Я беру эту книгу, (i) I’m taking this book.
Я возьму эту книгу, (р) I shall take this book.
Он не понимает, (i) He doesn’t understand.
Он не поймёт, (р) He won’t understand.
Мы идём на Красную площадь, (i) We’re going to Red Square.
Мы пойдём на Красную площадь, (р) We’ll go to Red Square.
Вы видите Бориса? (i) Do you see Boris?
Вы увидите Бориса? (р) Will you see Boris?
The conjugation of perfectives follows exactly the same rules as for
imperfectives (see 11.8). You will see that many perfectives are
formed by adding a prefix to the imperfective (e.g. писать/
написать); in these cases, the conjugation (stem and endings) are
always exactly the same as for the imperfective. That means that if
you know how to conjugate писать, you automatically know how
to conjugate написать.

Exercise 52
Put the perfective verbs in the future form and translate:

1 Вы (купить) эту книгу?

2 Я (сделать) это через неделю.
3 Он не (поехать) в Ленинград.
108

4 Когда Джейн (понять), что он её любит?

5 Она не (сказать), что она его не любит.
At the moment, perfective forms are simply new vocabulary items
to be learnt, but with practice you will discover that it is often
possible to guess what the perfective of an imperfective verb will be
and that it is usually possible to tell immediately whether a new
verb is perfective or imperfective.

12.3 More pairs of useful verbs

Imperfective (i) Perfective (p)

встречать (1) [fstrye-chaty] встретить (2) to meet
я встречаю, ты встречаешь я встречу, ты встретишь
звонить (2) позвонить (2) to telephone
я звоню, ты звонишь я позвоню, ты позвонишь
отвечать (1) ответить (2) to answer
я отвечаю, ты отвечаешь я отвечу, ты ответишь
открывать (1) открыть (1) to open
я открываю, ты открываешь я открою, ты откроешь
приходить(2) прийти (1 В) to arrive (foot)
я прихожу, ты приходишь я приду, ты придёшь
приезжать (1) [pree-ye-zhaty приехать (1 В) to arrive
NB] (transport)
я приезжаю, ты приезжаешь я приеду, ты приедешь
рассказывать (1) рассказать (IB) to tell, relate
я рассказываю, ты я расскажу, ты расскажешь
рассказываешь
читать (1) прочитать (1) to read
я читаю, ты читаешь я прочитаю, ты прочитаешь
возвращаться (1) вернуться (IB) to return
я возвращаюсь, ты я вернусь, ты вернёшься
возвращаешься

Exercise 53
Say in Russian:
1 I am reading a book.
2 I shall read this book.
3 Why doesn’t he answer?
4 He won’t answer.
5 W'ill you (pol) phone?
 109

6 Yes, I’ll phone.

7 Barbara is coming back to Moscow.
8 When will Barbara come back?
9 When will they arrive (by transport)?

12.4 The irregular but important verb мочь/смочь ‘to be able’

Imperfective Perfective
мочь [moch] ‘to be able’ (IB) смочь [smoch] ( 1В)
я могу I can я смогу I’ll be able
ты можешь you (fam) can ты сможешь you’ll be able
он может he can он сможет he’ll be able
мы можем we can мы сможем we’ll be able
вы можете you (pol/pl) can вы сможете you’ll be able
они могут they can NB они смогут NB they’ll be able

This verb is followed by an infinitive (perfective for single events,

imperfective for processes):
Я могу (i) прийти (p) завтра. I can (am able to) come tomorrow.
Они не могут (i) прийти (р). They can’t (aren’t able to) come.
Она не сможет (р) позвонить She won’t be able to phone.
(р).
Мы не можем (i) ждать (i). We can’t wait.

Since мочь ends -чь, it has an unpredictable past tense:

я мог [ток] I was able/I could (man speaking)
я могла [mag-la] I was able (woman speaking)
оно могло [mag-16] it was able (n)
мы могли [mag-lee] we were able (pl)
Она не могла прийти. She couldn’t come.

Exercise 54
Translate the words in brackets using the correct form of мочь/
смочь:
1 Мы (can) прийти.
2 Она (cannot) прочитать это письмо.
3 У меня нет денег. Я (cannot) купить подарки.
4 (Will you [pol] be able) прийти завтра?
но

12.5 Present referring to the future

Note that in Russian, just as in English, the pres tense can be used
for future events which are regarded as definite, e.g.
Завтра (‘tomorrow’) я еду (present tense) в Москву.
‘I’m going (present tense) to Moscow tomorrow!

12.6 Dative of pronouns

The primary meaning of the dative case is to a person, with verbs

like ‘give’, ‘show’, ‘say’, ‘telephone’.
мне [mnye] to me
тебе [tye-bye] to you (fam)
ему [ye-mob] (нему after prepositions) to him
ей [yey] (ней after prepositions) to her
ему [ye-moo] (нему after prepositions) to it
нам [nam] to us
вам [vam] to you (pol/pl)
ИМ [(y)eem] (ним after prepositions) to them
See examples with prepositions in 14.9.

12.7 Verbs with the dative

The main verbs which take the dative of the person (‘the indirect
object’) to whom something is given or shown or said are
говорйть/сказать (see 12.2) to speak/say
звонйть/позвонйть (see 12.3) to telephone
отвечать/отвётить (see 12.3) to answer, reply
показывать (1)/показать (IB) to show
я покажу, ты покажешь
рассказывать/рассказать (see 12.3) to tell, relate
давать/дать (see below, 12.8) to give
Put the dative pronoun in front of the verb unless you want to
emphasize it. The thing given or shown or said (‘the direct object’)
is in the accusative case.
Notice that ‘to’ is often not used in English, e.g. we can say T shall
give the book to him’ or ‘I shall give him the book’.
 Ill

Что вы ей скажете? What will you say to her?

Я вам скажу три слова. I shall say three words to you.
Я вам позвоню. 1’11 telephone (to) you.
Я позвоню тебе. I’ll telephone you.
Он нам покажет Москву. He’ll show Moscow to us/He’ll show
us Moscow.
Когда вы нам позвоните? When will you phone (to) us?

Exercise 55
Say in Russian:
1 He’ll tell you (pol).
2 I won’t tell her.
3 She telephones me.
4 I shall phone them.
5 Nina is showing him Red Square.
6 They will show us Leningrad.

12.8 The irregular verb давать/дать ‘to give’

Imperfective Perfective
давать [da-vaty] (Type 1) дать [daty] (unique verb)
stem да-, stress on ending
я даю I give мы даём я дам I shall give мы дадим
ты даёшь вы даёте ты дашь вы дадите
он дает они дают он даст они дадут
Она даёт/даст мне три рубля. She gives/will give me three roubles.

Exercise 56
Use the correct form of дать:
1 Я (shall give) вам пять рублей.
2 Они (will give) ей деньги.
3 Кому [= ‘to whom’] ты (will give) этот билёт?

12.9 Vocabulary

See also verbs in 12.2 and 12.3

давно [dav-no] long ago, since long ago
грустный [gro'o-sni NB] sad
112

вид [veet] expression, view

завтра [zaf-tra] tomorrow
уехать (р) (1В) [оо-уё-haty] to leave (by transport)
я уеду, ты уедешь
больше не [boly-she nye) no longer, no more
грустно [grob-sna NB] (it is) sad; sadly
может быть [md-zhet bity] perhaps, maybe
рождение [razh-dye-nee-ye] birth
день рождения birthday
обязательно [a-bee-za-tyely-na] definitely, without fail
если [уё-slee] if
позволить (р)(2) [pa-zvo-leety] to permit
я позволю, ты
позволишь + dat
вокзал [vag-zal] (main) station (terminus)
один (ш)/одна (f) [a-de'en] [ad-na] alone (also means ‘one’)
спутник [spobt-neek] travelling companion
вопрос [va-pros] question
задавать (i) (1) [za-da-vaty] to set (a task), ask (a
я задаю, ты question)
задаёшь + dat
задать(р) [za-daty] (p of задавать)
like дать: я задам,
ты задашь
прости [pra-ste'e] excuse me, sorry (fam)
спешить (i) (2) [spye-shity] to hurry
я спешу, ты
спешйшь
а то [a to] or else
опоздать (р) (1) [a-paz-daty] to be late
я опоздаю, ты
опоздаешь
странный [stran-ni] strange
никогда не [nee-kag-da nye] never

12.10 Conversations

Нина Здравствуй, Андрей, я тебя давно не вйдела. Почему

у тебя такой грустный вид?
Андрей Я тебе всё расскажу. У меня есть подруга Барбара.
Она американка. Мы знаем друг друга всего две
 113

недели. Но завтра она уедет, и я её больше не увижу.

Ведь в Америку я поехать не могу.
Нина Да, грустно. Но может быть, она вернётся.
Борис Завтра у Наташи день рождения. Ты придёшь?
Джейн Я не знаю. Завтра я еду в Загорск. Я не знаю, когда
я вернусь. Когда я приеду домой, я вам... я тебе
позвоню.
Борис Зачем ты едешь в Загорск?
Джейн Я тебе скажу завтра.
Борис Ты обязательно позвонишь?
Джейн Обязательно.
Борис Если ты позволишь, я тебя встречу на вокзале.
Джейн Не надо. Я не знаю, когда мы приедем.
Борис Мы? Ты приедешь из Загорска не одна? Кто твой
спутник?
Джейн Я не отвечу на этот вопрос. Ты задаёшь мне слишком
много вопросов.
Борис Но я...
Джейн Прости меня. Мне надо спешить, а то опоздаю.
Борис Куда ты опаздываешь?
(She rushes off)
Странная девушка. Никогда не пойму её.

TRANSLATIONS

N Hello, Andrey, I haven’t seen you for a long time. Why are you
looking so sad?
A I’ll tell you everything. I have a friend called Barbara. She’s an
American. We’ve known each other for only two weeks. But
tomorrow she will leave and I won’t see her any more. You
know I can’t go to America.
A' Yes, it’s sad. But perhaps she will come back.
В It’s Natasha’s birthday tomorrow. Will you (fam) come?
J I don’t know. I’m going to Zagorsk (historic town and religious
centre north of Moscow). I don’t know when I’ll return. When
I get home I’ll call you (she hesitates between the polite and
familiar forms).
В Why are you going to Zagorsk?
J I’ll tell you tomorrow.
В Will you definitely phone (call)?
114

J Of course.
В If you’ll permit, I’ll meet you at the station.
J It’s not necessary (Don’t). I don’t know when we’ll arrive.
В We? You’ll come back from Zagorsk with someone else (lit.
‘not one’ = ‘not alone’). Who’s your travelling companion?
J I won’t answer that question. You ask me too many questions.
В But I...
J Excuse me. I have (‘to me it is necessary’) to hurry or else I’ll be
late.
В What (‘to where’) are you late for?
Strange girl. I’ll never understand her.
Lesson 13

Completed and uncompleted events in the past. More on the

imperfective (i) and perfective (p) aspects.

13.1 Perfective (p) verbs in the past

In lesson 12 we met a number of perfective verbs and used them to

form the future. But all these perfective verbs have another use too:
we can form a past tense from them, using exactly the same rules as
we learnt in 11.1 (the endings -л, -ла, -ло, -ли).
Taking the verb писать (О/написать (p) ‘to write’, we have the
imperfective past:
я писал, я писала etc. I wrote/I was writing
and the perfective past:
я написал, я написала etc. I wrote (and finished what I wrote)
So the perfective past has an extra element of meaning which is not
present in the imperfective past form: the idea of an action thought
of as a completed whole (the Russian word for ‘perfective’
совершённый literally means ‘completed’).
If you say Я писал (i) письмо ‘I wrote/was writing a letter’ your
hearer doesn’t know whether you finished the letter or not, but if
you say Я написал (p) письмо you mean that you wrote and
finished the letter.
If you have learned French, you will see some similarities with the
use of the imparfait (imperfect), e.g. j’ecrivais, and the parfait
(perfect), e.g. j’ai ecrit.
The full details of when to use perfective verbs and when to use
imperfective verbs in the past tense are complex and subtle, but
fortunately a wrong choice is unlikely to cause misunderstanding.
In 13.2 and 13.3 we give some rules of thumb for the choice of
aspect in the past tense.

115
116

13.2 Use of imperfective (i)

1 Unfinished actions are always imperfective:

She was writing. Она писала (i).
She was walking to the shop. Она шла (i) в магазин.
The English past continuous ‘was/were (verb)ing’ always
corresponds to the imperfective.
2 Actions repeated an indefinite number of times are always
imperfective:
She wrote me a letter every day. Она писала (i) мне письмо
каждый день.
She wrote interesting letters. Она писала (i) интересные
письма.
3 Verbs denoting states and processes rather than actions are
normally imperfective (and many such verbs do not have
perfective forms).
She was in Moscow. Она была (i) в Москве.
She lived in Siberia. Она жила (i) в Сибири.
They stood in the queue. Они стояли (i) в очереди.
4 Time expressions of duration (often with ‘for’ in English) require
the imperfective:
We wrote for a long time. Мы долго писали (i).
She wrote for three hours. Она писала (i) три часа.
We watched television all day. Мы смотрели (i) телевизор весь
день.
5 If there was no action, usually the imperfective is used:.
She didn’t write to me. Она мне не писала (i).
I haven’t seen (watched) that film. Я не смотрел (i) этот фильм.
We didn’t telephone her. Мы ей не звонили (i).
6 Actions attempted but without result are imperfective:
I telephoned you (but didn’t get through or Я вам звонил (i).
you weren’t in).
What all these examples have in common is emphasis on the
process rather than the result.
 117

13.3 Use of perfective (p)

1 The perfective form emphasizes completion and result:

She wrote a letter (and finished it) Она написала (p) письмо.
or She has written a letter (and here it is).
She read the book (all of it). Она прочитала (p) книгу.
She has taken my book (and has it Она взяла (p) мою книгу,
now).
2 Sequences of actions (except when they are repeated actions -
see 2 above) are perfective, because each action must be finished
before the next one can take place:
She bought my book, read it Она купила (p) мою книгу,
and then wrote me a letter. прочитала (p) её, потом
написала (p) мне письмо.
3 With negation (не) the perfective is used to mean failure to do
something.
She didn’t (failed to) understand. Она не поняла (p).
So the perfective describes an action as a completed whole and
emphasizes its result.
Note the contrast between the perfective and the imperfective in
such examples as:
She telephoned (completed action) when (while) I was writing
(action in process) a letter.
Она позвонила (p), когда я писал (i) письмо.

Exercise 57
Explain the aspect of the verbs in this text:
Барбара уехала (p) в Америку. Андрей писал (i) ей каждую
неделю. Он ждал (i), но Барбара не писала (i), не звонила (i). У
него был (i) очень грустный вид. Но вчера (‘yesterday’), когда
он писал (i) ей письмо, она позвонила (р) из Вашингтона и
сказала (р), что она получила (р) его первое письмо и уже
давно ответила (р) на него.
- Ты не получил (р) моё письмо? - спросила (р) (‘asked’) она.
- Нет, - ответил (р) он.
Ее письмо шло (i) очень долго, три недели. Оно пришло (р)
сегодня.
118

13.4 Aspect of the infinitive

You also have to choose between the aspects in sentences such as ‘I

want to read this book’: Я хочу читать (ij/прочитать (р) эту
книгу. If you mean ‘read without necessarily reading all of it’,
choose the imperfective читать. If you mean ‘read and finish it’,
use the perfective прочитать. In many situations the choice will
seem tricky, and it will take a bit of practice and reading to acquire
a feel for Russian usage. Fortunately, it makes little communicative
difference if you pick the wrong one.

13.5 How to recognize imperfectives and perfectives

Though you have to learn perfective and imperfective forms, you

may find it useful to have some clues to help you to work out the
aspect of a verb and remember it.
(a) If a verb contains -ыва- it is almost certainly imperfective, and
the equivalent perfective is the same verb without the -ыв-.
Examples: рассказывать (i), рассказать (p) to tell, recount
опаздывать (i), опоздать (p) to be late
(b) If a verb is short (one or two syllables) and has no prefix, it is
likely to be imperfective. The equivalent perfective will probably
have a prefix (no-, which is the commonest one, or на-, про-, за-
etc.).
Examples: писать (i), написать (p) to write
читать (i), прочитать (p) to read
(c) It follows from (a) and (b) that if a verb has a prefix and
doesn’t contain -ыва-, it is almost certainly perfective; the
imperfective will either be the same verb without the prefix or the
same verb with -ыва-.
Exceptions to (b) are plentiful: e.g. взять ‘to take’ and купить ‘to
buy’ are both perfective.

Exercise 58
li'hat is the aspect of each verb and why?
1 Вчера я читала эту книгу. Yesterday I read/was reading this
book.
2 Вчера я прочитала эту книгу. Yesterday I read this book.
 119

3 Борис звонил ей часто. Boris telephoned her often.

4 Когда Борис вернулся, я читала письмо. When Boris
returned, I was reading a letter.
5 Нина купила бутылку, вернулась домой и дала её мне.
Nina bought a bottle, returned home and gave it to me.
6 Каждое утро она открывала окно. Every morning she
opened the window.
7 Вчера Джейн не приходила и не звонила. Yesterday Jane
didn’t come and didn’t telephone.
8 Она написала три письма. She wrote three letters.
9 Мы покупали «Правду» каждый день. We bought ‘Pravda’
every day.
10 Сегодня мы купили «Правду». Today we bought ‘Pravda’.
11 Он говорил медленно. He spoke slowly.
12 Он сказал несколько слов. He said a few words.
13 Мы понимали, когда она говорила. We understood
when(ever) she spoke.
14 Мы поняли, что она говорит по-английски. We realized
(came to understand) that she is (was) speaking English.

Exercise 59
Translate into Russian explaining your choice of aspect:
1 We were buying books.
2 I wrote to her every week.
3 I arrived in Moscow, went to the hotel, then telephoned my
friend.
4 I want to buy this book.
5 Have you written the letter?

13.6 Vocabulary

окно [ak-no] gen pl окон window (ex. 58)

комната [kom-na-ta] room (ex. 58)
телевизор [tye-lye-vee-zar] television (ex. 59)
прожить (p of жить) (IB) to live (for a specified period)
переехать [pye-rye-ye-haty] (p) (IB) to move house
Калифорния California
окончить (p)(2) + acc to graduate, finish
я окончу, ты окончишь
назад [na-zat] ago; back
120

доучиться [da-oo-chee-tsa] (р) (2) to complete one’s studies

случиться [sloo-chee-tsa] (р) (2) to happen
просто simply
надоесть [na-da-yesty] (р) + dat to bore
past: надоел, надоела, надоело
он мне надоел he has bored me (= I’m
tired of him)
решить [rye-shity] (p) (2) to decide
я решу, ты решишь, они решат
зарабатывать (i) (1) to earn
же (emphasizes previous word)
узнать (р) (1) to find out
я узнаю, ты узнаешь
платить (i) (2) to pay
я плачу, ты платишь
крайний, -яя (f), -ее (f), -ие (pl) extreme
север north
Крайний Север Far North (of Russia),
where conditions are harsh
and pay is much higher
than in the south
холодно (it is) cold; coldly
поехать (р of ехать)(1В) to go (by transport, one
direction)
стройка construction site
понравиться (р) + dat of person to please
мне понравился фильм I liked the film
замечательный remarkable
люди pl (acc/gen pl людей) people
природа nature
великолепный magnificent
привет greeting, hi!
кошка (gen pl кошек) cat (female)
вернее more accurately, rather
вот как! ah!, so that’s how it is!
думать (i) (1) to think
я думаю, ты думаешь
животное [zhi-vot-na-ye] (n adj) animal
наоборот [na-a-ba-rot] on the contrary
весь [vyesy] (m), вся (f), всё (п) all (see table 4 for declension)
или ... или either ... or
собака dog
 121

назвать (р) (1В) to call, give a name

я назову, ты назовешь
свой [svoy] (endings like мой) own (belonging to the subject of
the verb - translate as ‘my’,
‘his’ etc. according to context)
смешно (it’s) funny; funnily, comically
придумать (р) (1) to think up, invent
ничего [nee-che-yo NB] nothing
смешной funny, comic
честь (f) honour
в честь + gen in honour of, after somebody
недавно recently
получить (р)(2) to receive
я получу, ты получишь,
они получат
приз [prees] prize
выставка [vi-staf-ka] exhibition
на выставке at an exhibition
обрадоваться(р)(1) to be pleased
кажется [ka-zhe-tsa] it seems
вчера [fchye-ra] yesterday
сразу immediately
полюбить (р) (2) + асе to fall in love with
и ... и both ... and
кстати by the way
спросить (р) (2) + асе to ask (someone)
я спрошу, ты спросишь
предложить [pryed-la-zhity] to offer
я предложу, ты предложишь,
они предложат (+ асе + dat) (something to someone)
преподавать (i) (1) (+ асе + dat) to teach (something to
я преподаю, ты преподаёшь somebody)
захотеть(р of хотеть) to want, conceive a desire
многие (pl adj) many (people)
кроме того [kro-mye ta-vo NB] furthermore, also
ошибаться (i) (1) [a-shi-ba-tsa] to make a mistake
скучно [skoosh-na NB] (it is) boring
роман romance, love affair
что вы! [shto vi!] come now! don’t be silly!
серьезный [sye-ryyoz-ni] serious
122

CONVERSATION

Барбара Где вы родились, Андрей?

Андрей В Одессе. А вы?
Барбара Я родилась в Нью-Йорке. И прожила там
двенадцать лет. Потом мы переехали в Вашингтон.
Андрей А где вы учились?
Барбара В Калифорнии. Окончила там университет три года
назад.
Андрей Я тоже учился в университете, но не доучился.
Барбара Почему? Что случилось?
Андрей Мне просто надоело учиться. Я решил пойти
работать. Я хотел зарабатывать деньги.
Барбара Где же вы работали?
Андрей Я узнал, что платят очень хорошо на Крайнем
Севере, где очень холодно. Я поехал в Якутск
работать на стройке.
Барбара Вам понравилось там?
Андрей Было очень интересно. В Сибири живут
замечательные люди, и природа там великолепная.

TRANSLATION

В Where were you born, Andrey?

A In Odessa (Black Sea port in the Ukraine). What about you?
В I was born in New York. And I lived there for twelve years.
Then we moved to Washington.
A And where did you study?
В In California, I graduated from college there three years ago.
A I was at university too, but I didn’t graduate.
В Why? What happened?
A I simply got tired of studying. I decided to get a job. I wanted
to earn money.
В And where did you work?
A I found out that they pay very well in the Far North, where it is
very cold, and I went to Yakutsk (capital of the Autonomous
Republic of Yakutia, a huge area in the Soviet Far East) to
work on a construction site.
В Did you like it there?
A It was very interesting. Wonderful people live in Siberia, and
nature (the scenery) there is magnificent.
 123

Exercise 60
Translate:
Майк Привет, Нина, что у вас нового?
Нина Я купила кошку, или, вернее, кота.
Майк Вот как! А я думал, что русские не любят животных.
Нина Наоборот. У всех моих друзей есть или кошка или
собака.
Майк Как вы назвали своего кота?
Нина Ливерпуль.
Майк Простите, я не понял. Как вы сказали?
Нина Я сказала: Ливерпуль. Почему вы улыбнулись?
Майк Но ведь это смешно. Кто придумал?
Нина Ничего смешного здесь нет. Мы его назвали в честь
очень красивого кота, который недавно получил
первый приз на московской выставке.
Майк Джейн обрадуется, когда узнает. Кажется, Ливерпуль
её родной город.
Нина Она узнала вчера, когда она была у меня в гостях.
Она его сразу полюбила.
Майк Значит, она теперь любит и Ливерпуль и Ливерпуля.
Кстати, о Джейн. Я хотел вас спросить, когда она
приехала в Москву?
Нина Она приехала месяцев шесть назад. Ей предложили
работу в школе.
Майк Где она работала в Англии?
Нина Она преподавала русский язык в Ливерпуле. Она
вернётся туда недель через восемь-девять.
Майк Почему она захотела жить и работать в Москве?
Нина В Москве интересно. Многие иностранцы очень любят
русских людей. Кроме того, Джейн любит русский
язык.
Майк По-моему, вы ошибаетесь. Я думаю, что в Ливерпуле
ей было скучно. Может быть, у неё здесь роман?
Нина Что вы! Она девушка очень серьёзная.
Lesson 14

Imperfective future. Feelings and states. Dative case and uses of the
dative.

14.1 The future of быть (i) ‘to be’

Just as быть has a past tense (был, была etc.), it also has a future:
я буду I’ll be/I will be
ты будешь you’ll be/you will be
он/она/оно будет he, she, it’ll be/will be
мы будем we’ll be/we will be
вы будете you’ll be/you will be
они будут they’ll be/they will be
Я буду в Москве три дня. I’ll be in Moscow for three days.
Вы будете дома? Will you be at home?
Где она будет завтра? Where will she be tomorrow?

14.2 Future of imperfective verbs

In lesson 13 we met the choice between the imperfective and the

perfective in the past tense. There is also a choice to be made in the
future. If you wish to show that an action or state in the future will
be repeated or unfinished, you need the imperfective future. This
relatively rare verb form consists of the future of the verb быть ‘to
be’ (see above 14.1) + the imperfective infinitive. So Я буду читать
means T shall be reading’ or T shall read (without finishing or an
indefinite number of times)’.
я буду работать I shall be working
ты будешь работать you (fam) will be working
он/она/оно будет работать he/she/it will be working
мы будем работать we shall be working
вы будете работать you (pol/pl) will be working
они будут работать they will be working
As mentioned above, this form is used for future unfinished and
repeated actions and states. In other situations use the perfective

124
 125

future we met in lesson 12.

Он будет читать весь вечер. Не will be reading all evening.
Каждый день мы будем Every day we will get up at seven
вставать в семь часов.
Я буду писать часто. I shall write often.

14.3 Differences between English and Russian use of tenses

(a) In English, when someone’s words are reported with a phrase

such as ‘He said that...’, ‘He asked if...’ we change the tense of the
actual words:
Boris’s actual words: ‘I am a Ukrainian! Я украинец.
Report of Boris’s words: ‘Boris said that he was a Ukrainian!
When Russians report what someone said, they keep the tense of
the actual words:
Борис сказал, что он украинец.
Boris said that he was a Ukrainian.
(lit. ‘Boris said that he is a Ukrainian.’)
Джейн: Я позвоню (fut p) вечером.
Jane: 1 shall ring in the evening.
Джейн сказала, что она позвонит (fut р) вечером.
Jane said that she would ring in the evening.
(lit. ‘Jane said that she will ring in the evening!)
(b) In English, after the conjunctions ‘when’, ‘if’, ‘until’, ‘while’
etc. we use only the present tense, even when the meaning is future.
For example, we say ‘When they come, I shall phone you’ using the
present tense after ‘when’ even though ‘when they come’ here
means ‘when they will come’. In Russian, after such conjunctions
as когда ‘when’, если ‘if’, пока ‘while’, пока ... не ‘until’, if the
meaning is future you must use the future tense:
Когда они придут (fut p), я тебе позвоню.
When they (will) come, 1 shall phone you.
Когда я буду (fut) в Москве, я буду говорить только по-русски.
When I am (lit. ‘will be’) in Moscow, I shall speak only in Russian.
Если я увижу (fut p) её, я ей скажу.
If 1 (will) see her, I’ll tell her.
Я буду читать (fut i), пока они не придут.
I shall read until they (will) come.
126

Exercise 61
Translate the dialogue with special attention to the verb forms:
Нина Завтра я буду (fut) у Наташи (‘at Natasha’s place’). Ты
придёшь (р)? Мы будем танцевать (‘to dance’) (i fut).
Майк Конечно, приду (р fut). А Джейн будет (fut) там?
Нина Она сказала (р past), что она будет (fut) весь день (all
day) в Загорске. Когда она вернётся (р fut) в Москву,
она позвонит (р fut).
Майк Что она будет делать (i fut) в Загорске?
Нина Она сказала (р past), что хочет (pres) пойти в
монастырь (‘monastery’).
Майк А Борис?
Нина Он сказал, что придёт (р fut) обязательно.

Exercise 62
Say in Russian, choosing the perfective or imperfective future as
required:
1 We will be working tomorrow.
2 He will live in a hotel.
3 When will the train arrive?
4 When we arrive in Moscow, we shall go to the hotel ‘Intourist’.
5 If you give him five dollars, he’ll give you the book.

14.4 Dative case of nouns

The dative is the least common case of nouns, but the forms are
easy to learn. Here is the dative singular (for the plural see 18.10).
(a) Masculine and neuter nouns ending with a consonant or -o
have -y:
Я дал доллар Ивану. I gave the dollar to Ivan.
Masculine and neuter nouns ending -ь, -й, -e have -to:
Мы покажем Андрею город. We shall show (to) Andrey the city.
(b) All feminine nouns have the same ending as in the prepositional
(see 5.5, 5.6):
Она дала сестре пять рублей. She gave to (her) sister five
roubles.
 127

14.5 Dative of adjectives and possessives

Take the prepositional form (see 7.3, 7.7, 8.11). If it is masculine or

neuter (i.e. if it ends -ом or -ем), add -y to the -ом or -ем:
вашему русскому другу to your (male) Russian friend
The feminine ending is the same as the prepositional -ой or -ей:
вашей русской подруге to your (female) Russian friend

14.6 The dative with indeclinable words describing states

The Russian for ‘I am cold’ is literally ‘to me it is cold’:

мне холодно [ho-lad-na].
There are many words like холодно (‘it is cold’) denoting states.
We have met several already, for example,
грустно [grdos-na] it is sad (12.9)
можно [mozh-na] it is possible/permitted; one may (6.6)
надо it is necessary (8.14)
скучно [skobsh-na] it is boring (13.6)
These words are all indeclinable. If you wish to specify the person
involved, use the dative.
Нам надо идти. We must go. (lit. ‘To us it is necessary to go.’)
If you want to ask for permission to do something use можно
[mozh-na] ‘it is possible/permitted’ + the infin, e.g.
May I smoke? Можно курить? or Можно мне курить?
note You don’t have to translate the ‘Г (мне ‘to me’) if it is
obvious that you are asking for permission for yourself.
May my wife smoke? Моей жене можно курить?
The answer may be можно (‘you may’, lit. ‘it is permitted’) or
пожалуйста (‘please do') or нельзя (‘it is not permitted’).
Можно мне войти? May I come in? (lit. ‘То те it is
possible to come in?’)
Можно or Вам можно. You may.
Мне надо позвонить. I must make a telephone call.
note не надо corresponds to ‘one shouldn’t’:
128

Не надо говорить так громко. You shouldn’t speak so loudly,

нужно, like надо, means ‘it is necessary’:
Ей нужно работать сегодня. She has to (must) work today,
нельзя [nyely-zya] ‘it is not possible/permitted, one must not’:
Здесь нельзя курить. One is not allowed to smoke here.
Ему нельзя курить. He must not smoke.

14.7 Other states/situations

интересно it is interesting (8.14)

Ему интересно, Не is interested.
жарко [zhar-ka] it is hot
Мне жарко, I am hot.
тепло [tye-plo] it is warm
Здесь тепло. It’s warm here.
Вам здесь скучно? Do you find it boring here?
(lit. ‘To you here it is boring?’)
Нет, мне здесь очень No, I find it very interesting here.
интересно.

14.8 Past and future of words expressing states

To make any of these indeclinable ‘state’ words past tense, simply

add было (usually after the state word):
Нам надо было идти. We had to go.
Ему было холодно. He was cold.
(or Ему холодно было.)
Нельзя было. It was not allowed.
Мне надо было позвонить. I had to make a phonecall.
To make the state future, just add будет (‘will be’, 3rd person sing
fut of быть - see above, 14.1):
Нам надо будет купить три We’ll have to buy three tickets.
билета.
Если вы откроете окно, нам If you open the window we’ll be
будет холодно. cold.
Будет скучно. It will be boring.
 129

Exercise 63
Express the following in Russian:
1 I am cold.
2 Is your friend (m) bored?
3 We must go (i).
4 You must speak (i) Russian.
5 I had to speak (i) Russian.
6 They had to work (i).
7 She will have to speak (i) slowly.
8 It is necessary to take (p) (взять) a taxi.
9 May we ask (p) how much you earn?
10 You may not smoke here.
11 It was not possible to find (p) (найти) a taxi.
12 It was cold in Moscow.
13 May I smoke?
14 May I open (p) (открыть) the window?
15 May I buy (p) that book?
16 May I ask (p) where you bought (p) that map (план) of the
city?

14.9 Dative with the prepositions к and no

Two common prepositions take the dative case:

к towards: к дому/ко (nb) мне towards the house/me
к нему/к нам towards him (12.6)/us
no along: по улице along the street
Apart from this basic meaning, no - the vaguest of all Russian
prepositions - can translate as ‘about’, ‘according to’, ‘across’, ‘in’
and other ways according to context:
работа по дому housework (work about the
house)
экзамен по русскому языку Russian exam (exam in/about
Russian)
ездить по Советскому Союзу to travel about/around the Soviet
Union
по моему мнению = in my opinion (мнение ‘opinion’)
по-моему 7.10
130

14.10 Vocabulary

с днём рождения [zdnyom razh-dye-nee-ya] happy birthday

поцеловать (р) (1) stem поцелу- to kiss
я поцелую, ты поцелуешь
как дела? how are things?
поздравляю с днём рождения! congratulations on
your birthday
шампанское (n adj) (Soviet) champagne
все (pl of весь - see table 4) everybody, all
выпить (р) (1) за + асе to drink (to)
я выпью, ты выпьешь
здоровье health
ой! oh! (surprise)
вечер (пот pl вечера) evening
пить (i) (1) stem пь- to drink
я пью, ты пьёшь
весело (it is) merry; merrily
нельзя (it is) not possible/
allowed; one must
not
немножко [nye-mn6sh-ka] from немного a little
открыть (р) (1) stem откро- to open
я открою, ты откроешь
жарко (it is) hot
звон(6)к ring, telephone call
волноваться (i) (1) stem волну- to worry
я волнуюсь, ты волнуешься
давай потанцуем! let’s dance!

14.11 Conversations

At Natasha’s party
Борис С днём рождения, Наташа! Можно тебя поцеловать?
Наташа Можно.
Борис Как дела? Тебе не скучно работать в магазине?
Наташа Нет, конечно. В «Дружбе» очень интересно.
Майк Поздравляю с днём рождения! Вот вам шесть
бутылок шампанского. Мы все выпьем за ваше
здоровье.
 131

Наташа Ой, спасибо. Но не надо было покупать так много.

Майк Весь вечер будем пить шампанское! Будет весело!
Наташа Мне нельзя пить. И Нине тоже.
Майк Что вы говорите? Сегодня у вас день рождения,
надо выпить.
Наташа Ну, немножко.
Борис Можно открыть окно? Жарко.
Наташа Пожалуйста. Мне тоже жарко.
Борис Джейн не звонила? Она сказала, что позвонит,
когда приедет из Загорска.
Наташа Нет, не звонила.
Борис Я сказал, что буду ждать её звонка.
Наташа Не надо волноваться. Если она сказала, что
позвонит, значит, обязательно позвонит. Тебе без
неё скучно?
Борис Нет, конечно! Давай потанцуем!

TRANSLATIONS

В Happy birthday (lit. [I congratulate you] with birthday - inst,

16.2), Natasha. May I give you a kiss?
N You may.
В How are things? Don’t you find it boring working in a shop?
N Of course not. It’s very interesting (to work) in the
‘Friendship’ (bookshop).
M Congratulations on your birthday (lit. ‘I congratulate with
birthday’). Here are six bottles of champagne for you (lit. ‘to
you’). (In Soviet cities [Soviet] champagne [sparkling wine] is
a very democratic drink, readily available and drunk by
everybody.) We’ll all drink to your health.
N Oh, thank you. But you shouldn’t have bought so much.
M We shall drink (shall be drinking) champagne all evening!
We’ll have a good time (it will be merry).
V I mustn’t drink. And Nina shouldn’t either.
M What are you saying? It’s your birthday today, you’ve got to
have a drink.
N Well, a little.
В May I open the window? It’s hot.
V Please do. I’m hot too.
В Has Jane rung? (Jane didn’t ring?) She said she would (will)
132

ring when she got back (will arrive) from Zagorsk.

N No, she hasn’t rung.
В I told her I would be waiting (will be waiting) for her call (gen
sometimes used after ждать ‘to wait’).
N There’s no need to worry. If she said she would (will) ring, that
means she will definitely ring. Are you bored without her?
В Of course not! How about a dance?

Exercise 64
What messages do these convey?

у НЛО
HE КУРЯТ

G днем рожденир!
Lesson 15

Asking people to do things. Imperative.

15.1 Imperative

When asking people to do things in English, we tend to use such

polite constructions as ‘Would you pass me the butter?’ Russians
make such requests with a form of the verb called the imperative
(as in ‘Pass the bread’, ‘Come here’, ‘Please repeat’) + the word
пожалуйста ‘please’ [pa-zhal-sta]. ‘Give me that book please’
sounds abrupt in English, but its literal equivalent Дайте мне эту
книгу, пожалуйста is normal usage in Russian.
We have already met forms such as возьмите (9.8) ‘take’,
подождите (8.14) ‘wait’, давай and давайте (11.7) ‘let’s’, говорите
медленно (3.1) ‘speak slowly’, простите (4.1) ‘excuse me’,
рассказывайте (11.9) ‘tell’, покажите (8.14) ‘show’. These
imperatives are formed from both perfective and imperfective
verbs.

15.2 Formation of the imperative

There are three possible endings for the imperative: -йте, -йте and
-ьте - if you are speaking to someone you call вы. If you are
speaking to someone you call ты, leave off the -те.
(а) -й(те) is the ending if the stem of the verb ends with a vowel
(for ‘stem’ see lesson 4.8); e.g.:
читать (i), stem чита-, so imper is читай(те) ‘read’
прочитать (p), stem прочита-, imper: прочитай(те) ‘read’
открыть (p), stem откро-, imper: открбй(те) ‘open’
Ваня, читай, пожалуйста! Vanya, read, please.
Ваня и Аня, читайте, пожалуйста! Vanya and Anya, read, please.
Ваня, прочитай это слово, Vanya, please read this word,
пожалуйста.
Дети, прочитайте эти слова. Children, read these words.

133
134

More examples:
слушайте (i) listen Слушайте меня. Listen to me.
дайте (p) give Дайте мне рубль. Give me a rouble.
узнайте (p) find out Узнайте, где бар. Find out where the
bar is.
передайте (p) pass Передайте хлеб. Pass the bread.
откройте(p) open Откройте окно. Open the window.
note You may now have spotted that Здравствуй(те) (‘Hello’) is an
imperative. It comes from the rare verb здравствовать (i) ‘to be
healthy’ (я здравствую, ты здравствуешь), so the greeting
literally means ‘Be healthy!’
(b) The commonest ending is -й(те). Use it if the stem of the verb
ends in a consonant and the first person singular (the я [‘I’] form)
is stressed on the end. note: if the stems of the я and ты forms are
different, the imperative is formed from the ты stem, e.g:
приходить (я прихожу, ты приходишь), the stem is приход- and
the я form is stressed on the ending -y, so the imper is приходй(те).
Ваня, приходй завтра. Vanya, come tomorrow.
Пожалуйста, приходйте в нашу Please come to our hotel.
гостйницу.

скажйте (p) say Скажйте ей. Tell her.

возьмйте (p) take Возьмйте мой телефон Take my phone
number.
идйте (i) go Идйте туда. Go over there.
повернйте(p) turn Повернйте направо. Turn right.
уходйте (i) go away Уходйте, пожалуйста. Please go away.
посмотрйте (p) look Посмотрйте на план. Look at the map.
купйте (p) buy Купйте две бутылки. Buy two bottles.
покажйте (p) show Покажйте эту кнйгу. Show (me) that
book.
подождйте (p) wait Подождйте меня здесь. Wait for me
here.
говорйте (i) speak Говорйте медленно. Speak slowly.
простйте (p) excuse Простйте, я не хотел. Sorry, 1 didn’t
mean to.
пишйте (i) write Пишйте нам. Write to us.
позвонйте(p) phone Позвонйте мне завтра. Cali me
tomorrow.
расскажйте (p) tell Расскажйте мне о ней. Tell me about her.
 135

разрешите (р) allow Разрешите мне пройти. Please let

me pass.
принесите (р) bring Принесите два стакана. Bring two
glasses.
входите (i) come in Входите, пожалуйста. Please come in.
помогите (р) help Помогите нам. Help us.
(c) The rarest ending is -ь(те). This is the ending for verbs whose
stems, like the verbs in (b), end in a consonant but have the stress
on the stem of the я (‘I’) form, e.g.:
забыть (p) ‘to forget’: (я забуду, ты забудешь), stem забуд-,
stress забуду, so the imperative is забудьте ‘forget’:
He забудьте! Don’t forget. (This is a common warning)
ответьте (p) answer Ответьте на вопрос. Answer the question,
позвольте (p) permit Позвольте мне уйти. Permit me to leave.
быть, which has no pres tense, forms its imperative from the fut
forms я буду, ты будешь, stem буд- (14.1). Since the stress is on
the stem, the imperative is будьте:
Будьте здоровы! Be healthy!
(Russians use the phrase when someone sneezes, like ‘Bless you’)
note If the verb is reflexive, add -ся after -й and -ь, and add -сь
after -и and -те:
Улыбайся!/Улыбайтесь! Smile! —► улыбаться (i) (ты
улыбаешься) to smile
Садйсь/Садйтесь! Have a seat/Sit down —► садйться (i)
(я сажусь, ты садйшься) to sit
down

15.3 Choice of aspect in the imperative

Requests (perfective):
Скажйте (p), пожалуйста, где Could you tell me where the
здесь кино. cinema is? (lit. ‘Say please
where here is the cinema!)
Принесйте (p), пожалуйста, кофе. Please bring me some coffee.
Передайте (p), пожалуйста, хлеб. Would you pass the bread?
Возьмйте (p) этот билёт. Take this ticket.
Передай (p), пожалуйста, сахар. Please pass (fam) the sugar.
136

In Soviet shops you are often not allowed to examine an item (e.g. a
book in a bookshop) without first asking an assistant to show it to
you:
Покажите (p) [pa-ka-zhi-tye], пожалуйста, эту книгу.
Please show me that book.
Negative commands (imperfective)
He говорите (i) ей об этом. Don’t tell her about this.
He покупайте (i) это вино. Don’t buy that wine.
He уходите (i). Don’t go away.
note He забудьте (perfective) (‘Don’t forget’) is a warning that
something might happen rather than a command. Compare
English ‘Mind you don’t forget’. Such warnings (in which you
could use ‘Mind..! in English) are perfective in Russian.
Invitations (imperfective)
Входите (i), пожалуйста. Do come in, please.
Садитесь (i). Do take a seat.
Repeated actions (imperfective)
Пишите (i) мне каждый день. Write to me every day.

Exercise 65
Translate these imperative sentences into English:
1 Приходите (i) к нам завтра.
2 Скажите (р), пожалуйста, где здесь касса (cash desk)?
3 Не волнуйтесь (i) (14.10), она обязательно позвонит.
4 Пожалуйста, помогите (р) мне найти моего друга.
5 Позвони (р) нам завтра.

15.4 Exceptional imperative forms

пить (О/выпить (р) ‘to drink’ (14.9): imper пейте (О/выпейте (р)
Verbs ending -авать keep the -ав- (missing in the pres stem), so давать
(i) ‘to give’ (я даю) (12.8) has давайте ‘give’, ‘let’s’. See also
выйдите ‘go out’ and поезжайте ‘go’ in 15.6.
 137

15.5 ‘lei’s’: давай(те)

The imperative давай/давайте is used in the construction ‘let’s do

something’ with the 1st person pl perfective future, e.g.:
Давайте пойдём. Let’s go.
Давайте забудем об этом. Let’s forget about that.
Давайте купим три билета. Let’s buy three tickets.
Давайте выпьем за мир. Let’s drink to peace.

Exercise 66
Say in Russian using the imperative forms given above:

1 Would you give (p) me these books, please?

2 Show (fam) (p) me your photographs, please.
3 Bring (p) me a coffee, please.
4 Could you tell (p) us where Anna Ivanovna lives?
5 Please help (p). I don’t know where my hotel is.
6 Don’t go away (i).
7 Do sit down (i).
8 Please buy (p) me (to me) ‘Pravda’.
9 Bless you (Be healthy) (pol/pl).
10 Let’s drink to her health.

Optional exercise 67 (if you’ve learnt the rules in 15.2)

Form the imperatives from the following verbs (12.2, 12.3):

1 (Улыбнуться) (р)! Smile!

2 (Понять) (p) меня правильно. Understand me correctly
(Don’t misunderstand me).
3 (Сделать) (p) это, пожалуйста. Do this please.
4 (Вернуться) (р)! Comeback!
5 He (задавать) (i) такие вопросы. Don’t ask such questions.

15.6 Vocabulary

находиться [na-ha-dee-tsa] (i) (2) to be, be located

я нахожусь, ты находишься
выйти (р) (1В) (из + gen) to go out (of)
я выйду, ты выйдешь (imper выйдите)
138

повернуть(р)(1В) to turn
я поверну, ты повернёшь
направо to the right
уг(о)л, prep углу corner
вход [fhot] entrance
записать (р) (1В) to note down
я запишу, ты запишешь
поезжайте (i)/(p) go (travel) (used as imper of
[pa-ye-zhay-tye] both ехать and поехать)
до (+ gen) as far as, until
остановка [a-sta-ndf-ka] stop
выход [vi-hat] exit
справа on the right
прямо straight, straight on
успевать (i) (1) (+ р infin) to have time (to do
something)
последний, -яя (f), -ее (п), -ие (pl) last (see table 5)
(adjectives ending -ний all have
these endings)
фраза phrase
по + dat along
слева on the left
будьте внимательны (special adj be careful/pay attention
called a short adjective) (set phrase)
заметить (p) (2) to notice
я замечу, ты заметишь
современный modern
роман novel (also ‘love affair’ 13.6)
словарь (ш) dictionary
найти (р) (1 В) to find
я найду, ты найдёшь
искать (i) (IB) stem ищ- + acc/gen to look for
я ищу, ты ищешь (imper ищите)
обычный usual
исчезать (i) (1) to disappear
я исчезаю, ты исчезаешь
как только as soon as
попадать (i) (1) to get (somewhere) (coll)
я попадаю, ты попадаешь
прилав(о)к counter
 139

CONVERSATION

Майк Я хочу пойти в книжный магазин «Берёзка».

Пожалуйста, покажйте мне на плане, где он находится.
Нина Смотрите. Ваша гостиница здесь, на улице Горького.
Выйдите из гостиницы, повернйте направо, потом на
углу вы увйдите вход в метро Проспект Маркса.
Майк Подождйте минуточку. Я хочу всё это записать.
Нина Поезжайте на метро до остановки Кропоткинская.
Там найдйте выход на площадь. Справа вы увйдите
Кропоткинскую улицу. Идйте прямо...
Майк Пожалуйста, не говорйте так быстро. Я не успеваю.
Повторйте последнюю фразу.
Нина Извинйте. Вы увйдите Кропоткинскую улицу. Идйте
прямо по этой улице. Слева вы увйдите магазйн
«Берёзка». Будьте внимательны, это маленький
магазйн. Можно его не заметить.
Майк Я хочу купйть современные романы и хорошие
словарй. Мне сказали, что очень трудно найтй такйе
кнйги в московских магазйнах.
Нина Да, не ищйте их в обычных кнйжных магазйнах.
Хорошие кнйги исчезают, как только попадают на
прилавок. Но этот магазйн только для иностранцев.
Там всё есть.

TRANSLATION

М I want to go to the ‘Beriozka’ bookshop. Would you show me

on the map where it is?
N Look. Your hotel is here, in Gorky Street. Go out of the hotel,
turn right, then at the corner you’ll see the entrance to the
metro station ‘Marx Prospekt’.
M Wait a moment. I want to note all this down.
V Take (lit. ‘Go on’) the metro as far as the stop called
‘Kropotkinskaya’. There find the exit to the square. On the
right you’ll see Kropotkinskaya Street. Go straight on...
M Please don’t speak so quickly. I can’t keep up. Would you
repeat the last phrase?
V I’m sorry. You’ll see Kropotkinskaya Street. Go straight on
along this street. On the left you’ll see the ‘Beriozka’ shop. Be
140

careful (set phrase), it’s a small shop. You can miss it (fail to
notice it).
M I want to buy modern novels and good dictionaries. I’ve been
told that it is very difficult to find such books in Moscow
shops (prep pl - see 18.10, 18.11).
N Yes, don’t look for them in the ordinary bookshops (i.e. where
Soviet citizens shop with roubles) (книжных магазинах is
prep pl - see 18.10). Good books disappear as soon as they
reach the shops (lit. ‘get onto the counter’). But that shop is
only for foreigners. It has everything.

Exercise 68
Using the structures in the conversation, give the following
directions in Russian.
1 Go out of the shop.
2 Turn right.
3 Go straight on, then turn left.
4 Take the metro to the station ‘Nogin Square’ (Square of Nogin).
5 Find the exit onto the square.
6 Go straight on along Kitaysky Prospekt (Китайский
проспект).
Lesson 16

Instrumental. Russian names.

16.1 Instrumental case

The last case we have to deal with is a very distinctive one. Its
primary meaning is ‘by means of’ - it is the case form for the
instrument used to do something, as in
She wrote with (by means of) a pencil. Она писала карандашом
[ka-ran-da-shom]. Here the -ом on карандаш ‘pencil’ means ‘by
means of’.

16.2 Other uses of the instrumental

The instrumental has three other main uses which are not
connected with the primary meaning:
(a) after six prepositions
c with (don’t confuse it with c + gen, meaning ‘from’)
за behind
между between
над above
перед in front of, before
под under
Познакомьтесь с Наташей. Meet (become acquainted with)
Natasha.
(b) with parts of the day and the seasons of the year to mean ‘in’
or ‘during’
утром in the morning -+ утро morning
днём in the afternoon день (m) day
вечером in the evening вечер evening
ночью during the night ночь (f) night
весной in spring весна spring
лётом in summer лето summer
осенью in autumn осень (f) autumn

141
142

зимой in winter зима winter

(c) after a number of verbs of which the commonest are
быть (i) to be
стать (p) (IB) to become: я стану, ты станешь (see 16.4b)
заниматься (i) (1) to occupy oneself with, to study:
я занимаюсь, ты занимаешься

16.3 Instrumental of the personal pronouns

Nom Instrumental
я мной [mnoy]
ты тобой [ta-boy]
он им [(y)eem] (ним [neem] after prepositions)
она ей [yey] (ней [nyey] after prepositions)
ОНО им [(y)eem] (ним [neem] after prepositions)
мы нами [na-mee]
вы вами [va-mee]
они ИМИ [(y)e'e-mee] (ними [ne'e-mee] after prepositions)
с ним with him
между нами between us
перед вами in front of you

16.4 Formation of the instrumental singular of nouns

(a) Masculine and neuter nouns ending with a consonant or -o in

the nom have -ом in the instrumental:
карандаш pencil карандашом with (by means of) a pencil
утро morning утром in the morning
(b) Masculine nouns ending with -ь or -й and neuter nouns ending
-e replace the -ь, -й or -e with -ем (-ём if stressed):
учитель teacher Он стал учителем. He became a teacher.
д(е)нь day днём during the day/during the afternoon
море sea морем by sea
(c) All nouns (m or f) ending -a have -ой in the instrumental:
зима winter зимой in winter
Нина Nina за Ниной behind/after Nina
 143

(d) All nouns (m or f) ending -я have -ей (-ёй if stressed):

Оля Olya с Олей with Olya
семья family с её семьёй with her family
(e) Feminine nouns ending with a soft sign add ю:

осень autumn осенью in autumn

note Remember that the second ‘spelling rule’ (8.11, 214) will
affect the endings of nouns whose last consonant is ж, ц, ч, ш or
щ. When the ending is unstressed, -ом becomes -ем and -ой
becomes -ей:
муж husband с мужем with a husband
Саша Sasha с Сашей with Sasha
американ(е)ц an American с американцем with an American

Exercise 69
Say in Russian:
1 I was writing with a pencil. 4 Between the hotel and the
2 He is with us. square.
3 She works in the evening. 5 She became a teacher.

16.5 Instrumental plural

There are only two endings for all genders:

(а) -ами, if the nom sing ends in a consonant, -a or -o and the
nom pl does not end -я.
Szrcg Nom pl Inst pl
ДОМ дома домами между домами between the houses
книга кнйги книгами под книгами under the books
письмо письма письмами с письмами with letters
(b) -ями, if the nom sing ends in -ь, -я or -e, or if the noun has an
irregular nominative plural ending -я (8.6), in which case ями
replaces the я of the plural ending:
S/ng Nom pl Inst pl
море моря морями за морями beyond the seas
брат братья братьями с его братьями with his brothers
друг друзья друзьями стать друзьями to become friends
144

Exceptions: three common nouns whose inst pl ends -ьмй:

ДОЧЬ daughter nom pl: дочери с дочерьми with daughters
ребёнок child дети с детьми with children
человек person люди с людьми with people

16.6 Instrumental of adjectives and possessives

If the nominative adjective ends -ый or -6й, the masculine and

neuter inst is -ым. If it ends -ий, the inst is -им. Feminine
adjectives have -ой or -ей, exactly the same endings as in the sing
of the gen, dat and prepositional.
In the plural, all genders have -ыми or, for adjectives spelt with
-ий in the nom sing, -ими.
мой, твой etc. (table 6) all have -им (m and n sing), -ей (f sing),
-ими (pl)
этот has m/n этим, f этой, pl этими
встреча с интересным человеком
a meeting with an interesting person
Познакомьтесь с моим братом и с его новой женой.
Meet (become acquainted with) my brother and his new wife.
Завтра будет встреча с интересными русскими студентами.
Tomorrow there will be a meeting with interesting Russian
students.
Я писала этим красным карандашом.
I was writing with this red pencil.
Борис стал хорошим инженером. Boris became a good engineer.
Мы занимаемся русским языком. We are studying Russian.
Нина работает с маленькими детьми.
Nina works with small children.

Exercise 70
Translate the sentences and fill in the gaps with the required forms
of the instrumental:
1 Завтра будет встреча с наш( ) учительниц! )• [sing,
NB 8.11]
2 Познакомьтесь с мо( ' ) русск( ) (друг ). [pl]
3 Многие русские женщины стали хорбш( ) инженер! ).
[Р1]
 145

4 Вы пойдёте с (дети ) в кино? [pl]

5 Вы говорили с эт( ) (люди )? [pl]

16.7 Russian names

If you have read Russian novels in English translation, you will

know that a Russian’s name tends to turn up in a confusing variety
of forms. A Russian’s birth certificate shows three names (no more,
no less). The first is a given name (имя [n]) which for men ends in
a consonant, soft sign or й (Иван, Владимир [one of the
commonest], Борис, Николай, Игорь) and for women in -а, -я or
a soft sign (Татьяна [currently very popular], Ольга, Наталья,
Любовь). The second is the father’s name plus -ович (-евич from
names ending -ь or -Й) for sons and -овна (-евна) for daughters.
This name is called отчество [6-chye-stva] ‘patronymic’.
Иванович [ee-va-na-veech or ee-va-nich] son of Иван
Николаевич [nee-ka-la-ye-veech or nee-ka-la-eech] son of
Николай
Петровна [pye-trov-na] daughter of Пётр
Сергеевна [syer-gye-(ye)-vna] daughter of Сергей
note Patronymics are often shortened in speech: see the
examples above.
The third name is the family name (фамилия), normally ending
-OB, -ев, -ёв, -ин, or -ын for men (Иванов, Брежнев, Горбачёв,
Лёнин, Голицын) and -ова, -ева, -ёва, -ина, or -ына for women
(Иванова, Цветаева, Каренина). Some Russian surnames are
adjectives, e.g. Достоевский, so the feminine form ends -ая (e.g.
Достоевская). Thus in a list of surnames the ending will normally
reveal who is male and who is female. Non-Russian names such as
Черненко (Ukrainian) or Смит (English) do not have
feminine forms; the only clue to sex here is the grammar: women’s
names ending in a consonant do not decline (5.7). So письмо от Д.
Смита (gen after от ‘from’) is ‘a letter from Mr D. Smith’, while
письмо от Д. Смит is ‘a letter from Mrs/Miss/Ms D. Smith’.
Russians who call each other вы generally address each other with
the first name and patronymic. So if Борис Петрович Иванов
meets his acquaintance Наталья Владимировна Попова, the
conversation begins
146

- Здравствуйте, Наталья Владимировна.

- Здравствуйте, Борис Петрович.
The use of the first name and patronymic is a mark of respect. A
younger person will use them to older people (e.g. to friends’
parents), though older people may use just the first name in reply.
When you are introduced to someone with whom you are likely to
have repeated dealings, you should ask for the person’s имя ‘first
name’ and отчество ‘patronymic’ (Как ваше имя и отчество?)
and use them at subsequent meetings.
When Russians move on to ты terms, they use the first name
without the patronymic, but in these circumstances the first name
is usually converted into one of its so-called ‘diminutive’ or
‘intimate’ forms (like Bill or Billy from William, or Maggie from
Margaret but there are far more of these forms in Russian and
every name has several). Here are some typical examples:
MALE FIRST NAMES FEMALE FIRST NAMES
Full form Diminutive (—intimate) Full form Diminutive
Александр Саша Александра Саша
Алексей Алёша Елена Лёна
Борис Боря Ирина Ира
Владимир Володя Наталья Наташа
Иван Ваня Ольга Оля
Николай Коля Татьяна Таня
Note that both male and female diminutives end in -a or -я and are
declined as feminine nouns (Я знаю Ваню). But of course male
diminutives take masculine adjective and verb agreements (Наш
Коля родился в Ленинграде ‘Our Kolya was born in Leningrad’).
In addition to these ‘standard’ diminutive forms, used by everyone
who is intimate enough to use the first name, there are large
numbers of other possible diminutive forms of each name. These
forms are more intimate and will be used by family members and
very close friends. For example, in addition to the standard
diminutive form Оля from Ольга there are also Лёля, Оленька,
Олечка, Ольгунечка, Ольгунчик, Ольгуня, Ольгуша, Ольгушка,
Олька (a form to use when you’re cross with her), and about
another forty variants, most of them rare.
 147

16.8 Russians and foreigners

Russians addressing foreigners will often use the title associated

with the foreigner’s language. So British and Americans are
мистер, миссис or мисс, the French are мосьё or мадам, Germans
are герр, фрау etc. The foreigner addressing Russians has more of
a problem, since the Russians do not have any generally used
equivalents of Mr/Mrs/Miss, and the word товарищ (comrade) is
not for use by non-socialist foreigners. Since the Russians
themselves address acquaintances (people they call вы) with the
first name and patronymic (e.g. Иван Петрович - see 16.7), your
politeness and effort will be appreciated if you take the trouble to
remember and pronounce these double names - which can be
something of a tongue-twister if the patronymic is a long one like
Всеволодович [fsye-va-la-da-veech]. However, if you do not know
the first name and patronymic, it is permissible for foreigners to
use the pre-revolutionary term господин (‘gentleman’) for ‘Mr’ and
госпожа (‘lady’) for Mrs or Miss; occasionally Russians use these
words to address foreigners (госпожа Тэтчер ‘Mrs Thatcher’).

16.9 Vocabulary

познакомить (p) [pa-zna-ko-meety] to introduce

я познакомлю, someone to someone
ты познакомишь
+ асе + с + inst
с + inst with
познакомиться (р) [nb -tsa] с + inst to become acquainted
кем (inst of кто) [kyem] by whom (here ‘as whom’)
англо-американский [an-gla-a-mye...] Anglo-American
школа [shko-la] school
уговорить (2) (р) [oo-ga-va-re'ety] to persuade
я уговорю, (someone)
ты уговоришь
(+ асе)
стать (1В) (р) [staty] (+ inst) to become (something)
инженер [een-zhe-nyer] engineer
считать (1) (i) [shshee-taty] to count, consider
я считаю, (something to be
ты считаешь something)
(+ асе + inst)
148

машина [ma-shi-na] machine, car

скучный [skdosh-ni NB] boring
я доволен(m) [da-vo-lyen] 1 am satisfied (with)
(+ inst)
я довольна (f) [da-voly-na] I am satisfied (set phrases)
не правда ли? [nye prav-da lee?] isn’t it?
я согласен (т) [sa-gla-syen] c + I agree (with someone)
inst
я согласна (f) [sa-gla-sna] I agree (set phrases)
мамочка [ma-mach-ka] intimate form of ‘mother’
разрешите (р) [raz-rye-shi-tye] permit (imper)
представиться(р) [pryet-sta-vee-tsa] to introduce oneself
фамилия [fa-me'e-lee-ya] surname
отчество [6-chyest-va] patronymic
познакомьтесь (р) [pa-zna-komy- meet; become acquainted
с + inst -tyesy] (imper) with
жена (pl. жёны) [zhe-na] [zhd-ni] wife
ДОЧЬ (f) [dochy] daughter
adds -ep- before endings: pl дочери (see 8.6)
сколько тебе лет? [sk61y-ka] how old are you (fam)?

CONVERSATION

Борис Джейн, я хочу познакомить тебя со своей мамой.

Мама, это Джейн. Мы с ней познакомились почти
четыре месяца назад.
Джейн Очень приятно с вами познакомиться. Как ваше имя
и отчество?
Мама Клара Михайловна. Кажется, вы приехали в Москву
осенью? Кем вы работаете, Джейн?
Джейн Я работаю учительницей в англо-американской школе.
Мама Да, Боря тоже хотел стать учителем, но мы с мужем
уговорили его стать инженером. Сначала он считал
работу с машинами скучной, но теперь он доволен
своей работой, не правда ли, Боренька?
Борис Да, теперь я с тобой согласен, мамочка.

TRANSLATION

В Jane, I want to introduce you to (acquaint you with) my mother.

 149

Mother, this is Jane. We met (became acquainted) almost four

months ago.
J Pleased to meet you (It is very pleasant with you to become
acquainted). What (how) are your first name and patronymic?
M Klara Mikhaylovna. I think (it seems) you came to Moscow in
the autumn. What do you do (As whom do you work), Jane?
J I’m a teacher at the Anglo-American school.
M Yes, Boris also wanted to become a teacher, but my husband
and I (we with husband) persuaded him to become an
engineer. At first he thought working with machines was
boring (he considered work with machines boring) but now he
is satisfied with (by) his job, aren’t you (is it not truth),
Borenka (intimate diminutive form)?
В Yes, now I agree with you, mother.

Exercise 71
Translate the two dialogues:

К Здравствуйте.
С Здравствуйте.
К Разрешите представиться. Моя фамилия - Кузнецов.
С Очень приятно. Меня зовут Майкл Смит. А как ваше имя
и отчество?
К Борис Петрович.
С Здравствуйте, Борис Петрович.
К Здравствуйте, мистер Смит. Познакомьтесь с моей женой.
Это Наталья Александровна. А это моя дочь Лена.
С Здравствуйте, Наталья Александровна. Здравствуй, Лена.
Сколько тебе лет?
Л Здравствуйте. Мне шесть.

Exercise 71А
Work out the first name of the father of each of the following:
1 Александр Владимирович Серебряков
2 Елена Андреевна Серебрякова
3 Ольга Александровна Смит
4 Лев Васильевич Бродский
5 Илья Петрович Смирнов
6 Татьяна Львовна Попова
7 Владимир Ильич Ленин
Lesson 17

Ordinal numerals. Times and dates.

17.1 Ordinal numbers (adjectives)

Revise the numbers and the grammar of numbers in lesson 9, then
learn the ordinal (adjective) number words:
первый first
второй [fta-roy] second
третий [trye-tee] third
An exceptional adj: the forms you need to know are
третья (f), третье (n) and третьего (m + n gen)
четвёртый [chyet-vyor-ti] fourth
пятый fifth
шестой sixth
седьмой [syedy-moy] seventh
восьмой [vasy-moy] eighth
девятый ninth
десятый tenth
одиннадцатый [a-de'e-na-tsa-ti] eleventh
двенадцатый [dvye-na-tsa-ti] twelfth
тринадцатый [tree-na-tsa-ti] thirteenth
четырнадцатый [chye-tir-na-tsa-ti] fourteenth
пятнадцатый [peet-na-tsa-ti] fifteenth
шестнадцатый [shest-na-tsa-ti] sixteenth
семнадцатый [syem-na-tsa-ti] seventeenth
восемнадцатый [va-syem-na-tsa-ti] eighteenth
девятнадцатый [dye-veet-na-tsa-ti] nineteenth
двадцатый [dva-tsa-ti] twentieth
двадцать первый twenty-first
тридцатый [tree-tsa-ti] thirtieth
сороковой [sa-ra-ka-voy] fortieth
пятидесятый [pee-tee-dye-sya-ti] fiftieth
шестидесятый [she-stee-dye-sya-ti] sixtieth
семидесятый [sye-mee-dye-sya-ti] seventieth
восьмидесятый [vasy-mee-dye-sya-ti] eightieth
девяностый [dye-vee-no-sti] ninetieth
сотый hundredth

150
 151

All these forms are adjectives. All except третий have the same
endings as новый or молодой (see 7.4).

17.2 Telling the time

‘What time is it?’ Который час? ( lit. ‘Which hour?’)

You may also hear: Сколько времени? (lit. ‘How much of time?’)
(времени is gen of время (n) ‘time’)
Exact hours use the word час ‘hour’ for ‘o’clock’:
It is one o’clock. Час. (‘(It is) hour’) (lit. один час but один
is always omitted)
Is is 2, 3, 4 o’clock. Два, три, четыре часа.
(gen sing after 2, 3, 4 - see 9.3)
It is six o’clock. Шесть часов, (gen pl after 5 and upwards
- see 9.3)
Between the full hour and half past, you need the ordinal
(adjective) form of the numbers, because the hour from twelve to
one is called in Russian ‘the first hour’ (первый час), one to two is
‘the second hour’ (второй час), two to three o’clock is ‘the third
hour’ (третий час) and so on. You also need the word минута
‘minute’, which becomes минуты (gen sing) after 2, 3, and 4, and
минут (gen pl) after other numbers (see 9.3). ‘Five past one’ is lit.
‘five minutes of the second hour (gen)’:
Пять минут второго [fta-ro-va]. It is five past one.
Сейчас пятнадцать минут It is now a quarter past two.
третьего. (fifteen minutes of the third)
Двадцать две минуты пятого. It is twenty-two minutes past
four.
‘half’ is половина:
Половина одиннадцатого. It is half past ten. (lit. ‘half of
the eleventh [hour]’)
Сейчас половина третьего. It is now half past two.
(‘half of the third’)
Work out the following times in Russian, covering the answers on
the right:
10 minutes past four десять минут пятого
25 minutes past ten двадцать пять минут одиннадцатого
22 minutes past eleven двадцать две минуты двенадцатого
152

From the half hour to the following hour (‘ten to six’ etc.) Russian
uses the preposition без ‘without’ + gen (9.4, 10.5):
It is ten to six. Без десяти шесть.
It is twenty-five to one. Без двадцати пяти час.
It is three minutes to twelve. Без трёх минут двенадцать.
You will see from the examples that Russian numbers have case
endings just as nouns do (table 7). The nom + acc forms of all
numbers except один (see 9.2) are the same, but the genitive forms
are as follows:
Nom Gen
два двух [dvooh]
три трёх [tryoh]
четыре четырёх [chye-ti-ryoh]
пять пяти [pee-tee] }
шесть шести [she-ste'e] } These -ь numerals
семь семи [sye-me'e] } have the endings of
восемь восьми [vasy-me'e] } soft sign feminine
девять девяти [dye-vee-tee] } nouns.
десять десяти [dye-see-tee] }
одиннадцать одиннадцати }
двенадцать двенадцати }
etc. with и ending and stress on the stem (but двадцати)
Без десяти шесть is literally ‘(It is) without ten (gen) sixl
That is, you name the following hour шесть (часов) and subtract
the required numbers from it using без + gen.
NOTE As in English, if the number of minutes is not divisible by
five the word ‘minutes’ (gen pl минут) must be inserted:
It is four minutes to eight. Без четырёх минут восемь.
From this example you will also see that the form of минут is gen
plural, not singular, after the form of ‘four’ четырех. So we must
modify the rule given in 9.3: if 2, 3, or 4 is in the nom or acc, the
following noun is gen sing, bet if 2, 3 or 4 is itself in the gen, the
following noun is in the gen plural.

Exercise 72
ITorA' our the following times in Russian:

1 (It is) ten to two.

 153

2 (It is) twenty to eleven.

3 (It is) a quarter (fifteen) to three.
4 (It is) three minutes to one (as in ‘one o’clock’ above).
5 (It is) one minute to twelve (NB один has endings like этот).
6 (It is) half past five.
7 (It is) a quarter (fifteen minutes) past ten.

17.3 At a time

Answering the question ‘When?’ Когда? Russians say:

at three o’clock в три часа (at a full hour: just add в)

at half past two в половине (prep) третьего (‘in half of third’)

‘At ten past two’ and ‘At ten to three’ use the same constructions as
in the constructions for ‘It is ten past/to two’, i.e.:
Boris left at ten past ten. Борис уехал десять минут
одиннадцатого.
Jane rang at ten to twelve. Джейн позвонила без десяти
двенадцать.

am/pm
To express am or pm, you can either use the 24-hour clock (formal
style) with the words час and минута and в for ‘at’:
5.30 am пять часов тридцать минут
9.15 pm (21.15) двадцать один час пятнадцать минут

The train arrived at Поезд пришёл в двадцать три часа

11.37 pm. тридцать семь минут.
Or in spoken Russian this division of the day and night is used:
ночь ‘night’ midnight to 4 am: три часа ночи
3 am
(‘3 of the night’)
утро ‘morning’ 4 am to midday: 6 am шесть часов утра
(‘6 of the morning’)
день ‘day’ midday to 6 pm: 4 pm четыре часа дня
(Russian has no word for ‘afternoon’) (‘4 of the day’)
вечер ‘evening’6 pm to midnight: 11pm одиннадцать часов
вечера
(‘11 of the evening’)
154

Exercise 73
Translate into Russian using утра, дня etc.:

1 At 3 am (at three of the night)

2 At 6.30 pm (say ‘half past six [of the seventh] of the evening’)
3 At a quarter (use пятнадцать ‘fifteen’) to four in the afternoon.
4 In Moscow it is one in the morning.

In official style you will hear the час and минута construction, e.g.
on Soviet radio stations:
Московское время - двадцать часов тридцать минут. Moscow
Time [three hours ahead of London, eight ahead of New York] is
20.30 (8.30 pm).
‘Twenty-three hundred hours’ is двадцать три ноль-ноль.

17.4 The date

First we need the names of the months. Note that they are all
masculine, so the prepositional of all ends -e (e.g. в январе) and
the genitive is -a for март and август and -я for all the others.
Nom Gen
January январь [yeen-vary] января [yeen-va-rya]
February февраль [fyev-raly] февраля [fyev-ra-lya]
March март [mart] марта [mar-ta]
April апрель [a-pryely] апреля [а-ргуё-1уа]
May май [may] мая [ma-ya]
June июнь [ee-yo'ony] июня [ee-yob-nya]
July июль [ee-yobly] июля [ee-yob-lya]
August август [av-goost] августа [av-goo-sta]
September сентябрь [syen-tyabry] сентября [syen-tee-brya]
October октябрь [ak-tyabry] октября [ak-tee-brya]
November ноябрь [na-yabry] ноября [na-yee-brya]
December декабрь [dye-kabry] декабря [dye-ka-brya]
‘What is the date today?’ is Какое сегодня число? (‘What today
(is) date?’), число [chee-slo] literally means ‘number’.
To give the answer, you need the ordinal numerals (see 17.1 above)
in their neuter form, agreeing with the noun число. The month is
in the gen (like ‘of June’, ‘of September’ in English).
 155

Сегодня десятое марта. ‘Today is the tenth of March’. (The word

число is always omitted, just as in English we omit the word ‘day’
in ‘the tenth (day) of March’.)
‘In + month’ is в + prep: ‘in January’ в январе.
‘On + date’ is the genitive (ending -oro) of the number adjective:
семнадцатого октября on the seventeenth of October

Exercise 74
Translate:

1 Завтра четырнадцатое августа.

2 Двадцать второе апреля - день рождения Лёнина.
3 Мы приедем двадцать третьего июля.
4 We shall be in Moscow in December.
5 Today is the third of September.
6 Natasha’s birthday is on the thirty-first of January.

17.5 The days of the week

Monday понедельник (‘after Sunday day’ from the old word

for ‘Sunday’ неделя ‘not do day’
which now means ‘week’)
Tuesday вторник [ftor-neek] (‘second day’)
Wednesday среда (‘middle day’)
Thursday четверг [chyet-vyerk] (‘fourth day’)
Friday пятница (‘fifth day’)
Saturday суббота [soo-bo-ta] (‘sabbath’)
Sunday воскресенье [vas-krye-sye-nyye] (‘resurrection’)
‘On + day of the week’ is в + ace:
on Wednesday в среду [fsrye-doo] (NB stress change)
on Thursday в четверг [fchyet-vyerk]
on Tuesday во вторник (о is added to в if the following word
begins with two or more consonants of which the
first is в or ф)
So ‘on Friday the third of June' is в пятницу третьего июня.
156

17.6 Years

The year (e.g. 1988) in Russian is an ordinal numeral, i.e. the last
figure has an adjective ending and the word ‘year’ год should
always be added (in writing you can use the abbreviation r. after
the figures):
‘1988’ is тысяча девятьсот восемьдесят восьмой год ‘thousand
nine hundred eighty-eighth year’ (usually written 1988 r.).
‘In + year’ is в + prep:
‘in 1988’ в 1988 г. to be read as в тысяча девятьсот восемьдесят
восьмом году, -ом is the prepositional adjective ending. Году is
the prep case of год.
In Russian it is normal to omit the century when it is obvious:
in 1948 в сорок восьмом году (= ‘in forty-eight’)
If the month is included, use в + prep for the month and genitive
for the year, i.e. Russians say ‘in June of the 1948th year’ в июне
(тысяча девятьсот) сорок восьмого года.

Exercise 75
Translate:

1 В четверг двенадцатого апреля тысяча девятьсот семьдесят

третьего года.
2 Ленин родился в тысяча восемьсот семидесятом году.
3 I will be there on Wednesday.
4 We were in Moscow in 1984.

17.7 ‘since7‘from’ (c + gen), ‘until’ (до + gen), ‘after’

(после + gen)

These three prepositions can be used with all the time and date
words given in 17.2-17.6. Try these examples, covering the
translations.
с пяти [gen]часов since five o’clock
после девяти (часов) вечера after nine (o’clock) in the evening
до половины третьего until half past two
Я буду здесь до пятого мая. I shall be here until 5 May.
 157

с восемьдесят шестого года since (19)86

после третьего марта after the third of March
до девяносто пятого года until (19)95
‘from...to’ is с...до (you will also meet от...до):
The shop is open (‘works’) from 10 to 6. Магазйн работает с
десяти часов до шести (часов).

17.8 Giving your age

The Russian for T am twenty’ is literally ‘To me (is) twenty’, so you

need the dat case (see 12.6 and 14.4 for the forms). Note that год
‘year’ has gen sing года (after 2, 3, 4) but gen pl лет (lit.
‘summers’, from лето ‘summer’ )•
Сколько вам (pol) лет? I How old are you? (lit. ‘How many
Сколько тебе' (fam) лет? f to you of years?’)
Мне двадцать лет. I am twenty.
Лёне шесть лет. Lena is six.
Борису тридцать один (год). Boris is thirty-one (years old).
Make the past with было and the future with будет.
Лёне было шесть лет. Lena was six.
Борису будет тридцать один. Boris will be thirty-one.

17.9 Vocabulary

прошлый last, previous

на прошлой недёле last week
поздно [poz-na NB] late
потому что [pa-ta-mob-shta] because
конферёнция conference
значит [zna-cheet] (common filler word like ‘urn’/
‘eh’; lit. ‘(it) means’, 8.14)
уезжать (i) (1) [oo-ye-zhaty] to leave (by transport)
я уезжаю, ты уезжаешь
родина homeland
на родину to one’s homeland
кон(ё)ц [ka-nyets] end
побёда victory
158

выйти замуж (за + асе) to marry (of a woman) (lit. to go

[za-moosh] out after a husband)
рано early
так-так (another filler, like ‘hmm’)
пора (+ infin) it is time (to do something)
жениться (i/p) (2) [zhe-nee-tsa] to marry (of a man) (to take a
я женюсь, ты женишься wife)
(на + prep)
начинаться (1) to begin (intransitive)
фильм начинается [na-chee- the film begins
-na-ye-tsa]

Exercise 76
Translate the conversation:

Boris’s father talks to Jane

СИ Здравствуйте, Джейн. Кажется, вы познакомились с

моей женой на прошлой неделе. Меня зовут Сергей
Иванович.
Дж Здравствуйте, Сергей Иванович. Очень приятно. Клара
Михайловна мне сказала, что вы вернулись поздно,
потому что вы работали до восьми часов.
СИ Да, обычно я прихожу домой в половине седьмого, но в
пятницу была конференция...Гм. Вы давно в Москве,
Джейн?
Дж С прошлого сентября.
СИ А когда вы были в Москве первый раз?
Дж В апреле семьдесят шестого года, когда я еще училась в
школе. Я сразу полюбила и Россию и русских людей.
СИ А когда вы уезжаете на родину?
Дж Я буду работать здесь до конца июля.
СИ Простите, сколько вам лет, Джейн?
Дж Двадцать семь. Я родилась в шестьдесят первом году, в
мае.
СИ Борис мне сказал, что ваш день рождения восьмого мая.
А он родился девятого мая, в День Победы. Значит,
двадцать семь. Значит, вы наверно скоро выйдете замуж.
Дж Что вы, Сергей Иванович! Мне ещё рано. Моя мама
вышла замуж, когда ей было тридцать два года.
СИ Так-так. А вам не кажется, что Борису уже пора
жениться? Ему тридцать один.
 159

Дж Ну, это его дело. Кстати, где он? Я его жду с пяти часов.
Мы идём в кино. Фильм начинается без пятнадцати
семь.

Exercise 77
Say in Russian:

1 What time is it? 9 In January 1958.

2 It’s three o’clock. 10 On Monday 25 January 1988.
3 Half past ten. 11 I work from ten in the morning
4 Ten to six. until six in the evening.
5 Three minutes to two. 12 How old are you (pol)?
6 Eleven at night. 13 I am 26.
7 At half past one. 14 How old is your wife?
8 In 1950. 15 My wife is 30.

Exercise 78
What is the date and time of the performance?

Серия БТ Б/ки. .Nv

4 апреля 19S7 года 00(1022

Начало к 19 'lacoi;
КОНТ РОЛЬ
I Государе гвенный
АМФИТЕАТР
i дважды ордена Ленина
i академический
■ i.o 11.111011 I г. \ I |> ( cep
Ленин с трона ряд 3 место 35
1 Проспект Маркса, д. S/2
' Телефон 292-00-50 Цена 3 р. 20 к.
Серия БГ Г>/кп №
ОЛЬ

4 апреля 1987 года 000022

Il.i'iaio в 19 часов

АМФИТЕАТР
Левая ciopoiia РЯД 3 MI (,1() 36
Цена 3 р. 20 к.
Lesson 18

Conditional mood. Comparative. The remaining case endings

(dative and prepositional plural).

18.1 Conditional sentences with ‘would’ (бы)

Look at these examples:

Джейн позвонила Борису, когда она вернулась в Москву.
Jane rang Boris when she returned to Moscow.
Джейн позвонила бы Борису, если бы она вернулась в Москву.
Jane would have rung Boris if she had returned to Moscow.
To make a ‘would’-type conditional sentence from a non­
conditional one, all you have to do is add если (*liT) бы [bi] and a
second бы after the verb in the other clause (the consequence) and
make both verbs past tense.
Если бы я знал русский язык (1st clause), я читал бы
Достоевского в оригинале (2nd clause). Lit. ‘If would I knew
Russian language, I read would Dostoyevsky in original’.
Since Russian has only one past tense, this sentence, depending on
the context, could in English be either ‘If I knew Russian, I would
read Dostoyevsky in the original’ or ‘If I had known Russian, I
would have read Dostoyevsky in the original.’
The rules for the choice of aspect are the same as in sentences
without бы.
When I have money, I buy tickets to the theatre.
Когда у меня есть деньги, я покупаю билеты в театр.
If I had money now, I would buy tickets to the theatre.
Если бы у меня сейчас были деньги, я купил (р) бы билеты в
театр.
If I had money, I would buy [frequently] tickets to the theatre.
Если бы у меня были деньги, я покупал (i) бы билеты в театр.
You can also use the conditional in polite requests, as in English:
Я хотел бы пойти в ресторан.
I would like (‘would want’) to go to a restaurant.

160
 161

and in conditional sentences without an ‘if’ clause:

Было бы лучше (‘better’) пойти в кино.
It would be (or would have been) better to go to the cinema.

Exercise 79
Say in Russian:

1 If Jane had known (i), she would have telephoned (p).

2 If I lived (i) in Moscow, I would speak (i) Russian.
3 I would like to meet (get to know) (p) your sister.
4 If you (pol) were a woman, you would understand (i).

18.2 чтобы

The particle бы combines with что (‘that’) to form the conjunction

чтобы which is used with the verb хотеть (6.5) when someone
wants somebody else to do something:
I want you to come at six. Я хочу, чтобы вы пришли в шесть
часов, (lit. ‘I want that you came at six’).
Boris wants Jane to phone him. Борис хочет, чтобы Джейн ему
позвонила.
note As in the бы ‘would’ construction in 18.1, the verb after
чтобы is always past tense in form (never present or future).

Exercise 80
Say in Russian:

1 I want him to know.

2 We want Boris to come (p) tomorrow.
3 They don’t want us to wait (i).
чтобы can also be used with an infinitive to mean ‘in order to’:
Чтобы купить билеты, надо пойти в Интурист.
In order to buy tickets it is necessary to go to Intourist.
162

18.3 Comparative of adjectives and adverbs

Here are some common comparatives:

better лучше [lob-che NB] —► хороший
cheaper дешевле [dye-she-vlye] дешёвый cheap
easier легче [lyeh-chye NB] легкий easy
larger больше [boly-she] большой
less меньше [myeny-she] маленький
longer длиннее [dlee-nye-ye] длинный long
more больше [boly-she] большой
more beautiful красивее [kra-se'e-vye-ye] красивый
more difficult труднее [trood-nye-ye] трудный
more expensive дороже [da-ro-zhe] дорогой
more interesting интереснее [...-rye-snye-ye] интересный
more often чаще [cha-shshye] часто
nicer приятнее [pree-yat-nye-ye] приятный
quicker быстрее [bi-strye-ye] быстрый
slower медленнее [mye-dlye-nye-ye] медленный
smaller меньше [myeny-she] маленький
worse хуже [hob-zhe] плохой bad
These are also the comparatives of the equivalent adverbs ending in
-о (хорошо ‘well’, быстро ‘quickly’ etc.).
All these forms are indeclinable. Since many of these comparatives
are very irregular in formation, it is better simply to learn them as
new vocabulary items. They are used like this:
Это было бы лучше. That would be better.
Этот фильм будет интереснее. This film will be more interesting.
Москва красивее. Moscow is more beautiful.
If you want to say ‘than’, use чем [chyem]:
Эта сумка дешевле? Is this bag cheaper?
Эта сумка дешевле, чем Is this bag cheaper than the red
красная? one?
In colloquial Russian, instead of чем the gen is preferred:
Эта сумка дешевле красной (gen adj)?
Is this bag cheaper than (lit. ‘of) the red one?
Русский язык труднее, чем японский?
Is Russian more difficult than Japanese?
Нет, русский легче японского. No, Russian is easier than Japanese.
 163

Этот фильм будет интереснее того фильма, который вы

смотрели вчера or интереснее, чем тот фильм...
This film will be more interesting than the (that) one you saw
yesterday.
note тот ‘that’ can be used when you want to contrast ‘that’
with ‘this’ этот - for its declension see table 4.

18.4 Formation of comparatives

Learn the common ones above and note these general points:
(a) if the adjective/adverb ends -ный/-но, -лый/-ло, -рый/-ро, or
-вый/-во, replace the -ый/-о with -ее (often stressed -ee), e.g.
интереснее, холоднее ‘colder’.
(b) most other adjectives have a change of last consonant and the
ending -e: лёгкий:лёгче ‘easy: easier’.
(c) some common adjectives have unpredictable comparatives, as
in English: e.g. хороший:лучше ‘good:better’ and плохой:хуже
‘bad:worse’.
(d) you can also form the comparative by simply placing the word
более [bo-lye-ye] ‘more’ (which is another form of the comparative
of большой) before the adjective/adverb:
Книга более интересная, чем фильм. The book is more
interesting than the film.
In this construction, the adjective form is the same as it would be if
более was not present (Книга интересная. ‘The book is
interesting!) and for ‘than’ only чем can be used (not the gen).
note The differences between the -e/-ee comparative (18.3) and
the construction with более are as follows:
(a) if the comparative is followed by the noun it qualifies (‘a more
interesting book’), the более form is used:
1 want to buy a more interesting book.
Я хочу купить более интересную книгу.
(b) if the construction is of the type ‘something is/was/will be/
would be + comparative adj’ with no following noun, the -e/-ee
form is preferred, particularly in spoken Russian:
This wine is cheaper. Это вино дешевле (rather than более
дешёвое).
164

However, since the более construction is easier, foreigners often

prefer to use it. It is not wrong to say Это вино более дешёвое
(instead of Это вино дешевле). If the comparative you want to use
is not in the list above, simply use более with the adjective.

18.5 ‘much’ with comparatives

‘Much’ is намного (literary) or гораздо (colloquial):

Эта книга гораздо дороже. This book is much more expensive.
Книга намного интереснее фильма (or , чем фильм). The
book is much more interesting than the film.

18.6 ‘less’ (менее)

‘Less’ is менее [mye-nye-ye], placed before the adj/adverb:

Эта книга менее интересная, чем фильм.
This book is less interesting than the film.
Сегодня менее холодно. It’s less cold today.

18.7 Superlative (‘most interesting’, ‘largest’ etc.)

In Russian, simply place the word самый [sa-mi], which declines

like новый, in front of the adjective:
самая интересная книга
the most interesting book
Он хочет купить самую дешёвую водку.
Не wants to buy the cheapest vodka.
note There is a special adj лучший [lob-chi NB] meaning ‘best’:
Это лучшая гостиница. This is the best hotel.

18.8 ‘more’ (больше) and ‘less’/'fewer’ (меньше)

In quantity constructions больше and меньше behave like

quantity words (9.7) and take the genitive:
We need more money. Нам нужно больше денег (gen), (lit.
‘more of money’)
 165

There is less room here. Здесь меньше места, (lit. ‘less of place’)

Exercise 81
Say in Russian:

1 This hotel is better.

2 Russian is more difficult than English.
3 In Leningrad we spoke Russian more often.
4 Boris has less money than Jane has.
5 Which vodka is cheaper?
6 This film is the most interesting.

18.9 ‘a little faster’

In spoken Russian, the -e/-ee indeclinable comparatives (18.3) are

often prefixed with no- (meaning ‘a little’): побыстрее [pa-bi-strye-
-ye] ‘a little faster’, почаще [pa-cha-shshye] ‘a little more often’.
The no- often shows politeness rather than littleness.
Приходите к нам почаще. Do come and see us more often (lit.
‘Come to us a little more often’).
Побыстрее! Please hurry up! (lit. ‘A bit faster!’)
Я хочу купить билёт I would like a somewhat cheaper
подешевле. ticket (lit. ‘I want to buy a ticket
(which is) a little cheaper.’)

Exercise 82
Say in Russian:
1 Leningrad is more beautiful than Moscow, but Moscow is more
interesting.
2 This room is worse than the first one.
3 Perhaps it would be better to telephone (p).
4 This seat (place) will be better.
5 Which town is the most interesting?
6 The other hotel is much better.
7 Hurry up (quicker), please!

18.10 Dative and prepositional plural of nouns

These are our last two noun endings and the rarest ones. They are
166

straightforward. All dat plurals end either -ам or -ям. Simply

remove the и from the end of the inst plural (16.5):
девушкам to the girls братьям to the brothers
The three nouns with irregular inst plural endings (-ьмй) have the
regular ending -ям in the dat:
детям to the children
The prepositional plural is -ax or -ях. Simply replace the м of the
dat plural with x:
о девушках about the girls
о братьях about the brothers
о детях about the children

18.11 Dative and prepositional plural of adjectives

The adjective endings are:

-ым (новым) or -им (русским, хорошим) for the dative pl
-ых (новых) or -их (русских, хороших) for the prep pl
note The dat pl = the m/n inst sing and the prep pl = the gen
Pl:
этим старым людям (dat) to these old people
в старых русских городах (prep) in old Russian towns
на красивых московских улицах in attractive Moscow streets
(prep)

Exercise 83
Add the correct plural endings and translate:

1 Я буду писать письма cboJ__ нов___ русск___ друзьД

2 Я говорил о cboJ__ нов___ русск___ друзь^___.
3 Многие иностранцы женятся на русск___ дёвушк___ .
4 Мы были в эт___ город^___ .

18.12 Vocabulary

тише (comp of тихий ‘quiet’) quieter

вы правы you are right (set phrase)
 167

обедать (i) (1) to dine, have a meal

я обедаю, ты обедаешь
нравиться (i) (2) (+ dat of to please
person)
мне нравится Наташа I like Natasha (‘to me pleases N’)
стиль (ш) style
капстрана capitalist country
(капиталистическая страна)
чтобы [shto-bi] (in order) to
охотно willingly
граница border
за границу abroad (‘over the border’)
расчёт [ra-shshyot] calculation
по расчёту based on calculation
действительно really, indeed
план plan
скрытный secretive
религиозный religious
цёрк(о)вь (f) church
даже even
дружить (i) (2) с + inst to be friendly with
я дружу, ты дружишь,
они дружат
священник priest
безусловно undoubtedly
умный intelligent
умнее more intelligent
встречаться (i) (1) to meet (with), see someone
я встречаюсь, ты
встречаешься
официантка (gen pl официанток) waitress
наконец at last
подходить (2) (к + dat) to come up (to)
я подхожу, ты подходишь
принести (р) (1В) to bring
я принесу, ты принесёшь
первое (n adj) first (course) (soup)
борщ beetroot soup
второе (n adj) second (course) (main course)
шашлык kebab, pieces of meat on a skewer
спутница (female) companion
котлеты по-киевски Chicken Kiev
168

бефстроганов Beef Stroganoff

вкусный tasty
закуски (pl of закуска) hors d’oeuvre
икра caviare
гриб mushroom
сметана sour cream
прекрасно fine, splendid
порция portion
третье (n adj) third (course) (dessert)
мороженое (n adj) ice cream
чай tea
варенье jam
возражать (i) (1) to object

18.13 Conversation

Sergey Ivanovich and Tatyana Nikolayevna meet for a meal in the

International («Международная») Hotel in Moscow’s International
Trade Centre (Международный торговый центр) on the
Krasnopresnenskaya (Краснопресненская) Embankment of the
Moscow-River (Москва-река). The hotel, built for the 1980
Olympics, is a piece of the West with a huge atrium, fountains,
artificial trees and glass-sided lifts.

СИ Здесь тише, чем в других московских ресторанах.

TH Вы правы, Сергей Иванович [ee-va-nich], но гостиница
Метрополь красивее. Если бы я была иностранным
туристом, я хотела бы жить в старой гостинице. И я
обедала бы в таких ресторанах, как Арагви и Узбекистан.
СИ А мне больше нравится современный стиль. Я так хотел
бы поехать в капстрану, чтобы посмотреть, как там
живут в больших городах. Но, наверно, я никогда не
смогу поехать.
TH А ваш Борис поедет? Кажется, ему очень нравится эта
англичанка Джейн Ольдридж.
СИ Так вы знаете об этом? Так-так. По-моему, он охотно
женился бы на ней.
TH Только для того, чтобы поехать за границу?
СИ Не только. Конечно, мы с женой не хотим, чтобы он
женился по расчёту, но нам кажется, что он
действительно любит её.
 169

TH Конечно, многие русские женятся на иностранках. А

она? Какие у неё планы?
СИ Как вам сказать, Татьяна Николаевна? Я её не совсем
понимаю. Англичане такие скрытные люди. Кроме того,
мне кажется, что она очень религиозный человек. Она
часто ходит в церковь, ездит в Загорск, даже дружит с
одним священником там. Безусловно, она интереснее и
умнее, чем Наташа, но Наташа симпатичнее. Мы так
хотели, чтобы он женился на Наташе, но теперь он с ней
почтй не встречается. А, вот официантка, наконец. Мы
ждём уже двадцать минут.
(Подходит официантка. The waitress comes up.)
Оф Что принести?
СИ Пожалуйста, на первое принесите нам борщ, потом на
второе мне шашлык, а моей спутнице котлеты
по-киевски.
Оф Возьмите лучше бефстроганов. Он сегодня вкуснее, чем
шашлык. А закуски?
СИ Гм. Икра есть?
Оф Икры нет. Есть грибы в сметане.
СИ Прекрасно. Две порции, пожалуйста. А на третье
мороженое и чай с вареньем.
Оф Сейчас принесу.
TH Вы бы хотели, чтобы ваш сын женился на иностранке?
СИ А вы бы хотели, чтобы ваша дочь вышла замуж за
иностранца? Ваша Нина очень дружит с мистером
Смитом.
TH Я не возражала бы. Но они просто друзья.

TRANSLATION

SI It’s quieter here than in other Moscow restaurants.

TN You’re right, Sergey Ivanovich, but the Metropol Hotel is
more attractive. If I were a foreign tourist (inst after быть) I
would want to live in an old hotel. And I would dine in such
restaurants as the Aragvi (Georgian) and the Uzbekistan
(Central Asian cooking).
SI I like the modern style more. I would like so much to go to a
capitalist country to see what life is like there in the big cities.
But I’ll probably never be able to go.
170

TN But will your son Boris go? He seems to be very interested in

that English girl Jane Aldridge.
SI So you know about that. Hmm-hmm. 1 think he would
willingly marry her.
TN Just in order to go abroad?
SI Not just for that. Of course my wife and I don’t want him to
make a marriage of convenience, but it seems to us that he
really does love her.
TN Of course, many Russian men marry foreigners. And what
about her? What are her plans?
SI What can I say, Tatyana Nikolayevna? I don’t really
understand her. The British (‘English’) are so secretive. It also
seems to me that she’s a very religious person. She often goes
to church and to Zagorsk and she even has a friend who’s a
priest there. Undoubtedly she is more interesting and
intelligent than Natasha, but Natasha is nicer. We were so
keen that he should marry Natasha, but now he hardly sees
her at all. Ah, there’s the waitress at last. We’ve been waiting
for twenty minutes.
W What (am I) to bring?
SI We’d like beetroot soup for the first course, then for the main
course I’ll have a kebab and my companion will have
Chicken Kiev.
W You’d do better to have (lit. ‘take better’) the Beef
Stroganoff. It’s better than the kebab today. What about
hors d’oeuvre?
SI Hm. Is there any caviare?
W No. There are mushrooms in sour cream.
SI Splendid. Two portions please. And for dessert (we’ll have)
ice cream and tea with jam.
W I’ll bring (things) straightaway.
TN Would you want your son to marry a foreigner?
SI And would you want your daughter to marry one? Your Nina
is very friendly with Mr Smith.
TN I wouldn’t object. But they are simply friends.
Lesson 19

Filling in forms, writing notes and letters. Telephoning.

We have now covered the basic grammar and vocabulary you will
need for reading, comprehension and simple conversations in the
kinds of situations you might have to deal with when visiting the
USSR. Now we can tackle some more complex communication
skills you may need for certain types of everyday activity such as
filling in forms, writing short notes and letters, and making
phonecalls.

19.1 Writing English names in Russian letters

You should know the basic principles for transcribing English

words into Russian, if only to make sure that Russians know what
you are called. The main point is that English names are
transcribed according to their pronunciation, not according to the
letters. (By contrast, Russian words are spelt in English according
to the letters, not the pronunciation: Горбачев, pronounced [gar-
-ba-chyof] is transcribed ‘Gorbachev’)- Thus a surname like Leigh
is transcribed Ли (not Леигх) because Ли is the closest Russian
equivalent of the sound of the word. The following points may
help:
(a) The Russian ы is never used to transcribe English i. By
tradition и is used instead, so Nick is Ник.
(b) x is now used for h (not r, though г was the norm in the
nineteenth century), so Harry is Харри.
(c) Double letters are represented by double letters even when no
double sound is audible (Harry = Харри).
(d) th is t, so Thistlethwaite is Тисльтуэйт.
(e) э or e can be used for English e and short a: Benn can be either
Бэнн or Бенн. Lamb can be either Лэм or Лем (Lamb could also
be Лам if that is closer to your English pronunciation).
(f) The English article ‘the’, quite a problem for Russians to
pronounce, is always omitted in transcription, so ‘The News of the
World’ is «Ньюс оф уорлд».

171
172

(g) Russians tend to hear English l’s as soft, so Liverpool is

Ливерпуль, but use your own English pronunciation as a guide.
Mary Smith Мэри or Мери or Мэйри Смит
John Dunn Джон Данн
Bill Hetherington Билл or Билль Хэ(ог е)тэ(ог е)рингтон
Elisabeth Wilson Элизабет or Элизабэт Уил(ь)сон
‘The Guardian’ «Гардиан»

Exercise 84
Write the following in Cyrillic (Russian) letters:

George; Patricia; Birmingham; Brown; Michael; The Beatles

19.2 Addressing people in writing

If writing to a friend, you can use Дорогой/Дорогая ‘Dear’ as in

English, followed by the short (diminutive) form of the first name
(see 16.7):
Дорогая Наташа!
You can also begin
Здравствуй, Наташа!
Suitable endings to the letter or note are Целую (‘I kiss’ from
целовать (i) ‘to kiss’) or Обнимаю (‘I embrace’) or До скорого
[da-sk6-ra-va] (‘Until soon’) or До свидания (‘Goodbye’).
For more formal notes, to people you call вы, use
Уважаемый/Уважаемая (pl: Уважаемые)
‘Respected’, followed by the full first name and patronymic (see
16.7) plus exclamation mark:
Уважаемая Татьяна Николаевна!
The ending repeats the respect
С уважением <‘Yours sincerely’, lit. ‘With respect’)
note In letters, all forms of the pronoun вы have a capital.
Examples:
Уважаемый Михайл Александрович!
Извините меня за то, что я не смогу встретиться с Вами в
пятницу. Я только сегодня узнала, что в пятницу для нашей
 173

делегации устраивают приём в американском посольстве.

Сообщите, пожалуйста, согласны ли Вы перенести нашу
встречу на субботу, когда я буду весь день в гостинице.
С уважением,
Уильхэльмйна Дж. Уатэрспун
Dear Mikhail Aleksandrovich,
I’m sorry that I won’t be able to meet you on Friday. I only
learned today that there will be a reception for our delegation at
the American Embassy on that day. Please let me know if you are
willing to postpone our meeting to Saturday, when I shall be in the
hotel all day.
Yours sincerely,
Wilhelmina J. Wutherspoon
Дорогая Наташа!
Приходи сегодня после шести. Буду целый вечер дома.
Целую,
Нина
Dear Natasha,
Come today after six. I’ll be at home the whole evening.
Love (I kiss), Nina
Russian addresses begin with the country and end with the name of
the recipient:
СССР [es-es-es-er] USSR
Москва 117292 (6-figure postcode [индекс])
Профсоюзная улица (street name)
д. 11, кв. 135 (д = дом ‘building’ кв = квартира
‘apartment’)
Сергееву H.H. (-у is the dative ending ‘to Mr N.N. Sergeyev’)
handwriting note Russians write the figures 1, 4, 7, 9:1 4 T~ 9

Exercise 85
Translate into Russian:

Dear Mrs Pyetrova [her имя and отчество are Татьяна

Николаевна],
Thank you for your invitation [приглашение]. I accept
[принимаю] it with pleasure [с удовольствием].
Yours sincerely,
Michael Smith
174

Dear Andryoosha [intimate form of Andrey]

Please phone me this evening after six. My telephone in the
hotel is 711-41-44.
Love,
Barbara
Dear Dr Sergeyev,
I would like (хотел бы) to receive a copy (копия) of the very
interesting report (доклад) which you read (p) at the conference
(на конференции) on Wednesday. My name (имя) and address
(адрес) are Dr Trevor Blunt, 716, Hotel Ukraina, Moscow. In
exchange (в обмен) I enclose (прилагаю) a copy of my report.
Yours sincerely,
Trevor Blunt

19.3 Filling in forms

Soviet forms have three blanks for your name: Ф(амйлия), И(мя),
О(тчество). As a foreigner you can leave the О space blank (with
the risk that a Russian might think you don’t know who your
father is), or construct yourself an отчество by adding -ович or
-овна to your father’s name (Реджинальдович, Джоновна), or
write in your middle name if you have one. Under национальность,
the Russians mean ethnic origin, so you write English (английская),
Scottish (шотландская), Welsh (валлийская), Irish (ирландская)
etc., and under подданство your citizenship British (британское),
American (американское). All Soviet citizens have to have a
национальность (Russian, Ukrainian, Kalmyk, Korean, Jewish or
whatever). ‘Soviet’ is not а национальность - it is their citizenship.

19.4 Telegrammes

For urgent business Russians much prefer telegrammes to letters.

To write in Russian telegraphese, delete all prepositions but leave
the case endings.
ARRIVING ODESSA WEDNESDAY 8.15PM TRAIN 23 COACH
9 STOP MEET ON PLATFORM.
ПРИЕЗЖАЮ [В] ОДЕССУ [В] СРЕДУ (В] 2015 ПОЕЗД 23
ВАГОН 9 ТЧК [ = точка] ВСТРЕЧАЙТЕ [НА] ПЛАТФОРМЕ
 175

19.5 Understanding the spoken language

Even if you have mastered all the basic grammar and vocabulary,
do not be disheartened if you find that radio and TV broadcasts
can be difficult to follow and that your ability to comprehend
Russian spoken at normal speed is well behind your ability to make
sense of written texts. Good aural comprehension may well require
months of practice and will depend on such factors as how good
your hearing is and how well you know the subject being discussed.
So you will probably prefer written messages in Russian to
telephoning in Russian, at least in the early stages. However,
Russians prefer to do everyday business by phone, given that a
letter is likely to take at least three days to cross Moscow, while
telephones are plentiful and cheap. If they cannot get through by
phone, they will often prefer to travel, encouraged by the fact that
city transport is very cheap and underground trains run every 1-2
minutes.

19.6 Telephone conversations

Despite the universal use of telephones and their cheapness (local

calls cost 2 kopecks from a callbox (автомат) and 2.50 roubles a
month for an unlimited number of local calls from private homes),
Russians tend to be abrupt. When answering a call, they say Да! or
Слушаю (‘I’m listening’) or Алло! (‘Hello’), never anything
informative such as their name or number. When you ring offices
you will often find that if the person you want isn’t there or your
request can’t be dealt with immediately, the phone is banged down
without а До свидания. So learn the phrase
He кладите трубку, пожалуйста! [nye kla-dee-tye troop-koo,
pa-zhal-sta!] Don’t hang up please!
and don’t omit to point out
Извините, я иностранец/иностранка/американец/англичанка...
Excuse me, I’m a foreigner/an American/British ...
which should get you more considerate treatment.
If you don’t know who you’re speaking to, say
Простите, с кем я говорю? Excuse me, with whom am I speaking?
176

If it’s the name of the institution or the address which matters, ask
Это гостиница? Is that the hotel?
Это квартира Достоевских? Is that the Dostoyevskys’ flat?
If it is not the person you want who answers, the instruction is:
Позовите, пожалуйста, Нйну/товарища Чернёнко/Сергёя
Ивановича/дирёктора. Please call (i.e. may 1 speak to) Nina/
Comrade Chernenko/Sergey Ivanovich (see 16.7 on names)/the
director.
If the person isn’t available, you may be asked if you wish to leave a
message (А что ему/ей передать? ‘Is there a message?’ lit. ‘What
to transmit to him/her?’). You say:
Передайте ему/ей, пожалуйста, что звонйл(а)... Tell him/her
that ... rang (followed by any necessary details).
Practise the phrases
Говорите мёдленнее, пожалуйста. Speak more slowly, please.
Повторите, пожалуйста. Please repeat.
Извините, я не пбнял(а). Excuse me, I haven’t
understood.

19.7 Vocabulary

институт institute
биохимия biochemistry
попасть (p) (IB) (past попал) to get (somewhere)
я попаду, ты попадёшь
извините (imper) excuse me
поговорить (р)(2) to have a talk with
слушать (i) (1) + асе to listen to
я слушаю, ты слушаешь
беспокоить(+ асе) to worry, trouble (somebody)
я беспокою, ты беспокоишь
возможно possible; it is possible
соедините (imper) (меня) connect (me)
к сожалёнию unfortunately, I regret
дёло matter, piece of business
личный personal
начальник boss, chief, head
отдёл section, department
 177

будьте добры be so good (pol request) (set

phrase)
слышно (it is) audible
застать (р) (1 В) to find, come upon (a person)
я застану, ты застанешь
не расслышать (р) (1) to mishear, fail to make out
я не расслышал(а) I didn’t catch (that)
справочное (бюро) enquiry (office)
абонент subscriber
отдельный separate
коммунальный communal
назовите (imper) name
представитель (ш) representative
фирма firm
директор(pl директора) director, head, manager
занят (т) (занята f, заняты pl) occupied, busy (participle
- 20.7)

Exercise 86
Translate the conversations:
1 Wrong number
А Алло!
В Это институт биохимии?
А Нет, это квартира. Вы не туда попали.
В Извините.
2 Jane seeks Boris
А Слушаю.
В Вас беспокоит учительница из Англии Джейн Ольдридж.
Если возможно, соедините меня с Борисом Сергеевичем.
А К сожалению, его сейчас нет. Вы по какому делу звоните?
В По личному. Простите, с кем я говорю?
А С начальником отдела. Вы меня хорошо понимаете?
В Спасибо, я всё понимаю. Но будьте добры, говорите
медленно, плохо слышно. Когда Борис Сергеевич вернётся?
А Через час, наверно. А что ему передать?
В Пожалуйста, передайте ему, что я буду ждать его звонка
дома до пяти часов. После пяти он сможет меня застать у
моих друзей. Их телефон сто двадцать три - восемьдесят
девять - ноль шесть.
А Простите, я не расслышал. Восемьдесят девять или
семьдесят девять?
178

В Восемьдесят девять.
А Хорошо. Я передам.
В Спасибо. До свидания.
А До свидания, мисс Ольдуитч.
3 Telephone directories are as rare as caviare sandwiches in
England. If you know the person’s three names and address,
dial directory enquiries (09).
А Справочное, номер трйдцать четыре.
В Дайте, пожалуйста, телефон абонента в Москве.
А Отдельная квартира или коммунальная?
В Отдельная.
А Фамилия?
В Сергеев.
А Имя, отчество?
В Иван Николаевич.
А Назовите улицу.
В Улица Паустовского.
А Четыреста двадцать пять - трйдцать одйн - ноль два.
В Спасибо.
4 A business call
А Да!
В Это институт биохймии?
А Да.,
В Здравствуйте. С вами говорйт Майкл Смит. Я
представйтель англййской фйрмы «Брок энд Парсонс».
Позовйте, пожалуйста, директора.
А Извинйте, Сергей Иванович сейчас занят. Позвоните через
час.
Lesson 20

Reading Russian. Participles. ‘Gerunds’.

20.1 Reading Russian

If you have mastered the basic Russian grammar and vocabulary of

the previous nineteen lessons, you can begin to start puzzling your
way through unsimplified Russian texts in books and journals.
This last lesson contains some guidelines on how to proceed plus a
number of grammatical structures you are unlikely to use yourself
but which you will meet in written texts.

20.2 Dictionaries

First you will need a dictionary. The best general Russian-English

dictionary currently available is The Oxford Russian-English
Dictionary, edited by Marcus Wheeler, 2nd edition 1984. This is
expensive. Second best but much cheaper is The Great Russian-
English Dictionary, edited by O.A. Akhmanova, and published by
Russkiy Yazyk, Moscow, thirteenth edition 1985. If you wish to try
to manage with something smaller, the pocket version of the
Oxford Russian-English Dictionary is good. If you wish to
read/translate technical materials, you will also need a specialized
technical dictionary for the given field. Consult a university or
polytechnic library or Collet’s International Bookshop, 129-131
Charing Cross Road, London WC2H OEQ.

20.3 Problems to note when using your dictionary

(a) Irregular verbs: getting from еду to the infinitive ехать ‘to go,
travel’ can be a problem if your dictionary does not provide cross
references. Learn the main irregular verbs as you meet them in this
book and note that prefixed verbs behave in exactly the same way
as the unprefixed verbs from which they are derived. For example,
уехать ‘to go away’, переехать ‘to go across’, выехать ‘to drive
out’ and all the other prefixed forms of ехать conjugate like ехать
i.e. with the stem ёд-.

179
180

(b) Fleeting vowels (see 8.13). If a noun is missing from the

dictionary, try inserting e or о between the last two consonants, e.g.
you come across the word потолка, but there is no word потолк in
the dictionary. Try inserting о or e and you will find потол(6)к
‘ceiling’; if there is a soft sign between the last two consonants,
replace it with e, e.g. the form владельца is from владёл(е)ц
‘owner’.

20.4 Idioms

But the main problem in reading Russian with a dictionary is likely

to be idioms. You may find all the words but still not understand
the meaning of the phrase. This is particularly the case with such
common words as ещё, и, бы, так, как, же. Large dictionaries
will list the commoner idioms (e.g. как бы не так ‘how would not
so’, meaning ‘not likely’; ещё бы ‘still would’, corresponding to ‘I’ll
say’, ‘you bet’, ‘indeed’). In those cases where your dictionary
doesn’t help, the only solution is to consult a qualified teacher or
bilingual speaker.

20.5 Russian word order

You may have noticed in earlier lessons that the order of words in
Russian sentences is much more flexible than in English.
For ‘Andrey married Barbara’ Russian can have Андрей женился
на Барбаре/На Барбаре женился Андрёй/На Барбаре Андрёй
женился and three other permutations. The general rule for written
Russian is that the main information (or emphasis) comes at the
end of the sentence or clause. In На Барбаре женился Андрёй the
stress is on who married her, an emphasis which we can achieve in
English by using the complicated structure ‘It was Andrey who
married Barbara! In На Барбаре Андрёй женился, the effect of
of putting the verb after the object is akin to saying ‘Andrey did
marry Barbara!

20.6 Participles and ‘gerunds’

In bookish Russian (more rarely in spoken or everyday Russian) you

 181

will frequently come across six types of verb participle. You will
need to know what these participles mean, but you will not need to
use them in your own Russian, because there is always some way of
avoiding them. Four of these forms are called participles
(причастия) and two of them are traditionally known in English as
‘gerunds’ or verbal adverbs (in Russian деепричастия).

20.7 Past passive participle from p verbs

This is the commonest of these six forms. It corresponds to the

English participle form ‘done’ in ‘The work was/has been/will be
done by our engineer’ or ‘invited’ in ‘Jane was/has been/will be
invited’. Typically the forms ends in -ан or -ен with a gender/
number ending to match the subject, so if you meet a verb (always
perfective) with the ending
-ан, -ана, -ано, -аны, -ен, -ена, -ено, or -ены,
it is a participle corresponding to an English form of the verb
ending -ed (-t) or -en (-n):
Работа сделана (-* сделать ‘to do’) The work (is) done.
Это запрещено (-* запретить ‘to forbid’) That is forbidden.
Билеты будут куплены завтра (-* купить ‘to buy’)
The tickets will be bought tomorrow.
As the last example shows, the past passive participle is generally
formed from the same stem as the я form of the verb, e.g. я куплю
‘I shall buy.’
There is also a past participle ending -т, -та, -то or -ты for
irregular verbs whose infinitive does not end -ать or -ить. They are
easy to identify:
взят taken —► взять to take
занят occupied —► занять to occupy
закрыт closed закрыть to close
Магазины были закрыты. The shops were closed.
These participles can be used as adjectives and placed in front of
nouns, in which case they have -ый adjective endings (like новый)
and the -h forms have an extra h:
запрещённые книги forbidden books
If the person responsible for the action is mentioned, the person is
182

in tlie instrumental case (16.1-16.6):

Роман «Война и мир» был написан Толстым.
The novel ‘War and Peace’ was written by Tolstoy.

20.8 Present passive participle from i verbs

The least common of the participles is the pres passive participle,

corresponding to English ‘being V-ed’ (V being any transitive verb),
e.g. любимый ‘being loved’ (‘beloved’) from любить ‘to love’ (this
word can also mean ‘favourite’); получаемый ‘being received,
obtained’ (from получать (i) ‘to receive, get’).
These rare participles are formed from imperfective verbs by
adding the adjective ending -ый to the мы form of the pres tense,
e.g. любим + ый. If you read scientific Russian you will meet a
few:
Результаты, получаемые в таких условиях, сомнительны.
Results (which are) obtained in such conditions are doubtful.

20.9 The present active participle from i verbs

This corresponds to English participles ending -ing as in ‘The man

reading the paper is my uncle’. It is easily recognized by its
distinctive ending containing -щ-. The vowel before the щ is always
я, ю, a or y, and after the щ comes an adjective ending.

читающий reading —► читать to read

выпускающий publishing —► выпускать to publish
В СССР есть издательства, выпускающие книги на английском
языке.
In the USSR there are publishing houses publishing (= which
publish) books in English.
In everyday Russian this active participle is replaced by который
‘who’, ‘which’ (see 7.9) + the pres tense:
издательства, выпускающие = издательства, которые
выпускают
publishing houses publishing = publishing houses which publish
 183

20.10 Past active participles from i/p verbs

These have the distinctive ending -вш- + adj ending. They can be
formed from both imperfective and perfective verbs. The
imperfective ones translate as verb + ing (like the pres active):
читавший (i) reading (= who/which was reading)
Издательства, выпускавшие (i) такие книги, были закрыты.
Publishing houses producing (= which produced) such books were
closed.
The perfective ones are translated with ‘who/which’ + past tense:
написавший (p) who/which wrote
Писатель, написавший эту книгу, молодой инженер.
The writer who wrote this book is a young engineer.
Generally speaking, it is easy to find the infinitive from past active
participles. Simply remove the -вш- + adjective ending and add
-ть (-ться if the participle has a reflexive -ся).
Я знаю людей, прочитавших эту книгу с удовольствием.
I know people (participle) this book with pleasure.
прочитавших is from прочита + ть i.e. ‘to read’ (p)
I know people who (have) read this book with pleasure.
In everyday Russian, these participles are avoided by the use of
который (see 7.9):
Я знаю людей, которые прочитали эту книгу с удовольствием.
I know people who (have) read this book with pleasure.

20.11 Imperfective gerund (only from i verbs)

This ‘gerund’ is another kind of participle, which is equivalent to

English ‘(while/when) VERB-ing’. It ends -я (-ясь if reflexive).
делая (while/when) doing
говоря (while/when) speaking
зная (while/when) knowing
Зная, что он здесь, мы решили уйти.
Knowing that he is (= was) here, we decided to leave.
184

Читая газету, она узнала, что выставка откроется в среду.

When/while reading the newspaper, she learnt that the exhibition
would open on Wednesday.
To find the infinitive, take off the -я and you have the present tense
stem of the verb. As the name tells you, this ‘gerund’ is formed
only from imperfective verbs; it describes an action in process
when something else (described in the main clause) takes place.

20.12 Perfective gerunds from p verbs

This participle, normally ending -в (-вшись if reflexive)

corresponds to English ‘having (verb)-ed’.
прочитав having read
улыбнувшись having smiled
Прочитав книгу, я вернула её другу.
Having read (= After reading/When I finished reading) the book,
I returned it to my friend.
To find the infin, simple remove the -в (-вшись) and add -ть (-ться).

Exercise 87
Translate the following:

1 В институте много студентов, изучающих английский

язык.
2 Инженеры, работающие на Крайнем Севере, получают
большие деньги.
3 Здесь учатся студенты, приехавшие из Америки.
4 Что написано на этом билете?
5 Здесь занято.
6 Возвращаясь домой, Борис встретил старого друга.
7 Прочитав газету, Нина дала её Майку.
8 Получив письмо Андрея, Барбара сразу ответила на него.

20.13 Vocabulary

предложение proposal, offer

подумать (р) (1) (i думать) to think (for a short while)
я подумаю, ты подумаешь
 185

отказаться (р) (1В) to refuse

я откажусь, ты откажешься
признаться (р) (1) to admit
я признаюсь, ты признаешься
жизнь (f) life
семейный family (adj)
счастье happiness
главный main
объяснить(р)(2) to explain
я объясню, ты объяснишь
помогать (i) (1) (+ dat) to help (someone)
я помогаю, ты помогаешь
оказаться (р) (1В) to turn out to be
оказалось it turned out
окажется it will turn out
горе grief, sorrow
с горя from sorrow
удивить (р) (2) to surprise
я удивлю, ты удивишь
глупость (f) stupidity, something stupid
скоро soon
кончиться (р) (2) to finish, come to an end
разойтись (р) (IB like идти) to split up (the prefix раз-
means dis- as in disperse)
мы разойдёмся we shall split up
мы разошлись we have split up
жаловаться (i) (1) (на + асе) to complain (about)
я жалуюсь, ты жалуешься
разговаривать (i) to converse, talk
я разговариваю,
ты разговариваешь
вести (i) (1В) to lead, conduct
я веду, ты ведёшь
себя self, oneself
вести себя to behave, conduct oneself
нахально impudently
советский Soviet
союз union
пожениться (р) (2) to get married (of a couple)
издательство publishing house
«Радуга» ‘Rainbow’
186

выпускать (i) (1) to produce, issue, release

я выпускаю, ты выпускаешь
продолжать (i) (1) to continue
я продолжаю, ты продолжаешь
переговоры (m pl) talks, negotiations
организация organization
министр minister (in the government)
You should now have a vocabulary of over 800 Russian words.

Exercise 88
Translate the reading text:

EPILOGUE
Через месяц после того вечера, когда Джейн познакомилась
с его отцом, Борис сделал ей предложение. Подумав, она
отказалась. Она призналась, что Борис ей очень нравится, но
сказала, что выйти за него замуж она не может, потому что в
её жизни семейное счастье не главное. Ничего не объяснив,
она уехала из Москвы. Только через три месяца Борис узнал,
что она решила стать священником в Америке. Там ей
помогал её друг Марк. Оказалось, что он стал священником
уже давно. С горя Борис женился на Наташе. Все были очень
удивлены. Нина сказала, что её подруга сделала глупость, но
что скоро всё кончится. Действительно, Борис и Наташа
разошлись через пять недель: Наташа жаловалась, что муж
всё время разговаривает с иностранками и ведёт себя нахально.
А Барбара стала часто приезжать в Советский Союз. Три
месяца назад они с Андреем поженились. Барбара уже
хорошо говорит по-русски. Она будет работать в Москве, в
издательстве «Радуга», выпускающем книги на английском
языке.
Майк и Нина продолжают дружить. Он часто приезжает в
Москву как представитель фирмы «Брок энд Парсонс» и ведёт
переговоры с советскими организациями. Нина вышла замуж
за Виктора, друга Андрея, недавно у них родилась дочь Елена.
Лет через десять Нина станет директором большого завода в
Узбекистане и лет через тридцать министром.
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Exercise 89
What are the characters saying?

Поздравляем!
 Key to exercises

LESSONS 1-20

1 Exercise 1: 1 da-cha ‘country cottage’. 2 ho-ro-sho ‘good’, ‘well’. 3 do-bro-

-ye oo-tro ‘good morning’. 4 vla-dee-meer ‘Vladimir’. 5 pa-styer-nak
‘Pasternak’. 6 tsyen-traly-niy ko-mee-tyet ‘Central Committee (of the
Communist Party)’. 7 am-styer-dam ‘Amsterdam’. 8 nyyoo-york ‘New
York’. 9 av-to-mo-beely ‘car’. 10 poch-ta ‘post office’. 11 pee-vo ‘beer’.
12 soo-vye-neer ‘souvenir’. 13 lye-neen ‘Lenin’. 14 too-a-lyet ‘toilet’. 15 a-e-
-ro-port ‘airport’. 16 ko-fye ‘coffee’. 17 kony-yak ‘cognac’, ‘brandy’.
18 byoo-ro ‘office’. 19 zhyen-shshee-na‘woman’. 20 chye-lo-vye-ko-nye-
-na-veest-nee-chye-stvo ‘misanthropy’ (lit. ‘man-hating-ness’).

Exercise 2: The drink is Pepsi-Cola [pyep-see ko-la].

2 Exercise 3: 1 spa-see-ba (unstressed о is [a]). 2 vot-ка (д [d] pronounced

[t] before к [k]). 3 da-svee-da-nee-ya (preposition read as part of following
word, so до [do] is read as an unstressed syllable [da]). 4 pee-va ‘beer’
(unstressed о is [a]). 5 spobt-neek ‘sputnik’. 6 af-ta-ma-be'ely ‘car’ (в [v]
becomes [f] before [t], unstressed о is [a]). 7 ma-shi-na ‘car’ (и [ее]
pronounced [i] after ш [sh]). 8 yosh ‘hedgehog’ (ж [zh] pronounced [sh] at
the end of a word). 9 rye-sta-ra-ni ‘restaurants’ (pronounce [ry] as one
sound, unstressed о is [a]). 10 dzhin-si ‘jeans’ (и [ее] pronounced [i] after
ж [zh]). 11 ba-rees (unstressed о is [a]). 12 vla-dee-meer. 13 ob-tra
‘morning’ (unstressed о is [a]). 14 tsary ‘tsar’.

Exercise 4: Macleans (toothpaste), [ma-kle'ens]. з devoiced to [s] as in 2.9.

3 Exercise 5: 1 Здравствуйте. Как вас зовут? [zdra-stvooy-tye. как vas za-

-vdot?]. 2 Доброе утро, [do-bra-ye о'о-tra]. 3 Меня зовут... [mye-nya za-
-vobt...]. 4 Я не понимаю, [ya nye pa-nee-ma-уоо]. 5 Говорите
медленно, пожалуйста, [ga-va-re'e-tye mye-dlye na, pa-zhal-sta].

Exercise 6: 1 [peesy-mo] ‘letter’ оно [а-по]. 2 [an-dryey] ‘Andrey’

(‘Andrew’) он [on], 3 [maty] ‘mother’ она [a-na]. 4 [go-rat] ‘town/city’ он
[on], 5 [va-nya] ‘Vanya’ (fam form of ‘Ivan’) он [on].

Exercise 7: 1 [zdra-stvooy-tye. mye-nya za-vdot ne'e-na] ‘Hello. My name is

Nina.’ 2 [pa-zhal-sta, ga-va-re'e-tye mye-dlye-na] ‘Please speak slowly.’
3 [ya nye pa-nee-ma-yoo] ‘1 don’t understand.’ 4 [gdye peesy-mo? vot a-no]
‘Where is the letter? There it is.’ 5 [da, vot а-no. spa-see-ba] ‘Yes, there it
is. Thank you.’

Exercise 8: 1 Как вас зовут? Меня зовут Андрей, [как vas za-vobt?
mye-nya za-vobt ап-dryey]. 2 Здравствуйте. Где такси? [zdra-stvooy-tye.
gdye tak-se'e?]. 3 Вот оно (= the taxi). Спасибо, [vot а-no. spa-see-ba].

188
 189

4 Как вас зовут? Меня зовут Владимир, [как vas za-vobt? mye-nya
za-vobt vla-dee-meer].

Exercise 9: Кторов (m). Анастасьева (f). Хромова (f). Ленникова (f).

Титова (f). Зимин (m). Губанов (m). Яншин (m). Покровский (m).

4 Exercise 10: я работаю [ya ra-bd-ta-yoo], ты работаешь [ti ra-bo-ta-

-yesh], он/она/онб работает [on/a-na/a-nb ra-bo-ta-yet), мы работаем
[mi ra-bb-ta-yem], вы работаете [vi ra-bb-ta-ye-tye], они работают [a-
-ne'e ra-bo-ta-yoot].

Exercise 11: 1 - Do you know? - Yes, I know. 2 - Do you work/Are you

working? - No, I don’t work/I’m not working. 3 - Do you understand?
- Yes, I understand. 4 - Is Boris working? - Yes, he’s working. 5 - Where
does Jane work? - She works in Liverpool. 6 - Vanya, do you know where
Jane and Mark work? - No, I don’t. 7 - I speak Russian. Boris speaks
Russian. We speak Russian. - Yes, you speak Russian. 8 - Do Jane and
Boris speak Russian? - Yes, they speak (it) well.

Exercise 12: 1 знаю [ya nye zna-уоо]. понимаю [ya nye pa-nee-ma-yoo],
2 работает [on ra-b6-ta-yet vlon-da-nye], работают [a a-nee ra-bo-ta-yoot
vlee-vyer-pob-lye] ‘He works in London and/but they work in Liverpool;
3 понимаешь [va-nya, ti nye pa-nee-ma-yesh]. 4 знаете [vi zna-ye-tye],
работаем [gdye mi ra-bo-ta-yem], 5 говорю [ya ga-va-ryob pa-rob-skee],
говорят [a a-ne'e nye ga-va-ryat pa-rob-skee]. 6 говорим [mi ga-va-re'em
pa-rob-skee ha-ra-sho].

Exercise 13: 1 Я не знаю. Я не понимаю, [ya пуе zna-уоо. ya пуе ра-пее-

-та-уоо]. 2 Я знаю, и вы знаете, [уа zna-уоо, ее vi zna-ye-tye]. 3 Вы не
понимаете, [vi nye pa-nee-ma-ye-tye]. 4 Я говорю по-русски, [ya ga-va-
-ryob ра-rob-skee]. 5 Джейн говорит по-русски хорошо, [dzheyn ga-va-
-reet pa-rob-skee ha-ra-sho], 6 Они не понимают. Онй не говорят по-
русски. [a-nee nye pa-nee-ma-yoot. a-ne'e пуе ga-va-ryat pa-rob-skee].

Exercise 14: 1 Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Джейн, [zdra-stvooy-tye. mye-

-пуа za-vobt dzheyn], 2 Я англичанка, [ya an-glee-chan-ka], 3 Где
Борис? (Я) не знаю, [gdye ba-rees? (ya) пуе zna-уоо]. 4 Я не понимаю.
Говорите медленно, пожалуйста, [ya nye pa-nee-ma-yoo. ga-va-ree-tye
mye-dlye-na, pa-zhal-sta]. 5 Онй говорят по-русски медленно, [а-пее
ga-va-ryat pa-rob-skee mye-dlye-na]. 6 Женщина не понимает. Она не
говорйт по-русски, [zhen-shshee-na nye pa-nee-ma-yet. а-па пуе ga-va-
-re'et ра-rob-skee]. 7 Вы работаете медленно, [vi ra-bo-ta-ye-tye mye-
-dlye-па]. 8 Где мой друг? Джейн знает, где он. [gdye moy drook?
dzheyn zna-yet, gdye on]. 9 Что это? Это письмо, [shto ё-ta? ё-ta
peesy-mb]. 10 Я не знаю, как вас зовут, [уа пуе zna-уоо, как vas za-vobt].

Exercise 15: Boris: What is your name?

Jane: Mark doesn’t speak Russian.
 190

5 Exercise 16: 1 Да, (я) говорю (по-русски) [da, (ya) ga-va-ryo'o (ра-го'о-
-skee)]. 2 Да, (я) понимаю [da, (уа) pa-nee-ma-уоо]. 3 Нет, (я) не знаю
(,где он) [nyet, (ya) nye zna-yoo (,gdye on)]. 4 Да, (мы) знаем (,где она
работает) [da, (mi) zna-yem (,gdye a-na ra-bo-ta-yet)]. 5 Нет, (она
работает) в Ливерпуле [nyet, (a-na ra-bo-ta-yet) vlee-vyer-po'o-lye].
(Note: Parts in round brackets can be omitted in informal style.)

Exercise 17: 1 Где она? [gdye a-na?] 2 Почему он работает медленно?

[pa-chye-mo'o on ra-bo-ta-yet mye-dlye-na?]. 3 Кто знает, где Борис?
[kto zna-yet, gdye ba-re'es?]. 4 Что они говорят? [shto a-ne'e ga-va-ryat?].
5 Когда они работают? [kag-da a-ne'e ra-bo-ta-yoot?].

Exercise 18: 1 Is Uncle Vanya in the town? в городе [vgo-ra-dye], 2 Does

he work in Moscow? в Москве [vmask-vye]. No, in Leningrad, в
Ленинграде [vlye-neen-gra-dye]. 3 My friend is in Liverpool, в
Ливерпуле [vlee-vyer-po'o-lye], 4 They work/are working in Siberia, в
Сибири [fsee-be'e-ree]. 5 Where is Jane? In Russia, в России [vra-sse'e-ee].

Exercise 19: Note: rise-fall syllable underlined. 1 Вы говорите по-русски?

[vi ga-va-re'e-tye pa-ro'o-skee?]. 2 Вы понимаете? [vi pa-nee-ma-ye-tye?].
3 Вы (не) знаете, где проспект Калинина? [vi (nye) zna-ye-tye, gdye pra-
-spyekt ka-lee-nee-na?]. 4 Он русский? [on roo-skee?]. 5 Вы живёте в
Москве? [vi zhi-vyo-tye vmask-vye?]. 6 Где гостиница? [gdye ga-ste'e-
-nee-tsa?]. 7 Кто знает, где мой друг? [kto zna-yet, gdye moy drook?].
8 Это гостиница? [ё-ta ga-ste'e-nee-tsa?]. 9 Они живут в Сибири, [a-ne'e
zhi-vo'ot fsee-be'e-ree]. 10 Почему он работает в Лондоне? [pa-chye-mo'o
on ra-bo-ta-yet vlon-da-nye?]. 11 Мы на улице Горького, [mi па-о'о-1ее-
-tse gory-ka-va], 12 Он говорит по-русски очень хорошо, [on ga-va-re'et
pa-ro'o-skee 6-chyeny ha-ra-sho]. 13 Ты знаешь, кто это? Это Борис, [ti
zna-yesh, kto ё-ta? ё-ta ba-re'es]. 14 Вы Борис? Очень приятно, [vi ba-
re'es? 6-chyeny ргее-yat-na]. 15 Барбара - американка, a (contrast)
Андрёй - украинец, [bar-ba-ra a-mye-ree-kan-ka, а ап-бгуёу оо-кга-её-
-nyets]. 16 Мы говорим о ней, не о вас. [mi ga-va-re'em a-nyey, nye a-
-vas].

Exercise 20: Do you live in Moscow?

6 Exercise 21: 1 [on zna-yet mye-nya], 2 [vi pa-nee-ma-ye-tye mye-nya?].

3 [как vas za-vobt?]. 4 [vi ha-ra-sho zna-ye-tye mask-vo'o?]. 5 [ya zna-yoo
va-nyoo], 6 [mi zna-yem stoo-dyent-koo], 7 [vi zna-ye-tye ba-re'e-sa?].
8 [a-ne'e zna-yoot (y)ee-zik). 9 [bra-ta za-vobt ее-van]. 10 [mi pa-nee-ma-
-yem oo-prazh-пуё-пее-уе].

Exercise 22: 1 Москву. 2 вас. 3 дядю Ваню. 4 Владимира. 5 Сибирь.

6 Россию. 7 меня. 8 их. 9 жёншину. 10 царя (m person). 11 мать (f
soft-sign nouns don’t change). 12 тебя.
 191

Exercise 23: 1 Его зовут Иван (‘Him (they) call Ivan’). 2 Вы знаете
Бориса и Владимира (асе for masculine people). 3 Это Джейн. Вы
знаете её or Вы её знаете. 4 Онй понимают письмо? 5 Я вас не
понимаю or Я не понимаю вас.

Exercise 24: 1 Куда вы едете? Мы едем в город. 2 Мы едем в Россию.

3 Она идёт на улицу Горького (lit. ‘to the street of Gorky’). 4 Они едут
в Москву. 5 Вы идёте (пешком) или едете?

7 Exercise 25: 1 ваш ‘Is this your ticket?’ 2 ваша ‘Where is your book?’
3 наша ‘I don’t know where our hotel is! 4 Её ‘Her mother is in Moscow!
5 Твоё ‘Your letter is here!

Exercise 26: 1 Вы знаете (Ты знаешь) мою сестру? 2 Я знаю его мать.
3 Она знает моего [ma-ye-vd] брата. 4 Он хочет увидеть вашего [va-
-she-va] друга.

Exercise 27: 1 красивый. 2 симпатичная русская. 3 чистая. 4 другое

русское [droo-gd-ye ro'o-ska-ye]. 5 английский красивый.

Exercise 28: 1 новая ‘There is the new hotel! 2 новой ‘We are living
(staying) in а/the new hotel! 3 Красная ‘This/That is Red Square!
4 Красную ‘We love Red Square! 5 русский книжный ‘This is a/the
Russian bookshop’. 6 русском книжном ‘She works in а/the Russian
bookshop! 7 русский ‘We love Russian! 8 Русское красивое ‘The Russian
word [plo-shshaty] ‘square’ is very beautiful! 9 чистое ‘The Moscow
metro (The metro in Moscow) is very clean! 10 новую ‘She is travelling/
going to her new job (work)! 11 нового американского [nd-va-va a-mye-
-ree-kan-ska-va] ‘I know her new American friend! 12 Английскую ‘The
English teacher is called Miss Smith!

Exercise 29: 1 на которой (f sing prep). 2 которая (f sing nom). 3 в

который (m sing acc). 4 которого (m sing, animate acc).

Exercise 30: 1 Я вас не понимаю/Я не понимаю вас. Говорите

медленно, пожалуйста. 2 Он знает английский язык. 3 Я изучаю
русский язык. 4 Наташа идёт в книжный магазин. 5 Наташа не
хочет работать в книжном магазине. 6 Мы идём на Красную
площадь. 7 Джейн и Борис не хотят (6.4) идти (or ехать) туда
(‘thither’ - motion). 8 Когда вы едете в Америку? 9 Их бабушка
живёт в русской деревне. 10 Вы говорите по-русски (not русский язык
with the verb говорить)? 11 Мою подругу (асе) зовут Нина. 12 Ваша
квартира очень чистая. 13 Она не любит твоего нового мужа [tva-ye-
vd nd-va-va mo'o-zha]. 14 Я хочу увидеть (моего) русского [(ma-ye-vd)
ro'o-ska-va] друга Бориса (the ending of ‘Boris’ must be accusative, like
the ending of ‘friend’). 15 Мы любим русское вино и русскую водку.
16 Где девушка, которую зовут Нина?
 192

8 Exercise 31: 1 [a-na lyoo-beet knee-gee] 2 [vi zna-ye-tye ё-tee rob-skee-ye

sla-va?] 3 [a-mye-ree-kan-tsi lyob-byat kra-se'e-vi-ye ma-ga-zee-ni]
4 [vmask-vye yesty ga-ste'e-nee-tsi, rye-sta-ra-ni, moo-zye-ee, pra-spyek-ti,
plb-shsha-dee] 5 [va-shi ([i] not [ее] after ш - see 2.7) bra-tyya (soft ty
(2.6) followed by ya) seem-pa-te'ech-ni-ye].

Exercise 32: 1 заводы ‘factories’. 2 женщины ‘women’. 3 англичанки

(8.4) ‘Englishwomen’. 4 дяди ‘uncles’. 5 музеи ‘museums’. 6 бабушки
‘grandmothers’. 7 станции ‘stations’. 8 подруги (8.4) ‘girlfriends’.
9 свидания ‘meetings’. 10 учительницы ‘(women) teachers’. 11 площади
‘squares’. 12 письма ‘letters’.

Exercise 33: 1 красивые женщины ‘beautiful women’. 2 мой русские

книги ‘my Russian books’. 3 американские магазины ‘American shops’.
4 новые улицы ‘new streets’. 5 ваши красные книги ‘your red books’.
6 другие гостиницы ‘other (different) hotels’. 7 твой старые друзья
‘your old friends’.

Exercise 34: 1 хорошее. 2 хорошей этой. 3 эти. 4 этом хорошие.

5 эту.

Exercise 35:
A: Hello, Barbara. How are things? Where do you want to go today?
B: Hello, Andrey. Today I want to do some shopping. Would you show me
the Moscow shops?
A: What kind of shops? What interests you? Books, records, souvenirs?
B: I’m interested in Russian books (lit. ‘Me interest Russian books). I
often buy your books in Washington and New York. There are Russian
bookshops there.
A: So Americans buy our books. That’s interesting. But you’re not only
interested in books.
В: I have (lit. ‘it is necessary’) to buy presents. In a week’s time I’m going
home to America. My friends like Russian vodka.
A: Tourists usually buy such things in a ‘Beriozka’ store. In a ‘Beriozka’
there are very nice things, but there they take only foreign money - for
example, British pounds and your American dollars. Let’s go to the
‘Beriozka’ bookshop - that shop is on Kropotkinskaya Street - then to the
‘Beriozka’ in the Rossiya Hotel.
B: OK.
A: Wait a moment... Look.
B: What is it?
A: It’s a present. Pasternak, my favourite poems. 1 know that you like
Russian poetry.
B: You’re very kind, Andrey.

Exercise 36: 1 Давай(те) пойдём в «Берёзку». 2 В этом магазйне берут

только иностранные деньги. 3 В этой «Берёзке» есть хорошие кнйги/
В этой «Берёзке» кнйги хорошие (‘In this Beriozka the books are good’
 193

- Russians tend to prefer the second version, even though English speakers
object that ‘there are good books’ doesn’t imply that all the books are
good). 4 Мой друзья живут на этой улице. 5 Эти американцы знают,
где наша гостиница.

Exercise 36А: ‘The Brothers Karamazov.’ They (the three brothers

Karamazov) are the sons (сыновья) of Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov.

9 Exercise 37: 1 1241. 2 332. 3 3506. 4 198.

Exercise 38: 1 сестры ‘three sisters’. 2 фунта ‘four pounds’. 3 пластинки

‘22 records’. 4 станции ‘three stations’. 5 трамвая ‘three trams’. 6 слова
‘32 words’.

Exercise 39: 1 Десять рублей. 2 Много рублей. 3 Несколько копеек.

4 Мало денег. 5 Сто десять долларов.

Exercise 40: 1 три языка. 2 Бориса. 3 шесть долларов. 4 двадцать

одну бутылку (асе) водки. 5 двести граммов сыра. 6 много
американцев. 7 Сколько... Тринадцать копеек. 8 две недели.

Exercise 40А: ‘The Three Sisters! сестры is gen sing after три.

10 Exercise 41: 1 Пять рублей сорок копеек. 2 Двадцать четыре доллара.

3 Хлеб стоит тринадцать копеек. 4 Сколько стоит килб(грамм)
колбасы? 5 Дайте, пожалуйста, пятьсот граммов масла. 6 Много
денег. 7 Пять месяцев. 8 Три сестры. 9 До свидания. 10 Десять яйц.

Exercise 42: 1 русского ‘Jane is a teacher of Russian! 2 краейвой

молодой ‘Do you know the name of the attractive young Englishwoman?’
3 хороших русских ‘Ten good Russian friends! 4 иностранных (gen pl
adj after 2, 3, 4) T know three foreign languages!

Exercise 43: 1 вашего русского ‘Where is your Russian friend’s

apartment?’ 2 мойх хороших ‘This is the house of my good friends!
3 моей англййской ‘My English friend’s name is Jane! 4 этих красных
‘We want to buy a kilo of these red apples!

Exercise 44: B: Do you have a husband? M: I do. B: Do you have

children? M: Yes, a daughter and two sons. B: Does your husband have
(any) money? M: He does.

Exercise 45: 1 Здесь нет магазйна. 2 В бутылке нет молока. 3 У меня

нет рубля. 4 У меня нет одного доллара. 5 У меня нет долларов.
6 У них нет яйц. 7 У моего брата нет квартйры. 8 У меня нет новых
книг.

Exercise 46: 1 Здравствуйте. Как вас зовут? Меня зовут Джейн.

2 Здравствуйте. Меня зовут Борйс (Я Борйс). Вы американка? 3 Нет,
я англичанка. Я учйтельница. 4 Вы работаете в Москве? 5 Да, но я
еду домой в Англию через три месяца. 6 Вы хорошо говорйте по-
 194

русски и вы понимаете всё. 7 Я понимаю всё, когда вы говорите

медленно. 8 Простите, куда вы идёте? 9 Я иду в книжный магазин
на проспекте Калинина. 10 Давайте пойдём вместе. Я очень люблю
книжные магазины. 11 Хорошо. Я часто покупаю русские кнйги. Я
люблю русские стихи (русскую поэзию). 12 Я люблю американкие
кнйги. Но наши магазйны не очень хорошие. 13 Давайте пойдём в
«Берёзку». Надо купйть подарки. 14 В этом магазйне очень мало
иностранных книг. 15 У иностранцев есть доллары, поэтому онй
покупают кнйги в «Берёзке». 16 У меня нет долларов. У вас тоже нет
иностранных денег. 17 Я знаю этих американцев. У них есть деньги.
18 Водка стоит двадцать рублей, а кнйги (стоят) двадцать три рубля.
19 Вы покупаете эти бутылки водки для (вашего) мужа? 20 У меня
нет мужа, но у меня есть много хороших друзей.

11 Exercise 47: 1 читал ‘Ivan read/was reading’ 2 жйли ‘We lived/were living
in Moscow! 3 говорйли ‘Were you speaking/Did you speak Russian?’
4 знала ‘I knew you were English’ (lit. ‘I knew you are English’ - see 14.3).
5 ехал ‘He was going (travelling) to Leningrad’. 6 стояли ‘Mike and Nina
were standing in the queue (line)! 7 понимали говорйла ‘They didn’t
understand when I spoke/was speaking!

Exercise 48: 1 У меня был одйн доллар. 2 У меня не было доллара

(gen). 3 В сумке был килограмм колбасы (Put the place expression first
unless you want to emphasize it. Килограмм колбась! был в сумке is the
equivalent of ‘The kilo of sausage was in the bag’). 4 В магазйне не было
колбасы (gen). 5 У нас были друзья в Москве. 6 У нас не было друзей
(gen pl) в Ленинграде. (The place expressions could come first in 5 and 6
if you want to stress ‘friends’).

Exercise 49: 1 родилась ‘Her daughter was born in Moscow! 2 улыбались

‘Why were they smiling/did they smile?’ 3 одевалась ‘She dressed well/
attractively! 4 учйлся (учйлась) ‘I studied at this school’ = ‘I went to this
school!

Exercise 50: 1 вы пйшете. 2 онй стоят. 3 мы смотрим. 4 онй делают.

Exercise 51: 1 ‘Letters from Moscow take a long time! 2 ‘Jane went to
America (and came back again)! 3 ‘Boris went to the cinema (and came
back again)! 4 ‘Boris and Jane are already friends (using ‘ti’ to each
other)’. 5 ‘He waited for about thirty minutes!

12 Exercise 52: 1 купите ‘Will you buy this book?’ 2 сделаю ‘I’ll do it in a
week’s time! 3 поедет ‘He won’t go to Leningrad! 4 поймёт ‘When will
Jane understand (realize) that he loves her?’ 5 скажет ‘She won’t say that
she doesn’t love him!

Exercise 53: 1 Я читаю кнйгу. 2 Я прочитаю эту кнйгу. 3 Почему он

не отвечает? 4 Он не ответит. 5 Вы позвонйте? 6 Да, я позвоню.
 195

7 Барбара возвращается в Москву. 8 Когда Барбара вернётся?

9 Когда онй приедут?

Exercise 54: 1 можем. 2 не может. 3 не могу. 4 Вы сможете.

Exercise 55: 1 Он вам скажет (скажет вам if stress on ‘you’)- 2 Я ей не

скажу (не скажу ей - stress on ей). 3 Она звонит мне (мне звонит).
4 Я позвоню им (им позвоню). 5 Нина (ему) показывает ему
Красную площадь. 6 Онй (нам) покажут нам Ленинград.

Exercise 56: 1 дам ‘1’11 give you five roubles) 2 дадут ‘They’ll give her
money! 3 дашь ‘Who will you give this ticket to?’

13 Exercise 57: Barbara left (уехала - single completed event) for America.
Andrey wrote (писал - repeated action) to her every week. He waited
(ждал - unfinished action/state), but Barbara neither wrote (не писала -
no action) nor called (не звонйла - no action). He looked very sad (был -
state). But yesterday, when he was writing (писал - unfinished action) her
a letter, she telephoned (позвонйла - completed event with result, one of a
series of actions) from Washington and said (сказала - completed event,
one of a series) that she had received (получйла - completed event with
result) his first letter and had long ago answered (ответила - completed
action) it.
‘Haven’t you received (не получйл = have you failed to receive what you
should have received) my letter?’ she asked (спросйла - completed action).
‘No,’ he answered (ответил - completed action).
Her letter was on its way (шло - process, duration) (letters go on foot
[идти] in Russian!) a very long time, three weeks. It arrived (пришло -
completed action) today, (пришло is the neuter past of прийтй ‘to arrive
on foot’, a prefixed form of идтй whose past is шёл шла шло шли - see
11.3).

(Note: Although it is something of an oversimplification to say that

perfective means ‘completed action’, that ‘rule-of-thumb’ gives a general
idea of how the choice of aspect is made.)

Exercise 58: 1 читала (i) - stress on process, no mention of completion.

2 прочитала (p) - 1 finished the book. 3 звонйл (i) repeated (habitual)
action. 4 вернулся (p), читала (i) - the completed event of returning took
place while the reading was in process (unfinished). 5 купйла (p),
вернулась (p), дала (p) - sequence of three completed actions.
6 открывала (i) - habitual, repeated action. 7 не приходйла (i), не
звонйла (i) - imperfectives used with не (‘not’), meaning simply that the
actions didn’t take place. Perfectives with не would imply failure to carry
out the actions (i.e. that Jane had said she would come or ring but failed to
keep her promise). 8 написала (p) When an action is repeated a specified
number of times (three in this case) it is treated as a single event and the
perfective is used. 9 покупали (i) habitual action, repeated an unspecified
196

number of times. 10 купили (p) single completed action. 11 говорил (i)

process, no mention of completion. 12 сказал (p) single completed event.
13 понимали (i) говорила (i) habitual. 14 поняли (p) single completed
event with result; говорит (i) present tense, always imperfective.

Exercise 59: 1 Мы покупали (i - process, uncompleted) книги. 2 Я (ей)

писал(а) (i - repeated action) ей каждую неделю. 3 Я приехал(а) (р) в
Москву, поехал(а) (р) в гостиницу, потом позвонйл(а) (р) другу/
подруге (sequence of completed actions). 4 Я хочу купить (р - you want
to complete the act of buying) эту кнйгу. 5 Вы написали/Ты написал(а)
(р - you want to know if the writing is completed) письмо?

Exercise 60:
M: Hi, Nina, what’s new (lit. ‘what have you of new [gen]?’)?
N: I’ve bought (p) a cat, or to be precise, a tomcat.
M: Really. And I thought (i) that Russians didn’t (lit. ‘don’t’) like animals.
N: On the contrary. All my friends have either a cat or a dog.
M: What have you called (p) your cat?
N: Liverpool.
M: Pardon, I didn’t get (p) that. What (‘How’) did you say (p)?
N: I said (p) ‘Liverpool’. Why did you smile (p)?
M: But don’t you think it’s funny? Who thought up (p) that name?
N: There’s nothing funny about it. We called (p) him that after a very
handsome cat which recently won (p) first prize at a Moscow
exhibition.
M: Jane will be pleased (p) when she finds out (p) (lit. ‘will find out’). I
think Liverpool is her home town.
N: She found out (p) yesterday, when she visited me. She fell in love (p)
with him immediately.
M: So now she loves both Liverpool [place] and Liverpool [animal]. By
the way, about Jane. I wanted to ask (p) you when she came (p) to
Moscow.
N: She came (p) about six months [number and noun reversed to mean
‘about’] ago. She was offered (p) work in a school.
M: Where did she work (i) (What did she do) in England?
N: She taught (i) Russian in Liverpool. She’ll go back (p) there in about
eight or nine weeks [if the number has a preposition, in the
‘approximately’ construction the noun is put in front of the
preposition].
M: Why did she decide she wanted (p) to live (i) (lit. ‘Why did she want (p)
to live’) and work (i) in Moscow?
N: Moscow is interesting. Many foreigners are very fond of Russian
people. Also Jane loves Russian.
M: 1 think you’re wrong. 1 think she was bored in Liverpool. Perhaps she’s
in love with someone here.
N: Nonsense! She’s a very serious girl.
 197

14 Exercise 61: N: Tomorrow I shall be at Natasha’s. Will you come? There

will be dancing (We shall be dancing). M: Of course I’ll come. (And) will
Jane be there? N: She said that she would be in Zagorsk all day. When she
gets back (returns) to Moscow, she will call. M: What will she be doing in
Zagorsk? N: She said she wanted to go to the monastery. M: What about
Boris? N: He said he would definitely come.

Exercise 62: 1 Завтра мы будем работать (i). 2 Он будет жить (i) в

гостинице. 3 Когда придёт поезд? 4 Когда мы приедем (р ‘shall
arrive’) в Москву, мы поедем (р) в гостиницу «Интурист». 5 Если вы
ему дадите (р ‘will give’) (ему) пять долларов, он вам даст (р) книгу.

Exercise 63: 1 Мне холодно. 2 Вашему/Твоему другу скучно? 3 Нам

надо идтй/ёхать. 4 Вам/Тебё надо говорить по-русски. 5 Мне надо
было говорить по-русски. 6 Им надо было работать. 7 Ей надо
будет говорить медленно. 8 Надо взять такси. 9 Можно (нам)
спросить, сколько вы зарабатываете? 10 Здесь нельзя курить or
Нельзя курить здесь (emphasizing ‘here’). 11 Нельзя было/
Невозможно было найти (р used after words meaning ‘it’s impossible’)
такси. 12 В Москве было холодно. 13 (Мне) можно (мне) курить?
14 (Мне) можно (мне) открыть окно? 15 (Мне) можно (мне) купить
эту книгу? 16 Можно спросить, где вы купили этот план города?

Exercise 64: No smoking here (lit. ‘By us [in our place] [they] do not
smoke’, ‘Here one does not smoke’). Happy birthday (with handwriting/
italic form of д).

15 Exercise 65: 1 Come to us tomorrow = Come and see us tomorrow

(invitation). 2 Tell me please where the cash desk/ticket office is here =
Could you tell me where the cash desk/ticket office is? (request). 3 Don’t
worry (negative command), she will certainly phone (I’m sure she’ll
phone). 4 Please help me to find my friend/Could you help me to find my
friend? (request). 5 Call us tomorrow (command).

Exercise 66: 1 Дай(те) мне эти книги, пожалуйста. 2 Покажи мне твой
(or свой ‘own’) фотографии, пожалуйста. 3 Принесйте мне кофе,
пожалуйста. 4 Скажйте (нам), пожалуйста, где живёт Анна
Ивановна? 5 Пожалуйста, помогйте. Я не знаю, где моя гостйница.
6 Не уходй(те). 7 Садйтесь/Садйсь (.пожалуйста). 8 Пожалуйста,
купй(те) мне «Правду». 9 Будьте здоровы (pol/pl). (The fam forms are
Будь здоров (т)/Будь здорова (f) - special adjective forms in these
fixed phrases.) 10 Давай(те) выпьем за её здоровье.

Exercise 67: 1 Улыбнйтесь/Улыбнйсь. 2 Поймй(те). 3 Сдёлай(те).

4 Вернйтесь/Вернйсь. 5 Не задавай(те).

Exercise 68: 1 Выйди(те) из магазйна. 2 Повернй(те) направо.

3 Идй(те) прямо, потом повернй(те) налево. 4 Поезжай(те) на метро
до станции «Площадь Ногина». 5 Найдй(те) выход на площадь.
 198

6 Идй(те) прямо по Китайскому проспекту. 7 Справа вы увйдите/ты

увйдишь гостйницу «Россия».

16 Exercise 69: 1 Я писал(а) карандашом. 2 Он с нами. 3 Она работает

вёчером/Вёчером она работает (if stress on works). 4 Между
гостйниней и площадью. 5 Она стала учйтельницей.

Exercise 70: 1 ‘Tomorrow there will be a meeting with our new (female)
teacher’ нашей учйтельницей. 2 ‘Meet (become acquainted with) my
Russian friends’ мойми русскими друзьями. 3 ‘Many Russian women
have become good engineers’ хорошими инженёрами. 4 ‘Will you go
with the children to the cinema?’ детьмй. 5 ‘Did you speak to (with) these
people?’ этими людьмй.

Exercise 71: К: Hello. S: Hello (How are you). K: Allow (me) to introduce
myself. My (sur)name is Kuznetsov. 8; Pleased to meet you. My name is
Michael Smith. What are your first name and patronymic? K: Boris Petrovich.
8; Hello, Boris Petrovich. K: How are you, Mr Smith? Meet my wife. This
is Natalya Aleksandrovna. And this is my daughter Lena. 8: How are you,
Natalya Aleksandrovna? Hello, Lena. How old are you? L: Hello. I’m six.

Exercise 71A: Владймир. Андрёй. Александр. Васйлий. Пётр. Л(е)в - а

difficult one because of the fleeting vowel, which is replaced by a soft sign.
Note Лев Толстой (Lev Tolstoy), gen Льва Толстого. Илья - a rare type
of masculine name; the patronymics from names ending -a or -я have no
-ов-/-ев-.

17 Exercise 72: 1 Без десятй два. 2 Без двадцатй одйннадцать. 3 Без

пятнадцати три. 4 Без трёх минут час. 5 Без одной минуты
двенадцать. 6 Половйна шестого. 7 Пятнадцать одйннадцатого.

Exercise 73: 1 В три часа ночи. 2 В половйне седьмого вечера. 3 Без

пятнадцати четыре дня. 4 В Москвё час ночи.

Exercise 74: 1 ‘Tomorrow is the fourteenth of August! 2 ‘The twenty-

second of April is Lenin’s birthday! 3 ‘We shall arrive on the twenty-third
of July! 4 Мы будем в Москвё в декабрё. 5 Сегодня трётье (exceptional
adj) сентября. 6 День рождения Наташи трйдцать пёрвого января.

Exercise 75: 1 On Thursday the twelfth of April 1973. 2 Lenin was born in
1870. 3 Я буду там в срёду. 4 Мы были в Москвё в (тысяча девятьсот)
восемьдесят четвёртом году.

Exercise 76: SI: Hello, Jane. I think you met my wife last week. I’m Sergey
Ivanovich. J: How are you, Sergey Ivanovich. I’m pleased to meet you.
Klara Mikhaylovna told me that you came back late because you worked
until eight. SI: Yes, usually I come home at half past six but on Friday
there was a conference... Let’s see. Have you been in Moscow long (lit. ‘You
since long in Moscow’), Jane? J: Since last Spetember. SI: And when were
you first in Moscow? J: In April 1976 when 1 was still at school. 1
 199

immediately fell in love with Russia and Russian people. SI: And when are
you going home (‘to your homeland’)? J: 1 shall be working here until the
end of July. SI: Excuse me, how old are you, Jane? J: Twenty-seven. I was
born in 1961, in May. SI: Boris told me that your birthday was (on) the
eighth of May. Now he was born on the ninth of May, on Victory Day
[every year on 9 May the USSR celebrates the end of the war against
Fascist Germany], Let’s see. Twenty-seven...Hmm. You’ll be getting
married soon, no doubt. J: Don’t say that, Sergey Ivanovich! I’m not
ready yet (‘to me it is still early’). My mother got married when she was
thirty-two. 5/; Hmm, yes. But don’t you think that it’s time Boris got
married? He’s thirty-one. J: Well, that’s up to him. Incidentally, where is
he? I’ve been waiting (present tense in Russian) for him since five o’clock.
We’re going to the cinema. The film begins at a quarter to seven.

Exercise 77: 1 Который час? (Сколько времени?). 2 Три часа.

3 Половина одиннадцатого. 4 Без десяти шесть. 5 Без трёх минут
два. 6 Одиннадцать часов вечера. 7 В половине второго. 8 В тысяча
девятьсот пятидесятом году. 9 В январе тысяча девятьсот пятьдесят
восьмого года. 10 В понедельник двадцать пятого января тысяча
девятьсот восемьдесят восьмого года. 11 Я работаю с десяти часов
утра до шести часов вечера. 12 Сколько вам лет? 13 Мне двадцать
шесть (лет). 14 Сколько лет вашей жене? 15 Моей жене тридцать лет.

Exercise 78: 4 April 1987, starting at 7 pm.

18 Exercise 79: 1 Если бы Джейн знала, она позвонила бы. 2 Если бы я

жил(а) в Москве, я говорйл(а) бы по-русски. 3 Я бы хотёл(а)
познакомиться с вашей/твоёй сестрой. 4 Если бы вы были женщиной
(inst after быть), вы понимали бы.

Exercise 80: 1 Я хочу, чтобы он знал. 2 Мы хотим, чтобы Борйс

пришёл/приехал завтра. 3 Онй не хотят, чтобы мы ждали.

Exercise 81: 1 Эта гостйница лучше. 2 Русский язык труднее

англййского/бблее трудный, чем англййский язык. 3 В Ленинграде
мы говорйли по-русски чаше. 4 У Борйса меньше денег, чем у Джейн.
5 Какая водка дешевле? 6 Этот фильм самый интересный.

Exercise 82: 1 Ленинград красйвее Москвы/бблее красйвый, чем

Москва, но Москва интереснее. 2 Эта комната хуже, чем первая.
3 Может быть, было бы лучше позвонйть. 4 Это место будет лучше.
5 Какой город самый интересный? 6 Другая гостйница намного
(гораздо) лучше. 7 (По)быстрёе, пожалуйста!

Exercise 83: 1 свойм новым русским друзьям ‘I shall write a letter to

own (= my) new Russian friends! 2 о своих новых русских друзьях ‘I
was talking about my new Russian friends! 3 на русских девушках ‘Many
foreigners marry Russian girls! 4 в этих городах ‘We were in these towns/
cities!
 200

19 Exercise 84: Джордж; Патриша; Бирмингем (standard spelling)/

Бирмингэм/Бирминхам; Браун; Майкл (Майкль); Битлз (standard
spelling).

Exercise 85: Уважаемая Татьяна Николаевна!

Спасибо за приглашение. Я принимаю его с удовольствием.
С уважением,
Майкл Смит

Дорогой Андрюша!
Пожалуйста, позвони сегодня вечером после шести (часов).
Мой телефон в гостинице 711-41-44.
Целую,
Барбара

Уважаемый доктор Сергеев!

Я хотел бы получить копию очень интересного доклада, который
Вы прочитали на конференции в среду. Моё имя и адрес: Москва,
гостиница Украина, 716, д-р Трэвор Блант (or, in the dative д-ру
Трэвору Бланту). В обмен я прилагаю копию моего доклада.
С уважением,
Трэвор Блант

Exercise 86: 1 A: Hello! В: Is that the biochemistry institute? A: No, this

is a (private) flat. You’ve got the wrong number. B: I’m sorry.

2 A: Hello. B: Excuse me for troubling you (lit. ‘you troubles a teacher’).

I’m Jane Aldridge, a teacher from England. I’d like to speak to (If
possible, connect me with) Boris Sergeyevich. A: I’m sorry, he’s out at the
moment. Why do you need to speak to him? (On what matter are you
ringing?) B: On a personal matter. Excuse me, who am I speaking to?
A: The section head. Can you understand me all right? B: Thank you, 1
understand everything. But please speak slowly, it’s a bad line (lit. ‘badly
audible’). When will Boris Sergeyevich return? A: In an hour, probably.
Do you want to leave a message? B: Would you tell him that I shall wait
for him to ring me at home until five o’clock? After five he’ll be able to
find me at my friends’ place. Their telephone is 123-89-06. A: I’m sorry, I
didn’t catch that. 89 or 79? B: 89. A: All right. I’ll tell him. B: Thank
you. Goodbye. A: Goodbye, Miss Oldwitch.

3 A: (Directory) enquiries, (assistant) number 34. B: Please give me the

number of a Moscow subscriber. A: Separate [one family] or communal
[with several families] flat? B: Separate. A: Surname? B: Sergeyev.
A: First name, patronymic? B: Ivan Nikolayevich. A: Name the street.
B: Paustovsky Street. A: 425-31-02. B: Thank you.

4 A: Yes! B: Is that the biochemistry institute? A: Yes. B: Good morning/

 201

Hello. This is Michael Smith representing the British firm ‘Brock and
Parsons’. May I speak to the director? A: I’m sorry. He’s busy at the
moment. Ring back in an hour.

20 Exercise 87:
1 Tn the institute there are many students studying (изучающих is the gen
pl of the present active participle from изучать (i) ‘to study’ я изучаю, ты
изучаешь) English! 2 ‘Engineers working (работающие is the nom pl of
the present active participle from работать ‘to work’) in the Far North
earn (‘receive’) a lot of (big) money! 3 ‘Here study students who have come
(приехавшие is the nom pl of the past active participle from приехать (p)
‘to arrive, come’) from America! 4 ‘What is written on this ticket?’
написано is the n sing past passive participle from написать (p) ‘to write’.
5 ‘Here is occupied’ = ‘This place is occupied (taken)’ занято is the n sing
past passive participle from занять ‘to occupy’. 6 ‘(While) returning
(Возвращаясь is the imperfective gerund from возвращаться (i) ‘to
return’ я возвращаюсь, ты возвращаешься) home, Boris met an old
friend. 7 ‘Having read (= after she had read) (Прочитав is the perfective
gerund from прочитать (p) ‘to read’) the newspaper, Nina gave it to Mike!
8 ‘Having received (= When she received) (Получив is the perfective
gerund from получить (p) ‘to receive’) Andrey’s letter, Barbara answered it
immediately!

Exercise 88: A month after the (that) evening when Jane met (became
acquainted with) his father, Boris proposed to her. After thinking for a
while (perfective gerund 20.12) she refused. She admitted that she liked
Boris very much (that Boris to her very pleases), but she said that she
could not (cannot) marry him because in her life family happiness was (is)
not (the) main (thing). Without explaining anything (Having explained
nothing - perfective gerund) she left Moscow. Only three months later did
Boris learn (find out) that she had decided to become a priest in America.
Her friend Mark was helping her there. It turned out that he had become a
priest long ago (became a priest already long ago). Feeling sad, Boris
married Natasha. Everybody was very surprised (past passive participle
20.7). Nina said that her friend had made a bad mistake but that it would
all soon be over. Indeed, Boris and Natasha split up five weeks later:
Natasha complained that her husband was (is) always (all the time) talking
to foreign women and behaving badly.
As for Barbara, she started to make frequent visits to the Soviet Union.
Three months ago she and Andrey (they with Andrey) got married.
Barbara already speaks good Russian. She will be working in Moscow for
the Raduga (‘Rainbow’) publishing house which produces (present active
participle 20.9) books in English.
Mike and Nina are still friends. He often comes to Moscow as a
representative of Brock and Parsons and conducts negotiations with Soviet
organizations. Nina married Victor, Andrey’s friend, and recently they had
202

a daughter Yelena. In about ten years’ time (inversion of лет and десять
means approximation) Nina will become manager of a large factory in
Uzbekistan (one of the Soviet Union’s southern, Turkic republics) and in
about thirty years (she will become) a government minister.

Exercise 89: Congratulations!

Russian-English vocabulary

For the order of Russian alphabet see 2.2. The numbers refer to
section headings, not pages.

a! 9.8 ah! (surprise etc.) борщ 18.12 beetroot soup

a 4.3 and/but брат 3.2 brother
a to 12.9 or else брать i 8.14 12.2 to take
абонент 19.7 subscriber буду 14.1 I’ll/I will be
август 17.4 August (future of быть)
автобус 11.6 bus будьте 15.6 be (pol/pl)
автомат 16.6 telephone callbox будьте внимательны 15.6 be
алло 19.6 hello (on telephone) careful/pay attention
Америка 6.6 America будьте добры 19.7 be so good
американец 4.3 American (man) (polite request)
американка 4.3 American (woman) булочка 9.8 bread roll
американский 7.4 American бутылка 9.8 bottle
английский 7.4 English бы 18.1 (conditional particle)
англичанин 4.3 Englishman would, ’d
англичанка 4.3 Englishwoman быстрее 18.3 quicker
Англия 6.6 England (Britain) быстро 6.6 quickly
англо-американский 16.9 Anglo- быть 11.1 14.4 to be
American
b/bo + prep 5.4 in
апельсин 9.8 orange
b/bo + acc 6.4 to, into (place); at
апрель (m) 17.4 April
(time); on (date)
бабушка 7.10 grandmother варенье 18.12 jam
батон 9.8 loaf Вашингтон 5.10 Washington
без + gen 9.8 10.5 without ведь 11.9 you know
безусловно 18.12 undoubtedly великолепный 13.6 magnificent
белый 10.12 white вернее 13.6 more accurately, rather
Берёзка 8.14 Beriozka, lit. ‘little вернуть p 20.12 to return
birch tree’ (something)
беспокоить i 19.7 to worry, trouble вернуться p 12.3 to return
(somebody) весело 14.10 (it is) merry
бефстроганов 18.12 Beef весна 16.2 spring
Stroganoff весной 16.2 in spring
билёт 6.6 ticket вести i 20.13 to lead, conduct
биохимия 19.7 biochemistry весь 13.6; table 4 all
более 18.4 more вечер 14.10 evening
больше 9.8 18.3 more; larger вечером 16.2 in the evening
больше не 12.9 no longer вещь (f) 8.2 8.14 thing
большой 10.12 big, large взять p 12.2 to take

203
204

вид 12.9 expression, view вы правы 18.12 you are right

видеть i 11.8 to see выйти p 15.6 to go out (on foot)
вино 7.10 wine выйти замуж 17.9 to marry (of a
вкусный 18.12 tasty woman)
вместе 6.6 together выпить p 14.10 to drink
во 17.5 (see в) выставка 13.6 exhibition
водка 7.8 vodka выход 15.6 exit
возвращаться i 12.3 to return,
газета 20.11 newspaper
come back
где 3.2 where
возможно 19.7 possible
главный 20.13 main
возражать i 18.12 to object
глупость (f) 20.13 stupidity
возьмите 9.8 take (pol/pl)
говорить i 4.9 to speak, say
войти p 14.6 to enter
год 17.6 17.8 year
вокзал 12.9 (main) station
гораздо 18.5 much (with
(terminus)
comparatives)
волноваться i 14.10 to worry
горе 20.13 grief
вопрос 12.9 question
город 3.2 city/town
восемнадцатый 17.1 eighteenth
горячий 8.11 hot
восемнадцать 9.1 eighteen
господин 16.8 gentleman, Mr
восемь 9.1 eight
госпожа 16.8 lady, Mrs
восемьдесят 9.1 eighty
гостйница 5.10 hotel
восемьсот 9.1 eight hundred
гостях 11.9
воскресенье 17.5 Sunday
быть в гостях to be visiting
восьмидесятый 17.1 eightieth
грамм 9.8 gram(me)
восьмой 17.1 eighth
граница 18.12 border
вот 3.2 there (when pointing)
гриб 18.12 mushroom
вот как! 13.6 ah!, so that’s how it is!
громко 14.6 loudly
вот почему 6.6 that’s why
грузинский 10.12 Georgian
время 11.9 time
грустно 12.9 14.6 (it is) sad
все 14.10 (pl of весь) everybody, all
грустный 12.9 sad
всего 11.9 only
встретить p 12.3 to meet да 3.2 yes
встреча 16.6 meeting давай 11.9 let’s (fam)
встречать i 12.3 to meet давай потанцуем! 14.10 let’s dance!
встречаться i 18.12 to meet (with), давайте 6.6 let’s (pol/pl)
see someone давайте поедем 6.6 let’s go (by
всё 7.10 (see весь) all, everything transport)
вторник 17.5 Tuesday давайте пойдём 8.14 let’s go
второе (n adj) 18.12 second давать i 12.8 to give
(course) (main course) давно 12.9 long ago, since long ago
второй 7.10 17.1 second даже 18.12 even
вход 15.6 entrance дайте 9.8 give (pol/pl)
выпускать i 20.13 to produce, issue дать p 12.8 to give
вчера 13.6 yesterday дача 8.3 country cottage
вы 4.7 you (pol/pl) два 9.1; table 7 two
 205

двадцатый 17.1 twentieth дорогой 18.3 19.2 dear

двадцать 9.1 twenty дороже 18.3 more expensive
двенадцатый 17.1 twelfth доучиться p 13.6 to complete one’s
двенадцать 9.1 twelve studies
двести 9.1 two hundred дочь (f) 8.6 16.5 16.9 daughter
девушка 7.10 10.12 girl,‘miss’ друг 4.3 friend/boyfriend
девяносто 9.1 ninety друг друга 11.9 each other
девяностый 17.1 ninetieth другой 7.4 different/other
девятнадцатый 17.1 nineteenth дружба 6.6 friendship
девятнадцать 9.1 nineteen дружйть i 18.12 to be friendly with
девятый 17.1 ninth друзья 8.14 friends
девять 9.1 nine думать i 13.6 to think
девятьсот 9.1 nine hundred дядя 3.2 uncle
действительно 18.12 really, indeed
декабрь (m) 17.4 December его 7.1 his, its
делать i 12.2 to do её 7.1 her
делегация 19.2 delegation ездить i 11.9 to travel there and
дело 6.6 19.7 matter, thing, piece back; travel around
of business если 12.9 if
день (m) 8.13 day есть 8.14 10.7 10.8 is/are (exists/
деньги 8.14 money exist)
деревня 7.10 country, village ехать i 6.3 to go (by transport), ride
десятый 17.1 tenth ещё 10.12 yet, still
десять 9.1 ten жаловаться i 20.13 to complain
дети (pl) 10.12 16.2 children
жарко 14.7 14.10 (it is) hot
дешевле 18.3 cheaper ждать i (+ acc) 11.9 to wait (for)
дешёвый 18.3 cheap
же 13.6 (emphasizes previous word)
директор 19.7 director, head,
жена 16.9 wife
manager
жениться i/p 17.9 to marry (of a
длиннее 18.3 longer
man)
длинный 18.3 long
женщина 3.2 woman
для + gen 10.5 for
животное (n adj) 13.6 animal
днём 16.2 in the afternoon жизнь (f) 20.13 life
до + gen 15.6 17.7 as far as, until жить i 5.9 to live
до скорого 19.2 until soon
добрый 8.14 kind, good за + acc 11.9 18.12 for (in return
доволен 16.9 satisfied (m) for), over
довольна 16.9 satisfied (f) за + inst 16.2 behind
договорились 11.9 that’s agreed за границу 18.12 abroad (‘over the
долго 11.9 for a long time border’)
доллар 8.14 dollar забыть p 15.2 to forget
дом 8.6 house завод 5.10 factory
дома 10.12 at home завтра 12.9 tomorrow
домой 6.6 home (= to home), задавать i 12.9 to set (a task), ask
homewards (a question)
206

задать р 12.9 to set (a task), ask (a интересный 11.9 interesting

question) интересовать 8.14 to interest
закуски (pl) 18.12 hors d’oeuvre Интурист 5.11 Intourist
заметить p 15.6 to notice искать i 15.6 to look for
замечательный 13.6 remarkable исчезать i 15.6 to disappear
заниматься i 16.2 to occupy их 7.1 their
oneself with, study июль (m) 17.4 July
занят 19.7 occupied, busy июнь (m) 17.4 June
записать p 15.6 to note down
к + dat 14.9 towards
запретить p 20.7 to forbid
к сожалению 19.7 unfortunately, I
зарабатывать i 13.6 to earn
regret
застать p 19.7 to find, come upon
каждый 9.8 each, every
(a person)
кажется 13.6 it seems
захотеть p 13.6 to want, conceive a
как 3.2 how
desire
как дела? 6.6 14.10 how are
зачем 6.6 for what purpose, why
things?
звонить i 12.3 to ring, telephone
как только 15.6 as soon as
звон(6)к 14.10 ring, telephone call
какой 8.14 what, what kind of
здесь 5.10 here
Калифорния 13.6 California
здоровье 14.10 health
капиталистический 8.12 capitalist
здравствуйте 2.1 3.2 hello
капстрана 18.12 capitalist country
зима 16.2 winter
карандаш 16.1 pencil
зимой 16.2 in winter
карта 15.6 map
знать i 4.8 to know
касса 9.9 cashdesk
значит 8.14 17.9 um, eh
кассир 9.9 cashier
(hesitation), it means, so
квартира 7.10 flat, apartment
зовут 3.1 they call
кем (inst of кто) 16.9 by whom
и 4.3 10.8 and; too, also кило 9.8 kilo
игрушка 10.12 toy килограмм 9.8 kilogramme
идти i 6.3 to go (on foot) кино 11.9 cinema
из + gen 10.5 out of книга 7.10 book
извините 19.7 excuse (me) (pol/pl) книжный 7.4 book
издательство 20.13 publishing house когда 5.3 when
изучать i 7.10 to study колбаса 9.8 sausage (salami type)
икра 18.12 caviare коммунальный 19.7 communal
или 7.10 or комната 13.6 room
имя 7.10 name, first name кон(ё)ц 17.9 end
инженер 16.9 engineer конечно 5.10 of course
иностран(е)ц 9.8 foreigner (m) конференция 17.9 conference
иностранка 19.7 foreigner (f) кончиться p 20.13 to come to an
иностранный 8.14 foreign end
институт 19.7 institute копейка 9.1 kopeck
интереснее 18.3 more interesting кот 7.10 tomcat
интересно 8.14 14.7 (it is) котлеты по-киевски 18.12 Chicken
interesting Kiev
 207

который 7.9 who; which мать (f) 3.3d 8.6 mother

кофе (m) 15.3 coffee машина 16.9 machine, car
кошка 13.6 cat (female) медленнее 18.3 slower
крайний 13.6 extreme медленно 3.2 slowly
Крайний Север 13.6 Far North (of медленный 18.3 slow
Russia) между + inst 16.2 between
красивее 18.3 more beautiful международный 18.13
красивый 7.4 beautiful/handsome international
красный 7.4 red менее 18.6 less
кроме того 13.6 furthermore, also меньше 18.3 smaller, less
кстати 13.6 by the way место 18.8 place; space; seat
кто 4.3 who месяц 6.6 month
куда 6.4 6.6 where (motion), метро 6.6 metro, underground,
whither subway
купить p 12.2 to buy министр 20.13 government minister
курить i 14.6 to smoke минута 17.2 minute (noun)
мир 1.1 peace
лёгкий 18.3 easy, light мисс 16.8 Miss
легче 18.3 easier, lighter миссис 16.8 Mrs
лежат 9.8 (they) lie мистер 16.8 Mr
лет (gen pl of год) 17.8 (of) мнение 14.9 opinion
summers (= years) многие 13.6 many (people)
лето 16.2 summer много 9.7 9.8 many, much
лётом 16.2 in summer может быть 12.9 perhaps, maybe
Ливерпуль (m) 4.3 Liverpool можно 6.6 14.6 it is possible/
литр 10.12 litre permitted; one may
личный 19.7 personal мой 4.3 7.1 my
Лондон 4.3 London молодой 7.4 young
лучше 18.3 better молоко 9.8 milk
лучший 18.7 best монастырь (m) ex. 61 monastery
любимый 8.14 favourite море 16.4 sea
любить i 6.6 11.8 to love, like мороженое (n adj) 18.12 ice cream
люди 13.6 people Москва 4.3 Moscow
москвич 5.10 Muscovite
магазин 6.6 shop, store
московский 8.14 Moscow (adj)
мадам 16.8 madame
мочь i 12.4 to be able
май 17.4 May
муж 7.10 husband
маленький 10.12 small
музей 5.5 museum
мало 9.7 few
музыка 10.12 music
мама 11.9 mother, mum (fam)
мы 4.3 we
мамочка 16.9 intimate form of
‘mother’ на + prep 5.4 on
март 17.4 March на + acc 6.4 onto, to (a place), for
масло 9.8 butter (time)
матрёшка 10.12 matroshka наверно 6.6 probably
(wooden doll) над + inst 16.2 above
208

надо 8.14 14.6 it is necessary; one ноябрь (m) 17.4 November

must нравиться i + dat of person 18.12
надоесть p + dat 13.6 to bore to please
надолго 6.6 for a long time ну 11.9 well (to show hesitation)
назад 13.6 ago; back нужно 14.6 (it is) necessary
назвать p 13.6 to call, give a name
назовите 19.7 name (pol/pl) о/об/обо + prep 5.4 about,
найти p 15.6 to find concerning
наконец 18.12 at last обедать i 18.12 to dine, have a meal
намного 18.5 much (with обнимаю 19.2 I embrace
comparatives) обрадоваться p 13.6 to be pleased
наоборот 13.6 on the contrary обратно 6.6 back
написать p 12.1 to write объяснить p 20.13 to explain
направо 15.6 to the right обычно 8.14 usually
например 8.14 for example обычный 15.6 usual
нахально 20.13 impudently обязательно 12.9 definitely,
находиться i 15.6 to find oneself, without fail
be located одеваться i 11.7 to get dressed
начальник 19.7 boss, chief, head один 9.1 9.2 12.9; table 7 one;
начинаться i 17.9 to begin alone
(intransitive) одиннадцатый 17.1 eleventh
наш 7.1; table 6 our одиннадцать 9.1 eleven
не 3.2 4.10 not ожидать 11.9 to expect
не правда ли? 16.9 isn’t it? ой! 14.10 oh! (surprise)
недавно 13.6 recently оказаться p 20.13 to turn out
недалеко (indecl) 6.6 not far окно 13.6 window
неделя 6.6 week окончить p 13.6 to graduate, finish
недолго 11.9 not long октябрь (m) 17.4 October
нельзя 14.6 14.10 (it is) not он 3.2 4.7 he
possible/not allowed; one must она 3.2 4.7 she
not они 4.3. 4.7 they
немного 5.10 a little oho 3.2 4.7 it
немножко 14.10 a little опаздывать i 11.9 to be late
несколько 9.7 11.9 a few опоздать p 12.9 to be late
нет 3.2 10.9 no; there isn’t/aren’t опять 7.10 again
никогда не 12.9 never организация 20.13 organization
ничего 6.6 13.6 not bad, all right; оригинал 18.1 original
nothing осень (f) 16.2 autumn
но 5.10 but осенью 16.2 in autumn
Новосибирск 5.10 Novosibirsk особенно 6.6 especially
новый 7.4 new остановка 15.6 stop
ноль (m) 17.3 zero от + gen 9.4 from
номер 19.7 number ответить p 12.3 to answer, reply
ночь (f) 3.3 night отвечать i 12.3 to answer, reply
ночью 16.2 during the night отдел 19.7 section, department
 209

отдельный 19.7 separate подруга 7.10 (girl)friend

отец 8.13 father подумать p 20.13 to think
отказаться р 20.13 to refuse подходить i 18.12 to come up (to)
открывать i 12.3 to open поезд 6.6 train
открыть p 12.3 to open поезжайте 15.6 go (travel)
отчество 16.9 patronymic (pol/pl)
официантка 18.12 waitress поехать p 12.2 13.6 to go (by
охотно 18.12 willingly transport)
очень 4.3 very пожалуйста 3.2 please; don’t
очередь (f) 9.8 queue, line mention it
ошибаться i 13.6 to make a mistake пожениться p 20.13 to get married
(of a couple)
папа 3.3 dad позволить p 12.9 to permit
первое (n adj) 18.12 first (course) позвонить p 12.3 to telephone
(soup) поздно 17.9 late
первый 7.10 17.1 first поздравлять i (c + inst) 14.10 to
переговоры (pl) 20.13 negotiations congratulate (on)
перед + inst 16.2 in front of познакомить p 16.9 to introduce
передать p 19.6 to transmit познакомиться p 16.9 to become
переехать p 13.6 to move house acquainted
перенести p 19.2 to transfer познакомьтесь p 16.9 meet;
пешком 6.3 6.6 on foot become acquainted (pol/pl)
пиво 7.10 beer позовите p 19.6 19.7 call,
писатель (m) 20.10 writer summon (pol/pl)
писать i 11.9 to write пойти p 12.2 to go (on foot)
письмо 3.2 letter покажите 8.14 show (pol/pl)
пить i 14.10 to drink показать p 12.7 to show
план ex. 63 18.12 map (of town), показывать i 12.7 to show
plan покупать i 8.14 to buy
пластинка 8.14 record покупка 8.14 purchase
платить i 13.6 to pay пол-литра 10.12 half a litre
плохо 19.7 badly половина 17.2 half
плохой 18.3 bad получить p 13.6 to receive
площадь (f) 7.10 square полюбить p + acc 13.6 to fall in
no + dat 14.9 15.6 along love with
победа 17.9 victory по-моему 7.10 in my opinion, I
повернуть p 15.6 to turn think
повторите p 19.6 repeat (pol/pl) помогать i 20.13 to help
поговорить p 19.7 to have a talk понедельник 17.5 Monday
with понимать i 4.8 12.2 to understand
погода 18.4 weather понравиться p 13.6 to please
под + inst 16.2 under понятно 9.8 (it is) comprehensible
подар(о)к 8.13 present, gift понять p 12.2 to understand
подождите минуточку 8.14 wait a попадать i 15.6 to get (somewhere)
moment (pol/pl) (p попасть)
210

попасть р 19.7 to get (somewhere) прожить p 13.6 (i жить) to live

пора 17.9 it is time (for a specified period)
по-русски 4.3 in Russian пройти p 15.2 to pass
порция 18.12 portion проспект 5.10 avenue
после + gen 17.7 after прости 12.9 excuse me, sorry (fam)
последний 15.6 last простите 5.10 excuse me (pol/pl)
посмотреть p 12.2 to watch просто 13.6 simply
посмотрите 8.14 look (pol/pl) профессор 19.2 professor
посольство 19.2 embassy прочитать p 12.3 to read
потом 6.6 next, then прошлый 17.9 last, previous
потому что 17.9 because прямо 15.6 straight, straight on
поцеловать p 14.10 to kiss пятидесятый 17.1 fiftieth
почему 5.3 5.10 why пятнадцатый 17.1 fifteenth
почти 10.12 almost пятнадцать 9.1 fifteen
поэтому ex. 46 so, therefore пятница 17.5 Friday
правильно ex. 62 correct пятый 17.1 fifth
предложение 20.13 proposal пять 9.1 five
предложить p 13.6 to offer пятьдесят 9.1 fifty
представитель (m) 19.7 пятьсот 9.1 five hundred
representative
представиться p 16.9 to introduce работа 5.10 work
oneself работать 4.3 ex. 10 to work
прекрасно 18.12 fine, splendid радуга 20.13 rainbow
преподавать i 13.6 to teach раз 9.8 time
привет 13.6 greeting, hi! разговаривать i 20.13 to converse,
придумать p 13.6 to think up, talk
invent разойтись p 20.13 to split up
приезжать i 12.3 to arrive (by разрешите p 16.9 permit (pol/pl)
transport) рано 17.9 early
приём 19.2 reception рассказать p 12.3 to tell, relate
приехать p 12.3 to arrive (by рассказывайте 11.9 tell (pol/pl)
transport) рассказывать i 12.3 to tell, relate
приз 13.6 prize не расслышать p 19.7 to mishear,
признаться p 20.13 to admit fail to make out
прийти p 12.3 to arrive (on foot) расчёт 18.12 calculation
прилав(о)к 15.6 counter ребён(о)к 16.5 child
принести p 18.12 to bring река 18.10 river
природа 13.6 nature религиозный 18.12 religious
приходить i 12.3 to arrive (on foot) ресторан 1.1 ex. 31 restaurant
приятнее 18.3 nicer решить p 13.6 to decide, solve
приятно 5.10 pleasant(ly) родина 17.9 homeland
приятный 11.9 pleasant родители (pl) 10.12 parents
продав(ё)ц 9.9 10.12 sales родиться p 11.7 to be born
assistant родной 6.6 native
продолжать i 20.13 to continue рождение 12.9 birth
 211

роман 13.6 15.6 romance, love скучно 13.6 14.7 (it is) boring
affair; novel скучный 16.9 boring
Россия 5.6 Russia сладкий 7.10 sweet
рубль (m) 3.3 rouble слева 15.6 on the left
русская (f adj) 6.6 Russian woman следующий 8.11 following, next
русский 5.10 7.4 Russian (adj) слишком 6.6 too (excessively)
словарь (m) 15.6 dictionary
c + gen 17.7 from, since слово 7.10 word
c + inst 16.2 with случиться p 13.6 to happen
садиться i 15.2 to sit down слушать i 19.6 19.7 to listen to
самолёт 11.9 aeroplane слышно 19.7 (it is) audible
самый 7.10 18.7 most (with сметана 18.12 sour cream
adjectives) смешно 13.6 (it’s) funny
сахар 9.8 sugar смешной 13.6 funny
свежий 8.11 fresh смеяться 11.9 to laugh
свидание 3.3 meeting, rendezvous смотреть i 8.14 11.9 12.2 to
свободный 11.9 free look, watch
свой 13.6 own (belonging to the смочь p 12.4 to be able
subject), my, his etc. сначала 11.9 at first
священник 18.12 priest снова 11.9 again
сдача 9.8 change (money returned) собака 13.6 dog
сделать p 8.14 12.2 to do советский 20.13 Soviet
себя 20.13 self современный 15.6 modern
север 13.6 north совсем 10.12 completely, totally
сегодня 8.14 today согласен 16.9 (I) agree (m)
седьмой 17.1 seventh согласна 16.9 (I) agree (f)
сейчас 5.10 at the moment, (right) соедините 19.7 connect (pol/pl)
now сообщить 19.2 to inform
семейный 20.13 family (adj) сорок 9.1 forty
семидесятый 17.1 seventieth сороковой 17.1 fortieth
семнадцатый 17.1 seventeenth сотый 17.1 hundredth
семнадцать 9.1 seventeen союз 20.13 union
семь 9.1 seven спасибо 3.2 thank you
семьдесят 9.1 seventy спешить i 12.9 to hurry
семьсот 9.1 seven hundred справа 15.6 on the right
семья 16.4 family справочное (бюро) 19.7 enquiry
сентябрь (m) 17.4 September (office)
серьёзный 13.6 serious спросить p 13.6 to ask
сестра 7.10 10.12 sister спутник 12.9 travelling companion
Сибирь (f) 3.2 Siberia спутница 18.12 (female) companion
симпатичный 7.4 nice (of a person) сразу 13.6 immediately
сказать p 12.2 to say среда 17.5 Wednesday
сколько 9.7 how much, how many стакан 9.3 (drinking) glass
скоро 20.13 soon станция 6.6 (metro) station; small
скрытный 18.12 secretive railway station
212

старый 7.10 old тридцать 9.1 thirty

стать р 16.2 16.9 to become; begin тринадцатый 17.1 thirteenth
стиль (m) 18.12 style тринадцать 9.1 thirteen
стихи (pl) 8.14 poetry, poem(s) триста 9.1 three hundred
сто 9.1 hundred трубка 19.6 receiver
стоить 9.8 to cost труд 9.8 labour
Столичная (f adj) 10.12 Stolichnaya труднее 18.3 more difficult
(‘Capital’) vodka трудный 9.8 difficult
стоять 9.8 to stand туда 6.4 there (motion)
страна 18.12 country турист 8.14 tourist
странный 12.9 strange ты 4.7 you (fam)
стройка 13.6 construction site тысяча 9.1 thousand
студентка 4.3 (female) student
суббота 17.5 Saturday у + gen 10.5 by, at
сувенир 8.14 souvenir уважаемый 19.2 respected
сумка 9.8 bag уважение 19.2 respect
счастье 20.13 happiness увидеть p 12.2 to see
считать i 16.9 to count, consider уговорить p 16.9 to persuade
сын 8.6 son уг(о)л 15.6 corner
сыр 9.8 cheese удивйть p 20.13 to surprise
сюрприз 11.9 surprise уезжать i 17.9 to leave (by
transport)
так 14.6 so уехать p 12.9 to leave (by transport)
такой 8.14 such уже 9.8 already
такси 3.2 taxi узнать p 13.6 to find out
так-так 17.9 hmm (hesitation) украйн(е)ц 5.10 Ukrainian (man)
там 5.10 there улица 5.10 street
телевизор 13.2 13.6 television улыбаться i 11.7 12.2 to smile
телефон 15.2 telephone улыбнуться p 12.2 to smile
теперь 6.6 now умный 18.12 intelligent
тепло 14.7 (it is) warm университет 11.9 university
тише 18.12 quieter упражнение 5.6 exercise
тихий quiet успевать i 15.6 to have time to
товарищ 16.8 comrade устраивать i 19.2 to organize
тогда 9.8 then (at that time); in утро 3.2 morning
that case утром 16.2 in the morning
тоже ex. 46 too учйтель (m) 16.4 teacher
только 7.10 only учйтельница 4.3 (female) teacher
торговый 18.13 trade (adj) учйться i 11.9 to study
тот 18.3; table 4 that
трамвай 5.5 tram фамйлия 16.9 surname
третий 17.1 third февраль (m) 17.4 February
третье (n adj) 18.12 third (course) фильм 13.2 film
(dessert) фйрма 19.7 firm
три 9.1; table 7 three форма 9.8 form
тридцатый 17.1 thirtieth фраза 15.6 phrase
 213

фунт 8.14 pound (money and четырнадцать 9.1 fourteen

weight) число 17.3 number, date
чистый 7.4 clean
хлеб 9.8 bread
читать i 12.3 to read
ходить 11.9 to go (on foot); walk
что 4.3 what/that
about
что вы! 13.6 come now! don’t be
холодно 13.6 14.6 (it is) cold
silly!
хороший 8.11 good
чтобы 18.2 18.12 (in order) to, so
хорошо 3.2 well, good, all right,
that
OK
хотеть 6.6 to want шампанское (n adj) 14.10 (Soviet)
хуже 18.3 worse champagne
шашлык 18.12 kebab, pieces of
царь (m) 3.3 tsar
meat on a skewer
целовать i 19.2 to kiss
шестидесятый 17.1 sixtieth
целый 19.2 whole
шестнадцатый 17.1 sixteenth
цент 10.12 cent
шестнадцать 9.1 sixteen
центр 5.10 centre, city centre
шестой 17.1 sixth
цёрк(о)вь (f) 18.12 church
шесть 9.1 six
чай 18.12 tea шестьдесят 9.1 sixty
час 17.2 hour шестьсот 9.1 six hundred
часто 8.14 often шире 18.3 wider
чаще 18.3 more often школа 16.9 school
чек 9.9 receipt штука 10.12 thing
человек 16.5 person
экземпляр 10.12 copy (of book)
чем 18.3 than
это 4.3 this (also used for ‘that’)
через + acc 6.6 after (with time
этот 8.12; table 4 this, that
words); through
честь (f) 13.6 honour я 3.2 4.7 I
четверг 17.5 Thursday яблоко 9.8 apple
четвёртый 17.1 fourth язык 5.10 language
четыре 9.1 table 7 four яйцо 9.8 egg
четыреста 9.1 four hundred январь (m) 17.4 January
четырнадцатый 17.1 fourteenth японский Japanese
Spelling rules

The spelling of Russian grammatical endings is affected by the following

rules (see 8.4, 8.11):

1 After these seven consonants one finds и instead of ы:

г к x ж ш ч ш

So the plural of язык is языки.

2 After these eight consonants one finds a not я, and у not ro:

гкхжшчщц

So ‘they study’ is они учатся (a instead of я).

3 After these five consonants one finds о only when the о is stressed.
When the ending is unstressed, one finds e instead of o:

ж ш ч щ ц

So the instrumental of муж ‘husband’ is мужем (not -ом), but the

inst of отец ‘father’ is отцом.

214
Russian handwriting

Here are the handwritten forms of the Cyrillic letters:

a db а <Х Р р Д
Б 2" б <Г С С С 0
в 3 в р т Т ж
Г Т Г t уУ У у
Д 7) де £ ф Ф ср
Е <g х х х а?
Ё 6 ё ё ц г< Ц Ц
ж Э(С ж X ч ч t
з 3 3и Ла ш ис Ш М-
и гд Щ щ щ СЦ>
и й й й ъ - ъ г
к X к к. ы ~ ы tri-
л JL л х. ь — Ь 0
м м. М ас Э э э э
н X Н АС Ю К> Ю
о с? 0 О' я Я- я Я
П 5Г П а

Here are the two letters from 19.2 in handwritten form:

'И^Сйшлли М1НЛ 1A me, rent e U l.un^

-iorHptmameee г» ^42*4424 Л Гистчину.
Л томчо иле^нл- ууГсача: !т> 4

cihmiw.

Книда -С

д(е1гкг п-а еаи-

У?л<-х^ммши1_ 2^-w 3^лгу‘йтгу*6-

^[^лилодмгнг иа-оуал. rvorent ЮСета.

цнмси Леи-f, ^амсс^

215
Grammar tables
Declension

Gender 3.3

Cases: nominative (N) 4.2, accusative (A) 6.1, 6.2, animate (anim)
accusative 6.2, 10.11, genitive (G) 9.4, dative (D) 12.7, instrumental (I)
16.1, 16.2, prepositional (P) 5.4

1 MASCULINE NOUNS

ticket (6.6) cat (7.10)

sing pi sing Pi
N билёт билёты кот коты
A билёт билёты кота котов
G билёта билётов кота котов
D билёту билётам коту котам
I билётом билётами котом котами
P билёте билётах коте котах

dictionary (15.6) museum (5.5)

sing sing pl
N словарь словари музей музеи
A словарь словари музей музеи
G словаря словарей музея музеев
D словарю словарям музею музеям
I словарём словарями музеем музеями
P словаре словарях музее музеях

2 FEMININE NOUNS

newspaper (20.11) dog (13.6)

sing pl, smg р1

N газета газеты собака собаки
А газету газеты собаку собак
G газеты газет собаки собак
D газете газетам собаке собакам
I газетой газетами собакой собаками
Р газете газетах собаке собаках

216
 217

week (6.6) square (7.10) surname (16.9)

sing pl sing pl sing pl

N неделя недели площадь плошали фамилия фамилии
А неделю недели площадь площади фамилию фамилии
G недели недель площади площадей фамилии фамилий
D неделе неделям площади площадям фамилии фамилиям
I неделей неделями площадью площадями фамилией фамилиями
Р неделе неделях площади площадях фамилии фамилиях

3 NEUTER NOUNS

matter (6.6) exercise (5.6) name (7,10)

s/ng pl sing р/ 5Z>7g р/

N дело дела упражнение упражнения ИМЯ имена
А дело дела упражнение упражнения имя имена
G дела дел упражнения упражнений имени имён
D делу делам упражнению упражнениям имени именам
I делом делами упражнением упражнениями именем именами
Р деле делах упражнении упражнениях имени именах

4 PRONOUNS (4.7)

I you he she it we you they who what

N я ты он она оно мы вы онй кто что

А меня тебя его её его нас вас их кого что
G меня тебя его её его нас вас их кого чего
D мне тебе ему ей ему нам вам им кому чему
I мной тобой им ей им нами вами; ими кем чем
Р мне тебе нём ней нём нас вас них ком чём

this (8.12) that (18.3)

т f п pl т f п р/
N ЭТОТ эта это эти ТОТ та то те
А этот эту это эти тот ту то те
A anim этого эту это этих того ту то тех
G этого этой этого этих того той того тех
D этому этой этому этим тому той тому тем
I этим этой этим этими тем той тем теми
Р этом этой этом этих том той том тех
218

all (13.6)

m f п pl
N весь вся всё все
A весь всю всё все
A anim всего всю всё всех
G всего всей всего всех
D всему всей всему всем
I всем всей всем всеми
P всём всей всём всех

5 ADJECTIVES (7.4, 8.11)

new (7.4)

т / п pl
N НОВЫЙ новая новое новые
А новый новую новое новые
A anim нового новую новое новых
G нового новой нового новых
D новому новой новому новым
1 новым новой новым новыми
Р новом новой новом новых

Russian (7.4)

т f' п р/
N русский русская русское русские
А русский русскую русское русские
A anim русского русскую русское русских
G русского русской русского русских
D русскому русской русскому русским
I русским русской русским русскими
Р русском русской русском русских

good (8.11)

т f п pl
N хороший хорошая хорошее хорошие
А хороший хорошую хорошее хорошие
A anim хорошего хорошую хорошее хороших
G хорошего хорошей хорошего хороших
D хорошему хорошей хорошему хорошим
I хорошим хорошей хорошим хорошими
Р хорошем хорошей хорошем хороших
 219

last (15.6)

m f п pl
A' последний последняя последнее последние
A последний последнюю последнее последние
A anim последнего последнюю последнее последних
G последнего последней последнего последних
D последнему последней последнему последним
I последним последней последним последними
P последнем последней последнем последних

6 POSSESSIVES (7.1)

my (same endings for твой ‘your’ and свой ‘own’ - 13.6)

р/
т f п
А мой моя моё мой
А мой мою моё мой
A anim моего мою моё мойх
G моего моей моего мойх
D моему моей моему мойм
I моим моей моим мойми
Р моём моей моём мойх

our (same endings for ваш ‘your’)

т f; п р/
N наш наша наше наши
А наш нашу наше наши
A anim нашего нашу наше наших
G нашего нашей нашего наших
D нашему нашей нашему нашим
I нашим нашей нашим нашими
Р нашем нашей нашем наших

7 NUMBERS (9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 17.2)

one two three four

т f п т/п f m/f/n m/f/n

N одйн одна одно два две три четыре
А одйн одну одно два две три четыре
A anim одного одну одно двух двух трёх четырёх
G одного одной одного двух двух трёх четырёх
D одному одной одному двум двум трём четырём
1 однйм одной однйм двумя двумя тремя четырьмя
Р одном одной одном двух двух трёх четырёх
220

five eight twenty-six

m/f/n m/f/n m/f/n

N пять восемь двадцать шесть
A пять восемь двадцать шесть
G пяти восьми двадцати шести
D пяти восьми двадцати шести
I пятью восемью двадцатью шестью
P пяти восьмй двадцатй шестй

forty fifty ninety 100 200 300

m/f/n m/f/n m/f/n m/f/n m/f/n m/f/n

N сорок пятьдесят девяносто сто двести трйста
A сорок пятьдесят девяносто сто двести трйста
G сорока пятидесяти девяноста ста двухсот трёхсот
D сорока пятидесяти девяноста ста двумстам трёмстам
I сорока пятьюдесятью девяноста ста двумястами тремястами
P сорока пятидесяти девяноста ста двухстах трёхстах

C О П j 11 g a t i о п

8 VERBS

aspects (perfective and imperfective) 12.1, 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, 13.4, 14.2, 15.3
conditional 18.1
future tense 12.1, 14.2
gerunds 20.11, 20.12
imperative 15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4
infinitive 4.8
participles 20.6, 20.7, 20.8, 20.9, 20.10
past tense 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 13.1, 13.3
present tense 4.8, 4.9, 5.9
reflexive 11.7

(а) знать (Type 1) imperfective ‘to know’

present past future imperative

я знаю знал(а) буду знать
ты знаешь знал(а) будешь знать знай
он знает знал будет знать
она знает знала будет знать
оно знает знало будет знать
мы знаем знали будем знать
вы знаете знали будете знать знайте
онй знают знали будут знать
pres active participle: знающий
past active participle: знавший gerund: зная
 221

(b) прочитать (Type 1) perfective ‘to read’

past future imperative

Я прочитал(а) прочитаю
ты прочитал(а) прочитаешь прочитай
он прочитал прочитает
она прочитала прочитает
оно прочитало прочитает
мы прочитали прочитаем
вы прочитали прочитаете прочитайте
онй прочитали прочитают

past passive participle: прочйтан(ный)

past active participle: прочитавший
gerund: прочитав

(с) говорить (Type 2) imperfective ‘to speak’

present past future imperative

Я говорю говорйл(а) буду говорйть
ты говорйшь говорйл(а) будешь говорйть говорй
он говорйт говорйл будет говорйть
она говорйт говорйла будет говорйть
оно говорйт говорило будет говорйть
мы говорйм говорйли будем говорйть
вы говорйте говорйли будете говорйть говорйте
онй говорят говорйли будут говорйть

pres active participle: говорящий

past active participle: говоривший
gerund: говоря

(d) позвонить (Type 2) perfective ‘to telephone’

past future imperative

Я позвонйл(а) позвоню
ты позвонйл(а) позвонйшь позвони
он позвонил позвонйт
она позвонйла позвонйт
оно позвонило позвонйт
мы позвонили позвонйм
вы позвонйли позвонйте позвонйте
онй позвонили позвонят

past active participle: позвонивший

gerund: позвонйв
222

(е) жить (Type IB) imperfective ‘to live’

present past future imperative

Я живу жил(а) буду жить
ты живёшь жил(а) будешь жить живй
он живёт жил будет жить
она живёт жила будет жить
оно живёт жйло будет жить
мы живём жйли будем жить
вы живёте жйли будете жить живйте
онй живут жйли будут жить

pres active participle: живущий

past active participle: живший
gerund: живя

(f) написать (type IB) perfective ‘to write’

past future imperative

Я написал(а) напишу
ты написал(а) напйшешь напишй
он написал напйшет
она написала напйшет
оно написало напйшет
мы написали напишем
вы написали напйшете напишйте
онй написали напйшут

past active participle: написавший

past active participle: напйсан(ный)
gerund: написав
Index
This index includes the abbreviations used in this book.

acc = accusative case ex = exercise

accusative case 6.1, 6.2 (use); 6.1 f =■ feminine 3.3
(pronouns); 6.2 (nouns); 7.2 fam - familiar form (ты) 4.7
(possessives); 7.8 (adjectives); 10.11 feminine 3.3
(animate plural) fleeting vowels 8.13
adj = adjective form filling 19.3
adjectives 7.4, 7.5, 7.6; 7.7 fut = future tense
(prepositional); 7.8 (accusative); 8.8, future tense 12.1, 12.2 (perfective); 14.2
8.9, 8.10 (plural); хороший-type 8.11; (imperfective)
with numbers 10.3; table 5 gender 3.3
age 17.8 gen = genitive case
alphabet 1.1, 2.2 (in order) genitive case 9.3 (with numbers); 9.7
anim = animate (with quantity words); 9.4 (main uses);
animate nouns (people and animals) 9.5 (singular of nouns); 9.6 (plural of
6.2, 10.11 nouns); 10.5 (with prepositions); 10.7,
aspect 12.1; (use in future) 12.1, 14.2; 10.9, 10.11 (use); 10.1, 10.2 (adjective
(use in past) 13.1; (choice) 13.2, 13.3, forms); 10.4 (possessive forms); 10.6
15.3 (imperative), 13.4 (infinitive); (pronoun forms)
13.5 (how to recognize); see also gerunds (verbal adverbs) 20.11, 20.12
under imperfective and perfective ‘give’ 12.8
‘be’ 14.1 ‘go’ 6.3, 6.4; (in more than one direction)
‘can’ (‘be able’) 12.4 11.9
cf=compare handwriting 215
coll = colloquial ‘have’ (‘possess’) 10.7
commands - see imperative 15.1 i = imperfective aspect
comparative 18.3 (use); (formation) 18.4 idioms 20.4
conditional 18.1 i.e. = that is
conjugation 4.8 imitated pronunciation 2.12
conjugation types 11.8 imper = imperative (commands) 15.1;
dat = dative case 15.2 (formation and use); 15.3 (aspect);
date 17.4, 17.6 15.4 (exceptions)
dative case 12.6 (pronouns); 14.4 imperfective aspect 12.1; 13.1 (past); 13.2
(singular nouns); 18.10 (plural nouns); (use in past); 13.4 (use of infinitive);
14.5 (singular adjectives); 18.11 (plural 14.2 (future); 15.3 (imperative)
adjectives); 12.7, 14.6, 14.9 (use) indecl = indeclinable nouns (такси,
days of the week 17.5 Джейн) 5.7
declension of nouns: tables 1, 2, 3; of infin = infinitive 4.8
pronouns: table 4; of adjectives: table 5 inst = instrumental case
dictionaries 20.2, 20.3 instrumental case 16.1; 16.2, 20.7 (use);
diminutives (intimate forms of names) 16.3 (pronouns); 16.4 (singular of
16.7 nouns); 16.5 (plural of nouns); 16.6
e.g. = for example (singular adjectives); 18.11 (plural
endings 4.2 adjectives)
etc = and so on intonation (yes/no questions) 5.2

223
224

irreg = irregular pres = present tense 4.8 (знать 1), 4.9

italic forms 1.2 (говорить 2), 5.9 (жить IB), 11.8;
letters (correspondence) 19.2 12.5 (referring to future)
lit = literally pronouns (see also personal pronouns):
m = masc = masculine table 4
masculine 3.3 questions 5.1, 5.2, 5.3
months 17.4 reflexive verbs 11.7
n = neuter 3.3 restaurant 18.13
names (of Russians) 16.7; (of foreigners) shopping 9.9, 10.13
16.8 sing = singular
NB( = Note) 4.1 soft consonants 1.1, 2.6
negation 4.10 spelling rules 214
neuter 3.3 stem 4.8, 11.8
nom = nominative case stress 2.4
nominative case 4.2 superlative 18.7
nouns: tables 1, 2, 3 surnames 16.7
numbers 9.1, 9.2, 9.3 (cardinal), 17.1 syllable 1.2
(ordinal), 17.2 (genitive forms); table 7 telegrammes 19.4
(all case forms) telephones 19.6, ex. 86; (directory
numerals - see numbers enquiries) ex. 86(4)
p = perfective aspect tense (differences between Russian and
participles 20.6; (passive) 20.7, 20.8; English usage) 14.3; see also present,
(active) 20.9, 20.10 past, future
past tense 11.1; 11.1, 11.2, 11.3 (forms); ‘that’ table 4 (тот); see also ‘this’
13.1 (perfective) ‘this’ (это/этот) 4.6 (это); 8.12 (этот);
patronymic 16.7 declension of этот: table 4
perfective aspect 12.1 (future), 13.1 time (clock) 17.2, 17.3
(past); 13.3 (use in past); 13.4 (use of transliteration (English words in Russian
infinitive); 15.3 (choice in imperative) letters) 19.1
personal pronouns 4.7; (extra h- after Type 1 verbs (знать) 4.8, table 8
prepositions) 10.6; table 4 (declension) Type IB verbs (жить) 5.9, table 8
pl=plural Type 2 verbs (говорить) 4.9, table 8
plural 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.5, 8.6 (nominative unstressed syllables 2.5
nouns); 8.7 (possessives); 8.8, 8.9, 8.10 unvoiced consonants 2.9, 2.10
(adjectives); 8.10 (accusative); 10.11 verbal adverbs (gerunds) 20.11, 20.12
(accusative of people and animals) verbs: table 8
pol = polite form (вы) 4.7 vocabulary, how to learn 3.2
possessives 7.1, 7.2, 7.3; 8.7 (nom pl); voiced consonants 2.9, 2.10
table 6 (complete declension) ‘want’ (хотеть) 6.5; with чтобы 18.2
prep = prepositional case ‘which’ (который) 7.9
prepositional case 5.4 (use); 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, ‘who’ (который) 7.9
(singular noun forms); 5.8 (personal word order 12.7 (pronouns); 20.5
pronouns); 7.3 (possessives); 7.7 (general points)
(singular adjectives); 18.10 (plural years 17.6
nouns); 18.11 (plural adjectives) yes/no questions 5.1, 5.2
prepositions (how to read) 2.8; (в ‘in’
becomes во) 17.5; (with accusative)
6.4; (with genitive) 10.5, 17.7; (with
dative) 14.9; (with instrumental) 16.2;
(with prepositional) 5.4
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