Demonstrative Pronouns
Этот and тот in Russian are equivalent to this and that in English.
Этот (this) - Objects that are near
Тот (that) - Objects that are far.
Этот дом новый, а тот дом старый - This house is new and that house is old
Этот and тот change according to gender.
М: этот - тот
Ж: эта - та
С: это - то
Plural: эти - те
When demonstrative pronouns and nouns are used together, этот and other conjugations are used. When we only want to say "this" without the noun following, это is used.
Possessive Case
Meaning - М - Ж - С
Mine - Мой - Моя - Моё
Yours - Твой - Твоя - Твоё
His - Его - Его - Его
Hers - Её - Её - Её
Ours - Наш - Наша - Наше
Yours (pl.) - Ваш - Ваша - Ваше
Theirs - Их - Их - Их
These answer the question “Чей/Чья/Чьё” (whose).
Чьё это кресло? - Whose armchair is this?
Оно наше - It is our(s).
Он твой папа? - Is he your father?
Нет, она моя сестра. - No, she is my sister.
Reflexive possessive case: Свой
Свой means “its own”.
Иван любит свою собаку - Ivan loves his own dog.
Иван любит его собаку - Ivan loves his (someone elses) dog.
Свой - Своя - Своё - Свои
Following two sentences mean almost the same
Я люблю мою собаку - I love my own dog.
Я люблю свою собаку - I love my dog.
Verbs and Tenses
Russian has 3 tenses: Present, past, future
Russian verbs in dictionaries end with -ть.
Present Tense
Russian present tense combines simple present and present continuous tenses in English.
Verbs ending with -ать and -ять follow this pattern:
Читать - (to) read
Я - Читаю
Ты - Читаешь
Он/Она/Оно - Читает
Мы - Читаем
Вы - Читаете
Они - Читают
Verbs ending with -ить follow this pattern:
Говорить - (to) speak
Я - Говорю
Ты - Говоришь
Он/Она/Оно - Говорит
Мы - Говорим
Вы - Говорите
Они - Говорют
Some verbs are irregular.
To make a sentence negative, add не before the verb.
Я читаю - Я не читаю
Они читают и говорют по-русски - They read and speak Russian.
Она слушает музыку - She is listening to music.
Past Tense
Russian past tense combines simple past and past continuous tenses in English.
The -ть at the end change into:
М: -л
Ж: -ла
С: -ло
Plural: -ли
Я читал/читала - I (male) did read/was reading / I (female) did read/was reading
Examples above mean the action was not completed. Completed form would require the following:
Я прочитал/прочитала - I read (and finished the book)
Incomplete and complete forms are only applied to past and future tenses.
Incomplete form means an action is still going, is paused, is repeating or is a habit.
Она писала мне письмо каждый день - She wrote/was writing me a letter everyday.
Complete form means an action was completed with success.
These verbs often get по-/про-/на- or change their ending.
Читать - Прочитать - Read
Рассказывать - Рассказать - Explain
Please understand the importance of complete form meaning success. If you say “I took an exam” in complete form, it means you passed. Incomplete form would mean you just took an exam and results are not announced.
Future tense
Russian has two future tenses: Simple and compound
For simple future tense, complete form is used in present tense.
Я прочитаю - I will read
Мы посмотрим фильм - We will watch a movie
Compound future tense is used to mean the action will not be completed or will repeat.
Compound tense is formed as following: быть (to be) + incomplete form in dictionary form.
Я - Буду
Ты - Будешь
Он/Она/Оно - Будет
Мы - Будем
Вы - Будете
Они - Будут
Я буду работать - I will work
Мы будем читать роман - We will read a novel
If the main verb is быть as well, you do not need to use it twice.
Завтра я буду (быть) на футболе - Tomorrow I’ll be at the football game
If you are not sure which future tense you must use, go for compound future tense.
Imperative Case
To form the imperative and subjunctive case of verbs, the root of the verb in the present tense is taken as the basis. You must add these letters to the end of root:
If the root ends in a vowel:
Ты - -й
Вы - -йте
Читай - Читайте
If the root ends in two or more consonants, or ends in a consonant but the end of the root has stress:
Ты - -и
Вы - -ите
Говори - Говорите
If the root ends in non-stressed consonant:
Ты - -ь
Вы - -ьте
Забудь - Забудьте
When asking for something, imperative case is used with пожалуйста.
Дайте пожалуйста книги - Please give the book
When using negative sentences in this case, use не before the imperative.
Не говорите этого - Do not say that
Can (Мочь - Смочь)
Мочь and Смочь means “to be able to” or simple “can”.
Мочь is incomplete while смочь is complete.
Смочь is not used for the present in present tense but is used in the present tense to express the future tense.
Мочь
Present
Я - Могу
Ты - Можешь
Он/Она/Оно - Может
Мы - Можем
Вы - Можете
Они - Могут
Past
М: Мог
Ж: Могла
С: Могло
Plural: Могли
-
Смочь
Present
Я - Смогу
Ты - Сможешь
Он/Она/Оно - Сможет
Мы - Сможем
Вы - Сможете
Они - Смогут
Past
М: Смог
Ж: Смогла
С: Смогло
Plural: Смогли
Мы можем быть в Москве завтра? - Can we be in Moscow tomorrow?
Он не мог писать - He couldn’t write
Она не сможет позвонит - She won’t be able to call
Вы сможете прийти к нам завтра? - Will you be able to come to us tomorrow?
Passive Voice
In this case, the subject is unimportant; the important aspect is the action.
Passive voice is formed in 2 ways:
Incomplete verbs + -ся
Зеркало отражает свет - Mirror reflects light
Свет отражается зеркалом - Light is reflected by mirror
For complete form: быть + short form of the passive participle of the past tense.
Short form of the passive participle of the past tense is formed as following:
Transitive verbs ending in -ить or -еть are replaced by -ен (feminine -ена, neuter -ено, plural -ены)
Построить - Построен/Построена/Построено/Построены
Transitive verbs ending in -ать or -ять are replaced by -н (feminine -на, neuter -но, plural -ны)
Прочитать - Прочитан/Прочитана/Прочитано/Прочитаны
Verbs like открыть, взять, начать etc, -ь is dropped.
Открыть - Открыт
Взять - Взят
After forming the short form of the passive participle of the past tense, together with the appropriate form of the verb быть, the passive participle of the verb indicating the complete action is formed.
М: Был
Ж: Была
С: Было
Plural: Били
For future tense, будет is enough.
Забод был построен - The fence was built
Забод будет построен - The fence will be built