The Russian page is a collection of Russian study notes.
Below are the organized and templated notes from my Russian studies.
They might serve you as a good basis to get into the language. This series of notes is inspired from Tad Perry's 1992 Quick and Dirty Guide to Japanese.
Cases
In Russian language the nouns change their forms and get different endings. These forms, and their endings, are called cases. The case of a noun shows what role a noun plays in the sentence.
The nominative is the basic, or dictionary, form of the noun when removed from context.
- Студентка задала вопрос
- The student asked a question.
The accusative is the goal of the action, or the target of the verb.
- Учитель открыл окно
- The teacher opened the window.
The genitive is used to express a relationship between two nouns.
- Это портофель профессора
- This is the professor's briefcase.
The dative is used when the noun is the recipient of an action.
- Маша даёт билет борису
- Masha is giving the ticket to Boris.
The instrumental is used when the noun is the instrument or mean by which an action is performed.
- Ученик пишет карандашом
- The student writes with a pencil.
Gender
The gender of the noun determines the gender of the pronoun.
Where is my table | Где мой стол |
Where is my window | Где моё окно |
Where is my lamp | Где моя лампа |
The gender of the noun determines the gender of the adjective.
This is a new table | Это новый стол |
This is a new window | Это новое окно |
This is a new lamp | Это новая лампа |
The gender of the noun determines the predicate verb.
The table was there | Стол был там |
The window was there | Окно было там |
The lamp was there | Лампа была там |
It's amazing how many sentences can be made with knowing these simple 3 words: нет, был & будет.
The student is at home. | Студент дома. |
The student is not at home. | Студента нет дома. |
The student was home. | Студент был дома. |
The student will be home. | Студент будет дома. |
Conjugation Table
Present | Past | Future | |||
It is cold | холодно | It was cold | было холодно | It will be cold | будет холодно |
It is not cold | не холодно | It was not cold | не было холодно | It will not be cold | не будет холодно |
I am cold | мне холодно | I was cold | мне было холодно | I shall be cold | мне будет холодно |
We are cold | нам холодно | We were cold | нам было холодно | We shall be cold | нам будет холодно |
You are cold | тебе холодно | You were cold | тебе было холодно | You shall be cold | тебе будет холодно |
Yous are cold | вам холодно | Yous were cold | вам было холодно | Yous shall be cold | вам будет холодно |
He/She is cold | ему/ей холодно | He/She was cold | ему/ей было холодно | He/She shall be cold | ему/ей будет холодно |
They are cold | им холодно | They were cold | им было холодно | They shall be cold | им будет холодно |
This is the basic conjugation table for a few simple Russian verbs. I always kept this nearby, for reference.
To Read | To Write | To Have | To Speak | To See |
читать | писать | иметь | говорить | видеть |
я читаю | я пишу | я имею | я говорю | я вижу |
ты читаешь | ты пишешь | ты имеешь | ты говоришь | ты видишь |
он/она читает | он/она пишет | он/она имеет | он/она говорит | он/она видит |
мы читаем | мы пишем | мы имеем | мы говорим | мы видим |
вы читаете | вы пишете | вы имеете | вы говорите | вы видите |
они читают | они пишут | они имеют | они говорят | они видят |
A few motion verbs like ходить(to go, to come) and идти can be prefixed to create new motion verbs.
to go, to walk | ходить |
to come, to arrive | приходить |
to pass by | проходить |
to go away, to leave | уходить |
to cross | переходить |
to go into, to enter | входить |
to go out, to exit | выходить |
to go up to, to approach | подходить |
to leave(of a train) | отходить |
Aspects are indicators of completion of an action on some verbs allowing to create further indication of the progress of an action.
Imperfective
to try to get used to | привыкать |
to work on, to try to solve | решать |
to take(an exam) | сдавать |
to try to persuade | уговаривать |
to study | учить |
Perfective
to be accustomed | привыкнуть |
to solve | решить |
to pass | сдать |
to convince, to talk into | уговорить |
to memorize | выучить |
08B13
— Learning Russian
incoming thousand rooms alphavetist goals