ROUTLEDGE

INTENSIVE
RUSSIAN COURSE
 ROUTLEDGE INTENSIVE LANGUAGE COURSES

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ROUTLEDGE
INTENSIVE
RUSSIAN COURSE
Robin Aizlewood
First published 2007 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 2007 Robin Aizlewood
Typeset in DIN and Rotis by
Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Aizlewood, Robin.
Routledge intensive Russian course/Robin Aizlewood.
p. cm. – (Routledge intensive language courses)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Russian language – Textbooks for foreign speakers –
English. 2. Russian language – Self-instruction.
I. Title. II. Series.
PG2129.E5A37 2006
491.782′421 – dc22 2005022422

ISBN10: 0–415–22300–8 (coursebook)

ISBN10: 0–415–22301–6 (CDs)
ISBN10: 0–203–46421–4 (ebk)

ISBN13: 9–78–0–415–22300–3 (coursebook)

ISBN13: 9–78–0–415–22301–0 (CDs)
ISBN13: 9–78–0–203–46421–2 (ebk)
 CONTENTS ROUTLEDGE INTENSIVE RUSSIAN COURSE

Acknowledgements x
How to use this book x
I Introduction for students
II Notes for teachers
Glossary xvii
The Russian alphabet xxii

PART 1 FOUNDATION    1

Unit 1     3
Topics and functions
Asking
Stating
Identifying and clarifying
Negating
Pointing and locating
Greeting and introducing
Names
Grammar
Russian alphabet
Pronunciation of Russian
Intonation
Writing Russian
Introductory grammar points, including gender

Unit 2     34
Topics and functions
Asking for things
Location
Grammar
Case system
Nominative, accusative and prepositional cases
Present tense of verbs, 1st conjugation

Unit 3     60
Topics and functions
Talking about people, jobs
Asking for things
Possessions
vi CONTENTS

Grammar
Animate accusative
Nominative plural and inanimate accusative plural
Genitive case
Accusative, genitive and dative of pronouns
Possessives, demonstratives
Possession
Existence
Availability, lack

Unit 4      91
Topics and functions
Description of people
Languages, study
Time of day and days
Topic of conversation/knowledge
Grammar
Adjectives
Adverbs
Present tense of 2nd conjugation
Reflexive verbs
Prepositional case

PART 2 INTENSIVE DEVELOPMENT    133

Unit 5     135
Topics and functions
Location
Motion
Directions
Transport
Shopping
Daily routine
Plans
Postcard writing
Grammar
Constructions of location and direction
Verbs of motion
Quantity, numerals
Time constructions
Past tense
CONTENTS vii

Unit 6    180

Topics and functions
Plans, intention
Free time and interests
Likes, dislikes
Preference, opinion
Narration in the past tense
Grammar
Aspect and formation of aspect pairs
Short form adjectives
Negation
Verbs of motion
Instrumental case
Time constructions

Unit 7    226

Topics and functions
Telephoning
Arrangements, suggestions
Meeting, joint action
Health
Weather
Narration
Appreciation, opinion
Grammar
Dative case
Future tense
Indirect speech
Imperatives
Prepositions
Necessity and obligation
Wish and desire, subjunctive and conditional
Compound verbs of motion
Time constructions
Conjunctions

PART 3 REVISION AND DEVELOPMENT    281

Unit 8    283

Topics and functions
Gifts, shopping, description
Comparison
viii CONTENTS

Biography
Addresses etc.
Describing people
Work and money
Household
Food, drink and eating out
Grammar
Genitive plural
Prepositions
Expression of need
Numerals
Use of -, -
Comparatives and superlatives
Animative accusative
Constructions of time
Nominative/instrumental in predicate
Participles and gerunds

Unit 9     331
Topics and functions
Location
Direction
Transport
Travel, holidays and description of place
Grammar
Prepositions of location and direction
Verbs of motion
Time constructions

Unit 10     362

Topics and functions and grammar
Study
Introduction to discursive Russian
Views of Russia today

Vocabulary 376
Appendix 1 Declension of nouns 397
Appendix 2 Declension of personal pronouns 403
Appendix 3 Declension of interrogatives, possessives, demonstratives 403
Appendix 4 Declension of adjectives 405
CONTENTS ix

Appendix 5 Declension of numerals 1–100 407

Appendix 6 Prepositions 408
Appendix 7 Conjugation of verbs 409
Appendix 8 Past tense 416
Index 418
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are very many people to whom I owe thanks for their advice, comments and support
in the production of this textbook: colleagues past and present at the School of Slavonic
and East European Studies, UCL, as well as at other universities and in Russia, students of
SSEES and of Petrozavodsk State University, friends and my family. In particular, I am
very grateful to Natasha Kurashova for all her advice and input; similarly to Lydia
Buravova for her advice and input; and to Mike Kirkwood who initially encouraged me in
taking on this project. I would also like to thank everyone at Routledge, especially Sophie
Oliver, Anna Hines and Alex Jaton, for their enduring patience and support.

PERMISSIONS AND COPYRIGHT

The author would like to thank the following for permission to use copyright material:
Argumenty i fakty; Kommersant; Londonskii kur’er; Ogonek; Rodina; Russkii iazyk v
shkole; Russkaia literatura; Voprosy literatury; Valerii Sazhin; and UCL.
Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge ownership of copyright. We apolo-
gise if there are copyright holders we have been unable to contact. In this eventuality,
please contact the publishers directly.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

I Introduction for students

Welcome to this Routledge intensive textbook of Russian. Russian is a great and fascin-
ating language to learn and study and the knowledge of Russian that you acquire in the
course of this book – in fact, from the very start – gives you access to Russia and the
Russian people, Russian life and culture, history and society.
The book is written for students of Russian, primarily for those studying at university, but
for all who want to learn and are interested in Russian as well. Its main use is envisaged
as part of a classroom-based course, but it may be used for independent study too. Indeed,
in the context of a taught course your own study is a vital part of making progress. But
beyond that the book is written for you to read, not just to follow in class and for you to
read ahead either as needed or as interest leads you. In addition, an encouragement to
develop awareness of how Russian works as a language is a key part of the book’s approach.
The book can be taken at a range of paces, but it allows for intensive learning at an accel-
erated pace. It is intensive and covers a lot of ground, but it is not comprehensive: it does
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK xi

not develop active command of certain areas of advanced Russian and some topics are
covered more fully than others. It is further expected that the book will be supplemented
by material, especially for reading, from outside. You too can bring your knowledge and
interests from outside to inform your study and learning of Russian: not only in devel-
oping areas of Russian that relate to your particular interests, but also in using knowledge
of other languages, starting from English, to help you in learning Russian.

STRUCTURE AND CONTENTS

The book has three parts: Units 1–4 provide a foundation to get you going in Russian. Here
you are given extra assistance through the translation of examples and the provision of
word lists at the end of each unit. The central part of the book, Units 5–7, then takes you
forward through intensive development. This part is hard work and represents a demanding
challenge in terms of acquiring command of the material covered, something that also
depends very much on your taking control of your own learning, for example in building
up vocabulary. The final part, Units 8–10, incorporates both revision and further develop-
ment. This part is less intensive in focus and aims for an exit from the book that is more
relaxed but also outward and forward looking, with a view to your use of Russian beyond
the book: in continued study, in the use of Russian to talk and write about Russian life,
politics, history and culture and in going to Russia.
At the start of the book there is a glossary of grammatical terms. At the end there is a vocab-
ulary for use with the book. The answer key can be found on the related website: www.
routledge.com/textbooks/0415223008. Guidance notes for vocabulary learning are given in
the book, but, as mentioned already, success in this is very much down to you: no one else
can learn Russian words for you. The vocabulary is followed by appendices which include:
detailed information about Russian nouns and verbs, declension and conjugation patterns
etc. and a list of common prepositions. The grammatical information in the appendices is
for reference purposes: it is not an alternative to the gradual acquisition of Russian that you
will gain through the book, but a supplement to it. Last of all, there is an index.
Progress in a language, perhaps especially in the early stages, can be thought of in a linear
way primarily as progress forwards, but progress is also about ever wider command, ever
widening circles if you like; it is also, fundamentally, about repetition, revision and consoli-
dation. This book has been well tried out in use for a number of years and once a student
referred to it as being like a snowball that is rolled and gradually builds up into something
large, with each new layer adding onto what is there already. In aiming to develop your
Russian in this way, this intensive course will take you far beyond the beginner’s level and
set you well on the way, as a confident user of Russian, to enjoying advanced command
of the language; by the end you will have come a long way and Russian will be fully open
to you.
xii HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

II Notes for teachers

1 INTRODUCTION

This textbook is designed as an intensive course for students of Russian, primarily for those
studying at university. It has been developed over a number of years into its current form
that makes it suitable for an intensive or semi-intensive course that can be completed over
20–24 weeks. It aims to take students who have no prior knowledge of Russian to a point
where (i) they have a broad awareness of Russian and a sound knowledge of its main struc-
tures and (ii) they are confident, accurate and effective users of Russian in a range of
communicative contexts, so that (iii) they are ready to proceed to an advanced level of
Russian. To this end, there is also a selected introduction to Russian grammatical terms.
More generally, the book aims to foster an awareness of and interest in Russian life and
culture, the context in which the language is embedded; here, of course, the extra input
that is brought from the outside, by students and teachers alike, is both invaluable and
indispensable.

2 SCOPE AND COVERAGE

The course is intensive, but it is not comprehensive. In terms of Russian grammar, it is

quite comprehensive, although not exhaustive, and it does not practise all areas for active
use. For example, participles and gerunds are introduced for awareness but only some occa-
sional use of past passive participle short forms is practised. Similarly, while a wide range
of functions and topics is covered, not all topics are covered in equal detail and some only
in an introductory or quite limited way. For example, free time, interests and social life are
covered in detail, but the topic of house and home is less developed; expression of opinion
etc. is introduced and developed over the second half of the book in preparation for the
move to more extensive practice in discursive use of Russian at an advanced level beyond
the scope of the book.
Users of the book may/will want to develop certain topics or areas further and/or to draw
attention – as the book itself does for areas of grammar – to the need for further devel-
opment in the future. The same may/will apply in relation to the skill areas and, in respect
of reading, it is envisaged that the book will be supplemented by further material, from
the very beginning if so desired. Since the book is predicated on awareness as well as active
use, a variety of reading material that includes grammar not yet practised can readily be
introduced alongside the course and will further its overall aims. The book does include a
range of reading material, including material for reading comprehension in the earlier units,
material for reading and intensive language work based on a text from Unit 4 onwards
and a number of poems; the last two units include longer extracts of the kind that students
will meet or use in their wider reading and/or for language work based on texts at an
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK xiii

advanced level. Nevertheless, experience in reading more extensively, as well as the variety
that comes from additional material, will be a very valuable addition to the course.

3 ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

3.1 Unit structure

The book is organized into ten units, which are grouped in three parts; each unit contains
a number of lessons, typically four to six, subdivided into sections.

3.2 Tripartite structure

3.2.1 Part 1
The first part, Units 1–4, provides a foundation that gets the students going in Russian. In
this part, extra assistance is given through the translation of examples and the provision
of wordlists at the end of each unit. By the end of Unit 4 nouns in all cases except for
dative and instrumental, pronouns in all cases except instrumental, adjectives and adverbs,
demonstratives, possessives etc., and verbs of both conjugations are in use. The part ends
with a lesson that combines revision with information that looks forward (e.g. on the past
tense and aspect); a wider range of supplementary reading material, including texts using
the past tense, can be introduced from now on, if not before. Although this first part has
four units, work on it may occupy no more than one third of the time needed to complete
the course.

3.2.2 Part 2
The central part of the book, Units 5–7, is concentrated on intensive development and it
is demanding in terms of the material covered; the topics covered in these three units are
largely gathered around student life – interests, social life, daily routine etc. – to provide
continuity at this level in the context of intensive development. By the end of this part all
the cases have been met and used, in singular and plural, although full practice of the geni-
tive plural comes in Unit 8; aspect has been covered, the past and future tenses; verbs of
motion are covered progressively through these three units (also in Unit 9); time construc-
tions have been practised and summarized etc. As part of the move towards increasing the
role of the student’s own, independent learning, vocabulary is no longer given at the end
of each unit, but the vocabulary at the end includes an indication of which unit words
feature in. Work on this central part will occupy rather more than one third of the time
needed to complete the course.
xiv HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

3.2.3 Part 3
The final part, Units 8–10, incorporates both revision and further development. This part
aims for an exit from the book that eases off in terms of intensity but that is also outward
and forward looking, with a view to the student’s use of Russian beyond the book: in
continued study, in the use of Russian to talk and write about Russian life, politics, history
and culture and in going to Russia.
Some flexibility could be introduced in the order of the material in this part, in particular
by bringing forward material from Unit 10, from either or both lessons, to cover the topic
of study and/or to move sooner to the introduction to Russian in discursive use. The very
final listening text and exercise could then fit neatly at the end of Unit 9.

3.3 Spiral design

Underlying the book’s tripartite structure is a spiral design that progresses forward while
also encompassing the circles of gradually wider command.

3.3.1 Looking back and forward

This design involves both looking back, with a system of reference to earlier sections for
revision, and looking forward. While the former consolidates what has already been prac-
tised and is now being developed further, the latter fosters awareness and can offer practice
through given examples in advance of active use. Selectively, this reflects the process of
working with language material more generally.

The forward-looking aspect operates in a range of related ways. For example, language
elements may appear, with a brief note and reference forward, in advance of the section
where active use is practised: thus, Unit 1 already includes some examples of adjectives
and possessives that are then practised in Units 3 and 4 respectively; through Units 6 and
7 there are examples of time constructions that are summarized and practised at the
end of Unit 7 (and then recur subsequently for consolidation). At a more global level,
the case system as a whole and the main uses of the different cases are introduced at the
beginning of Unit 2. When the genitive, dative and instrumental cases are introduced
the uses to be practised at this stage are supplemented by a summary of further uses,
with references forward; this gathering of information also facilitates subsequent revision.
As for aspect, a brief preliminary introduction is given at the end of Unit 4 at a stage
where the question of aspect begins to beg itself (if not before) while full coverage of
aspect comes at the start of Unit 6. In general, students may look or be referred forward
as appropriate.

3.3.2 Sequencing and gradual consolidation

Central to the design of the book is also a sequencing that incorporates, through the circles
of the spiral, continuous and gradually widening consolidation of language structures and
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK xv

forms. This lies at the heart of the book as an intensive, rather than extensive, course: it
applies particularly to command of case forms; it applies to command of Russian verbs
too, in terms of both aspect and conjugation patterns, but this is seen as an ongoing process
that extends well beyond the confines of a course such as this. In terms of case, while the
course starts with the singular of nouns – nominative, accusative, prepositional in Unit 2,
animate accusative, genitive (and also nominative/accusative plural) in Unit 3 – already in
Unit 4 the prepositional plural is introduced along with the prepositional singular and plural
of adjectives, demonstratives etc. When the instrumental and dative are covered, both
singular and plural of nouns and adjectives are introduced. To start with, the main con-
centration is on the singular of nouns, with the chance to practise the use of plurals and
adjectives, but over the subsequent units there is a gradual shift to consolidate wider
command.

3.4 Vocabulary
In relation to vocabulary, initial assistance – as noted earlier – is given through the provi-
sion of wordlists at the end of the first four units, while the vocabulary at the end of the
book indicates which unit words feature in; guidance is also given on the recording and
sorting of vocabulary. Beyond that, however, as the Introduction for students points out,
the good habit of regular vocabulary learning is principally down to the student.

4 CONTENTS

4.1 Presentation, explanation, exercises

The standard format of each lesson in a unit is as follows. The lesson begins with a dialogue
or dialogues that present material to be covered in the lesson: grammar, notions, topics
and functions. The presentation is guided by questions relating to the dialogues. The main
body of the lesson then contains the explanation of the material, with exercises for prac-
tice. These exercises are of various types, but with an emphasis on drills; the exercises may
be appropriate for pair, group or individual work.

4.2 Additional material and tasks

4.2.1 Listening
At the end of the lessons there may be additional listening material, which is presented for
listening comprehension (although the texts can serve other purposes too); supplementary
tasks such as dictation, transcription etc. may be added as appropriate (as may supple-
mentary material).
xvi HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

4.2.2 Reading
As noted already, the reading material included in the book is restricted (and it is envis-
aged that it will be supplemented); it includes material for reading comprehension and
derived tasks, poems and texts (see later).

4.2.3 Working with texts

From Unit 4 onwards, each unit includes a text or texts that are integral to the aims of the
book through practice in detailed working with Russian language material, moving from
comprehension through tasks based on or around the text to the use of texts (along with
the dialogues) as source material and stimulus to generate the student’s own creative use
of Russian. The development of skills in working with a text is again incremental. To start
with, the texts are more concentrated, with a predominance of core material, while in the
last units, as already noted, they are more extensive and require a more varied approach
in processing the material.

4.2.4 Speaking
Each lesson contains a number of speaking tasks. These tasks include: structured shells
for question and answer dialogues or role plays; stimulus-based question and answer or
transactional dialogues; stimulus-based narration; information seeking or more open
conversation, discussion, reporting or narration. This material can be adapted as desired
for games and further role plays (e.g. circular games, partial information etc.), as well as
supplemented.

4.2.5 Writing
Each unit concludes with writing tasks. In the first half of the book these include the guided
writing of dialogues based on those in the unit; in Units 1 and 2, there is also a task to
complete rhyming sequences as a taster of the way that structure and creativity can go
hand in hand. From Unit 3 onwards, there is a range of guided but increasingly open
writing tasks, including some that are/can be collaborative, based on the material in each
unit (and especially on the working with texts). From Unit 4 onwards, there is also a task
for translating from English into Russian based on reworking material in the unit.

4.3 Appendices, vocabulary and index

At the start of the book there is a glossary of grammatical terms. At the end there is a
vocabulary for use with the book. An answer key can be found at the related website:
www.routledge.com/textbooks/0415223008. The vocabulary is followed by appendices
which include: detailed information about Russian nouns and verbs, declension and conju-
gation patterns etc. and a list of common prepositions. Last of all, there is an index.
 GLOSSARY

Active construction Aspect

An active construction is one where the subject This feature of Russian rests on the different
of the sentence is the person carrying out ways in which the action of a verb may be viewed;
the action or the event taking place, e.g.  the two aspects are the imperfective (process,
   , ‘He opens the door’ (see also habitual) and the perfective (result, completion)
Passive construction); the active and the passive (see Unit 6).
are the two so-called ‘voices’ of the verb.
Attributive adjective
Adjective The attributive position is when the adjective is
An adjective is a part of speech that describes or joined to the noun as part of a noun phrase, e.g.
gives information about a noun, e.g.    , ‘red wine’, rather than being used
 , ‘a new restaurant’ (see also Attribu- in the predicate, e.g. ‘the seat is free’.
tive adjective).
Cardinal numeral
Adverb These are the numbers 1, 2, 3 etc.: , ,  
An adverb is a part of speech that gives informa- (see also Ordinal numeral, the number adjectives
tion about a verb, saying how, where or when, for ‘first’, ‘second’, ‘third’ etc.; note also that as a
example, something is done, e.g.    grammatical term number refers to the distinc-
, ‘She writes quickly’,     tion between singular and plural).
  , ‘I often go to concerts’; adverbs,
most often those of degree or quantity, can also Case
modify adjectives or other adverbs, e.g.  The case of a noun, pronoun or adjective ex-
   ! ", ‘a very interesting film’. presses its role in the sentence, its relation to
other words in the sentence, e.g. as subject,
Agreement direct object, indirect object etc.; the noun, pro-
This refers to the way that words in Russian may noun or adjective is put in a case form accordingly
need to ‘agree’ with each other: for example, an (concerning the case system and the six cases
adjective in the same gender, case and number in Russian – nominative, accusative, genitive,
(i.e. singular/plural) as the noun it qualifies,  dative, instrumental, prepositional, see Unit 2).
"!  ", ‘in a small room’, or a past
tense verb form in the same gender or number Clause
as the noun/pronoun subject: #  ! $ , A clause is a section or part of a sentence
‘Anna was here’. that contains a subject and a verb. Complex
sentences are made up of a series of clauses.
Animate/inanimate The main clause is the part of the sentence that
This is the distinction between living persons/ makes sense on its own and does not depend on
animals and inanimate objects; it is relevant to any other element in the sentence. A subordi-
the accusative case in Russian. nate clause on the other hand is dependent on
another clause and is typically introduced by a
Antonym conjunction, such as " , ‘because’.
A word with an opposing meaning to that of
another word (compare Synonym).
xviii GLOSSARY

Comparative Direct object

A comparative adjective or adverb compares one A direct object, whether noun or pronoun, is one
person, thing or action with another, e.g. % that is directly affected by the action of the verb,
&  , ‘This book is more inter- e.g.    $, ‘She is writing a story’,
esting’ (see also Superlative). + ! -, ‘We saw Nina’.

Conditional Fleeting vowel

The conditional form of the verb is not a tense, A fleeting vowel is one that is found in a sequence
but a verb mood, which expresses conditions of consonants but that disappears when the
or hypotheses, e.g. '!  " $!, " noun declines, e.g. "  –"   ,
!  , ‘If we knew, we would reply’. ‘American(s)’.

Gender
Conjugation
Nouns in Russian belong to one of three genders:
The way in which verb forms change – add end-
masculine, feminine or neuter, according to their
ings – in the present and future tenses according
endings, e.g. masculine  , "$, ‘brother’,
to the person/subject, e.g. ( ),  
‘museum’, feminine  , .(, ‘sister’,
etc., ‘I read’, ‘you read’ etc. The word ‘conjuga- ‘Russia’, neuter !, " , ‘word’, ‘sea’. Nouns
tion’ also refers to the two different regular denoting things may be masculine, feminine or
patterns, the 1st and 2nd conjugations, according neuter; with some words, natural gender and
to which verbs change their form. grammatical gender are different, e.g. ,
‘Dad’.
Conjunction
A conjunction is a part of speech that joins words, Gerund (verbal adverb)
phrases or clauses, e.g. !   * " , A verb form that has an adverbial function,
‘politics and economics’,  !, "  relating one verb to another, e.g. / $ ,, 
 $ , ‘She left because you’re here’. !, ‘Having said [past gerund] this, he went
out’; gerunds may be present or past (see Unit 8).
Declension
Imperative
The way in which nouns, pronouns, adjectives
The imperative is a verb form that is used to
and numerals change in form – add endings or
express commands or requests to do something,
‘decline’ – according to case, thereby expressing
e.g.  , !, ‘tell (me), please’.
their role in the sentence, e.g. as direct object in
the accusative & changes to &, + Imperfective
" &, ‘We are reading a book’. The word see Aspect
‘declension’ also refers to the regular patterns of
such endings. Impersonal construction
This is a construction without a subject, e.g.
Demonstrative !, ‘it’s warm’,  (, ‘it’s necessary’.
A demonstrative pronoun or adjective indi-
Indeclinable noun
cates/demonstrates the person or thing being
This is a noun that does not decline in the range
talked about, e.g. , , ‘this student’. of case forms.

Diminutive Indefinite
A diminutive is a form of a noun (or adjective) that A word that has an indefinite, unspecified refer-
has a suffix indicating smallness, e.g.  , ence, e.g. -, ‘someone’, &- , ‘some-
‘little girl’. where/anywhere’.
GLOSSARY xix

Indirect object Noun

An indirect object, whether noun or pronoun, is A noun is a part of speech that indicates a person,
one that is indirectly affected by the action of the thing, event, quality etc., e.g.    , ‘pro-
verb, e.g.  ! ! + ", ‘I gave the fessor’,  , ‘pen’, "! , ‘youth’. Nouns
tickets to Maksim’ (‘tickets’ – direct object, ‘to have a gender – masculine, feminine, or neuter.
Maksim’ – indirect object).
Number
Infinitive Number is the distinction between singular and
The infinitive is the basic form of the verb, plural.
equivalent to ‘to think’, ‘to say’ etc., e.g. " /
Numeral
" , ‘to think’ (imperfective/perfective).
Numerals are the words that represent numbers,
e.g. ( , ‘ten’ (see also Cardinal and Ordinal).
Interrogative
An interrogative word is used to ask a question, Oblique case
e.g. , ‘who’, &, ‘when’,  , ‘how’. Cases other than the nominative are called
oblique cases.
Intransitive verb
This is a verb that does not have a direct object, Ordinal numeral
e.g.  0  !, ‘They are standing on Ordinals are number adjectives,   , ‘first’,
the street’ (compare Transitive verb).  , ‘second’, etc. (compare Cardinal numer-
als, which are the numbers 1, 2, 3 etc.).
Irregular
Irregular noun or verb forms are ones that do not Participle
follow a standard or expected pattern. A participle is a verb form that is formed as an
adjective, e.g. $( &, ‘a forgotten book’.
Mood There are four participles, present active, past
The four main ways in which verbs can express active, present passive and past passive (see
actions or events are known as ‘moods’. They are Unit 8).
the ‘indicative’, which states a fact, e.g. 
" 1 ! ", ‘I am watching a film’, and also Particle
the ‘conditional’/‘subjunctive’ which expresses A particle is a word that adds nuances of
an action as conditional, hypothetical or desir- meaning, e.g. the particle  can add emphasis:
able, the ‘imperative’, which expresses a 2  ,?, ‘Who on earth is that?’
command or request, and the ‘infinitive’, the Passive construction
basic form ‘to go’, ‘to watch’ etc. A passive construction is one in which the gram-
matical subject of the sentence is the person or
Mutation
thing affected by the action, e.g. 3"  !
This refers to a sound change of consonants that
   !  , ‘The house was built at
can occur in the formation of words, e.g.  ,
the start of the century’ (see also Active
‘to write’, , ‘I write’.
construction).
Negation Perfective
A sentence is negative when it states that some- See Aspect.
thing is/was not the case, that an action did/will
not happen, etc.; as well as the negative , ‘not’, Person, personal pronoun
Russian has negative words such as  , ‘no- The verb subject and/or personal pronouns can
one’,  &, ‘never’ etc. be 1st person, singular and plural ((, ‘I’, " ,
xx GLOSSARY

‘we’), 2nd person, singular and plural/polite e.g.  " (, ‘He is washing (himself)’, but
( , ‘you’,  , ‘you’), and 3rd person, singular also in some other contexts (see Unit 4).
and plural (, , , ‘he’/‘it’, ‘she’/‘it’, ‘it’,
, ‘they’). Reflexive pronoun
A reflexive pronoun refers to the person who is
Possessive the subject of the sentence, e.g.   $-
A possessive denotes ownership/possession, e.g.   , ‘She is talking about herself’.
" !, ‘my bicycle’,  ", ‘your
car’. Regular
Regular noun or verb forms are ones that follow
Predicate a standard or expected pattern.
The predicate is the part of the sentence that
gives information about the subject, e.g. - Relative pronoun
 $ 0   4 , ‘Our friends are going to A relative pronoun introduces a relative clause
Paris’, 5"  4   !  ! and refers back to a preceding noun, e.g. 6
, ‘Tamara Petrovna was free after lunch’. ! ,   !  !?, ‘Where are
the tickets which were on the table?’,   $)
Prefix ,      , ‘I don’t know
A prefix is added at the beginning of a word the student who is standing by the window’.
and produces a new or altered meaning, e.g.
   , ‘reconstruction’, , , Reported speech
‘entrance’, ‘exit’; the addition of a prefix can also This refers to the way in which we report what
form the perfective aspect, e.g.  / has been said or written, as opposed to direct
 , ‘to write’ (imperfective/perfective). speech, which is the utterance itself (reported
speech is also referred to as indirect speech).
Preposition
A preposition is a word that is placed before a Root
noun (or pronoun) and specifies, for example, The root carries the basic meaning of a word;
location/direction, time, cause etc., e.g.  ! words are built up around the root (through
 , ‘near the theatre’,  + , ‘to grammatical endings, prefixes, suffixes etc.),
Moscow’, ! ! , ‘after the lecture’; e.g.  , ‘to write’, ! , ‘a writer’,
prepositions govern/take particular cases, i.e. , ‘description’, and so on.
following a given preposition a particular case is
required. Sentence, simple and complex
A sentence may be simple, consisting of just a
Pronoun main clause, e.g. 7  " !   "
A pronoun stands in for and/or refers to a noun,  , ‘Yesterday we had lunch in a good
e.g. 6 2(? 7 , ‘Where’s Katya? There restaurant’, or it may be complex, consisting
she is’. There are various categories of pronoun, of a main clause and one or more subordinate
such as personal pronouns ((, ‘I’, , ‘they’ clauses, e.g.  ) , &, " 
etc.), demonstrative pronouns (,, ‘this’), $    " , ‘I am reading this book
interrogative pronouns ( , ‘who’). because tomorrow we have a seminar’.

Reflexive verb Stem

A reflexive verb is formed by adding -( or - to When conjugating verbs or declining nouns
the verb form; they are used for actions that are endings are added to the stem of a word, e.g. in
reflexive, i.e. the subject and object are the same, conjugating the present tense of  , ‘to
GLOSSARY xxi

read’, the endings for the first, second and third Superlative
persons, singular and plural, are added to the While the comparative form of the adjective or
stem: -: ),  , , ", adverb compares two people/things etc., the
, ). superlative conveys the sense of having a quality
to a degree that is more than all the rest, i.e.
Subject best, worst, loudest etc., e.g. "( ! (
The subject of a sentence is the person or thing  !", ‘the biggest problem’, "  &
about whom or which the sentence provides , ‘the most expensive wine’.
information, e.g. the person performing the
action, the event taking place etc.: +0   Synonym
  + , ‘My sister works in Moscow’, A word with the same meaning as another
4   (, ‘The play is boring’,   (compare Antonym).
 !    , ‘They live in a large flat’.
Tense
A verb form that denotes the time of an action,
Subjunctive
past, present or future, e.g. !( !  ,
The subjunctive mood indicates that an action,
‘Olya left yesterday’, + " " !$ ,
state or event is desirable or hypothetical, e.g. 
‘We are watching television’, - !   
,   !, ‘I want him to reply’.
$ , ‘Nikolai will finish soon’.
Subordinate clause Transitive verb
A subordinate clause is one that depends on A transitive verb is one that is used with a direct
another clause, usually the main clause in the object, e.g.  $ !  , ‘He closed the
sentence. It can be introduced by a conjunction window’.
or a relative pronoun, e.g. + 8" ", 0
98 , ‘We are going home although it is still Verb
early’. A verb is a part of speech that denotes an action,
event or state, e.g. +  0! !), ‘We
Suffix have lost the keys’, '& !  
A suffix is added at the end of a word in order to   & , ‘His parents live in the centre of
create a new word, e.g.  !, ‘journalist’. town’.
 THE RUSSIAN ALPHABET

Printed letter Written letter Name of letter Transliteration

   a
  * b
 * v
 &* g
  * d
   (*) e
  8 () e
  * zh
  $* z
  i
! "  (  ) i
# $  k
% *! (*! ) l
 & *" m
' ( * n
 )  o
 * * p
+ * r
 , * s
 - * t
. /  u
0 1 * f
2 3  kh
4 5 * ts
 6 * ch
 7  sh
8 9 9 shch
+ : 8   $ ”
; < y
 = "0&  $ ’
> ? * e
@ A ) () yu
B ( () ya

The transliteration system given is the one used in this course. Traditionally a ‘y’ has
often been used in the transliteration of the vowels  and ë as well as (, and ), e.g.
Yevtushenko; names ending - /- commonly end with just a single ‘y’, e.g.
Dostoevsky. The most important thing is to use the system recommended where you
are studying and stick to it.
PART 1

FOUNDATION

:#/5; 4'.7#
Unit 1
6<#7# 4'.7#
This unit covers:

• the Russian alphabet

• pronunciation of Russian
• intonation
• writing Russian
• introductory grammatical points, including gender
• asking
• stating
• identifying and clarifying
• negating
• pointing and locating
• greeting and introducing
• names

Note that while the term ‘unit’ is used in English, the Russian word &! means
‘chapter’.
4 UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7#

Lesson 1 =    

The Russian alphabet, speaking Russian

 1.1 INTRODUCING THE RUSSIAN ALPHABET: , , ...

The Russian alphabet is called Cyrillic and it is named after a Greek monk, St Cyril,
who with his brother Methodius brought literacy to the Slavs in the ninth century,
although the alphabet they introduced is not quite the one that came to be called
Cyrillic. The alphabet is principally based on Greek, but with some additional and new
letters.
Here is the alphabet, capitals and small letters (33 of them) and an initial guide to
pronunciation:

Alphabet #<>#7?5
# rounder/fuller ‘a’ . ‘r’ (slightly trilled)
@ ‘b’ / ‘s’
7 ‘v’ 5 ‘t’
6& ‘g’ as in ‘get’ = ‘oo’
3 ‘d’ > ‘f’
' ‘ye’ as in ‘yet’ A as in ‘loch’
B8 ‘yo’ as in ‘yoghourt’ C ‘ts’ as in ‘bats’
D as in ‘pleasure’ : ‘ch’
E$ ‘z’ F ‘sh’
G ‘ee’ as in ‘feet’ H9 ‘ssshhh’
I ‘y’ effect as in ‘boy’ J hard sign
2 ‘k’ wait for this sound
<! ‘l’ soft sign
+" ‘m’ %* ‘e’ as in ‘met’
- ‘n’ K) ‘yoo’
 rounder/fuller ‘o’ ( ‘ya’ as in ‘yard’
4 ‘p’

Some letters you can recognize straightaway, one or two others you may recognize if
you know some Greek (e.g. from mathematics, for example 4 = ‘pi’). A helpful feature
UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7# 5

is that capitals and small letters are nearly always large and small versions of the
same thing. In terms of order, there is a close parallel to English over most of the first
20 letters, especially in the sequence from to  (with just ‘q’ missing). The alphabet,
including both printed and handwritten forms, the way to name the letters and translit-
eration (writing Russian words in English) is given on page xxii.

Introductory points
1 The Russian alphabet includes letters that:
• look the same and are pronounced similarly to English letters: e.g.  " 
• look the same but are pronounced differently: e.g.   
and other letters that:
• may be close to sounds we have in English but range from those that look
rather different, e.g.  , to those that are completely unfamiliar, e.g.  ).

2 Twenty of the Russian letters are consonants:

&$ !"  9

and one letter is a semi-consonant/semi-vowel (see 1.2): .

There are ten paired vowel letters (see 1.3):

* 
(8)

There are also two letters that act as signs for pronunciation (see 1.3):
the soft sign
J the hard sign.

1.2 READING AND PRONOUNCING RUSSIAN (1): STRESS

In this and the next section we proceed from more straightforwardly recognizable
letters and end up with the letters that are quite different. In this section you will be
using three of the vowels – , /, ) – and most of the consonants.

Russian pronunciation
When learning a foreign language you are like an actor and the way to develop your pro-
nunciation is to put yourself into this role. For Russian, you might also think in terms
of being an opera singer, because, in general, Russian pronunciation – especially in and
6 UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7#

around the stressed syllable – is richer and fuller in sound than English; this tends to
mean pronouncing sounds further forward and higher than in English, sometimes with
lips rounded and protruded.

Stress
Stress plays a significant role in the pronunciation of Russian and it can change the
meaning of a word. The stressed syllable/vowel is the focus of a word’s sound and
pronunciation (but the stressed vowel is not drawn out as can happen in English); the
second most prominent syllable is the one immediately before the stressed syllable,
others are underplayed.
Stresses are not normally marked in Russian. In this book, they will be marked on all
words of two or more syllables, e.g. +",  , except (1) when the stressed vowel
is a capital and (2) in reading comprehension materials and in texts in the last three
units. A sense of where to put the stress, which may fall on the first, second, third, etc.
syllable, is acquired as you become familiar with the language and develop a feeling
for where the stress goes; at the same time, however, learn the stress on new words
and pay attention to stress patterns.

Reduced pronunciation of vowels

The pronunciation of certain vowels is affected by whether they are in stressed or
unstressed position. The vowels –  and ), also  and B (see 1.3) – have a reduced
pronunciation in unstressed positions: both  and ) have a weakened ‘’ sound imme-
diately before the stress and they also have this weakened ‘’ sound as the first letter
of a word, even if not immediately before the stress; in other positions, they are
reduced to the minimum, what is called the reduced vowel or ‘schwa’, as in the second
syllable of English ‘atom’, ‘data’ (compare also the effect of stress on the pronuncia-
tion of ‘atom’ and ‘atomic’ in English).

 Listening task 1
Listen to, read and repeat the following words, column by column; and note, where
relevant, the effect of stress on the pronunciation of the vowels  and ) (but not /). A
guide to the sounds of the letters is given, but there may be some more or less signif-
icant differences in pronunciation, so this should be practised by listening and
repeating. Concentrate on the pronunciation here, but to ask the meaning of words –
‘what’s . . . in English?’ – use the question given.

# rounder/fuller ‘a’, weak ‘a’ or reduced when unstressed

 rounder/fuller ‘o’, weak ‘a’ or reduced when unstressed
= ‘oo’ as in ‘boot’ (but not drawn out)
3 ‘d’ as in ‘dot’ (but with tip of tongue against upper teeth)
UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7# 7

2 ‘k’ as in ‘kop’
<! ‘l’ as in the sound at the end of ‘fall’
+" ‘m’ as in ‘mop’
- ‘n’ as in ‘not’ (but with tip of tongue against upper teeth)
5 ‘t’ as in ‘top’ (but with tip of tongue against upper teeth)

   # "

 "  ""  
"    "  !
" 3 # 3" 2
 ! ! ! "! 
" !
2 -&!  . . .? – (‘What’s . . . in English?)

Point to note
Certain double consonant combinations, e.g. -- in #, are pronounced with a slight
elongation of the consonant.

 Listening task 2
Listen to, read and repeat the following words, column by column.

@ ‘b’ as in ‘boss’
7 ‘v’ as in ‘very’
4 ‘p’ as in ‘pop’
. ‘r’ as in ‘rock’, but slightly trilled
/ ‘s’ as in ‘sock’, ‘c’ as in ‘cement’

"    !

   ! /" 
!    "  !
 !     
 ! +   

 Listening task 3
Listen to, read and repeat the following words, column by column.
6& ‘g’ as in ‘get’ > ‘f’ as in ‘fell’
E$ ‘z’ as in ‘zoo’ A sound at end of Scottish ‘loch’
 same effect as ‘y’ after vowel, as in ‘boy’, ‘day’: this is a semi-consonant/
semi-vowel and is represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [j]
8 UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7#

&! & " & &  $!

$! $ &! $ &
    =  $ &!
"   $ $!
"  "

 1.3 READING AND PRONOUNCING RUSSIAN (2): HARD AND SOFT;

VOICED AND VOICELESS CONSONANTS

In 1.2 all the consonants have been hard: they have come at the end of the word, or
have been followed by another consonant or by the vowel letters , ), /. But most
consonants in Russian can be either hard or soft. The pronunciation of soft consonants
involves what is called palatalization, which means that the tongue moves towards the
front part of the palate/roof of the mouth.
Soft consonants are indicated either by the presence of the soft sign = or by a soft vowel
letter following. Accordingly, the ten paired vowel letters in Russian represent a series
of hard vowel letters and a series of soft vowel letters:

hard series * 
soft series (8)

( ‘ya’ as in ‘yard’, reduces when unstressed

%* ‘e’ as in ‘met’
' ‘ye’ as in ‘yet’, reduces when unstressed
no close equivalent: listen and repeat; a shorter and easier sound when
unstressed (NB: the two parts of the printed letter are not joined up)
G  ‘ee’ as in ‘feet’; a shorter sound when unstressed
B 8 ‘yo’ as in ‘yoghourt’
K ) ‘yoo’ as in ‘use’
the soft sign, indicating a soft consonant

Points to note
1 The soft vowel letters B, , , A represent what are called ‘iotated’ variants of the
vowels , ?, ), /, i.e. with the semi-consonant [j] – ‘y’ effect – before the vowels ,
?, ), /, as in $) and "0.
2 In unstressed syllables both  and B reduce to the unstressed form of , close to
the first vowel sound in ‘Tibet’, ‘begin’, except when B is written in the ending of a
word.
3  is only found in the stressed position; note that in this book, as generally in
textbooks, it is written as  but normally in Russian it is written as  (without the
two dots on top);
UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7# 9

4 Following < and , " produces a slight elongation, as in the ending of adjectives
such as  , ‘new’,  , ‘Russian’.
5 The vowel < and the soft sign = are not found in initial position.

 Listening task 4
Listen to, read and repeat the following words, column by column.

 ,    
(   G  8!  K 
"0  !   "8 $)

 Listening task 5
Listen to, read and repeat the following words, column by column.

   !  ! &

#( 2( 0( !) 48 ! 
 8(   " "
 !  ) "0 

Note also how the sound of a vowel can be affected before a soft consonant.

 Listening task 6
Listen to, read and repeat the following words, column by column.

   &$ !  ")

& "  .( !$ (
  7!" #"   (
  &  7!( 4 &!( $

 The consonants , , , , 9
The remaining five consonants in Russian are distinguished by the fact that three – , 5,
7 – are exclusively hard and two – 6, 9 – are exclusively soft (although, in each case,
they may sometimes be followed by soft vowel or hard vowel letters and  and 7 can
also be followed by the soft sign, this is a feature of the spelling of Russian not the sound).

D as in ‘pleasure’
C ‘ts’ as in ‘bats’
: ‘ch’ as in ‘cheat’ (but ‘sh’ in , )
F ‘sh’ as in ‘shop’
H9 ‘ssshhh’ as in ‘Schweppes’
10 UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7#

 Listening task 7
Listen to, read and repeat the following words, column by column.

 !    9

 !    9
  !   98

 Voiced and voiceless consonants

In certain positions, the ‘voiced’ consonants , , , , ,  (‘voiced’ means that the vocal
chords vibrate in pronunciation) are pronounced as their voiceless counterparts:

voiced   &   $
voiceless    

This happens at the end of a word, e.g. # pronounced # . When one
consonant follows another both are pronounced as voiced or voiceless according to the
character of the second of the two, e.g.  pronounced  ,  
pronounced  .

Listening task 8
Listen to, read and repeat the following words, column by column.

 /"   &  $ "

!  )&   2 $ 8

 The hard sign, pronunciation of &, pronunciation of 

1 The use of the hard sign : is limited in modern Russian: it occurs between
prefixes ending in a hard consonant and the soft vowel letters B, , , A, as in
J( (‘explain’) – pronounce with a slight break at the hard sign.
2 In the words &, ‘his’, &, ‘ok’/‘all right’, &(, ‘today’ the  is pronounced
like a : you will meet this combination -&, and also -& with the same
pronunciation of the , in an adjective ending.
3 In the words , ‘what’, and , ‘of course’, the 6 is pronounced as a 7.

Listening task 9
Listen to, read and repeat the following words:

J( & & &(  

UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7# 11

You have now met all the letters of the Russian alphabet. The handwritten forms of the
letters are introduced at the end of the next lesson. To finish this first lesson, here are
two little rhymes to learn.

 Listening task 10
Listen to, repeat and learn these two little rhymes.

H   – Cabbage soup and kasha [porridge]

9 . is our food.
5, "! Quiet(er), mice!
2  . The cat’s on the roof.

One of the most famous

symbols of Russia – the
monument to Peter the
Great, known as the
Bronze Horseman, in
St Petersburg. Peter’s
modernization of Russia
included reform of the
alphabet. There was
another reform after
the 1917 Revolution,
when the convention of
writing a hard sign at
the end of all words
ending in a hard
consonant was
dropped.
12 UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7#

Lesson 2 =   

Asking, stating, identifying, clarifying

 Listening task 11
Listen to these four dialogues, which show how to ask, state, identify and clarify.

1 – % 7  ? Is this Viktor?

– % 7  . This is Viktor.
2 – : ,? What is this?
– %  . It’s a/the theatre.
3 – % +? Is that Masha?
– 3, , +. Yes, that’s Masha.
– #  ,? And who’s this?
– % G ,  , !(. This is Ira and that’s Olya.
– # ,? And [who’s] that?
– % -  # . That’s Natasha and Andrei.
4 – % ? Is this water?
– -, ,  ,   . No, that’s not water but vodka.
– #--, ,  . # Aaah, that’s vodka. And this?
,? %  ! ? Is this juice or wine?
– %  . It’s juice.
– - ,   , , But this isn’t juice, it’s wine.
. # , ? And what’s this?
– % . That’s beer.
– 3, , . Yes, this is beer.

1.4 MAKING STATEMENTS AND ASKING QUESTIONS. USE OF C. INTONATION.

ABSENCE OF ‘IS’ ETC. #, . ABSENCE OF ARTICLES

The Russian word , is used in statements/questions of identity, definition and clari-
fication, such as ‘This is Vera’, ‘Is that vodka?’ Used in this way, it may be equivalent to
‘this’/‘that’/‘it’ in English, although more specifically it is the equivalent of ‘this’. As a
rule, Russian does not use the present tense of ‘to be’ and so a simple statement/ques-
tion of this kind just consists of , and a noun without any word for ‘is’ (‘am/‘are’ etc.):

% - !. This is Nikolai.

% 2!(? Is that Kolya?
UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7# 13

Intonation
In this type of sentence, there is no change of word order from statement to question,
which is how a question is distinguished from a statement in English, and so, when
speaking Russian, this is conveyed by intonation, the way the voice stays level, rises or
falls.

1 When making a straightforward, neutral kind of statement/declaration, the standard

intonation in Russian involves a fall (more or less sharp) at the stressed syllable of the
key word, with no rise before:

% +. This is Masha.

%  . That is true/the truth.

2 When asking a question without an interrogative (question words such as who?

what? etc.) in Russian, there is a much more marked rise at the stressed syllable of
the key word, the focus of the question, but then the voice must be dropped – not trailed
off – and kept low:

% +? Is this Masha?

%  ? Is that true?

In other sentence types, such as questions with interrogatives, e.g. , ‘who’ and ,
‘what’, or incomplete questions introduced by  (# ,?), the Russian intonation is
close to English and should come quite naturally.

2, 
In order to ask who or what someone/something is, you use  and :

2 ,? Who is this?

: ,? What is it/that?

Absence of articles ‘the’/‘a’

Russian has no definite/indefinite articles, so a sentence with , using a noun, rather
than a name, would be just:

%  . That/This is a fact.

2& ". The book is there.
14 UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7#

1.5 NEGATION, USE OF '/'

- means ‘not’ ( means ‘no’) and comes before the word that is negated:
-, ,   . %  . No, it’s not a theatre. It’s a cinema.

Questions are often phrased negatively in Russian, as for example when checking who
someone is:
7  7" 4? You wouldn’t happen to be Vadim Popov,
would you?

1.6 CONJUNCTIONS , , ' AND  

Russian has three conjunctions that cover the roles of ‘and’/‘but’ in English:  means
‘and’ and simply joins two words;  is a comparative ‘and’/‘while’/‘but’;  is a strong,
contrastive ‘but’. Examples of  are:
5!(  !( Tolya and Olya
   & a folder and a book

# is typically used at the start of follow-up questions and for a change of direction/
comparison:
% G ? – 3. – # ,? Is that Ira? – Yes. – And (who is) that?
% ,  ,  . This is wine and that’s juice.
%   «*»,  ,   «*». This is the letter ‘b’, while that’s the
letter ‘v’.

In the sentence type ‘not X, but Y’, the conjunction  must always be used:
%  7 ,  2(. That’s not Vera, but Katya.

The conjunction  indicates a restriction or something contrary to what has been said,
against expectation/logic:
- ,  . But this is not water.

The conjunction ! indicates an alternative ‘or’ (or ‘either’):

- ! + Natasha or Masha
 !   tea or coffee

1.7 WORD ORDER

For initial orientation, you can start from the notion that Russian word order is gener-
ally parallel to English, but that it allows for variation and quite commonly uses
UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7# 15

inversion. In most types of sentence in Russian, there is a standard, neutral order and
the effect of changing it is to give emphasis, as in the following example:
%  , ? # , ? This is juice, yes/right? And what’s this?
In English this is only rarely possible, as in the emphatic ‘that’s what?’

 Exercises 1–4 = ( 1–4

1 Ask and answer the questions using .
For example/- " : % #? – 3, , #.
1 % + "?
2 % -?
3 %  ?
4 % ?
5 %  9?

2 Supply  or  in the gaps as appropriate.

1 . . . ,? – % ""  .
2 . . . ,? – % .
3 %  ,  , . – # , . . .? %  ? – -, , .
4 . . . ,? – % #. – # ,? – % ! &.

3 Use the pairs of words to ask questions and then answer in the negative.
For example/- " : !(/#( – % !(? – -, ,  !(,  #(.
1 5(/-(
2 K /5!(
3 /!"
4  /"$

4 Use the pairs of words to ask whether it’s X or Y and answer.

For example/- " : 2!(/+ – % 2!( ! +? – % +.
1 7 /G 
2 + "/7"
3 /  
4  /  

  Listening task 12, with reading and comprehension

Read through the groups of words and then as you listen tick each word as you hear it
(the order is different). Can you identify the English equivalents?

1 Politics, history, economics: " ,  $,  ,   ", $,

",  !0(, $
16 UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7#

2 Culture: "$ , !,  , !  , ,$(, ! ", ,    
3 Buildings, places, institutions:  ,  , ! , @!   ,
 , .  "$,  ,  !
4 Sport, interests: !, ,  ,  !,  ,  !! ,
  , &  (
5 Food and drinks:  , !" , 0! , ,  !, ,  ,
"! , 

1.8 THE WRITTEN RUSSIAN ALPHABET. USE OF CAPITALS. PUNCTUATION

The Russian cursive style of writing differs to some degree from the typical English
style, which can be more angular/italic. However, it is not difficult to adapt your hand-
writing to produce Russian letters and to learn to write the ones that are new; Russians
themselves normally write in a simpler way than the template version of the letters
and you can do so too.

# @ 7 6& 3

' B8 D E$ G

I 2 <! +" -

 4 . / 5

= > A C :

F H9 J

%* K) (
UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7# 17

Points to note
1 Most small letters are written in the same height band as , , e.g.:

Only two – – extend above this band (this distinguishes from the soft
sign ) and another five extend below the line:

All capital letters stand on the line.

2 The letters , , should begin with a small hook that is needed to distinguish
them in joined-up writing:

3 When writing it is helpful to put a bar below in order to make it stand out from
letters around it; end the letter on a down stroke and do not write it like w. When
writing it is also helpful to put a bar above in order to make it stand out; in fact
some Russians use for the written form instead of/as well as (and a small
may also be met written as ).

4 The two dots are seldom written on (and, as mentioned in 1.3, are not normally
printed). Russians do not mark stresses when they write.

5 Many letters join up easily, but sometimes you will need to take care and may
need to lift the pen. For example, the is most easily joined up at the top of the
letter, where appropriate, and if you take the pen down to the line you may form
an . The line joining two letters cannot also form the first part of the next letter;
note, therefore, how letters join up to and :

NB: As indicated earlier, take particular care to mark the start of , , and .

Use of capitals
Russian is more sparing in its use of capitals: for example, "" and  are not capi-
talized, neither are the names of days and months, e.g. , ‘Saturday’, ", ‘May’,
and nationality words, e.g.  , ‘Russian’. In most names of institutions, book titles
etc. only the first word is capitalized, e.g. @!   , ‘the Bolshoi Theatre’,
«7  " », War and Peace; in geographical, street names etc., the naming word
is capitalized but the generic word is not, e.g. 2 ( !9 , ‘Red Square’,
5  ( !, ‘Tverskaya Street’.
18 UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7#

Punctuation
Punctuation is much as in English, although there are more formal rules about the use
of commas (see 2.9 for commas and subordinate clauses). The exclamation mark is
also used more in Russian than in English. In printed Russian, speech is set off by using
a dash, not inverted commas; titles are enclosed in « ». In written Russian inverted
commas have traditionally been written . Note also the use of a dash between two
nouns/a noun and a name, where there is no form of the verb ‘be’:
4( – . Petya is a student.

✍ Writing task 1 4 " $ 1

Write out each Russian letter five times, capital (except for J, , ) and small, in alpha-
betical order, then, for each letter, write out a word that includes that letter.
Double-check against the model letters and points to note listed earlier.

Lesson 3 =   

Gender, personal pronouns, locating and pointing

1.9 GENDER

Russian nouns divide into three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. Nouns
denoting people or animals are masculine or feminine according to gender; all other
nouns may be masculine, feminine or neuter. For nearly all nouns identifying the
gender is straightforward because it is determined by the noun’s ending.

Masculine noun endings

consonant e.g.  , ‘brother’, ", ‘house’, !, ‘table’
-" e.g. & , ‘hero’, , ‘tea’, "$, ‘museum’
-= e.g. & , ‘guest’,  , ‘day’

Feminine noun endings

- e.g. 9, ‘woman’, , ‘water’, &, ‘book’
-B e.g. 8(, ‘aunt’, .(, ‘Russia’
-= e.g. " , ‘mother’,  , ‘night’,  , ‘part’
UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7# 19

Neuter noun endings

-) e.g. !, ‘word’,  , ‘window’, "! , ‘milk’
- e.g. " , ‘sea’, $, ‘building’
-&B e.g. "(, ‘first name’,  "(, ‘time’

As you can see, the Russian sound system, with its distinction of hard and soft, relates
to its grammatical system, where the endings for each gender have hard and soft vari-
ants. As you proceed further with Russian, this pattern of hard and soft variants will
recur again and again.

Points to note

1 The only gender-ambiguous ending is the soft sign, which may be masculine or
feminine (in due course, you will become aware of some patterns here: for
example, nouns ending - , like  , are feminine, except for & ).
2 Neuter nouns can also end in stressed - 8, for example ! 8, ‘accommodation’;
the neuter ending -"( is found in only a very few nouns, the two common
examples being "( and  "(.
3 A few nouns denoting male people end in -/-( like feminine nouns, e.g. ,
‘Dad’, 0(, ‘uncle’,  , ‘grandfather’, ", ‘male’/‘man’; this also
applies to the familiar forms of first names such as /, 4( etc. (see 1.16).
Although feminine in form, these nouns are obviously masculine in gender.
4 A few borrowed words in Russian end differently from the Russian gender
endings. Such words are treated as neuter, for example:  , ‘taxi’, "1,
‘menu’, but note  , ‘coffee’ – this is an exception and is masculine.

 Exercise 5 =  5
In each of the following lines of nouns there is one odd one out – never the first in the
line! – in terms of gender. Identify the gender of the line, then the odd one out and its
gender (and check the vocabulary too – 2 -&!  . . .?):
 !, !, , &$, ! , ",  , "$,  , 
 ,  , " , + , .(,  , "&, !,  
 , "&$, #&!(, ! ,  , ! ,  !,  
& , , $, "! ,  , "(,  "(,  , "1
  , 9, !,  ,  , &,  
20 UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7#

1.10 PERSONAL PRONOUNS

The personal pronouns are:

1st person ( I " we
2nd person  you (familiar)  you (polite singular; plural)
3rd person , ,  he/it, she/it, it  they

Points to note

1 ( is written as a small letter, except at the beginning of a sentence.

2 The 2nd person pronoun  is used as a singular and familiar ‘you’, while  is
used both as a plural and as a polite singular (a use found in other languages
too).
3 The 3rd person singular pronouns , ,  refer to all nouns of the
respective genders, things as well as people (note also the correspondence with
the noun gender endings).
4 Russian uses (, " , , ,  in statements like: , (//, where English
changes ‘I’/‘he’/‘she’ to ‘me’/‘him’/‘her’ etc.

Red Square on an old postcard

UNIT 1 (  )* + 21

1.11 LOCATING, POINTING. USE OF , / / AND 

 Listening task 13
Listen to these three dialogues, which show how to locate people/things and also how
to point at them.
1 –  ? Where’s Dad?
–  . Dad’s here.
–   ? And where’s Mum?
–  . Here/there she is.
2 –  ? Where’s the folder?
–   . The folder’s there.
–   ? And where’s the pad?
–  . Here/there it is.
3 –    ? Where’s the Bol’shoi Theatre?
–    . There’s the Bol’shoi Theatre.
–   ? And where’s the metro here?
–  . Here/there it is.

Locating
To ask where someone/something is, you use the interrogative . In order to locate
someone/something ‘here’ or ‘there’ you use the adverbs / and  :
 ? –  . Where’s the water? – The water’s here.
  ? –   . Where’s my folder? – It’s there.
 ! ? – ", # . Are the newspapers here? – Yes, they’re here.

These adverbs make a statement of place and mean ‘here’ as opposed to ‘there’ (or
vice versa).

Pointing
In order to point you use  , which is equivalent to English ‘here’/‘there’ when these
are used to point.  comes in front of the word being pointed at:
 $? –  $. Where’s Anya? – There’s Anya.
 !  ? –  . Where’s the new theatre? – There it is.
 % # &? –  #. Where are her books? – Here they are.

You can use  to point up ‘where’, ‘who’ etc. (‘here’s where’, ‘here’s who’):
-,  ! ! Aaah, here’s where you are!
'   ? -,   ! Who’s there? Aaah, here’s/that’s who!
22 UNIT 1 6<#7# 4'.7#

You will find that  can be used in a variety of ways to point and highlight, not just to
point at things.

Further points
You are meeting examples (1) of the possessives, e.g. ‘my’, "/"0/"8/", which
has masculine/feminine/neuter/plural forms, and &, 8,  – ‘his’, ‘her’, ‘their’ –
which do not change; (2) of plural nouns, e.g. &$ , ‘newspapers’, &, ‘books’;
and (3) of adjectives, which also have masculine, feminine, neuter and plural forms,
e.g.    , ‘a/the new theatre’,  ( &, ‘a/the old book’. Note/recognize
examples as you meet them; possessives and plurals are covered in detail in Unit 3,
adjectives in Unit 4.

 Exercise 6 =  6
Ask where things or people are using the words given and then answer: first use
/$ /" to locate here or there; then use  to point.
For example/- " : 6 #(? – #( /$ /".
6  ? – 7  .
1 7" 7  !
2 2( 8 ! 
3  9  
4 "&$ 10 "&
5 !  11  
6 &$ 12  

1.12 USE OF  TO EMPHASIZE. USE OF  C #?

In order to give emphasis Russian can add the particle  and a very common use is
after interrogatives as in English ‘where/who on earth . . .’:
2  ,?
Who/Who on earth is that?
6   & ?
Where/Where on earth is our guest?

Note the position of  right after the word it is emphasizing. In order to ask what
something is a little more pointedly you say: : ,  ?, ‘What exactly is this?’
Follow-up: # ,   ? Even: :  ,  ?