Most students of Russian are probably aware that quite a hefty number of English words have crept into the Russian dictionary: ranging from джинсы (jeans) to хедж-фонд (hedge fund) But, did you know that a number of English words have Russian origins…?
Balaclava
A close-fitting garment covering the whole head and neck except for parts of the face, typically made of wool.
Balaclavas get their name from their use at the Battle of Balaclava (a town near Sevastopol in the Crimea), which took place during the Crimean War of 1854. A significant number of British troops, refused any leniency in their official (and rather impractical) uniforms, froze to death in the perishing temperatures. This scandal elicited such outrage in Britain, that Brits began hand-knitting ‘balaclavas,’ which they sent out in packages to the front, in order to keep troops warm.
Cosmonaut
An astronaut from the former Soviet Union.
This term is a direct anglicism of the Russian word космонавт, deriving from the Greek kosmos (universe) and nautes (sailor). Up until 1961, several words were used to denote a ‘cosmonaut.’ It was only after Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, in 1961, that the word cosmonaut was officially recognised. Today, ‘astronaut’ is far more commonly used in the English language, but ‘cosmonaut’ is an official word in the dictionary, which tends to imply a Soviet astronaut. Interestingly, whilst ‘cosmos’ means ‘universe,’ ‘astro’ means ‘star.’
Gulag
A system of prison labour camps in the Soviet Union from 1930 to 1955, where many people died.
The word “Gulag” is an acronym for Glavnoe Upravlenie Lagerei, or Main Camp Administration. Whilst you might assume that the Gulag system was established by Stalin, it was in fact introduced in 1919 by Lenin as a progressive alternative to prison. It was under Stalin, however, that the Gulag system underwent massive expansion and that labour camps became the places of repression that they are remembered as today.
Intelligentsia
Intellectuals who form an artistic, social, or political vanguard or elite.
While it traces its origins to Latin, the word ‘intelligentsia’ only entered worldwide usage as a result of its Russian application. By the 1870s the term came to denote an entire social strata in Russian society: a group of people who were engaged in the cultural and educational spheres and believed that their higher purpose lay in shaping the culture and politics of their society. Lenin was extremely critical of this social group, not considering them to conform to the true social classes laid out in Marxist ideology. In fact, he said that this group, who prided themselves on being the brains of the nation, were in fact ‘not brain, but dung’ (На деле это не мозг, а говно).
Knout
A flogging whip with a lash of leather thongs twisted with wire used (as in czarist Russia) for punishing criminals.
The English word ‘knout’ stems from the French transliteration of the Russian word кнут (knut). In Russia, the knout was historically used as a tool for corporal punishment, to flog the accused. The sentenced was usually tied to a wooden post, or a wooden triangle, stripped, and then lashed with a knout. The number of lashes was pre-determined according to the severity of the accused’s crime and too many could prove fatal. The Great Knout, in particular, with a handle about 24 inches long and which was soaked in milk and left to dry in the sun to make it even firmer, could be lethal if the accused was ascribed 20 lashes or more.
Mammoth
1. Any of a genus (Mammuthus) of extinct Pleistocene mammals of the elephant family distinguished from recent elephants by highly ridged molars, usually large size, very long tusks that curve upward, and well-developed body hair. 2. Something immense of its kind.
The word mammoth entered the English language in the early 17th century, to refer to elephantine mammals. It derives from the Russian word мамонт (mamont), which was first recorded in 1578. All of the earliest English quotations including the word ‘mammoth,’ confitm that English-speakers first encountered the term as a result of mammoth bone discoveries in Siberia. Interestingly, the word underwent a shift in meaning at the beginning of the 19th century. From this point onwards it began to be used as a metaphorical adjective, meaning something of huge proportions.
Molotov Cocktail
A bottle filled with petrol or other liquid fuel, with a piece of cloth on its top, that is set on fire and thrown.
The Molotov Cocktail was invented by the Finns in 1939, when Soviet forces were bombing their country in the lead-up to the Winter War. The Finns named the bomb after Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov, poking fun at his declaration that the bombardment of Helsinki was an airborne humanitarian food delivery. The bomb was even given the following tag-line by Finnish soldiers- ‘a drink to go with his food parcels.’
Parka
A hooded fur pullover garment for arctic wear; a usually lined fabric outerwear pullover or jacket.
Parka (парка) derives from Nenets, a Samoyedic language of Russia, spoken in the arctic regions in the North and on the Aleutian Islands located between Russia and Alaska. The word literally means ‘animal skin’: traditionally parkas were made from caribou or seal skin in order to protect their wearers from the perishing cold. The parka became the customary US military coat during WWII and eventually gained popularity in England in the 60s, coming to symbolise the Mods.
Pavlova
A dessert of Australian and New Zealand origin consisting of a meringue shell topped with whipped cream and usually fruit.
Although not technically a Russian word, this meringue-based dessert is named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. According to popular belief, whilst Pavlova was touring Australia and New Zealand in 1926, the chef of the Wellington hotel invented the dessert in honour of the dancer. However, there is much contention surrounding the nationality of the dessert’s creator and the exact time and place it first came into existence. To this day, Australians and New Zealanders quibble over which nation the dessert truly belongs to.
Pogrom
An organised massacre of helpless people, specifically a massacre of Jews.
Pogrom is a Russian word which means ‘to wreak havoc, to demolish violently.’ ‘Po’ means ‘by, through, behind, after,’ ‘gromu’ means ‘thunder, roar.’ It entered frequent use around 1881 after anti-Semitic riots swept the southern and western provinces of the Russian Empire, following the assassination of Alexander II. Similar attacks against Jews at other points throughout history are now also known as ‘pogroms.’ Following the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, for example, several pogroms occurred in Eastern Europe: including the Lwow pogrom (1918) and the Kiev pogroms (1919).
Soviet
1. An elected local, district, or national council in the former Soviet Union. 2. A citizen of the former Soviet Union. 3. Adjective of or concerning the former Soviet Union.
The word Soviet is a transliteration of the Russian word совет, which originally came from the Old Church Slavonic word съвѣтъ (sŭvětŭ, “advice”). This word is compounded from со- (so-) + вѣтъ (větŭ, “agreement”), from Proto-Slavic *větъ (“council, talk”). Its first recorded use was in 1917, as in sense one. It was in 1920 that the word ‘soviet’ entered the English language as an adjective, as it is most commonly used today.
Tsar
Emperor, specifically the ruler of Russia until the 1917 revolution, also meaning ‘one having great power,’ e.g. ‘a banking czar’.
The title of Tsar ultimately derives from the Latin Caesar. Several other titles derive from the term, including tsaritsa/tsarina, a tsar’s wife; tsarevich, his son; tsarevna, his daughter; and tsesarevich, his eldest son and heir. Although Peter I actually discarded the title of Tsar in 1721, in favour of ‘Emperor of all Russia,’ the term continued to be widely used until the imperial regime was overthrown in 1917.
Yurt
A circular domed tent of skins or felt stretched over a collapsible lattice framework and used by pastoral peoples of inner Asia.
The word yurt derives from the Russian word юрта, which is thought to have come from the Old Turkic word ur with the suffix +ut. Yurts have been popular in Central Asia for thousands of years. The first written description of a yurt was recorded by Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian, around 440 BC. Yurts can now be found all over the word, and have even become popular at up-market camping sites in the UK, known as ‘glamping sites.’
Let us know in the comments if you can think of any other English words with Russian origins! For more on Russian words in other languages, take a look at this article on homonyms.
Shuba and glasnost: historical borrowings
One of the earliest borrowings from Russian was the word “sable” (from the Russian: sobol — a
carnivorous mammal of the Mustelidae family native to northern Europe and Asia). In the 12th-13th
centuries, this animal’s fur was a form of currency, and in 14th century English dictionaries the word
«sable’’ can be found. In addition to the meaning of the noun, it became an adjective for “black.”
A large number of Russian borrowings came to the English language in the 16th century, which was a
time of growing Russian-English trade and political relations. Many such words concerned traded goods:
Beluga — a type of whale or sturgeon
Starlet — a small sturgeon of the Danube basin and Caspian Sea; farmed and commercially fished for its flesh and caviar
Kvass — a fermented mildly alcoholic beverage made from rye flour or bread with malt; sometimes translated into English as “bread drink”
Shuba — a fur coat
Czar (or tsar) – Russia’s ruler until the 1917 Revolution
Ztarosta (starosta) — a title that designates an official or unofficial leader; the head of a community
(church starosta, or school starosta)
Moujik (muzhik) — a male peasant
In the 18th and 19th centuries, other Russian words originally specific to Russian history entered into
English. Nowadays, however, they mostly can be found only in historical works or books of fiction:
Ispravnik — the chief of the district police
Obrok – an annual tax formerly paid by a Russian peasant engaged in trade
Barshina — forced labor of peasants on a landlord’s land
In the 19th century, words related to the socialist and democratic movements in Russia entered into
English:
Decembrist — a participant of the uprising against Czar Nicholas I at the time of his accession in St.
Petersburg on Dec. 14, 1825
Nihilist, nihilism — a denial of the validity of traditional values and beliefs. The term spread after
publishing of the novel, Fathers and Sons (1862), by Russian writer Ivan Turgenev, where the main
character is the nihilist Bazarov.
Narodnik (from Russian “narod” — people) – a member of the 19th century rural socialist movement who
believed that political propaganda among the Russian peasantry would lead to the awakening of the
masses to challenge the czarist regime.
Intelligentsia – society’s intellectual elite
Of course, the words “nihilist,” “decembrist,” and “intelligentsia” are not truly Russian in origin and are
borrowed from Latin. However, these words came into English from Russian.
After the 1917 Revolution many Russian words appeared in many languages. Most are used to denote
completely new things and notions specific to Russia and Russian politics.
Here is a list of some well-known Russian words from the Soviet era:
Bolshevik (from Russian for “majority”) — a member of the majority faction of the Russian Social
Democratic Party, which was renamed the Communist Party after seizing power in the October
Revolution in 1917.
Samizdat — a system in the USSR and countries within its orbit by which forbidden literature was
clandestinely printed and distributed; also such literature
Soviet — a revolutionary council of workers or peasants in Russia before the Revolution; also, an elected
local, district, or national council in the former Soviet Union.
Sputnik (originally – “a traveling companion”) — the name given to a series of Soviet-era satellites; the
first objects launched into space
Cosmonaut — a Russian astronaut
Kolkhoz (abbreviation for Russian “kollektivnoye khozyaystvo”) – a cooperative agricultural enterprise
operated on state-owned land by peasants; a collective farm
Tovarishch — a companion or fellow traveler; used as a direct form of address in the Soviet Union;
equivalent to comrade
Gulag — originally an acronym for a Soviet-era system of forced-labor camps; it now can refer to any
repressive or coercive environment or situation
Apparatchik – the name given the Communist Party machine in the former Soviet Union; also a member
of the Communist Party and an official in a large organization, typically in a political one.
American
academic and author James Billington describes one as «a man not of grand plans, but of a hundred
carefully executed details.” It’s often considered a derogatory term, with negative connotations in terms
of the quality, competence, and attitude of a person thus described.
The words “pioneer” and “brigade” had existed in English, but they got new meanings as “a member of
the children’s Communist organization” and «labour collective» after the revolution in Russia. A new political regime in the 1990s created the new words, “glasnost” and “perestroika.”
Glasnost — an official policy in the former Soviet Union (especially associated with Mikhail Gorbachev)
emphasizing openness with regard to discussion of social problems and shortcomings.
Perestroika — a reform of the political and economic system of the former Soviet Union, first proposed
by Leonid Brezhnev at the 26th Communist Party Congress in 1979, and later actively promoted
by Mikhail Gorbachev starting in 1985.
Borscht and kazachoc: cultural borrowings
Other borrowings relate to Russian cultural and gastronomic traits.
Pelmeni — an Eastern European dumpling filled with minced meat, especially beef and pork, wrapped in
thin dough, and then boiled
Borscht (Borshch) — a beet soup served hot or cold, usually with sour cream
Kissel — a viscous fruit dish, popular as a dessert and as a drink
Vodka (barely needs to be introduced) — a distilled beverage composed primarily of water and ethanol,
sometimes with traces of impurities and flavorings, 40 percent alcohol by volume ABV (80 US proof).
Medovukha — a Russian honey-based alcoholic beverage similar to mead
Molotov cocktail — a makeshift bomb made of a breakable container filled with flammable liquid and
with a rag wick that is lighted just before being hurled. “Cocktail” named after Vyacheslav Molotov:
while dropping bombs on Helsinki, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov claimed the Soviets were
only dropping food and drink to their comrades.
Russian roulette — a very dangerous game of chance where each player points at their own head with
a gun that has one bullet in it and five empty chambers
Kazachoc (literally translated it means «Little Cossack») — A Slavic dance, chiefly Russian and Ukrainian,
with a fast tempo featuring a step in which a squatting dancer kicks out each leg alternately to the front.
Sambo — a Soviet martial art originally developed in the former Soviet Union. The word «SAMBO» is
an acronym for SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya, which literally translates as «self-defense without
weapons.»
You definitely have heard the Russian word “babushka.” When it entered into the English language, in
addition to its original meaning “grandmother,” it got another one: a type of scarf commonly worn by
babushkas.
After 1991, there were some new words such as “gopnik” or “silovik” still coming to other languages.
Gopnik — a pejorative term to describe a particular subculture in Russia and other Slavic countries that
refers to aggressive young men or women of the lower-class from families of poor education and
income, somewhat similar to American “white trash.”
Silovik — a word for state officials from the security or military services, often officers of the former KGB,
GRU, FSB, SVR, the Federal Drug Control or other security services who wield enormous political and
state power.
Some linguists even claim that one of the most popular verbs in modern English, “to talk,” has
Scandinavian roots — “tolk,” which is originally from the Russian “tolk,” “tolkovat”. And the word «milk»
was borrowed from Slavic tribes as «meolk,» and then as «milk.» There’s a similar story for other words
such as «honey» (Old English — meodu, Russian — mjod).
Try to guess the meaning of these words of Russian origin:
Shapka
Pirozhki (also piroshki)
Spetsnaz (or Specnaz)
Zek
Which Russian words have you met in other languages? Share your comments!
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МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ РЕСПУБЛИКИ БАШКОРТОСТАН МУНИЦИПАЛЬНОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ «ШКОЛА № 7 г. ТУЙМАЗЫ МУНИЦИПАЛЬНОГО РАЙОНА ТУЙМАЗИНСКИЙ РАЙОН РЕСПУБЛИКИ БАШКОРТОСТАН» Наименование секции: Иностранные языки Научно-исследовательская работа Russian Newcomers in the English Language Автор работы: Галимова Даша, 8гкласс, МБОУ СОШ№ 7 г.Туймазы. Руководитель-консультант: Садыкова Резида Фаниловна, учитель английского языка . г. Туймазы 2016 |
Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………..……….3
Chapter I. The History of occurrence Russian words in English ..…….…………..5
I.1. The first loan: from Tsarist Russia to the Russian Empire…..……….………..5
I.2. The loans from the Soviet period ………………………………………………7
I.3. Loanwords connected with our achievements………………………. ………..8
I.4. Conclusion to chapter I…………………………………………………………9
Chapter II. Russian loan-words in English ………………………………………..10
II.1. A survey among the students..……………….………………………………10
II.2. Russian loan-words in our English textbooks………………………………..12
II.3. Russian loan-words in the British newspapers……………….. …………….13
II.4. Conclusion to chapter II………………………………………………………15
Conclusions……………………………………………………………………….16
Literature………………………………………………………………………….19
Thesaurus …………………………………………………………………………20
Introduction
In Russian we use a lot of English words. They are everywhere: in TV, in newspapers, in our everyday communication. I wondered if there are any Russian words in the English language. That is why we decided to devote our work studying Russian words in English.
We all know that there are a lot of English borrowings in Russian and we use them very often but it is interesting and important to know whether English has Russian borrowings or not and how these words are used in speech if they exist in the language. So, the actuality of the research work determines the necessity of exploration English and Russian languages in the sphere of loans.
The aim of our work is to study using Russian borrowings in English.
The objectives are:
1) to find information in the literature on this topic and analyze it;
2) to study how and why Russian words came to the English language;
3) to conduct a survey among the students of class 7b which Russian loan-words in the English language they know;
4) to find out which Russian loan-words we can come across in the textbooks by Vaulina “Spotlight”, by Kaufman “Happy English.ru”, by Biboletova “Enjoy English”;
5) to find out which Russian loan-words are often used in British newspapers ;
6) to make up a vocabulary of Russian loan-words.
To achieve the aim of our work we use such methods as analyzes, a conduct, generalizing and studying the literature.
The hypothesis: If there are a lot of English words in the Russian language, therefore the English language must contain Russian words.
The object of study: borrowings in the English language.
The subject of study: Russian loan-words in the English language.
Theoretical significance: a synthesis of data.
Practical significance: using of the materials in the learning process. We hope our work will be of practical value for students who are interested in English language and cross-cultural relationships. This work also has practical importance for those who are making first steps in translation.
We are planning to make up a vocabulary of Russian loan-words.
Chapter I. The History of occurrence Russian words in English
I.1 The first loan: from Tsarist Russia to the Russian Empire
English has a long way of development. It took modern form more or less at the end of the eighteenth century. Before that, it actively developed borrowing Celtic, Latin, French and German words. But in the future English replenished different technical terms, words from the language of the colonial possessions, international expressions.
Most of research workers divide Russian influence on the English lexical system into two periods:
1) borrowings of the pre-revolutionary period;
2) borrowings of Soviet period.
However, V.V.Akulenko in his Ph.D. thesis (candidate’s dissertation) divided the history of Russian language interaction with other Occidental languages into four periods[1, p.26].
The first period covers the influence of Old Russian language of the Kiev Russia on the Old and partially Middle English languages.
The second period is closely connected with the development of trade and political communication of Russia and England, the up growth of Russian nation’s power; it begins from the second half of XVI century and continues up to the middle of XIX century.
The third period begins from the 60 years of XIX century and lasts till 1917. Here the modifications in economical and social spheres are in the focus of interest, the increasing power of revolution struggled with the reaction and a great progress in the development of native science and culture.
The fourth period of Russian influence is the Soviet epoch. One could say about a new stage in the development of political and social-economic vocabulary of Russian language and also about the further development of its international significance in the post-war period connected with the beginnings of powerful camp of peace, democracy and socialism as far as the creation of UNO (United Nations Organization), where Russian language was declared as the international language along with English, French, Spanish and Chinese.
It must be said that cultural ties between our countries have existed long, so the first Russian word migrated to Albion was recorded in the early fourteenth century. The next wave of borrowing took place in the sixteenth century. It was connected with the strengthening of political and economic ties between the two countries. The events abroad late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries did not set aside. Each bright event gave rise to new words; sometimes they transliterated and in this form went into the English language. For example, the same fate awaited the most of the words related to outer space.
It is believed today, word first borrowed from Russian was the name of small fur-bearing animals — sable. It was one of the main exports. Therefore, in the fourteenth century the word sable appeared in the English language. It was used as a noun, an adjective in the meaning of «black». Later words tsar (king), voivoda (governor), muzhik (peasant), pood (pud), samovar (samovar), telega (wagon), verst (Milestone) came into the English language. Some of them have not changed their meaning and values.
But some of the words provided themselves with a new quality. Did you know that in English a good Russian word “babushka” is well known? And that means a special way of tying handkerchief on neat knot under the chin, like rustic old ladies. Only its second meaning is clear to us as the name of a close relative.
In the late nineteenth century the English language was enriched by words such as artel (co-operative), trojka (triple), droshky (droshky) and dacha (country house, this word is included in dictionaries since 1896).
In the wake of the various socio-political movements emerged new terms, which quickly turned out to be in the English language: Decembrist (Decembrist), narodnik (populist), nihilism (nihilism), and even the intelligentsia (intellectuals).
One of the most interesting Russian loans in modern English is mammoth.
I.2.The loans from the Soviet period
Of course, the revolution, its ideas, its terms and names have changed not only the Russian language. A large number of words migrated to other languages, because they signify something new, which did not have worthy epithets and full translations. It should be noted as a special group of borrowing, called Sovietisms – it is borrowing from Russian of the post-October period, reflecting the impact of the new social order and a new ideology of our country.
Bolshevik (большевик), commissar (комиссар), nomenclature (номенклатура), Kremlin (Кремль), soviet (совет): all these words have become part of the world’s linguistic heritage.
Unfortunately, also the words gulag (Gulag) and apparatchik (bureaucrat) got in English, and some expressions have changed beyond recognition. Examples include the familiar all grown up in the Soviet five-year plan (5-летний план) or a hero of labor (герой труда).
The sunset of the Soviet Union enriched the lexicon. Glasnost (гласность) and Perestroika (перестройка) marked the beginning of a new era and became the hallmark of our country and its political leaders.
I.3 Loanwords connected with our achievements
But not only political events affect the borrowing of words. The launch of the first satellite (sputnik) and manned space flight (cosmonaut) caused not only massive interest, but also enriched the Russian and English language with new terminology.
Another word inscribed not only in English — it is the name of the weapon. It is hard to find a corner of the world where no one has ever heard of Kalashnikov.
Gastronomic titles gave the English a lot of words. Blini (блины) and borscht (борщ), kvass (квас) and vodka (водка), kasha (каша) and smetana (сметана) have long been part of the vocabulary not only of the Russian language.
We give examples of the most well-known (and is used in modern English) borrowings from the Russian language, as well as cripples (asterisk marked the most recent): balalaika (balalaika), bortsch (soup), borzoi (hound), byelorussian (Belarus), crash (crash), dacha (cottage).
Russian borrowing, crept into the vocabulary of the English language, like any other loan, converted to its sound and appearance of grammatical structure, subject to the internal laws of the development of the English language. This well can be seen in words such as copeck (penny), knout (whip, pronounced [naut]), starlet (sturgeon) and others, the sound image of which is converted by the laws of English pronunciation. The plural of most borrowed from Russian nouns decorated in English grammatical rules of the English language — steppes (steppe), sables (sable) and the like. Many Russian words borrowed form derivatives of word-formation models of English — narodism (populism), nihilistic (nihilistic), to knout — beating the whip, sable (as an adjective) and so on.
As we can see, in English dictionaries you can find a lot of familiar words. Unfortunately, only a few Russian words are used in the usual spoken language. This is due to the fact that most of them have long gone out of use as we do, and in English-speaking countries. Reflecting rather specific phenomena these words disappeared as quickly as they appeared. Today they can be found except on the pages of history or literature. Of course, the contribution of the Russian language in the English vocabulary is not big compared to other European languages, but even this short list reflects the identity of our country, its traditions and peculiarities of life very well.
Conclusions to chapter I
So we can draw the following conclusion of the first part. The English language has a long way of development. The first Russian word migrated to England was recorded in the early fourteenth century. Russian words were borrowed to English in the 14th, 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The reasons for borrowing are historical, geographical, social, economic, cultural and other conditions. Loanwords help to understand the historical ties between the peoples of different countries. Words penetrating into other languages are not just traces of interlingua contacts, but they are traces of communication between the peoples, and commemorated the fact of communication, and often the nature of communication. How did different people meet? Did they maintain friendly relations or were they enemies? How were the people who gave their word to another language? Words depicted old contacts and were preserved in a foreign language, albeit in a modified form has the ability to tell a lot about the history of the peoples encountered in its historical path. Russian borrowings in the English language were connected with the historical events in Russia. Each bright event gave rise to new words; sometimes they transliterated and went in this form into the English language. These words were borrowed because they did not have equivalents in English. For example, the names of house ware, Russian dishes, animals and etc. Nowadays Russian words are used in English.
In the practical part we decided to conduct a survey among students of our school, find Russian loan words in the English textbooks we learn and make up a vocabulary of Russian loan words
Chapter II. Russian loan-words in English
II.1 A survey among the students
Our first studying was a survey among the students of our school. The aim of the survey was to find out what the students know about the Russian loanwords in English. To make a sociological research we created our own questionnaire including different questions connected with borrowings from Russian into English. Our questionnaire had several points. The students were asked five questions:
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First, we wanted to learn if teenagers of our school know what a borrowing word is. Fortunately, all of them could explain the meaning of this term.
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The second thing which interested us was the question about Russian loanwords. We asked students a question “Which Russian loan-words in English do you know?”
For teens it was a great surprise to learn about the fact of Russian borrowings in English. All the students gave as examples English loan-words in Russian; they do not know Russian loan-words in English.
-
Then we asked the teens to complete the sentence “The borrowing of Russian words is connected with…”
65% of students think that the borrowing of Russian words is connected with the modernization, 52% think that the borrowing of Russian loan-words is connected with travelling, one person thinks that it is connected with the popularity of the Russian language.
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Then we asked them to name the reasons for borrowings. None of the students could not name the reasons for borrowing.
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The last thing which interested us was the number of native words. The students have to choose the right variant: It is counted that the number of native words in the English vocabulary is about …
-
70% b) 50% c) 30% d) 20%
57% of students gave the right answer to the fifth question. The right answer is 30%. (See the appendix.)
The answers were analyzed, then calculated and presented graphically.
We can say that students do not know about Russian loanwords in the English language. It shows that Russian loanwords are used rarely and their number is little. The students use English borrowings more often. We can say that this topic is unknown to the students. They did not come across this problem. They have no idea about Russian loanwords. That is why the next we did is which Russian loanwords students can learn in our English textbooks.
II.2 Russian loan-words in our English textbooks
In our school the students can study English by three textbooks. They are the textbooks by Biboletova, the textbooks by Vaulina and the textbooks by Kaufman.
We decided to discover if these textbooks contain any Russian loanwords. We took the textbooks for the class from 5 to 9.
In the textbook by Vaulina we found Russian loanwords in the module “Spotlight in Russia”. They are izba, Maslenitsa, Chuvash, Snegurochka, Siberian, blinis, troika, matryoshka, dacha, Tsar, the Krasnaya Polyana, the Bolshoi Theatre, the Maly Theatre.[3, p. 123, 129,133]
In the textbook by Biboletova we could find following words: nerpa, Maslenitsa, golomyanka, omul, Siberia, St. Tatiana`s Day.[2, p. 88]
The textbook by Kaufman has Russian loanwords too. They are the Bolshoi Theatre, the Kremlin, perestroika, labor camp, pirogen, blintzes, pelmenis, borsch, shashlik, karavai. [5, p. 40. 6,p.123. 7, p.19, 23]
After having studied the textbooks we can say that they have Russian loan-words. These words are collected in topics connected with Russia, with its geography, history, holidays, animals, sights, dishes and etc. Russian loanwords are used in the narrow topic.
II.3 Russian loan-words in the British newspapers
The next task we had set was to find out which Russian loanwords are often used in the British newspapers. In our work we investigate the emergence of such borrowings, the reasons of the emergence and some sources where we can meet them. In this part of the work we should analyze some newspapers in Mass Media, indentify and count the number of English words.
And we have tried to indicate the most referred British newspapers in TV. The most referred newspapers in TV are The Times, The Independent and The Guardian.
We looked through the British broadsheets The Times, The Independent and The Guardian. We found following loanwords:
The Independent – the KGB, the Kremlin, Taiga, Siberian, shaman, the Primorsky Krai, the Khabarovsky Krai, borscht, Crimea, the Tell the Truth Party, the Pravy Sector, a Tsarist Russia flag, Chechen.[13]
The Guardian – Siberia, the Kremlin, vodka, borshch, Park Pobedy, Sparrow Hills, babushka, Novy Arbat, the FSB, the KGB, Apparatchiks, Glavpivtorg, Ploshchad Revolyutsii, Novorossia, the Vostok Battalion.[12]
The Times – the Kremlin, babushkas, Tsarist Russia, the Yeltsin Years, the Soviet Union, rouble, Chechen, Shakhtar.[14]
From this list of words we can say the most often used Russian words in British broadsheets are the Kremlin, the KGB, babushka, Siberia. The Russian word “борщ” is spelled different in The Independent and The Guardian. It says that there is not a single rate of spelling. In these newspapers we can see the latest loanwords such as the Pravy Sector, the Vostok Battalion, Novorossia. These words are connected with the war in Ukraine.
The next task we had set was to compare where we can find more loanwords in British or in Russian newspapers. We analyzed our local newspaper “Tuymazinsky vestnik” in order to find how many English loanwords are used. We took newspaper’s number for 21 November 2015 page 3. we fond a great number of English loanwords: сайт, кликнул, интернет-банк, смс, компьютер, гаджет, сим-карта, пин-код, он-лайн, айфон, Интернет, симки, лизинг, факторинг, франчайзинг, фьючерсный контракт, хеджирование, бизнес-план, бизнес-исследование.[11, p.3]
According to this research Russian loanwords in English language make a small part. This is a little in comparison with English loanwords in Russian language.
From this we can make a conclusion that in the British newspapers there are Russian loanwords. They reflect the political, social, historical and national features of Russia and the Russians. Most of them are used to denote things and notions specific to Russia, Russian culture, politics and history, especially well-known outside Russia. Some others are in mainstream usage, independent of any Russian context.
Conclusion to chapter II
After practical research the Russian loanwords in English we can make following conclusion. All of the students could explain the meaning of the term “borrowing”. For teens it was a great surprise to learn about the fact of Russian borrowings in English. The students think that the borrowing of Russian words is connected with the modernization, travelling and popularity of the Russian language. None of the students could name reasons for borrowing. Most of the teens gave the right answer to the question about the number of native words in the English vocabulary.
The second research showed that English textbooks contain loanwords of Russian origin. We can come across these words in topics connected with Russia, with its geography, history, holidays, animals, sights, dishes and etc.
The third research showed that loanwords of Russian origin are used in the British newspapers. The most often used Russian words in British broadsheets are the Kremlin, the KGB, babushka, Siberia. The same word has different spelling. In one hand in these broadsheets we can see new loanwords, it shows that the English language develops, its vocabulary gets more. In other hands Russian loanwords in English language make a small part. This is a little in comparison with English loanwords in Russian language.
Conclusions
The aim of our work was to study using Russian words in the English language. We set the following objectives
1) to find information in the literature on this topic and analyze it;
2) to study how and why Russian words came to the English language;
3) to conduct a survey among the students of class 7 which Russian loan-words in the English language they know;
4) to find out which Russian loan-words we can come across in the textbooks by Vaulina “Spotlight”, by Kaufman “Happy English.ru”, by Biboletova “Enjoy English”;
5) to find out which Russian loan-words are often used in British newspapers ;
6) to make up a vocabulary of Russian loan-words.
The first of our work is devoted to why and how Russian borrowings came into English language.
Most of research workers divide Russian influence on the English lexical system into two periods:
1) borrowings of the pre-revolutionary period;
2) borrowings of Soviet period.
However, V.V. Akulenko in his Ph.D. thesis (candidate’s dissertation) divided the history of Russian language interaction with other Occidental languages into four periods.
The first period covers the influence of Old Russian language of the Kiev Russia on the Old and partially Middle English languages.
The second period is closely connected with the development of trade and political communication of Russia and England, the up growth of Russian nation’s power; it begins from the second half of XVI century and continues up to the middle of XIX century.
The third period begins from the 60 years of XIX century and lasts till 1917. Here the modifications in economical and social spheres are in the focus of interest, the increasing power of revolution struggled with the reaction and a great progress in the development of native science and culture.
The fourth period of Russian influence is the Soviet epoch.
In chapter II we conducted a survey among the students of our school. The aim of the survey was to find out what the students know about the Russian loan-words in English. The survey showed that all the students could explain the meaning of the tern “borrowing”. For teens it was a great surprise to learn about the fact of Russian borrowings in English. All the students gave as examples English loan-words in Russian; they do not know Russian loan-words in English. 65% of students think that the borrowing of Russian words is connected with the modernization, 52% think that the borrowing of Russian loan-words is connected with travelling, one person thinks that it is connected with the popularity of the Russian language. None of the students could name reasons for borrowing. Most of the teens gave the right answer to the question about the number of native words in the English vocabulary.
The second research showed that English textbooks contain loan-words of Russian origin. We can come across these words in topics connected with Russia, with its geography, history, holidays, animals, sights, dishes and etc.
The third research showed that loan-words of Russian origin are used in the British newspapers. The most often used Russian words in British broadsheets are the Kremlin, the KGB, babushka, Siberia. Some words have different spelling. In these broadsheets we can see new loan words, it shows that the English language develops, its vocabulary becomes more.
Our work has demonstrated that English language has really taken a lot of borrowing words from Russian.
Russian loanwords are used in definite situation, when the meaning of the word can not be explained in the other variant, because this word is an integral part of the culture of the country. The English people keep their traditions and try not to allow entering their culture foreign elements.
The contribution of the Russian language in the English vocabulary is not big compared to other European languages, but even this short list reflects the identity of our country, its traditions and peculiarities of life very well.
Russian borrowings into English belong to the Renaissance period and later. Most part of Russian borrowings in English is not completely assimilated. That means that the influence of Russian language is not so big and the contact between Great Britain and Russia is not so strong.
Our work has demonstrated that English language has not so many words borrowed from Russian and we can observe the process of Russian borrowings considering cross cultural communication in the historical review.
Literature
1. Акуленко В.В., Влияние современного русского языка, в связи с развитием его словарного состава, на западноевропейские языки /на материале английского языка/. Канд. дисс., Киевский Государственный Университет им.Т.Г.Шевченко,Харьков,1954.
2. Биболетова М.З., Денисенко О.А., Трубанева Н.Н. Английский с удовольствием. Учебник английского языка для 6 класса. Обнинск, «Титул», 2012.
3. Ваулина Ю. Е., Д. Дули, О.Е. Подоляко, В. Эванс. «Spotlight»: учебник английского языка для 5 класса. М., Просвещение , 2014.
4. Зацный Ю.А. Русские слова, отражающие перестройку в СССР, в английском языке. – «Иностранные языки в школе», 1989, № 4.
5. К.И.Кауфман, М.Ю.Кауфман. «Счастливый английский.ру» учебник для 7 класса. Обнинск: Издательство «Титул», 2013.
6. К.И.Кауфман, М.Ю.Кауфман. «Счастливый английский.ру» учебник для 8 класса. Обнинск: Издательство «Титул», 2013.
7. К.И.Кауфман, М.Ю.Кауфман. «Счастливый английский.ру» учебник для 9 класса. Обнинск: Издательство «Титул», 2013.
8. Коган О. Отбор лексики для американских учебников русского языка. – «Русский язык за рубежом», 1993, № 2.
9. Мейе Антуан. Основные особенности германской группы языков. Пер. с фр. Изд. М.,2010
10. Секирин В.П. Заимствования в английском языке. М,1997.
11. Туймазинский вестник. 21 ноября 2015г. с.3
12. http://www.theguardian.com/international
13. http://www.independent.co.uk/
14. http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/?CMP=INTstp2
Thesaurus
1. Assimilation is the process of adjusting a word to the phonetic and lexico-grammatic norms of the language
2. Borrowing (or ‘loan word’) is something such as a word, phrase, or idea that has been copied from another language, book etc.
3. Dictionary is a reference book
4. Lexical is dealing with words, or related to words.
5. Lexis is all the words in a language.
6. Linguistic is related to language, words, or linguistics.
7. Loan-word is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language without translation.
8. Spelling is the act of spelling words correctly.
9. Terminology is the study of terms and their use
10. Vocabulary is all the words known and used by a particular person
Appendix 1
A questionnaire
-
What are borrowings?
-
Which Russian loan-words in English do you know?
-
Complete the sentence “The borrowing of Russian words is connected with…”
-
Name the reasons for borrowings.
-
Choose the right variant: It is counted that the number of native words in the English vocabulary is about …
a)70% b) 50% c) 30% d) 20%
1. Do you know what are the borrowings?
2. Which Russian loan-words in English do you know?
3. The borrowing of Russian words is connected with…”
Appendix 2
5. Choose the right variant: It is counted that the number of native words in the English vocabulary is about …
a)70% b) 50% c) 30% d) 20%
Appendix3
Loan-words in the British and Russian newspapers
|
The Independent |
The Guardian |
The Times |
Tuymazinsky Vestnik |
|
the KGB, the Kremlin, Taiga, Siberian, shaman, the Primorsky Krai, the Khabarovsky Krai, borscht, Crimea, the Tell the Truth Party, the Pravy Sector, a Tsarist Russia flag, Chechen. |
Siberia, the Kremlin, vodka, borshch, Park Pobedy, Sparrow Hills, babushka, Novy Arbat, the FSB, the KGB, Apparatchiks, Glavpivtorg, Ploshchad Revolyutsii, Novorossia, the Vostok Battalion. |
the Kremlin, babushkas, Tsarist Russia, the Yeltsin Years, the Soviet Union, rouble, Chechen, Shakhtar. |
сайт, кликнул, интернет-банк, смс, компьютер, гаджет, сим-карта, пин-код, он-лайн, айфон, Интернет, симки, лизинг, факторинг, франчайзинг, фьючерсный контракт, хеджирование, бизнес-план, бизнес-исследование. |
27
Many Russian words have been appropriated by the English language. Some, like mammoth and sable, are easily assumed to be from a more closely related language. Others were originally specific to Russian culture but can be applied to analogous Western concepts, such as a reference to an American politician retreating from Washington, DC, to his dacha, or to a comment about a troika of conspirators.
Here is a list of well-known Russian words and their original meanings and later connotations, if any. Below that you’ll find another set, that one consisting of words known to few, if any, speakers of English who are not bilingual in Russian or familiar with Russian culture. The latter list is ripe for exploitation in English. (Try referring, for example, to an elite cohort as the nomenklatura or to a petty bureaucrat as a namestnik.)
Either list can be mined for analogous meanings. Some require no annotation, while others should be introduced carefully in context or even glossed; which approach to take depends on the content and its audience.
Familiar Russian Words (Absorbed into English)
1. Agitprop: artistic political propaganda, from a truncated form of the Russian forms of the words agitation and propaganda
2. Apparatchik: a Communist Party member and/or functionary, from the Russian form of the word apparatus
3. Babushka: in Russian, “old woman”; in English, a type of scarf commonly worn by babushkas
4. Beluga: a type of whale or sturgeon
5. Bolshevik: a revolutionary or radical, from name of the majority Communist faction in Tsarist Russia, ultimately from the Russian word for “majority”
6. Commissar: an official
7. Cossack: a Russian ethnic group associated in popular culture with military prowess and a nomadic society; the name, like the ethnic appellation Kazakh, derives from the Turkish word for “nomad”
8. Dacha: a country house
9. Duma: a legislative body
10. Glasnost: a policy of political openness and transparency, from the Russian word for “publicity”
11. Gulag: originally an acronym for a Soviet-era system of forced-labor camps; it now can refer to any repressive or coercive environment or situation
12. Intelligentsia: the intellectual elite of a society, from the English word intelligent
13. Kopeck: a Russian coin
14. Mammoth: a prehistoric mammal, and, by extension, a synonym for massive
15. Menshevik: the name of the minority Communist faction in Tsarist Russia, originally in power briefly after the Russian Revolution but defeated by the Bolsheviks
16. Perestroika: the Soviet-era system of reform, from the Russian word for “restructuring”
17. Pogrom: originally, violent persecution of Jews in Russia; now, any officially sanctioned attack on a particular group
18. Politburo: the Soviet-era primary source of government policy decisions, a truncation of the Russian forms of the words political and bureau
19. Ruble: the basic unit of Russian currency
20. Sable: a mammal related to the weasel whose sleek black coat was long prized as a clothing material, and, by extension, a synonym for black
21. Samizdat: prohibited literature produced clandestinely
22. Samovar: an urn for heating tea
23. Sputnik: a traveling companion; also, the name given to a series of Soviet-era satellites, the first objects launched into space
24. Taiga: the far northern coniferous forests of both Asia and North America, from a Turkish or Mongolian word
25. Troika: a carriage or sleigh pulled by three horses, or a triumvirate (a ruling or administrative trio)
Unfamiliar Russian Words (Not Yet Absorbed into English)
26. Druzhina: a unit of bodyguards and elite troops
27. Glavlit: the Soviet-era government censorship agency
28. Izba: a log house
29. Knout: a whip used in punishment
30. Konyushy: an official responsible for horses used in ceremonies
31. Kulak: a well-off farmer
32. Lishenets: a disenfranchised group
33. Matryoshka: a set of Russian nesting dolls
34. Muzhik: a peasant
35. Namestnik: an administrator (from the Russian word for “deputy”)
36. Narkompros: a Soviet-era agency responsible for education and culture, later called the Ministry of Enlightening
37. Nomenklatura: the Soviet elite, holding prestigious government and industrial posts (from the Latin term nomenclature, “list of names”)
38. Okhrana: the Tsarist secret police
39: Oprichnik: Ivan the Terrible’s brutal bodyguards and henchmen
40. Prikaz: originally, a bureaucratic position; later, an administrative directive
41. Propiska: a Tsarist regulation requiring subjects to remain in their hometown
42. Rasputitsa: spring and fall periods in which, because of heavy snow or rain, unpaved roads are impassable (possibly related to the name of Rasputin)
43. Sambo: a form of martial arts
44. Silovik: the elite
45. Spetsnaz: special-forces soldiers
46. Tamizdat: prohibited literature produced outside the country
47. Tovarishch: a companion or fellow traveler; used as a direct form of address in the Soviet Union, equivalent to comrade
48. Ukase: a decree; refers specifically to a government proclamation or generically to an arbitrary command
49. Ushanka: a fur cap with ear flaps
50. Zek: an inmate
The Most Used Russian Words
This lesson will introduce the most used words in Russian in the order that they are most used. This lesson is a vocabulary lesson to help you learn a number of Russian words that you will use almost every day while you are in Russia.
Many of these words you will already know from previous lessons. Visit the vocabulary page to see the words in list form.
The examples included in this lesson are quite advanced. You will not understand all of the grammar, there are some concepts that you have not been taught. The main thing is to learn the 100 words in this lesson. From this lesson and onwards we will use more complex examples to help you passively learn more Russian vocabulary. You are not expected to memorise all the new Russian words.
1: И — And
Russian’s most used word is ‘и’ (and). ‘И’ is preceded by comma when it is used as a conjuction to join phrases with different subjects. Here are some examples of it in use.
| Кофе с молоком и с сахаром | Coffee with milk and sugar. |
| Московский Кремль и Красная площадь | The Moscow Kremlin and Red Square. |
| Она соединяет Москву и Владивосток | It connects Moscow and Vladivostok. |
| Берите бумагу и пишите. | Take some paper and write. |
| Дети сели на ковер и начали играть. | The children sat down on the carpet and began playing. |
| Он прыгнул в реку и быстро поплыл к острову. | He jumped into the river and quickly swam to the island. |
| Все пели и танцевали. | Everyone was singing and dancing. |
| Озера и горы Шотландии очень красивые. | The lakes and mountains of Scotland are very beautiful. |
| Она подошла к доске, взяла мел и начала писать на доске. | She went up to the blackboard, took the chalk and began writing on the blackboard. |
When it is used like «и … и» it can mean «both … and».
| Она и красива и умна. | She’s both beautiful and clever. |
2: В (Во) — In, into, to
‘В’ means ‘in’ when followed by the prepositional case. Refer to lesson 8 for more information). ‘В’ is pronounced as though it is part of the following word. Sometimes this is difficult to say so ‘Во’ is used instead. ‘Во’ usually proceeds words that start with ‘в’ or a group consonants that are difficult to pronounce.
| Я живу в Москве. | I live in Moscow. |
| Я работаю в школе. | I work at (in) a school. |
| Вчера мы были в театре. | Yesterday we were at the theatre. |
| Мы собрали в лесу много грибов. | We gathered many mushrooms in the forest. |
| Он прилетел в Лондон сегодня утром. | He arrived in London this morning. |
| В городе было очень жарко и мы решили поехать за город. | In town it was very hot, we decided to go to the country. |
| Позавчера мы были в парке. | The day before yesterday we were in the park. |
When followed by the accusative case it means ‘to’ or ‘into’. This is common following verbs of motion because there is a sense of direction.
| Мы едем в Москву. | We are going to Moscow. |
| Завтра мы едем в Лондон. | Tomorrow we are going to London. |
| Я пошел во двор. | I went into the garden. |
| Наша бабушка обычно ходит в магазин утром. | Our grandmother usually goes to the shop in the morning. |
| Сэм ходит в школу пешком каждое утро. | Sam goes to school every morning on foot. |
| Он вошел в институт, когда начался дождь. | Не went into the institute when rain started. |
| Было жарко, но когда мы вошли в лес стало прохладно. | It was hot, but when we went into the forest, it became cool. |
Is used with expressions of time such as ‘on Monday’. (Note: ‘по’ is used when the days are plural ‘on Mondays’)
| В понедельник. | On Monday. |
| Во вторник я читал газету. | On Tuesday I read the newspaper. |
| В пятницу я играю в теннис. | On Friday I am playing tennis. |
| В полдень мы обедали и отдыхали. | At noon we had dinner and rested. |
| В декабре мы пьем водку | In December we drink Vodka |
| В прошлом году мы купили квартиру | Last year we bought an apartment |
3: Не — Not
The word ‘не’ is used for negation. It usually precedes the verb it negates.
| Я не знаю | I don’t know |
| Надя не любит вино | Nadya doesn’t like wine. |
| Она тебе не нравится? | Don’t you like her? |
| Я сказал тебе не делать этого. | I told you not to do that. |
| Мне не было ее жалко. | I didn’t feel sorry for her. |
| Они сказали, чтобы я не волновался. | They told me not to worry. |
| Раньше не все дети имели возможность для дошкольного образования. | Previously, not all children had access to preschool education. |
When negative words are used such as никто (noone), ничто (nothing), никуда (nowhere (motion)), The word ‘не’ is often used.
To the English speaker this looks like a double negative, but this is normal in Russian.
| Я ничего не вижу. | I see nothing. |
| Никто не знает. | Nobody knows. |
| Я никуда не хожу. | I am not going anywhere. |
The follow phrase is occasionally used in response to ‘thank-you’.
| Не за что. | Don’t mention it. (in response to ‘thank-you’) |
4: На — On, at, to
‘На’ means ‘on’ or ‘at’ when followed by the prepositional case. (Refer to lesson 8 for more information)
| Надя на работе | Nadya is at work |
| Вчера мы были на концерте. | Yesterday we were at the concert. |
| На столе книга и карандаш | On the table is a book and a pencil. |
| Мой отец работает на заводе и моя мама работает в библиотеке. | My father works at a plant and my mother works at a library. |
| Мы плавали в реке, а бабушка сидела у реки на траве. | We swam in the river, and grandmother was sitting on the grass at the river. |
| Она проводит за городом целый день и возвращается в город на закате. | She spends the whole day in the country and returns to town at sunset. |
| Когда мы были на юге, мы ходили к морю каждый день. | When we were in the south, we went to the sea every day. |
| На этой неделе мы встречаем наших друзей в аэропорту. | At this week we meet our friends at the airport. |
When ‘На’ is followed by the accusative case it means ‘to’ or ‘onto’.
| Надя идёт на работу. | Nadya is going to work. |
| Окна выходят на юг. | The windows look to the south. |
| Летом они всегда ездят на юг. | In summer they always go to the south. |
| В прошлом месяце моя тетя не ходила на работу. | Last month my aunt didn’t go to work. |
| Она встает в семь часов утра и идет на вокзал. | She gets up at seven o’clock and goes to the railway station. |
‘На’ is used in expressions of time that relate to weeks.
| На этой неделе… | This week… |
| На следующей неделе… | Next week… |
| На прошлой неделе я был на работе. | Last week I was at work |
5: Я — I
‘Я’ is the personal pronoun for the first person.
| Я говорю по-русски | I speak Russian |
| Я понимаю | I understand |
| Читая письмо, я не мог поверить собственным глазам. | Reading the letter, I couldn’t believe my eyes. |
| Я хотел бы кофе, пожалуйста. | I’d like a coffee, please. |
| Летом моя мама ходит на работу, а я в школу не хожу. | In summer my mother goes to work but I do not go to school. |
| На прошлой неделе я ходил в Русский музей. | Last week I went to the Russian Museum. |
| Я не слышал эту песню с прошлой зимы. | I haven’t heard this song since last winter. |
| Я весь день провел за городом и вернулся в город на закате. | I spent the whole day in the country and returned to town at sunset. |
| Я сижу на скамейке в парке и кормлю птиц. | I am sitting on a bench in the park and feeding the birds. |
6: Он — He, it.
‘Он’ is the personal pronoun for the third person (masculine).
| Он говорит по-русски | He speaks Russian |
| Он студент | He is a student |
| Куда он идёт? | Where is he going? |
| Он едет домой | He is going home |
| Слушая музыку, он забыл о времени. | Listening to the music, he forgot the time. |
| Он навестил свою сестру по случаю её дня рождения. | He visited his sister on the occasion of her birthday. |
| Он уже час работал, когда стемнело. | He had worked for an hour when it got too dark. |
| Он всегда был жестоким человеком. | He has always been a violent man. |
| Он выглядел старше, чем он был. | He looked older than he was. |
| Где мой телефон? Он был здесь минуту назад. | Where’s my Phone? It was on my desk a minute ago. |
| Родители подарили мне на День Рождения велосипед. Он очень современный и красивый. | Parents gave me a bike for my birthday. It is very modern and beautiful. |
7: Что — What, that
The word «Что» is a question pronoun that means «what»». It can be phrased simply as a question «What?». The pronoun takes the following forms.
| English | What |
| Nominative Case | Что |
| Accusative Case | Что |
| Genitive Case | Чего |
| Dative Case | Чему |
| Instrumental Case | Чем |
| Prepositional Case | Чём |
For example
| Что вы хотите? | What do you want? |
| Что случилось, после того как я ушел? | What happened after I left? |
| Что ты здесь делаешь? | What are you doing that for? |
| О чём ты говоришь? | What are you talking about? |
Like in English «Что» can also be a relative pronoun (similar to a conjunction) . It can mean ‘what’. It is preceded by a comma.
| Люди иногда спрашивают меня, что я собираюсь делать, когда я выйду на пенсию. | People sometimes ask me what I’m going to do when I retire. |
| Она была не совсем уверена, что она собиралась сказать. | She wasn’t quite sure what she was going to say. |
| Я даже не думал о том, что я собираюсь надеть на ужин. | I haven’t even thought about what I’m going to wear to the dinner. |
| Дети жалуются, что там нечего делать. | The kids complain that there’s nothing to do there. |
«Что» is also used for the conjunction «that». In Russian «Что» can not be omitted.
| Я знаю, что ты любишь музыку. | I know that you love music. |
| Я думаю, что он очень красивый | I think that it is very beautiful. |
| Я знаю, что есть проблемы, но у меня нет времени беспокоиться об этом сейчас. | I know there’s a problem, but I haven’t got time to worry about that now. |
| Я думаю, что я очень честный. | I think that I am very honest. |
«Потому что» translates to the conjunction «because». It is usually preceded by a comma.
However sometimes the comma is moved to the middle ‘потому, что’. This is done to emphasise the reason, however the difference it subtle. ‘Потому, что’ might be translated to ‘because of the fact’.
| Моя девушка не может пойти на прогулку, потому что она занята. | My girlfriend is not able to go for a walk with me today because she is very busy. |
8: С (со) — With, from
«С» has different meanings depending on the following case. It is usually pronounced as though it is part of the following word. When «с» it is followed by two or more consonants, «со» is normally used.
«С» means «with» or «accompanied by» when it is followed by the instrumental case (see Lesson 14).
| Я ем борщ со сметаной | I eat borsh with sour cream. |
| сказал он с надеждой | he said with hope |
| Иван с Анной идут в кафе. | Ivan and Anna are going to the cafe. |
| Он живет со своей бабушкой. | He lives with his grandmother. |
| Я собираюсь во Францию с парочкой друзей. | I’m going to France with a couple of friends. |
| Она жила с родителями в течение нескольких месяцев. | She was staying with her parents for a few months. |
| Она обедала со своим боссом | She was having lunch with the boss. |
«С» means «from» when it is followed by the genitive case. «С» (from) is the opposite of «на» (to). You should use the preposition «с» to translate ‘from a place’ when you would use «на» to mean ‘to a place’. (Refer: lesson 8). (Refer: ‘от’ and ‘из’ for other words that mean ‘from’).
| Ветер дует с севера. | The wind is coming from the north. |
| Она прислала мне открытку с Майорки. | She sent me a postcard from Majorca. |
| Вам придется брать деньги с кого-то еще. | You’ll have to borrow the money from someone else. |
| Он взял книгу со стола. | He took a book from the table. |
It is used in the following expressions also.
| С Рождеством | Merry Christmas |
| С днём рождения | Happy birthday |
| С новым годом | Happy new year |
9: Это — This is, that is
Это corresponds to «this is», «that is», «it is». This pronoun does not change form.
Note: The neuter form of the word «Этот» (word 20) is also spelt «это».
| Это наш дом | This is our house |
| Это верно | That is true |
| Что это? | What is it? |
| Это чай | It is tea. |
| Это мой дети | These are my children |
| Это мой муж | This is my husband |
| Это мое полотенце, а это твое. | This is my towel and that’s yours. |
| Это наш новый секретарь Вероника Тейлор. | This is our new secretary, Veronica Taylor. |
| Это полезная информация. | This is a useful information. |
| Это – безотлагательное дело. | This is an urgent matter. |
| Это уже четвертый шторм в течение одиннадцати дней. | This is already the fourth gale in eleven days. |
| Это покрывало на односпальную кровать. | This is a bed-spread for a single bed. |
10: Быть (есть) — To be, there is, there are
Быть is the verb for «to be» («is», «will», «was»). In Russian this verb is rarely used in the present tense. There are only certain cases where it is used in the present tense, these include the «to have» construction, and in the sense of «there is».
(View Conjugated Verb)
| У вас есть кофе? | Do you have coffee? |
| Есть водка? | Is there vodka? |
| Я был в кино вчера. | I was in the cinema yesterday. |
| Он будет учить русский язык. | He will learn russain. |
| Он хочет быть актером, когда закончит школу. | He wants to be an actor when he finishes school. |
| Это было ранним морозным утром. | It was a cold frosty morning. |
| В другой комнате есть женщина, которая хочет с тобой поговорить. | There’s a woman in the other room who wants to talk to you. |
| Есть небольшая проблема, которую необходимо обсудить. | There is a small problem that we need to discuss. |
| В моем супе есть волос. | There’s a hair in my soup. |
| В коробке было пять красных шаров. | There were five red balls in the box. |
11: А — And, but
«А» is a Russian conjunction that can mean ‘and’ or ‘but’. It is used when two statements contrast each other, but do not contradict each other. Quite often it is possible to translate it to either the word ‘but’ or ‘and’ in English. It’s use is normally preceded by a comma.
| Я говорю по-русски, а он говорит по-английски. | I speak Russian, but he speaks English. |
| Иван любит чай, а Надя любит вино. | Ivan loves tea, and Nadya loves wine. |
| Ты готовишь ленч, а я присматриваю за детьми. | You cook the lunch, and I’ll look after the children. |
| Я инженер, а моя мама бухгалтер. | I am engineer, and my mother is accountant. |
| Том пошел домой, а Андрей отправился на вечеринку. | Tom went home, and Andrew went to a party. |
| Моя жена любит овощи, а я фрукты. | My wife loves vegetables and I like fruits. |
| Она не художник, а писатель. | She’s not a painter but a writer. |
| Мэри была не на вечеринке, а в библиотеке. | Mary was not at the party but in the library. |
| Мой папа работает на заводе, а моя мама работает в библиотеке | My father works at a factory and my mother works at a library. |
12: Весь (Вся, Всё, Все) — All
«Весь» is the Russian word for «all», or «the whole». It takes a number of different forms depending on it’s place in the sentence.
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative Case | Весь | Вся | Всё | Все |
| Accusative Case (animate) |
Весь Всего |
Всю | Всё | Все Всех |
| Genitive Case | Всего | Всей | Всего | Всех |
| Dative Case | Всему | Всей | Всему | Всем |
| Instrumental Case | Всем | Всей | Всем | Всеми |
| Prepositional Case | Всём | Всей | Всём | Всех |
| Весь день | All day. |
| Всё было очень чисто | Everything was very clean |
| Вся квартира состояла из этих двух комнат | The whole apartment consisted of two rooms. |
| Мы все из Липецка | We are all from Lipetsk |
| Все животные должны есть, чтобы жить. | All animals have to eat in order to live. |
| Все мои друзья согласны. | All my friends agree. |
| Все что мне нужно, это крыша над головой и нормальная еда. | All I need is a roof over my head and a decent meal. |
| Торта не осталось. Они все съели. | There’s no cake left. They’ve eaten it all. |
| Вы потратили все свои деньги? | Have you spent all your money? |
| Вся семья собралась за столом. | All the family gathered around the table. |
13: Они — They
‘Они’ is the personal pronoun for the third person plural.
| Они работают | They work |
| Они встречаются в кафе | They meet in the cafe |
| Они желают новой семье счастливой жизни вместе. | They wish the new family happy life together. |
| Они брали уроки французского языка в прошлом году? | Did they take French lessons last year? |
| Они собираются жить в огромном доме. | They are going to live in an enormous house. |
| Они поженились на прошлой неделе. | They married last week. |
| На прошлой неделе они копали картофель. | They dug their potatoes last week. |
| Они выбрали самый большой ковер. | They chose the largest carpet. |
14: Она — She
‘Она’ is the personal pronoun for the third person (feminine).
| Она говорит по-русски | She speaks Russian |
| Она студентка | She is a student |
| Она улыбалась | She was smiling |
| Она набрала их номер два раза. | She has dialed their number twice. |
| Она получила письмо как раз вовремя. | She got the letter just in time. |
| Когда она уезжала, дождь шел уже несколько дней. | When she left it had rained for days. |
| Она сообщила о краже своего велосипеда. | She has reported the theft of her bicycle. |
| Она всегда убирает свою комнату. | She is always cleaning her room. |
| Она уже достигла цели своего путешествия? | Has she reached her destination yet? |
15: Как — How, as, like
‘Как’ is the Russian question word meaning ‘how?’…
| Как дела? | How are you? |
| Как вас зовут? | What is your name? |
| Как сказать «please» по-русски? | How do you say «please» in Russian. |
| Как нам отсюда добраться до города? | How do we get to the town from here? |
| Как вы узнали о концерте? | How did you hear about the concert? |
Like English, it can also be used like a conjugation meaning ‘how’.
| Дима не знает, как ездить на велосипеде. | Dima doesn’t know how to ride a bicycle. |
In Russian ‘Как’ is also used to make comparisons (similies). In this case it translates to ‘as’ or ‘like’…
| Белый, как снег | As white as snow |
| Он говорит по русски как настоящий русский | He speaks Russian like a native Russian |
| Я не могу бежать так быстро, как вы. | I can’t run as fast as you. |
| Это не так хорошо, как это было раньше. | It’s not as good as it used to be. |
| Я вложил деньги, как Вы предложили. | I invested the money as you suggested. |
| Это было небольшое животное, как крыса. | It was a small animal like a rat. |
| Никто не мог играть в футбол так, как он | No one could play football like him. |
| Я пошел и купил себе новую ручку — такую же как и у тебя. | I went and bought myself a new pen just like yours. |
«так как» is a conjuction meaning ‘since’. It is commonly used at the start of a sentence
| Так как Анна хотела поехать в кино, они и поехали. | Since Anna wanted to go to the cinema, they went. |
16: Мы — We
‘Мы’ is the personal pronoun for the first person plural.
| Мы понимаем | We understand |
| Мы не говорим по-русски | We don’t speak Russian |
| Мы все из Липецка | We are all from Lipetsk |
| Мы с мужем идём в кафе | My husband and I are going to the cafe. |
| Мы видели человека, у которого не было волос на голове. | We saw a man with no hair on his heard. |
| Я сказал ему, что мы всегда использовали те инструменты. | I told him that we had always used those tools. |
| Мы просили его сделать это, но он не хотел уступать. | We asked him to do it, but he didn’t want to yield. |
| Мы видели вдали деревню. | We saw the village in the distance. |
| Мы живем около красивого озера. | We live next to a beautiful lake. |
17: К (Ко) — Towards, to
‘К’ translates to ‘towards’. It is followed by the dative case. ‘Ко’ is used when two or more consonants follow.
| Липецк находится в четырехстах километрах к югу от Москвы. | Lipetsk is situated 400 kilometers to the south of Moscow. |
| Она встала и пошла к нему. | She stood up and walked towards him. |
| Существует тенденция к здоровому питанию среди всех слоев населения. | There is a trend towards healthier eating among all sectors of the population. |
| Он наклонился к жене и прошептал. | He leaned towards his wife and whispered. |
| Виктор стоял спиной ко мне. | Victor was standing with his back towards me. |
| Я часто голоден к середине обеда. | I often get hungry towards the middle of the morning. |
| К зиме темнеет раньше. | It’s getting dark earlier towards winter. |
| Госпожа Браун спешит по пути к нам. | Mrs Barnes was hurrying along the path towards us. |
‘К’ is also used when the meaning is ‘to the house of’.
| Мы едем к друзьям | We are going to our friends. |
18: У — By, near, at
The Russian preposition «У» can mean «to have». It will commonly be at the start of the sentence when it has this meaning. This sentence construction is somewhat unusual but you should remember it from lesson 9. The person who has the object follows «У» and is in the genitive case. The thing that is possessed becomes the subject of the sentence.
| У меня есть сестра | I have a sister |
| У вас есть водка? | Do you have vodka? |
| У меня нет братьев и сестер. | I don’t have brothers or sisters. |
| У них есть дача под Москвой | They have a dacha (summer house) near Moscow. |
When the preposition «У» is not used in the above construction it means «by» or «near». Again, it is used with the genitive case.
| Большинство крупных городов в мире расположены у воды. | Most large cities in the world are situated near water. |
| Собака пришла и легла у ноги. | The dog came and lay down at my feet. |
| Она стояла у книжного шкафа. | She was standing at the bookcase. |
| Где твой брат? Он в комнате, стоит у окна. | Where is your brother? He is in the room, standing at the window. |
| Она сидела там у окна. | She was sitting over there by the window. |
| Мы встречаемся у угла этого дома. | We meet at the corner of this house. |
| Дедушка вошел в гостиную и сел в кресло у камина. | My grandfather went into the living room and sat in a chair by the fireplace. |
19: Вы — You
«Вы» is the Russian pronoun for the second person plural. It is used when addressing a group of people. There is no English equivalent so English speakers may be tempted to use «yous», or «you all» in colloquial speech.
«Вы» is also used for the first person singular when you wish to address someone formally. «Ты» is usually reserved for friends and children. It is common to write Вы with a capital letter when writing to someone as it is more formal.
| Вы говорите по-русски? | Do you speak Russian? |
| Вы увидите множество российских рек. | You will see a lot of Russian rivers |
| Как Вы видите… | As you can see… |
| Я хочу пойти в свою комнату, если вы не возражаете. | I want to go to my room, if you don’t mind. |
| Вы приезжаете сегодня вечером, не так ли? | You’re coming tonight, aren’t you? |
| Как вы себя чувствуете? | How do you feel yourself? |
| Если вы занимаетесь спортом каждый день, вы будете чувствовать себя намного лучше. | If you exercise every day, you’ll feel a lot better. |
| Вы не могли бы мне помочь? | Сould you help me? |
| Вчера, когда вы пошли на прогулку, я убирал квартиру. | Yesterday, when you went for a walk, I cleaned the apartment. |
20: Этот (Эта, Это, Эти) — This
«Этот» is a demonstrative pronoun meaning «this». It declines based on case and gender. In some forms it has the same spelling as word 9 «Это» which means «this is».
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | This | |||
| Nominative Case | Этот | Эта | Это | Эти |
| Accusative Case (animate) |
Этот Этого |
Эту | Это | Эти Этих |
| Genitive Case | Этого | Этой | Этого | Этих |
| Dative Case | Этому | Этой | Этому | Этим |
| Instrumental Case | Этим | Этой | Этим | Этими |
| Prepositional Case | Этом | Этой | Этом | Этих |
| Этот дом новый, а тот дом старый. | This house is new, but that house is old. |
| Эта книга моя, а та книга ваша | This book is mine, and that book is yours. |
| Эта квартира слишком дорогая. | This apartment is too expensive. |
| Эта дорога ведет к станции. | This road leads to station. |
| Этот хлеб вкусный. | This bread is delicious. |
| Это велосипед почтальона? | Is this the postman’s bicycle? |
| Это ваш телевизор? | Is this your television set? |
| Это высокий книжный шкаф. | This is a tall bookcase. |
| Мой муж любит этот галстук. | My husband likes this tie. |
| Ты знал что-нибудь об этом? | Do you know anything about this? |
21: За — Behind, For
The Russian preposition «За» followed by the instrumental case can mean «behind» or «beyond».
| За домом | Behind the house. |
| Надя стоит за мной | Nadya is standing behind me. |
| Я повесил свое пальто за дверью. | I hung my coat behind the door. |
| Гарри вышел и закрыл за собой дверь. | Harry went out and shut the door behind him. |
| Менеджер сидел за огромным столом. | The manager was sitting behind an enormous desk. |
«За» is used with the accusative case when following verbs of motion because it has a sense of direction. In this case it still means «behind»
| Я иду за дом | I am going behind the house. |
«За» can also mean «for». It is used with the accusative to express thanks or the reason for a payment. In this meaning it has a sense of «in exchange for».
«За +(accusative)» can also mean «for» in the sense of «in support of» (opposite of «against»).
| Спасибо за помощь. | Thanks for helping. |
| Владимир платит за билеты. | Vladimir is paying for the tickets. |
| За это было уплачено | It has been paid for. |
| Там была засуха за последние два лета. | There have been drought conditions for the last two summers. |
| Я продал свой автомобиль за £ 900. | I sold my car for £900. |
| Они купили весь бизнес примерно за 15 миллионов фунтов. | They bought the entire business for around £15m. |
| Я присматриваю за детьми. | I am looking for the children. |
«За» followed by the instrumental can mean «for» in the sense of «to get».
| Он пошел за молоком. | He went for (to get) milk. |
«За» can be used to express a duration of time (with accusative)
| Саша съел обед за пять минут. | Sasha ate his lunch in 5 minutes |
22: Тот (та, то, те) — That
«Тот» is the Russian demonstrative pronoun meaning «that». It is very similar to «Этот» (this).
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | That | |||
| Nominative Case | Тот | Та | То | Те |
| Accusative Case (animate) |
Тот Того |
Ту | То | Те Тех |
| Genitive Case | Того | Той | Того | Тех |
| Dative Case | Тому | Той | Тому | Тем |
| Instrumental Case | Тем | Той | Тем | Теми |
| Prepositional Case | Том | Той | Том | Тех |
| Этот дом новый, а тот дом старый. | This house is new, but that house is old. |
| Эта книга моя, а та книга ваша | This book is mine, and that book is yours. |
| В те дни не существовало телефона. | There were no telephones in those days. |
| Я хочу купить тот свитер. | I want to buy that sweater. |
| Она живет в том доме возле автобусной станции. | She lives in that house by the bus station. |
| Мне никогда не нравился тот ее двоюродный брат. | I’ve never liked that cousin of hers. |
| Двигатель снова начал издавать тот шум. | The engine’s started making that noise again. |
| Та девушка очень симпатичная, я хочу с ней встретиться. | That girl is very pretty, I want to meet her. |
23: Но — But
«Но» is the Russian conjunction meaning «but». It is used when two parts of a sentence contradict one another. Remember that «А» (word 11) is used when the clauses contrast one another but don’t contradict.
| Анна очень умная девушка, но она довольно ленивая. | Anna’s a highly intelligent girl, but she’s rather lazy. |
| Моя квартира большая, но квартира Петрова больше. | My flat is large, but Petrov’s is lager. |
| Я знаю, что есть проблемы, но у меня нет времени беспокоиться об этом сейчас. | I know there’s a problem, but I haven’t got time to worry about that now. |
| Эта машина очень дорогая, но надежная. | Their car is very expensive but reliable. |
| У него есть кот, но нет собаки. | He has a cat, but he has no dog. |
| В субботу в клубе была дискотека, но он не пошел. | There was a disco at the club last Saturday but he didn’t go. |
24: Ты — You (familiar)
«Ты» is the Russian pronoun for the second person singular. It is informal and commonly used with friends and children. Use «Вы» instead when formality is required.
| Ты понимаешь? | Do you understand? |
| Ты любишь апельсины? | Do you like oranges? |
| Ты всё ещё холост? | Are you still single? |
| Я пришел спросить, как ты себя чувствуешь? | I came to ask how you are. |
| Ты разочаровал меня. | You have disappointed me. |
| Ты видишь маленькую девочку с большим мячом в руках? | Do you see a little girl with a big ball in her hands? |
| Если ты хочешь, чтобы твой хлеб оставался свежим, храни его в холодильнике. | If you want your bread to be fresh, keep it only in the refrigerator. |
25: По — Along, around, according to, by
«По» is one of the most difficult Russian prepositions to translate. It has a number of different uses and meanings, and needs to be translated based on context.
It is most commonly used with the dative case. «По» (+dative) can mean «around»
| Романтик прогуливался по пляжу. | Romantic walk along the beach. |
| Он шел по улице и заметил своего друга. | He was walking along the street and saw his friend. |
| По утрам Джессика совершает пробежку по парку. | In the morning, Jessica makes a jog along the park. |
«По» (+dative) can mean «along»
| Дети бегали по комнате. | The children were dancing around the room. |
| У них есть около 15 офисов, разбросанных по всей стране. | They have about 15 offices scattered around the country. |
| Почему эти вещи разбросаны по полу. | Why are all those clothes lying around on the floor? |
«По» (+dative) can mean «according to»
| По нашим данным, Вы должны нам $130. | According to our records you owe us $130. |
| По словам Сары, они получают на очень много на данный момент. | According to Sarah they’re not getting a lot (of money) at the moment. |
| Мы должны стараться играть в игру по правилам. | We should try to play the game according to the rules. |
«По» (+dative) can mean «by»
| Я взял по ошибке вашу шляпу. | I took your hat by mistake. |
| Нам платят за работу по часам. | We get paid by the hour. |
| Туда можно ехать парохбдом или по железной дороге. | You can get there by boat or by train. |
26: Из — Out of, from
«Из» can mean ‘out of’ or ‘from’.
| Яблоко выкатилось из мешка. | An apple rolled out of the bag. |
| Кофе-машина вышла из строя. | The coffee machine is out of order. |
| Платье было сделано из бархата. | The dress was made out of velvet. |
| Девять из десяти человек сказали, что им понравился продукт. | Nine out of ten people said they liked the product. |
| Никто не получил 20 из 20 в тесте. | No one got 20 out of 20 in the test. |
«Из» is normally used in expressions of place. ‘Из’ (from) is the opposite of ‘в’ (to). ‘Из’ is normally used in expressions of place. For example… «from America», «from school».
(Refer to ‘с’ and ‘от’ to translate ‘from’ in relation to time, distance and person.
| Во сколько прибывает рейс из Амстердама? | What time does the flight from Amsterdam arrive? |
| Он вынул носовой платок из кармана. | He took a handkerchief from his pocket. |
| Она вынула расческу из сумочки и начала причесывать волосы. | She took her hairbrush from her handbag and began to brush her hair. |
Note: «из-за» means either ‘from behind’, or ‘because of’.
Note: «из-под» means either ‘from under’, or ‘for’.
27: О (об, обо) — About
«О» means «about» or «concerning» when it is used with the prepositional case. «об, обо» and are used for readability when a word starting with a vowel or multiple consonants follows.
| Мы поговорили обо всём, что нас волновало. | We talked about everything that we care. |
| Подумайте о том, что я вам говорил. | Think about what I’ve told you. |
| Я беспокоюсь о папе. | I’m worried about Dad. |
| Он еще не видел фильм, о котором я говорил. | He had not yet seen the film I was talking about. |
| Еще кто-нибудь знает о том, что я прибыл? | Does anyone else know about my arrival? |
| Ты знал что-нибудь об этом? | Do you know anything about this? |
| Ее мама сказала купить ей хлеб, а она забыла об этом. | Her mother had told her to buy some bread but she had forgotten about it. |
28: Свой — One’s own
«Свой» is the Russian reflexive possessive pronoun. It is used when the owner of something is also the subject. (Its use is required in the 3rd person, and optional in the 1st and 2nd. Although it is almost always used if the subject is ты).
More information about reflexives can be found in the Reflexive Verbs grammar lesson.
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | My own, his own, her own | |||
| Nominative Case | Свой | Своя | Своё | Свои |
| Accusative Case (animate) |
Свой Своего |
Свою | Своё | Свои Своих |
| Genitive Case | Своего | Своей | Своего | Своих |
| Dative Case | Своему | Своей | Своему | Своим |
| Instrumental Case | Своим | Своей | Своим | Своими |
| Prepositional Case | Своём | Своей | Своём | Своих |
| Я разбил свою собственную машину вчера. | I smashed му own car yesterday. |
| Каждый человек имеет свое представление, что такое демократия. | Everyone has their own idea of what democracy means. |
| Каждый район в Нью-Йорке, имеет свои особенности. | Each neighbourhood in New York has its own characteristics. |
| Я бы никогда не поверил, если бы не увидел своими глазами. | I’d never have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. |
| У тебя есть свой дом? | Do you have your own house? |
| Вчера я делал уборку в доме и стирал свою одежду. | Yesterday I cleaned the house and washed my own clothes. |
| Он провел последние годы своей жизни в основном в Стратфорде . | He spent the last years of his life mostly in Stratford. |
29: Так — So
«Так» translates to ‘so’ and it’s use in Russian is quite similar to English.
| Я так устал, что я могу уснуть прям в этом кресле! | I’m so tired that I could sleep in this chair! |
| Я так рада, что вы смогли приехать. | I’m so glad you could come. |
| Она так любила смотреть, как играют дети. | She so loved watching the children play. |
| Он родился во Франции, так что у него также есть французский паспорт. | He was born in France, so he also has a French passport. |
| Вчера я ходил в гости к друзьям, это было так весело. | Yesterday I went to visit friends, it was so funny. |
| Ты не должен так делать. | You should not do so. |
«так как» is a conjuction meaning ‘since’. It is commonly used at the start of a sentence.
| Так как Анна хотела поехать в кино, то они и поехали. | Since Anna wanted to go to the cinema, they went. |
30: Один (Одна, Одно) — One
«Один» is the number 1.
| У вас три сумки, а у меня только одна. | You’ve got three bags and I’ve only got one. |
| У меня есть только один свободный час. | I’ve only got one hour free. |
| У них одна дочь и пятеро сыновей. | They have one daughter and five sons. |
| Сколько стоят эти брюки? Одну сотню пятьдесят фунтов. | How much are these pants? One hundred and fifty pounds. |
| Одна картинка маленькая, другая – очень большая. | One picture is small, the other picture is very large. |
| Санкт-Петербург — один из самых больших городов в России. | St. Petersburg is one of the largest cities in Russia. |
31: Вот — Here, there.
«Вот» can mean ‘here’ or ‘there’. It is used when are pointing or gesturing towards something. If you are not pointing then ‘here’ will usually translate as ‘здесь’ (word 74) instead.
| Вот Фиона — позвольте мне познакомить вас с ней. | Here’s Fiona — let me introduce you to her. |
| Вот книга, которую я одалживал у тебя. | Here’s the book I had lend you. |
| О, вот мои очки. Я думал, что потерял их. | Oh, here are my glasses. I thought I’d lost them. |
| Ах, вот вы где! Я искал вас повсюду. | Ah, here you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you. |
32: Который — Which, who
«Который» means ‘which’ and declines like an adjective.
In Russian the use of Который is more strict. In English we may ask «What book do you like?», but it is more correct to ask «Which book do you like?». This distinction is important in Russian.
| Который час? | What is the time? (lit: Which hour?) |
| Я думал о тех вопросах, которые вы задали меня на прошлой неделе. | I’ve been thinking about those questions which you asked me last week. |
| Это сказка, которой будет наслаждаться каждый ребенок. | It’s a story which every child will enjoy. |
| В тексте есть слово, которое я не могу понять. | There is a word in the text which I cannot understand. |
| Собака, которая бежала по улицам городка, увидела ларек мясника с большим количеством мяса. | A dog which was running about the streets of a little town saw a butcher’s stall with a lot of meat. |
| Мой брат читал мне отрывок из книги, которую он привез накануне. | My brother read to me an extract from the book which he had brought the day before. |
| Я помню некоторые из историй, которые он мне рассказывал. | I remember some of the stories which he told me. |
Который can also mean «who» (or «whom» in formal English), usually in the sense of «the person who…»
| Человек, с кото́рым я дружу | The man who I am friends with |
33: Наш — Our
«Наш» is the Russian possessive pronoun for the plural 1st person. It means «our».
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Our | |||
| Nominative Case | Наш | Наша | Наше | Наши |
| Accusative Case (animate) |
Наш Нашего |
Нашу | Наше | Наши Наших |
| Genitive Case | Нашего | Нашей | Нашего | Наших |
| Dative Case | Нашему | Нашей | Нашему | Нашим |
| Instrumental Case | Нашим | Нашей | Нашим | Нашими |
| Prepositional Case | Нашем | Нашей | Нашем | Наших |
| Мы купили наш дом несколько лет назад. | We bought our house several years ago. |
| Большинство наших друзей живут в пригородах. | Most of our friends live in the suburbs. |
| Мы очень гордимся нашей работой. | We’re very proud of our work. |
| Наш кот сидит на диване. | Our cat is sitting on the sofa. |
| Маленький коричневый кофейный столик стоит перед диваном в нашей комнате. | There is a little brown coffee table in our room in front of the sofa. |
| В нашей новой квартире три комнаты и кухня. | There are three rooms and a kitchen in our new flat. |
34: Только — Only
«Только» is Russian for ‘only’.
| Только в этом доме я чувствую себя в безопасности. | Only in this house do I feel safe and secure. |
| Вокруг были только камни и песок. | There were only stones and sand around. |
| Дети были не только расстроены, они были очень сердиты. | The children were not only upset, they were very angry. |
| Только тогда, когда она была в поезде, она вспомнила, что она оставила книгу у себя дома. | Only when she was in the train, she remembered that she had left the book at home. |
| Я только хочу помочь Вам. | I only want to be allowed to help you. |
| На уроке английского языка вы должны говорить только на английском языке. | At the English lesson you must speak only English. |
35: Ещё — Still, yet
«Ещё» translates to the adverb ‘still’ or ‘yet’ depending on it’s position in the sentence.
| Я ещё не обставила своей новой квартиры. | I still haven’t furnished my new apartment. |
| Картофель ещё не очищен. | The potatoes haven’t been peeled yet. |
| Вода ещё не закипела? | Has the water boiled yet? |
| Ещё весна? | Is it still spring? |
| Медсестра ещё не работает. | The nurse is still at work. |
| Он ещё не закончил свою работу. | He hasn’t finished his work yet. |
| Сегодня ее история была еще длиннее. | Today her story was still longer. |
36: От — From
«От» is one of the Russian words that translates to ‘from’ (refer also ‘с’ and ‘из’). «От» is usually used with the genitive case. «От» (+genitive) is used when receiving something from someone, ‘from a person’.
| Я узнал об этой книге от Ивана. | I learned about this book from Ivan. |
| Я получил имэйл от Анны. | I received an email from Anna |
| От этой кошки пахнет рыбой. | From that cat comes the smell of fish. |
Other expressions that still mean ‘from a person’ or ‘from a persons place’ also use «от».
| Прошлым вечером мы возвращались домой от друзей. | Last night we got home from friends. |
| он ушёл от жены | He left his wife. |
Expressions of distance commonly use «от». Note that construction «от … до» is used to express distance from one place to another.
| От моря до нашего дома пять километров | There is five kilometers from our house to sea. |
| На прошлой неделе я проехал от Минска до Москвы 950 километров. | Last week I drove from Minsk to Moscow, 950 miles. |
| Мы живем в нескольких милях от города. | We live a few miles from the city. |
37: Такой — Such
«Такой» means ‘such’ and it’s use is quite similar to English. However it worth noting that the negative ‘не такой’ can mean ‘different’.
| Как можно жить на такую маленькую зарплату? | How can anyone live on such a small salary? |
| Он всегда относился с таким состраданием и такой заботой к другим. | He has always had such compassion and such concern for others. |
| Если это такая тайна, почему вы мне сказали? | If it’s such a secret, why did you tell me? |
| В музее есть картины таких художников импрессионистов, как Мане и Дега. | The museum has paintings by such Impressionist artists as Manet and Degas. |
| Он был увлечен спортивными занятиями такими, как гольф, лыжи и стрельба. | He was keen on sporting pursuits such as golf, skiing and shooting. |
| Мне было шесть, когда я обнаружил, что нет такого человека, как Санта Клаус. | I was six when I discovered that there was no such person as Santa Claus. |
«Такой» is commonly used in speech to mean ‘What’s the matter?’.
| Что такое? | What’s the matter?, What’s that? |
38: Мочь — Can, to be able
Мочь is useful verb that means ‘to be able’ or ‘can’. (View Conjugations)
| Я могу пойти в кино. | I can go to the cinema. |
| Он не может приготовить обед. | He can not cook lunch. |
| Мы могли встретиться. | We could meet. |
| Вы сможете прийти к нам завтра? | Will you be able to come to us tomorrow? |
| Ты можешь мне помочь? | Can you help me? |
| Они не смогут прочитать эту книгу. | They will not be able to read this book. |
| Он никогда не мог признаться в своих ошибках. | He’s never been able to admit to his mistakes. |
| Мне жаль, что я не могла позвонить вам вчера. | I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to phone you yesterday. |
| Она едва может читать и писать. | She is barely able to read or write. |
| Они могут купить все, что захотят. | They can buy whatever they want. |
| Он может читать английские книги без словаря. | He is able to read English newspapers without a dictionary. |
| Моя девушка не может пойти на прогулку, потому что она занята. | My girlfriend is not able to go for a walk with me today because she is very busy. |
39: Говорить — Speak
«Говорить» means ‘to speak’. It’s perfective form is Сказать which is listed as word 40. (View Conjugations)
| Я люблю много говорить. | I like to speak a lot. |
| Он не часто говорит со своей мамой. | He does not often speak to his mother. |
| Мой друг говорит всегда очень быстро. | My friend always speaks very quickly. |
| Вы говорили с ним об этом вчера? | Did you speak to him about it yesterday? |
| Я видел его, но я не говорил с ним. | I saw him, but I didn’t speak to him. |
| Ваш сын умеет говорить по-русски? | Can your son speak Russian? |
| На каких иностранных языках говорит твой папа? | What foreign languages does your father speak? |
| Вчера я видел фильм, о котором ты говоришь. | Yesterday I saw the film you are speaking about. |
40: Сказать — Say
«Сказать» means ‘to say’. It is the perfective form of «Говорить». (View Conjugations)
| Он сказал, что ему нравится город. | He said he liked the city. |
| Она сказала до свидания всем ее друзьям и ушла. | She said goodbye to all her friends and left. |
| Скажи мне, что он тебе сказал. | Tell me what he said to you. |
| Он говорит, что знает этого человека. | He says he knows this man. |
| Врач говорит, что она должна быть доставлена в больницу. | The doctor says she must be taken to hospital. |
| То, что ты сказал, это правда. | What you have said is true. |
41: Для — For
«Для» translates to ‘for’ in the sense of «for the benefit of». It is followed by the genitive case. (Note: dependant on meaning, ‘for’ can also be translated using ‘за’ or simply only the dative case).
| Я принес чашку чая для вас. | I’ve brought a cup of tea for you. |
| Итак, что же я могу для вас сделать? | So, what can I do for you? |
| Зима – это хорошее время для занятия спортом. | Winter is a good time for sports. |
| Пойдем и посмотрим, сможем ли мы купить хорошие брюки для тебя. | Let’s go in and see if we can buy a nice pair of trousers for you. |
| Это хорошие хлопковые платья для моих племянниц. | They are nice cotton dresses for my nieces. |
| Эти ботинки слишком велики для моих ног. | These shoes are too large for my feet. |
42: Уже — Already
Уже is the Russian adverb ‘already’.
| Он уже вернулся? | Has he come back already? |
| Ему только 24, но он уже достиг мировой славы. | He’s only 24, but he’s already achieved worldwide fame. |
| Я попросил его пойти на выставку, но он уже видел ее. | I asked him to come to the exhibition but he’d already seen it. |
| Концерт уже начался, когда мы приехали. | The concert had already begun by the time we arrived. |
| Я уже сказал ему. | I’ve already told him. |
| Я уже сделал свою домашнюю работу. | I have already done my homework. |
43: Знать — Know
Знать means ‘to know’. There is no perfective form of this verb. (View Conjugations)
| Я знал, что она работает на фабрике. | I knew that she worked at a plant. |
| Если Вы не знаете ответа, просто догадайтесь. | If you don’t know the answer, just guess. |
| Как вы узнали мое имя? | How do you know my name? |
| Я не знаю, откуда берутся деньги. | I don’t know where the money’s coming from. |
| Я знал, что она не очень счастлива. | I knew she wasn’t really happy. |
| Эта девочка знала спортсменов, которых наградили призом. | The girls knew of the sportsman’s having been awarded a prize. |
44: Да — Yes
Usually one of the first words people learn in Russian. «Да» simply means ‘yes’.
| Вчера банк сказал мне да на кредит. | Yesterday the bank said to me, yes for the loan. |
| Хотите, чтобы я открыл окно? Да, пожалуйста. | Would you like me to open a window? Yes, please. |
| Вы не могли бы одолжить мне ручку на минутку? Да, конечно. | Can I borrow your pen for a minute? Yes, of course. |
| Вы сердились? И да, и нет. | Were you angry? Well, yes and no. |
| Он сказал да на запрос и получил много проблем. | He said yes to the request and got a lot of troubles. |
| Тебе нравится тайская кухня? Да, я ее люблю. | Do you like Thai food? Yes, I love it. |
45: Какой — What kind of
Какой means ‘what kind of’. Don’t be tempted to use ‘Что’, it is important to use Какой when you are asking ‘What kind of …?’.
However in some case when translating from Russian to English it will still make sense to translate «Какой» simply as ‘what’.
| Какой сорт сыра вы предпочитаете? | What kind of cheese do you prefer? |
| Я спросил Бэки какую книгу ей принес друг. | I asked Becky what kind of book her friend had brought her. |
| Он не знал, какое имущество у него было. | He did not know what kind of property he had. |
| Я не знаю, какой фрукты он любит. | I do not know what kind of fruit he likes. |
| Какой двигатель в вашей машине, бензиновый или электрический? | What kind of engine in your car, petrol or electric? |
46: Когда — When
Когда means ‘when’ it can be used as a question word.
| Когда твоя cестра пришла домой вчера? | When did your sister come home yesterday? |
| Когда же мне разрешат увидеться с тобой? | When shall I be allowed to see you? |
| Когда преподаватель читал студентам интересный рассказ? | When did the teacher read an interesting story to the students? |
| Когда он возвращается домой? | When does he come home? |
| Когда ты приедешь нас навестить. | When are you coming to see us? |
| Когда прилетает самолет из Парижа? | When does the plain from Paris arrive? |
| Когда ты сегодня заканчиваешь работу? | When do you finish your job today? |
| Когда вы снимали деньги со счета в прошлый раз? | When was your previous withdrawal? |
Like English you will also find this word in the middle of a sentence.
| Я знал его в течение уже шести лет, когда он умер. | I had known him for six years when he died. |
| Когда я вошел, они ждали меня уже несколько часов. | When I entered they had waited for me for hours. |
| Она была без сознания, когда её забрали в больницу. | She was unconscious when she was taken to hospital. |
| Когда я вошел, он встал. | He rose when I entered. |
| Не пей пива, когда ты должен вести машину. | Don’t drink beer when you have to drive. |
47: Другой — Other, another, different
«Другой» means ‘other’ or ‘another’.
| Поставьте одну ногу перед другой. | Put one foot in front of the other. |
| Нет никакой другой работы доступной на данный момент. | There is no other work available at the moment. |
| Есть ли другие люди, с которыми мы должны поговорить? | Are there any other people we should speak to? |
| Отчет будет представлять интерес для учителей и других лиц в сфере образования. | The report will be of interest to teachers and others in the education field. |
| Две другие девушки по-прежнему делали работу. | Two other girls were still doing the job. |
| На другой стороне улицы есть кафе. | On the other side of the street there is a coffee shop. |
48: Первый — First
The adjective «первый» means ‘first’.
| У него есть две дочери от первого брака и сын от второго. | He has two daughters from his first marriage and a son from his second. |
| Я был первым в очереди. | I was first in the queue. |
| Это мой первый визит в Нью-Йорке. | This is my first visit to New York. |
| Я влюбилась в него с первого взгляда. | I fell in love with him the first time I saw him. |
| Я всегда нервная в течение первых нескольких минут экзамена. | I’m always nervous for the first few minutes of an exam. |
| Поверните на первом повороте направо. | Take the first turning on the right. |
49: Чтобы — In order to, so that, to
The conjunction «Чтобы» means ‘in order to’ or ‘so that’. Sometime in English it is possible to contract ‘in order to’ to ‘to. In this case the meaning is the same and «Чтобы» should still be used.
| Он пришел домой пораньше, чтобы увидеть детей, прежде чем они легли спать. | He came home early in order to see the children before they went to bed. |
| Я согласился на ее предложение, чтобы не расстраивать ее. | I agreed to her suggestion in order not to upset her. |
| Я выполнил всю работы, чтобы быть свободным в выходные. | I do all the work in order to be free on weekends. |
| Вчера Том ходил в магазин, чтобы купить продукты. | Yesterday Tom went to the store in order to buy food. |
| Чтобы встретить сестру он поехал на вокзал. | In order to meet his sister, he went to the station. |
It is also possible that «Чтобы» can be the conjunction ‘to’. It is commonly used to indicate what someone wants someone else to do.
| Мама сказала, чтобы ты вынесла мусор. | Mama said for you to take out the garbage. |
50: Его — His
«Его» is the possessive pronoun for the masculine third person. It means ‘his’. It is pronounced «yevo».
| Его зубы не белые. | His teeth are not white. |
| Ты знаешь его родителей? | Do you know his parents? |
| Вчера в театре мы встретили одного из его старых друзей. | We met an old friend of his at the theatre yesterday. |
| Его родители были бедными, так, что Бернс не смог получить хорошее образование. | His parents were poor, so that Burns could not get a good education. |
| Её привлекла его улыбка. | She was attracted by his smile. |
51: Год — Year
«Год» means ‘year’. The plural is irregular. The plural is based on the last digit of the number.
1: год
2-4: года
5-0: лет
| Сколько вам лет? | How old are you? |
| Мне восемнадцать лет | I am 18 years old |
| Мне двадцать три года | I am 23 years old |
| В этом году урожай, к сожалению, не удался. | Unfortunately the crop failed that year. |
| Ты можешь подождать ещё год? | Can you wait another year? |
| Два года тому назад он был в Лондоне и имел возможность смотреть английские фильмы каждый день. | He was London two years ago, so he could see English films every day. |
| В прошлом году я никогда не опаздывал на свои уроки. | I never came late to my lessons last year. |
| Он окончил университет три года назад. | He graduated from the university three years ago. |
| Осталось две недели до конца учебного года. | Two weeks are left before the end of the school year. |
| С новым годом! | Happy new year! |
52: Кто — Who
| Кто эти люди? | Who are these people? |
| Кто написал эту пьесу? | Who has written this play? |
| Карри отказался говорить, кто организовал встречу. | Curry refused to say who had organized the meeting. |
| Я думаю, Bramwell был тот, кто первым предложил идею. | I think Bramwell was the one who first suggested the idea. |
| Кто истратил меньше всего денег? | Who spent the least money? |
| Я не знаю, кто приготовил этот пирог. | I do not know who prepared this cake. |
53: Дело — Matter, business
| Могу ли я поговорить с вами о личном деле? | Could I talk to you about a personal matter? |
| Я здесь недавно. На самом деле, только вчера я сошел с самолета. | I haven’t been here long. As a matter of fact, I just got off the plane yesterday. |
| Дело обсудили несколько дней назад. | The matter was discussed some days ago. |
| Наша фирма ведет много дел с зарубежными клиентами. | Our firm does a lot of business with overseas customers. |
| Как ваши дела на данный момент? | How is business at the moment? |
| Дешевый импорт наносит ущерб нашему делу. | Cheap imports are damaging our business. |
| Компании рискуют потерять дело, если они не примут евро. | Companies risk losing business if they don’t accept the Euro. |
54: Нет — No
«Нет» is Russian for ‘no’
| В кувшине нет молока. | There is no milk in the jug. |
| В этих брюках нет карманов. | There are no pockets in these trousers. |
| Нет абсолютно никаких причин вставать завтра рано утром. | There’s absolutely no reason to get up early tomorrow morning. |
| Вы хотите еще одну чашку кофе? Нет, спасибо. С меня хватит. | Do you want another cup of coffee? No, thanks. I’ve had enough. |
| Мне очень жаль, но я должен сказать нет в этот раз. | I’m sorry, but I have to say no this time. |
| У меня нет денег, чтобы пойти в кино. | I have no money to go to the cinema. |
55: Её — Her
«Её» is the possessive pronoun for the feminine third person. It means ‘her’.
| Это её дом | This is her house. |
| Её силы были исчерпаны. | Her strength was exhausted. |
| Её сестра учит их читать. | Her sister teaches them to read. |
| Приводи её дочь в одиннадцать. | Bring her daughter at eleven. |
| Это её единственный брат. | This is her only brother. |
| Её муж – полицейский. | Her husband is a policeman. |
| Её мать слишком молода. | Her mother is too young. |
56: Очень — Very
«Очень» is Russian for ‘very’
| Ситуация очень серьезная. | The situation is very serious. |
| Мы очень, очень сожалеем о том, что произошло. | We’re very, very sorry about what’s happened. |
| Подумайте об этом очень внимательно, прежде чем решить. | Think about it very carefully before deciding. |
| Это был очень хороший фильм. | It was a very good film. |
| Здание выглядит очень старым. | The building looks very old. |
| Я думаю, он очень красивый, не так ли? | I think he’s very handsome, don’t you? |
| Это было очень мило с вашей стороны. | That was very kind of you. |
57: Большой — Large, Big
«Большой» is Russian for ‘Large’ or ‘Big’.
| Он хочет большое яблоко. | He wants a big apple. |
| Нам нужна большая машина. | We need a larger car. |
| Возле дома был исключительно большой сад. | The house had an exceptionally large garden. |
| По пути к станции к нам присоединилась большая группа молодых людей. | On our way to the station we were joined by a large group of young people. |
| Я был благодарен, что мне дали комнату с большим окном. | I was grateful to have been given a room with a large window. |
| В комнате светло, так как окна большие. | The room is light as the windows are large. |
58: Новый — New
«Новый» is Russian for ‘New’
| Вчера вечером я видел новый фильм. | Last night I saw a new movie. |
| Смиты купили новый дом. | Smiths have bought a new house. |
| Они собираются построить новый офис здесь. | They are going to build a new office here. |
| Что нового в мире моды? | What’s new in the fashion world? |
| Мы должны вкладывать средства в новые технологии, если мы хотим оставаться конкурентоспособными. | We have to invest in new technology if we are to remain competitive. |
| Вы видели мой новый автомобиль? Я купил его вчера. | Have you seen my new car? I bought it yesterday. |
59: Стать — Become, Begin to
Стать is an interesting Russian verb because it mostly used in the perfective. Commonly in the past tense. It can have varying meaning in Russian and is sometimes hard to translate, but it’s main meaning is ‘became’.
(View Conjugations)
Стать is commonly followed by the instrumental case or an adjective indicating the state of something.
| Мы станем друзьями. | We became friends. |
| Они станут учителями. | They will become teachers. |
| Он стал учителем в восемнадцати лет | He became a teacher at eighteen years of age. |
| Дмитрий станет бизнесменом. | Dimitri will become a business man. |
| Стало душно. | It became stuffy. |
| Ночью стало холодно. | The night became cold. |
«Стать» can also mean ‘begin’. Much like the verb «Начать». In many cases the are «Стать» and «Начать» interchangeable.
However there are some differences. «Стать» is only used in the perfective, so it is not used in the present tense.
Using «Стать» may infer that the action is an ongoing one and will likely continue without change. «Начать» on the other hand may infer the action will develop into something.
Here are some examples of using both words «Стать» and «Начать».
| Она cтала читать книгу. | She began to read a book. |
| Встреча началась многообещающе, но затем все пошло не так. | The meeting began promisingly, but then things started to go wrong. |
| Все началось с одной бурной ночи в мае 1998 года. | It all began on one stormy night in May 1998. |
| Во сколько начинается концерт? | What time does the concert begin? |
60: Работа — Work
«Работа» is Russian for ‘work’. It is a noun. The verb «Работать» (to work) is word 83.
| Фермеры начинают работу на рассвете. | Farmers start work at dawn. |
| У нее тяжелая работа. | She has a hard work. |
| Эта работа не была востребована. | The work was not applied. |
| Работа была выполнена плохо. | The work was done badly. |
| Кто подходит для этой работы? | Who is the right man for this work? |
| На такую работу он тратит слишком много времени. | He spends too much time on this kind of work. |
61: Сейчас — Now
«Сейчас» is Russian for ‘now’.
| Раньше она была учителем, но сейчас она работает в издательском деле. | She used to be a teacher, but now she works in publishing. |
| Я не хочу ждать до завтра, я хочу это сейчас! | I don’t want to wait until tomorrow, I want it now! |
| Она была очень больна, но сейчас ей гораздо лучше. | She’s been very ill, but she’s much better now. |
| Могу я задать вам вопрос? Не сейчас — я занят. | Can I ask you a question? Not now – I’m busy. |
| А что он делает сейчас? | And what is he doing now? |
| Где твой брат сейчас? | Where is your brother now? |
62: Время — Time
«Время» is Russian for ‘time’.
| Сколько времени вы обычно тратите на такую работу? | How much time do you usually spend on this kind of work? |
| У меня не было времени задать все вопросы. | I didn’t have time to ask all my questions. |
| Я не смог сделать этого на прошлой недели, у меня не было времени. | I couldn’t do it last week, I had no time. |
| У меня было очень мало времени, и мне пришлось взять такси. | I had very little time, and I had to take a taxi. |
| У меня есть немного свободного времени сегодня. | I’ve got a little free time today. |
| Многие люди слушают музыку, и они действительно хорошо проводят время. | A lot of people are listening to the music and they are really having a good time. |
| Он все время читает и не любит смотреть телевизор. | He reads all the time and does not like to watch TV. |
63: Человек — Person
«Человек» is Russian for ‘person’. The plural is «люди» (people) (word 76).
| Обед в ресторане стоит около $ 70 для двух человек. | A meal at the restaurant costs about $70 for two persons. |
| Четыре человека были обвинены в убийстве. | Four persons have been charged with the murder. |
| Она очень добрый человек. | She’s an extremely kind person. |
| Номер стоил 20 фунтов стерлингов на человека. | Room costed £20 per person. |
| Этот человек ненавидят кемпинг. | This person hate camping. |
| Я хотела узнать его как человека, а не только как моего учителя. | I wanted to get to know him as a person, not just as my teacher. |
It is also worth noting that the phrase «молодой человек» means ‘young man’ and is commonly used to address men
64: Идти — Go (on foot)
«Идти» is Russian for ‘go’. It implies to go somewhere by walking. Refer Verbs of Motion. (View Conjugations)
| Ты уже готов идти на ленч? | Are you ready to go to lunch yet? |
| Мы решили идти на прогулку по окрестностям. | We decided to go for a walk round the neighborhood. |
| Ситуация не терпит отлагательства, мы должны были идти вперед. | The situation being urgent, we had to go ahead. |
| Если ты сделал домашнее задание, можешь идти гулять. | If you’ve done your homework, you can go for a walk. |
| Мне надо было идти в больницу навестить тетю. | I had to go to the hospital to visit aunt. |
65: Если — If
«Если» is Russian for ‘if’.
| Здесь много такси, если вы спешите. | There are plenty of taxis here if you’re in a hurry. |
| Если вы действительно хотите знать, я устал от этой глупой работы. | If you really want to know, I’m tired of this stupid job. |
| Если вода нагревается до 100 ° C, то она превращается в пар. | If water is heated to 100°C it turns to steam. |
| Если я не высплюсь, то у меня болит голова. | If I don’t get enough sleep I get a headache. |
| Планируете ли вы вернуться на работу, и если да, то кто будет ухаживать за ребенком? | Are you planning to return to work, and if so, who is going to look after the baby? |
| Мы готовы бороться за свои права, если это необходимо. | We are ready to fight for our rights if necessary. |
66: Два (Две) — Two
«Два» is Russian for the number 2.
| У него есть два друга. | He has two friends. |
| Упражнение два столь же трудное, как упражнение три. | Exercise two is as difficult as exercise three. |
| На доске две ошибки. | There are two mistakes on the blackboard. |
| Я жил в Европе два года назад. | I lived in Europe two years ago. |
| Она уже изучает испанский язык в течение двух лет. | She has already been studying Spanish for two years. |
| Майк сказал учителю, что его сестра знает два иностранных языка. | Mike told the teacher that his sister knew two foreign languages. |
67: Мой — My
«Мой» is Russian for ‘my’.
| С моего места я могу видеть солнце. | From my seat I can see the sun. |
| Мой друг Петр и я любим музыку Чайковского. | My Friend Petr and I love the music of Tchaikovsky. |
| Она была довольно удивлена моей просьбой. | She was rather surprised at my asking. |
| Я хочу, чтобы ты встретиться с моими родителями. | I want you to meet my parents. |
| У меня не было моей собственной комнаты, пока моя сестра не уехала в колледж. | I didn’t have my own room till my sister left for college. |
| Мой дом очень красивый, и я горжусь им. | My house is very beautiful, and I’m proud of it. |
| Джек тот механик, который починил мой автомобиль. | Jack is the mechanic who fixed my car. |
68: Жизнь — Life
«Жизнь» is Russian for ‘life’.
| Жизнь в деревне делает Вас здоровее? | Does living in the country make you healthy? |
| Она посвятила свою жизнь помощи другим. | She devoted her life to helping others. |
| Я знал человека, который очень много путешествовал в своей жизни. | I knew a man who had travelled very much in his life. |
| Очень мало известно о жизни Вильема. | Very little is known about the life of William. |
| Этот незнакомец спас жизнь моего отца. | That stranger saved my father’s life. |
| Это были самые счастливые дни в ее жизни. | Those were the happiest days in her life. |
69: До — Until
«До» is Russian for ‘until’.
| Я работал в производственной компании до 1999 года. | I was employed by a manufacturing company until 1999. |
| Они не видели друг друга до осени. | They didn’t see each other until the autumn. |
| Давайте отложим поездку в деревню до следующей субботы. | Let’s postpone the trip to the country until next Saturday. |
| А Вы не можете подождать до утра? | Сan you wait until morning? |
| Том успел прийти домой, до полуночи. | Tom had come home until midnight. |
70: Где — Where
«Где» is Russian for ‘where’.
| Где ты купил вещи, которые на тебе надеты? | Where have you bought the clothes you are wearing? |
| Где вы были вчера во время этого ливня? | Where were you during that heavy shower yesterday? |
| Где ваша дочь? | Where’s your daughter? |
| Где вы учитесь? | Where do you learn? |
| Вот дом, где он живет. | Here is the house where he lives. |
| Он спросил ее, где она обычно проводит свои летние каникулы. | He asked her where she usually spent her summer holidays. |
71: Каждый — Every, each
«Каждый» is Russian for ‘every’.
| Мы читаем газеты каждый день. | We read newspapers every day. |
| Они ходят в свой офис каждое утро? | Do they go to the office every morning? |
| Я не каждый вечер читаю. | I don’t read every evening. |
| Он дает коту молоко каждый день. | He gives the cat milk every day. |
| Каждая из компаний поддерживает местные благотворительные цели. | Each of the companies supports a local charity. |
| Каждый из нас хотел спальню с балконом, так мы бросили монету, чтобы решить. | We each wanted the bedroom with the balcony, so we tossed a coin to decide. |
| Каждый запрос будет внимательно рассмотрен. | Each request will be given careful consideration. |
| Где каждый из этих студентов учится? | Where each of these students learn? |
72: Самый — Most
«Самый» is Russian for ‘most’.
| Джоан самый умный человек, которого я знаю. | Joanne is the most intelligent person I know. |
| Это было самое красивое утром. | It was a most beautiful morning. |
| Цюрих является самым важным городом Швейцарии. | Zurich is Switzerland’s most important city. |
| Даже самые тщательно подготовленные планы иногда могут пойти не так. | Even the most carefully prepared plans sometimes go wrong. |
| Я самый высокий в классе. | I am the tallest in class. |
| Я думаю, это было самое интересное из Бабушкиных историй. | I think it was the most interesting of Granny’s stories. |
73: Хотеть — Want
«Хотеть» is Russian for ‘want’.
| Я хотел сказать, как я наслаждаюсь вашим пением. | I wanted to say how much I enjoyed your singing. |
| Что вы хотите съесть? | What do you want to eat? |
| Учитель хотел, чтобы ученики выучили правила. | The teacher wanted the pupils to learn the rule. |
| Я хочу, чтобы ты написал письмо своей бабушке. | I want you to write a letter to your grandmother. |
| Я хочу немного шоколада. | I want some chocolate. |
| Все чего я хочу это правды. | All I want is the truth. |
| Вы хотите чашку кофе? | Do you want a cup of coffee? |
74: Здесь — Here
«Здесь» is Russian for ‘here’. Refer also: «Вот» (word 31)
| Женщина, которая здесь прогуливается, — сестра моего отца. | The woman who walks here is my father’s sister. |
| Он не может остановиться здесь. | He cannot stop here. |
| Ты можешь припарковать машину здесь. | You can park the car here. |
| Не берите, пожалуйста, никаких книг здесь. | Don’t take any books from here, please. |
| Еще два жилых дома будут построены здесь. | Two more apartment houses are to be built here. |
| Он должен быть еще здесь. | He must be still here. |
| Мы любим прогуливаться здесь каждый вечер. | We like to walk here every evening. |
75: Надо — Must, necessary
«Надо» is Russian for ‘must’.
| Мне надо поспать. | I must get some sleep. |
| Тебе не надо показывать это письмо еще кому-либо. | You mustn’t show this letter to anyone else. |
| Тебе надо ответить на все вопросы. | You must answer all the questions. |
| Надо ли нам присутствовать на заседании во второй половине дня? | Is it necessary for all of us to be present at the meeting this afternoon? |
| Просто сделайте то, что надо, а затем уходите. | Just do what’s necessary and then leave. |
| Всем студента надо было зарегистрироваться за неделю. | It was necessary for all students to register a week in advance. |
76: Люди — People
«Люди» is Russian for ‘people’.
| Я видел много людей, которые носили темные очки. | I saw many people wearing dark glasses. |
| Некоторые люди имеют странные привычки. | Some people have strange habits. |
| Было много людей, которые выглядели уставшими. | There were many people who looked tired. |
| Все люди думают, что есть Бог? | Do all people think there is God? |
| Эти люди, которых я знаю уже долгое время, были вчера уволены. | These people, whom I have known for a long time, were fired yesterday. |
| Кто эти люди, на которых ты смотришь? | Who are these people you are looking at? |
77: Теперь — Now
«Теперь» is Russian for ‘now’.
| Теперь они сидят в гостиной и говорят о них. | Now they are sitting in the drawing room and talking about them. |
| Пришла зима, и теперь мы снова можем часто ходить на каток. | Winter has come, and now we can often go to the skating rink again. |
| Теперь вы можете идти. | Now you can go. |
| Теперь, когда Маша стала взрослой, она может ходить на дискотеки. | Now, when Mary became an adult, she can go to the disco. |
| Пальто, которое я купил в прошлом году, теперь мне слишком мало. | Coat, which I bought last year, is too little for me now. |
78: Дом — House
«Дом» is Russian for ‘House’.
| Дом стоит в стороне от главной улицы. | The house stands off the main road. |
| Дом, который мы построили, не очень высокий. | The house we have built is not very high. |
| Молния повредила наш дом на прошлой неделе. | The lightning damage our house last week. |
| Этот дом находится около церкви. | The house is near the church. |
| Он покинул дом в спешке. | He left the house in a hurry. |
| Все люди, которые живут в этом доме – студенты. | All the people living in this house are students. |
| Мальчик пробегая мимо дома вдруг остановился. | The boy running past the house suddenly stopped. |
79: Пойти — Go (on foot)
«Пойти» is Russian for ‘Go’. It is the perfective of «Идти». It implies to go somewhere by walking. Refer Verbs of Motion. (View Conjugations)
| Они пошли на прогулку по окрестностям. | They went for a walk round the neighbourhood. |
| Мы вошли в дом. | We went into the house. |
| Когда я был маленьким, мы ходили в церковь каждое воскресенье. | When I was young, we went to church every Sunday. |
| Он спросил меня, могу ли я пойти к моим друзьям. | He asked me whether I went to see my friends. |
| Надев пальто, он пошел посмотреть на проезжающих мимо машин. | Wearing a coat, he went to look at cars passing by. |
| Том подошел к улыбающейся девушке. | Tom went up to the laughing girl. |
80: Раз — Once, times
«Раз» is used when explaining how many times something happened. Russians also usually use it as the number one when they are counting «Раз, два, три…»
| Кэти была у нас в гостях только один раз. | Cathy’s only been to visit us once. |
| Я собираюсь сказать это только один раз, так что слушайте внимательно. | I’m only going to say this once, so listen carefully. |
| Мы встречались только один раз, но я до сих пор помню его очень четко. | We met just the once, but I still remember him very clearly. |
| За этот месяц мы виделись три раза. | This month we saw each other three times. |
| Три раза в год Сэм ездит в командировку в Европе. | Three times a year, Sam goes on a business trip in Europe. |
| За всю жизнь я ездил на море пять раз. | Over a life time, I went to the sea five times. |
81: День — Day
«День» is Russian for ‘Day’.
| Это был самый счастливый день в их жизни. | It was the happiest day of their lives. |
| Ты целый день выглядишь усталым. | You have looked tired all day. |
| День, в который они поженились, был невероятно жаркий. | the day they married was incredibly hot. |
| Суббота была ветренным днем. | Saturday was a windy day. |
| Мы пошли на запад в тот туманный день. | We went West on that foggy day. |
| Каждый день мы читаем тексты, делаем упражнения и пишем в тетрадях новые слова. | Every day we read texts, do exercises and write new words in our exercise-books. |
82: Или — Or
«Или» is Russian for ‘or’.
| Что ты хочешь, книгу или журнал? | Which do you want, a book or magazine? |
| Это ручки или карандаши? | Are these pens or are they pencils? |
| Вы можете оплатить сейчас или когда вы вернетесь, чтобы забрать краску. | You can pay now or when you come back to pick up the paint. |
| Она ездила в Санкт-Петербург или в Москву на прошлой неделе? | Did she go to the St.Petersburg or to Moscow last week? |
| Они провели час или около того в поисках отсутствующего файла. | They spent an hour or so searching for the missing file. |
| Какой цвет вы хотите — красный, зеленый, желтый или синий? | Which colour do you want – red, green, yellow, or blue? |
| Он, вероятно, на обед или на встрече. | He’s probably at lunch or in a meeting. |
83: Работать — Work
«Работать» is the Russian verb for ‘work’. (View Conjugations)
| Пора тебе работать намного усерднее. | It is time worked a little harder. |
| Она работает в этом офисе пять лет. | She has worked at the office for five years. |
| Мы всегда должны работать на коленях. | We always have to work on our knees. |
| Он работает быстро. | He is working fast. |
| У Рипа не было желания работать на его ферме. | Rip had no desire to work on his farm. |
| Профессор хотел, чтобы я больше работал над своим докладом. | The professor wants me to work more at my report. |
84: Город — Town, city
«Город» is Russian for ‘town’ or ‘city’.
| Этот город был построен в 9 веке. | This town was built in 9th century. |
| Я жил в Санкт-Петербурге в течение многих лет и знаю город очень хорошо. | I have lived in St. Petersburg for many years and know the city very well. |
| Это захватывающий город, чтобы посетить его, но очень дорогое место, чтобы жить. | It is an exciting city to visit, but a very expensive place to live. |
| Он родился в маленьком городке Каслфорд, в Йоркшире. | He was born in the small town of Castleford, in Yorkshire. |
| Мы жили в лучшем отеле в городе. | We stayed in the best hotel in town. |
| Горы окружают город с трех сторон. | Mountains overlook the town on three sides. |
| Многие из городов мира имеют население более 5 млн. человек. | Many of the world’s cities have populations of more than 5 million. |
| Веллингтон — это город в Новой Зеландии. | Wellington is the city in New Zealand. |
85: Там — There
«Там» is Russian for ‘there’.
| Поставьте стул там. | Put the chair there. |
| Там книга, которую вы искали. | There’s that book you were looking for. |
| Они собираются на Гавайи, и они планируют остаться там до конца марта. | They’re going to Hawaii, and they plan to stay there until the end of March. |
| Я был там в прошлом году. | I was there last year. |
| Мы виделись в последний раз там. | We met there last time. |
86: Слово — Word
«Слово» is the Russian noun meaning ‘word’.
| Некоторые слова сложнее читать, чем другие. | Some words are more difficult to spell than others. |
| Иногда трудно найти нужное слово, чтобы выразить то, что вы хотите сказать. | It’s sometimes difficult to find exactly the right word to express what you want to say. |
| Первое слово, которое дети говорят это «мама». | The first word that many babies speak is ‘Mama’. |
| Вы можете читать слова на этой странице? | Can you read the words on this page? |
| Я вспомнил слова моего старого друга. | I was remembering the words of my old friend. |
| Я могу спеть эту песню, но я не знаю слов. | I can sing this song, but I don’t know the words. |
| Позвольте мне сказать несколько слов по поводу безопасности. | Let me say a word on the subject of security. |
87: Глаз — Eye
«Глаз» is Russian for ‘eye’.
| Глаза кошки – зеленые. | The cat’s eyes are green. |
| Он не видит левым глазом. | He has no sight in his left eye. |
| Он закрыл глаза и заснул. | He closed his eyes and went to sleep. |
| Эти бактерии являются невидимыми для наших глаз. | These bacteria are invisible to our eyes. |
| Когда мы встретились в первый раз, мы не могли отвести наших глаз друг от друга. | When we met for the first time, we couldn’t take our eyes off each other. |
| Это случилось прямо на моих глазах. | It happened right in front of my eyes. |
88: Потом — Then, next
«Потом» is Russian for ‘then’ or ‘next’.
| Он налил себе чая, а потом сел в кресло. | He poured himself some tea and then sat in the chair. |
| Каждый день они ходят в спортзал, а потом в бассейн. | Every day they go to the gym, and then to the pool. |
| Они были лучшими друзьями, но потом они поссорились. | They were best friends, but then they had a falling out. |
| Я сейчас занят и потом тоже. | I am busy now and next too. |
| Я точно знал, что будет происходить потом. | I knew exactly what was going to happen next. |
| Сначала очистите фрукты от кожуры. Потом приготовить шоколадный соус. | First, peel the fruit. Next, prepare a chocolate sauce. |
89: Видеть — See
«Видеть» is the Russian for ‘see’. (View Conjugations)
| Включите свет, так я могу вас увидеть. | Turn the light on so I can see. |
| Из окна мы могли видеть детей, играющих во дворе. | From the window we could see the children playing in the yard. |
| Она засмеялась, когда увидела выражение на его лице. | She laughed when she saw the expression on his face. |
| Ты видел, кто это был? | Did you see who it was? |
| Она не может видеть вещи без ее контактных линз. | She can’t see a thing without her contact lenses. |
| Мы смотрели Гамлета в Национальном театре на прошлой неделе. | We saw Hamlet at the National Theatre last week. |
90: Их — Their
«Их» is Russian for ‘their’.
| Их сын читает наши книги. | Their son reads our books. |
| В их доме было двадцать окон. | Their house had twenty windows. |
| Он дал им их пальта. | He gave them their coats. |
| Рабочие боятся, что они потеряют их рабочие места. | The workers are afraid that they will lose their jobs. |
| Она сделала исследование химических удобрений и их влияние на окружающую среду. | She has made a study of chemical fertilizers and their effect on the environment. |
| Их мама сказала, что их папа спит. | Their mother said that their father was sleeping. |
91: Под — Under
«Под» is Russian for ‘under’.
| Он спрятался под кровать. | He hid under the bed. |
| Она держала файл под рукой. | She was holding a file under her arm. |
| Они стояли под деревом, чтобы не промокнуть. | They stood under a tree to avoid getting wet. |
| Что твои дети делают под столом. | What are you kids doing under the table? |
| Корабль попал под атаку самолетов противника. | The ship came under attack from enemy aircraft. |
| Полиция утверждает, что ситуация находится под контролем. | Police claim the situation is now under control. |
92: Даже — Even
«Даже» is Russian for ‘even’. (It is not the opposite of ‘odd’)
| Я даже не знаю, где он находится. | I don’t even know where it is. |
| Это очень трудная работа — это может даже потребоваться год, чтобы закончить ее. | It’s a very difficult job — it might even take a year to finish it. |
| Ей всегда холодно в этой комнате, даже летом. | It always feels cold in this room, even in summer. |
| Даже собака отказывалась есть. | Even the dog refused to eat it. |
| Они даже не предложили мне чашку чая. | They didn’t even offer me a cup of tea. |
| Даже сейчас, после всех этих трех лет, он не может упомянуть ее имя без слез. | Even now, after all these years, he cannot mention her name without crying. |
93: Думать — Think
«Думать» is Russian for ‘think’. (View Conjugations)
| Ты думаешь, что он был достаточно наказан? | Do you think he has been punished enough? |
| Я думаю, что я сейчас слишком устал. | I think I’m too tired now. |
| Она думает, что бокс – это опасная борьба. | She thinks boxing is as dangerous as wrestling. |
| Я думаю, что наш учитель английского языка был очень терпелив. | I think our English teacher was very patient. |
| Он думал, что его друзья работали вместе. | He thought that his friends worked together. |
| Ты думал, что это была хорошая идея. | Did you think it was a good idea? |
94: Хорошо — Good, well
«Хорошо» is Russian for ‘good’.
| Лена очень хорошая студентка. | Lena is a very good student. |
| Он хорошо говорит по-немецки. | He speaks German well. |
| Хорошо ли вы его знаете? | Do you know him well? |
| Поблизости есть хороший итальянский ресторан. | There is a good Italian restaurant nearby. |
| Ты хорошо провел время на вечеринке? | Did you have a good time at the party? |
| Погода была действительно хороша для этого времени года. | The weather has been really good for the time of year. |
| Концерт был достаточно хорошо разрекламирован, но продажи билетов были низкими. | The concert was well enough advertised but ticket sales were poor. |
95: Можно — It is possible
«Можно» is Russian for ‘it is possible’ or ‘can’.
| Можно ли купить билеты заранее? | Is it possible to buy tickets in advance? |
| Я не могу сделать все это к пятнице — это просто невозможно. | I can’t get it all done by Friday — it’s just not possible. |
| В ясный день можно увидеть, насколько далеко Корсика. | It is possible to see as far as Corsica on a clear day. |
| Вполне возможно, что люди могут жить на других планетах. | It is perfectly possible that humans can live on other planets. |
| Можно ли посмотреть вашу газету? | Is it possible to have a look at your newspaper? |
96: Тут — Here
«Тут» is Russian for ‘here’.
| Мы живем тут около двух лет. | I’ve lived here for about two years. |
| А тут поблизости есть банк? | Is there a bank near here? |
| Как давно Том тут живет? | How long has Tom lived here? |
| Вчера прямо тут, на этом месте, я видел оленя. | Yesterday, right here, at this point, I saw a deer. |
| Тут очень красивая природа. | It’s very beautiful nature here. |
97: Тысяча — Thousand
«Тысяча» is Russian for ‘thousand’.
| Эти старые легенды, должно быть, создал около тысячи лет назад. | These old legends must have been composed about a thousand years ago. |
| Эту встречу посетили тысячи людей. | This meeting was attended by thousands of people. |
| Население этого небольшого городка около тысячи человек. | The population of this small town is about one thousand people. |
| Я потратил двадцать тысяч долларов на покупку новой машины. | I spent twenty thousand dollars to buy a new car. |
| Температура Солнца составляет несколько тысяч градусов. | The temperature of the sun is about several thousand degrees. |
98: Ли — Whether
«Ли» is Russian for ‘whether’.
| Нас спросили, будем ли мы жениться. | They asked us whether we would get married |
| Существует некоторое сомнение, заразна ли болезнь. | There is some doubt as to whether the illness is infectious. |
| Она спросила меня, был ли я заинтересован в работе на нее. | She asked me whether I was interested in working for her. |
| Это был просто вопрос, будут ли у нас деньги для финансирования такого проекта. | I was merely questioning whether we have the money to fund such a project. |
| Все зависит от того, будет ли у нее время. | It all depends on whether or not she’s got the time. |
| Во всяком случае, это хорошая история, не важно действительно ли это так. | Anyway, it’s a good story, whether or not it’s true. |
99: Вода — Water
«Вода» is Russian for ‘water’.
| Она поставила цветы в воду. | She set the flowers in water. |
| Озеро наш главный источник воды. | The lake is our main source of water. |
| Вода замерзла. | The water has frozen. |
| Многие коты не любят воду. | Many cats don’t like water. |
| Я вижу что-то в воде. | I see something in the water. |
| Ты хочешь чаю или воды? | Do you want tea or water? |
100: Ничто (Ничего) — Nothing
‘Ничто’ means ‘nothing’. This word declines like the word ‘что’. Like most negatives in Russian the genitive case is commonly used, so the form ‘Ничего’ is most common.
| Нечего есть | There is nothing to eat. |
| Там нет ничего в ящике — я взял все оттуда. | There’s nothing in the drawer — I took everything out. |
| В комнате ничего не было, кроме матраца. | There was nothing in the room except for a mattress. |
| Она ждала и смотрела, но ничего не произошло. | She waited and watched, but nothing happened. |
| Я не видел ничего странного в ситуации. | I saw nothing strange in the situation. |
| Дети жалуются, что там нечего делать. | The kids complain that there’s nothing to do there. |
| Некоторые из них ничего не ели три дня. | Some of them had had nothing to eat for three days. |
| Я ничего не знаю о том, как присматривать за детьми. | I know nothing at all about looking after babies. |
The word ‘Ничего’ is commonly used in spoken Russian to indicate that there is no point, or not to worry.
When ‘Ничто’ is used with a preposition the word is split into two. (This also occurs with ‘Никто/Никого’)
| Я ни о чём думаю. | I am not thinking about anything. |
Conclusion
Wow! That is our biggest Russian lesson to date. These are Russian’s 100 most used words. There are well over 750 examples. Many of these examples are quite complex, but you don’t have to learn them all. It just provides you with the opportunity to learn Russian in context. It will also help you passively learn more Russian vocabulary.