Russian Grammar

The 33 letters of the Russian alphabet: 10 vowels, 21 consonants, and 2 signs (ь, ъ). Includes printed and cursive forms, and pronunciation rules.

Key pronunciation patterns: vowel reduction (unstressed о→а), voiced/voiceless consonant pairs, palatalization (soft consonants), and stress patterns.

Subject pronouns: я (I), ты (you informal), он/она/оно (he/she/it), мы (we), вы (you formal/plural), они (they). Foundation for verb conjugation.

Three genders: masculine (typically ending in consonant or -й), feminine (-а, -я, -ь), neuter (-о, -е). Gender determines agreement and declension patterns.

The dictionary form used for subjects and predicate nouns. Answers кто? (who?) and что? (what?). No endings change from dictionary form.

Case for direct objects. Animate masculine and all animate plurals take genitive endings. Answers кого? (whom?) and что? (what?). Direction with в/на.

Case always used with prepositions, primarily в/на (location), о/об (about). Endings: masc/neut -е, fem -е, soft sign nouns -и. Answers о ком? о чём? где?

Possessives agree in gender/number/case with the noun: мой/моя/моё/мои (my), твой (your inf), его/её (his/her invariable), наш (our), ваш (your formal), их (their invariable).

Demonstratives: этот/эта/это/эти (this), тот/та/то/те (that). Agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify.

Cardinal numbers 1-20 with noun agreement rules: 1 + nominative singular, 2-4 + genitive singular, 5-20 + genitive plural. Essential for everyday use.

Larger numbers: compound numbers (двадцать один), hundreds (сто, двести), thousands (тысяча). Each part agrees separately with nouns.

Telling time: Который час? (What time?), в + accusative for clock time. Days, months, seasons. Using в (in/on) and по (on, habitual) with time words.

Present tense of first conjugation verbs (infinitive in -ать, -еть, -овать): endings -ю/-у, -ешь, -ет, -ем, -ете, -ют/-ут. Most Russian verbs.

Present tense of second conjugation verbs (most -ить verbs): endings -ю/-у, -ишь, -ит, -им, -ите, -ят/-ат. Includes common verbs like говорить, любить.

The verb 'to be' is usually omitted in present tense. Dash (—) often replaces it between nouns. Used in есть for existence. Это (this is) as copula.

Negation with не before verbs and other words. Double/multiple negation is standard in Russian. Нет for 'no' and 'there is no'. Genitive after negation.

Yes/no questions with rising intonation (no word change). Question words: кто (who), что (what), где (where), когда (when), как (how), почему (why).

Common prepositions: в (in/to), на (on/to), из (from-inside), с (from-surface/with), о (about), у (at/by), к (toward), от (from). Case requirements.

Adjectives agree in gender, number, case. Nominative endings: masc -ый/-ий/-ой, fem -ая/-яя, neuter -ое/-ее, plural -ые/-ие. Predicate adjectives use short form.

Short adjectives used predicatively: masc (no ending), fem -а, neuter -о, plural -ы/-и. Common with должен (must), рад (glad), готов (ready), занят (busy).

Adverbs from adjectives: usually -о ending (хорошо from хороший). Time adverbs: сейчас (now), всегда (always), часто (often), редко (rarely). Place: здесь, там, тут.

Coordinating: и (and), а (and/but contrast), но (but), или (or). Subordinating: что (that), потому что (because), когда (when), если (if), чтобы (in order to).

Expressing possession with у + genitive + есть. Negative: у + gen + нет + genitive. Also for 'at someone's place'. Replaces verb 'to have'.

Verbs with reflexive suffix -ся (after consonants) or -сь (after vowels). Various meanings: reflexive, reciprocal, passive, middle voice. Many common verbs.

Essential phrases: Здравствуйте (formal hello), Привет (informal hi), До свидания (goodbye), Пожалуйста (please/you're welcome), Спасибо (thanks), Извините (excuse me).

Commands: singular informal -й/-и, add -те for formal/plural. Formation from present stem. Negative with не. давай(те) + infinitive for 'let's'.

Key modal verbs: хотеть (to want) has mixed conjugation, мочь (can/be able) is irregular. Both followed by infinitive. Essential for expressing desires and ability.

Expressing likes: dative + нравится/нравятся + nominative. The liked thing is the grammatical subject. Contrasts with любить (to love). Past: нравился/нравилась.

Basic motion verbs: идти (go on foot, unidirectional), ехать (go by transport, unidirectional). Present tense conjugation. Foundation for complex motion verb system.

Case for possession, absence (нет), quantity, and after many prepositions (из, от, до, без, для, у). Answers кого? чего? откуда? Masc/neut -а/-я, fem -ы/-и.

Case for indirect objects, age, impersonal constructions (мне холодно), and prepositions к/по. Answers кому? чему? Masc/neut -у/-ю, fem -е/-и.

Case for instrument/means, accompaniment (с), profession with быть, and prepositions (с, за, перед, над, под). Answers кем? чем? Masc/neut -ом/-ем, fem -ой/-ей.

Regular plurals: -ы/-и for nominative. Spelling rules (after к, г, х, ж, ш, щ, ч use -и). Irregular plurals (друг→друзья, ребёнок→дети). Stress shifts.

Plural case endings: nom -ы/-и/-а, gen -ов/-ев/-ей/zero, dat -ам/-ям, acc (=nom or gen), inst -ами/-ями, prep -ах/-ях. Many irregularities.

Past formed from infinitive stem + -л: masc -л, fem -ла, neut -ло, plural -ли. Agrees with subject in gender/number, not person. Быть: был/была/было/были.

Compound future: быть (conjugated) + imperfective infinitive. Simple future: perfective verb in 'present' form. Understanding which to use depends on aspect.

Russian verbs come in aspect pairs: imperfective (process, repeated, ongoing) and perfective (completed, single, result). Most verbs exist as pairs. Key distinction.

Adjectives decline in all six cases, three genders, and two numbers. Hard-stem and soft-stem patterns. Agreement with noun in gender, number, and case.

Personal pronouns decline: я→меня/мне/мной, ты→тебя/тебе/тобой, он→его/ему/им, etc. Note н- prefix after prepositions (у него, к ней).

Motion verb pairs: unidirectional (single direction) vs. multidirectional (habitual, round trip). идти/ходить (walk), ехать/ездить (ride), нести/носить (carry), etc.

Comparative forms: simple (adverbial) with -ее/-е (быстрее, лучше), compound with более + adjective. Irregular: хороший→лучше, плохой→хуже. Than: чем or genitive.

Superlative forms: самый + adjective (most common), -ейший/-айший suffix (formal/literary), or всего/всех with comparative. Agreement with noun.

Conditional with бы + past tense verb. Expresses hypothetical, wishes, polite requests. Word order flexible. Если бы for 'if' conditional clauses.

Relative pronouns: который (who/which/that) declines for gender, number, case based on its role in the clause. Also где (where), когда (when), что (that).

When to use imperfective: process, repeated action, negated experience, with certain verbs (начинать, продолжать). When to use perfective: single completed action, result, sequence.

How aspect pairs are formed: prefixes (писать→написать), suffixes (решить→решать), suppletion (говорить→сказать), stress shift (разрезать/разрезать).

Prefixes add meaning to motion verbs: в- (enter), вы- (exit), при- (arrive), у- (leave), пере- (cross), под- (approach), от- (depart), про- (pass through). Prefixed become perfective.

Subjectless sentences: dative + predicate (мне холодно), нужно/надо (need), можно/нельзя (may/may not), weather (холодно), modals in past (можно было).

Passive constructions: reflexive verbs (-ся), short passive participles (построен, написан). Agent marked with instrumental. Imperfective vs. perfective passive.

Verbal adjectives for active voice: present (-ущ-/-ющ-, -ащ-/-ящ-) and past (-вш-, -ш-). Decline like adjectives. Common in formal/written Russian.

Verbal adjectives for passive voice: present (-ем-/-им-), past (-нн-, -т-, -енн-). Short forms common predicatively. Past passive participle very frequent.

Adverbs formed from verbs: imperfective -я/-а (simultaneous action), perfective -в/-вши (prior action). Subject must be same as main clause. Common in formal writing.

Indirect speech with что (that), чтобы (in order to/that), ли (whether). No tense shift rule. Pronouns and time expressions may change. Question words stay same.

Temporal prepositions: через + acc (in/after), за + acc (within), с/до + gen (from/until), перед/после + gen (before/after), в течение + gen (during).

Numbers decline in cases: один (like adjective), два/три/четыре (special), 5-20 and compounds (like soft-stem nouns). Complex agreement rules.

Ordinals: первый (1st), второй (2nd), третий (3rd), etc. Decline like adjectives. Used for dates (in genitive). Only last word of compound numbers becomes ordinal.

Purpose expressions: чтобы + past tense (different subject) or infinitive (same subject), для + genitive (noun purpose), за + instrumental (to fetch).

Aspect choice changes meaning with negation: imperfective negates action happened, perfective negates result/completion. Special patterns with не надо, нельзя.

Suffixes: -то (unknown), -нибудь (any), -либо (any, formal), кое- (some specific). Different uses: кто-то звонил (someone called), позвони кому-нибудь (call someone/anyone).

Никто (nobody), ничто (nothing), никогда (never), нигде (nowhere), никакой (no kind of). Require не with verb. Prepositions split the word: ни с кем.

Particles adding emphasis/nuance: же (emphasis/contrast), ведь (after all), -то (topic), даже (even), ли (question/doubt), разве (really?), неужели (is it possible?).

Although/despite: хотя (although), несмотря на то что (despite the fact that), как ни (no matter how), сколько ни (no matter how much).

Real: если + future/present. Unreal: если бы + past (counterfactual). Distinguishing present unreal (если бы сейчас) from past unreal (если бы тогда).

Productive patterns: prefixes (пере-, вы-, за-, при-), suffixes (-ость, -ник, -тель, -ние), compound words. Understanding new words through morphological analysis.

Advanced subordinating: тем...чем (the more...the more), то...то (now...now), не то что...а (not that...but), не только...но и (not only...but also).

Aspect choice in infinitive contexts: after phase verbs (начать + impf), modal verbs, adjectives. Negated infinitive typically imperfective. Specific usage patterns.

Participial constructions as alternatives to relative clauses. Position (before/after noun), punctuation. Translating between который clauses and participles.

Official/bureaucratic register: nominal style (nominalization), passive constructions, bookish conjunctions (в связи с тем что, ввиду того что), fixed formulas.

Academic register: impersonal constructions, passive voice, nominal phrases, specialized vocabulary. Thesis writing conventions, citations, argumentation markers.

Media language: headline conventions, quotation patterns, attribution phrases (по словам, как сообщает), political vocabulary, rhetorical devices.

Spoken Russian features: ellipsis, word order freedom, diminutives, particles for emotion, informal vocabulary, incomplete sentences, interjections.

Nouns derived from verbs (-ние/-ение, -ка, -тие): development (развитие), reading (чтение), departure (отъезд). Usage in formal writing, case government.

Nuanced aspect choices: imperfective for annulled result, perfective for limited duration, aspect in imperatives, performative utterances, aspectual pairs with different meanings.

Complex structures: nominative for emphasis (Москва она большая), detached constructions, parentheticals (впрочем, тем не менее), ellipsis patterns.

Church Slavonic vocabulary and features in modern Russian: благо-, -ствие suffixes, prefixes пре-/пред-, high style words (глас, врата), religious and literary contexts.

Historical grammar found in literature, proverbs, fixed expressions: vocative (Боже!, Господи!), dual number remnants, old case endings (-ою/-ею), archaic verbs.

Major dialect features: Northern (оканье, цоканье), Southern (аканье, яканье, г→[ɣ]), Siberian features. Recognition for literature and authenticity.

Literary language: metaphor and metonymy, unusual word order for effect, author's neologisms, stylistic imitation, register mixing for characterization.

Legal Russian: precise terminology, complex nominal phrases, passive constructions, fixed formulas, rights and obligations language, contract structure.

Fixed expressions: body-part idioms (рукой подать), animal metaphors (медвежья услуга), proverbs (Без труда не вытащишь и рыбку из пруда). Cultural resonance.

Cultural communication norms: politeness strategies, indirectness, humor and irony patterns, when to use ты vs вы, toasts, compliments and responses.