In short

Russian has no words for a/an/the - context tells you which one is meant. And in the present tense the verb to be (быть) is simply left out: Я студе́нт = I am a student.

The rule

Two things that exist in English just disappear in Russian.

1. No articles. There is no a, an or the. The bare noun covers both:

• стол = a table or the table - context decides.
• Я ви́жу соба́ку. = I see a dog / I see the dog.

Definiteness is shown by context and word order, not by a little word.

2. No present-tense “to be”. English needs am / is / are to link a subject to a noun, adjective, place, age, etc. Russian drops it in the present:

• Я студе́нт. = I am a student.
• Она́ до́ма. = She is at home.
• Чай горя́чий. = The tea is hot.

The dash (—). When two nouns are linked (“X is Y”), writing puts a dash where English puts is:

• Мой брат — врач. = My brother is a doctor.
• Москва́ — большо́й го́род. = Moscow is a big city.

The dash is not used after a pronoun subject (Я врач, not Я — врач) or before an adjective (Дом большо́й).

э́то = “this is / it is / these are”. Use the fixed pointer word э́то to introduce something. It never changes:

• Э́то кни́га. = This is a book.
• Э́то мои́ друзья́. = These are my friends.

(Don’t confuse it with the agreeing form э́тот / э́та / э́ти “this …” - that comes in lesson 6.)

Past and future still use быть. Only the present is empty:

• Он был до́ма. = He was at home.
• За́втра я бу́ду до́ма. = Tomorrow I’ll be at home.

Forms & patterns

The verb быть (to be) across tenses / Глагол «быть» по временам:

When to write a dash / Когда ставить тире:

Examples

Common mistakes

• Я есть студе́нт -> Я студе́нт - there is no present-tense “to be”; just drop it.
• Она́ is до́ма / inserting a verb -> Она́ до́ма - the present copula is zero; the noun/adverb stands alone.
• Мой брат врач (in writing) -> Мой брат — врач - put a dash between two linked nouns.
• Э́тот кни́га -> Э́то кни́га - “this is” is the invariable э́то; the agreeing э́тот/э́та/э́ти is a different word (lesson 7).
• Я ви́жу the соба́ку -> Я ви́жу соба́ку - Russian has no articles; never add a/the.

Tips

• Mental shortcut: in the present, delete every am/is/are - the subject sits right next to its noun, adjective, or place.
• Dash test: if English puts is between two nouns, Russian writes a dash (—). Skip it after pronouns (я, ты…) and before adjectives.
• э́то is a one-size-fits-all pointer - “this is / it is / these are” - and never changes for gender or number.
• есть is not the linking “is”. It means “there is / exists” or “have” (у меня́ есть… - lesson 12). And remember: past (был) and future (бу́дет) keep the verb.

In short

To make a noun plural in the nominative, masculine and feminine nouns usually take -ы or -и, while neuter nouns swap -о -> -а and -е -> -я. A few very common words are irregular, some loanwords never change, and the stress often jumps - so always listen for it.

The rule

1. Masculine & feminine: -ы / -и. Drop the singular ending (or add to a consonant) and add -ы for hard stems, -и for soft stems and after certain letters:

• hard masculine (ends in a consonant) and feminine -а -> -ы: стол -> столы́, маши́на -> маши́ны.
• soft stems (-ь, -й, -я) -> -и: слова́рь -> словари́, неде́ля -> неде́ли.

2. Spelling rule (very important). After the seven letters к г х ж ч ш щ you must write -и, never -ы: кни́га -> кни́ги, ру́чка -> ру́чки, уче́бник -> уче́бники. The choice of letter is a spelling convention, not a phonetic one - but the letter does not tell you the sound: ж and ш are always hard, so the written -и after them is pronounced [ы] (ножи́ = нажы́, маши́ны = машы́ны), while after к г х ч щ it really is [и] (кни́ги, ру́чки).

3. Neuter: -о -> -а, -е -> -я. окно́ -> о́кна, мо́ре -> моря́. Notice the stress jumps in both directions.

4. Stress moves a lot. The plural stress is unpredictable, so learn it with the word: окно́ -> о́кна (back), мо́ре -> моря́ (forward), стол -> столы́ (forward).

Forms & patterns

Hard masculine & feminine -> -ы

Spelling rule: after к г х ж ч ш щ -> -и

Soft stems (-ь, -й, -я, -е) -> -и

Neuter: -о -> -а, -е -> -я

Common irregulars (learn one by one)

Indeclinable loanwords (no change at all)

Examples

Common mistakes

• кни́гы -> кни́ги - after г you must write -и, never -ы (spelling rule for к г х ж ч ш щ).
• ру́чкы -> ру́чки - same rule: after к the ending is -и.
• окна́ (wrong stress) -> о́кна - the stress jumps to the first syllable in the plural; mark and say it.
• дру́ги -> друзья́ - друг is irregular; the plural is друзья́, not the “regular” form.
• челове́ки -> лю́ди - the plural of челове́к is the separate word лю́ди.
• ко́фы / ко́фи -> ко́фе - loanwords like ко́фе, метро́, такси́, кино́ never change.

Tips

• Memory hook for the spelling rule: the seven letters к г х ж ч ш щ are “и-loving” - they always take -и in the plural (and elsewhere), so кни́ги and ру́чки are automatic.
• Plural endings depend on gender, so check the gender first (see lesson 1): -а feminine -> -ы/-и, neuter -о/-е -> -а/-я.
• A handful of common masculine nouns take stressed -а́ / -я́: дома́, города́, учителя́ (teachers), профессора́ (professors). Learn them as a small set.
• The people-and-family irregulars come in pairs worth memorising together: брат -> бра́тья, сын -> сыновья́, друг -> друзья́, мать -> ма́тери, дочь -> до́чери, ребёнок -> де́ти, челове́к -> лю́ди.

In short

Russian has eight subject pronouns. The big choice is ты (informal “you” to one person you are close to) vs. вы (polite “you”, or “you” to more than one person). For things, “it” becomes он, она́ or оно́, matching the noun’s grammatical gender.

The rule

Russian subject pronouns come before the verb, just like in English. The two points that trip up beginners are the ты / вы choice and gendered “it”.

ты vs. вы. This is the T-V distinction.

• ты = one person you are close to: friends, family, children, pets, animals, and God in prayer. It is also a marker of intimacy or rudeness if used with the wrong person.
• вы = a polite “you” to one person (a stranger, an elder, a teacher, a customer, a boss), and the only way to say “you” to more than one person.

So вы does double duty: polite singular and plain plural. When in doubt with an adult you don’t know, use вы — it is always the safe choice. In letters, the polite singular is often capitalised (Вы), but never in the plural.

He / she / it by gender. Russian has no neutral “it” for objects. Every noun is masculine, feminine or neuter (see lesson 01), and you replace it with the matching pronoun:

• masculine → он: стол (table) → он
• feminine → она́: кни́га (book) → она́
• neuter → оно́: окно́ (window) → оно́
• any plural → они́: столы́, кни́ги, о́кна → они́

So он/она́ mean “he/she” for people and “it” for things — you choose by grammatical gender, not by meaning.

Oblique (case) forms — a preview. When a pronoun is not the subject (after a verb or a preposition), it changes shape: я → меня́, мне, мной; ты → тебя́, тебе́, тобо́й. After a preposition, the third-person forms (он, она́, они́) add an н-: у него́, к ней, с ни́ми, о нём. You will learn each set with its own case lesson; here just notice that these forms exist.

Forms & patterns

Nominative (subject) — the full set:

Oblique forms — preview only (full tables come with each case lesson). The (н) is added when a preposition comes first.

Examples

Common mistakes

• ты (to a stranger or an elder) -> вы - вы is the polite/safe choice; ты can sound rude or too familiar.
• кни́га -> оно́ -> она́ - pick он/она́/оно́ by the noun’s grammatical gender, not by the English meaning “it”.
• у его́ -> у него́ - after a preposition, он/она́/они́ take the н-: у него́, к ней, с ни́ми, о нём.
• Меня́ Анто́н. -> Я Анто́н. - the subject is я (nominative); меня́ is an object form, not “I”.
• using one вы form but mixing it up - one polite person still takes plural-shaped вы (вы зна́ете), never вы зна́ешь.

Tips

• When in doubt with an adult you don’t know, use вы. Switch to ты only when invited (“дава́й на ты”).
• To choose он/она́/оно́, look at the noun’s ending: consonant → он, -а/-я → она́, -о/-е → оно́ (see lesson 02).
• его́ is pronounced [йиво́] (the г sounds like в) - the same trick appears in сего́дня “today”.
• The н- rule is automatic: no preposition → его́, её, их; with a preposition → него́, неё, них.

In short

To say my, your, our, Russian uses мой, твой, наш, ваш; they change their ending to agree with the thing owned in gender, number (and later case): мой брат, моя́ сестра́, моё окно́, мои́ кни́ги. But his / her / their - его́, её, их - are frozen and never change.

The rule

A possessive pronoun answers the question чей? (“whose?”). Russian has two groups that behave very differently.

Group 1 - agreeing words: мой, твой, наш, ваш. These act like adjectives. You pick the form by looking at the noun that is owned, not at the owner:

• masculine noun -> мой дом, наш го́род
• feminine noun -> моя́ ко́мната, на́ша соба́ка
• neuter noun -> моё окно́, на́ше мо́ре
• plural noun -> мои́ друзья́, на́ши де́ти

(Remember: твой = your to one person you say ты to; ваш = your to several people or one person you address politely with вы - see lesson 4.)

Group 2 - invariable words: его́, её, их. These are his, her, their. They never take an ending - the form is the same for every gender, number and case:

Why? его́, её, их are literally the genitive of он / она́ / они́ (“of him / of her / of them”), so they are already fixed words. Adding an ending (❌ ега́я, ❌ ихний) is the most common beginner mistake.

The question word чей? agrees too: чей (m), чья (f), чьё (n), чьи (pl) - чья э́то су́мка? = “whose bag is this?”.

свой = one’s own. When the owner is the same as the subject of the sentence, Russian often uses the reflexive-possessive свой instead of мой/твой/его́… (Я люблю́ свой го́род = “I love my (own) town”). It is introduced fully in lesson 27 - just recognise it for now.

Forms & patterns

Nominative (subject) forms - the form you use to name something:

Note the three “frozen” rows (его́, её, их) - one form fills the whole row.

Beyond the nominative: in the other cases мой, твой, наш, ваш, чей decline like adjectives (e.g. я зна́ю твоего́ бра́та, кни́га мое́й сестры́). You do not need those tables yet - they come with the adjectives in lesson 13. его́, её, их stay unchanged in every case.

Examples

Common mistakes

• его́я кни́га / ега́я кни́га -> его́ кни́га - его́/её/их never take endings; one frozen form fits every noun.
• ихний дом -> их дом - ихний is non-standard; the correct possessive is just их.
• мой сестра́ -> моя́ сестра́ - сестра́ is feminine, so the possessive must be feminine too.
• моя́ окно́ -> моё окно́ - окно́ is neuter -> моё, not моя́.
• ваш кни́ги / чей маши́на? -> ва́ши кни́ги / чья маши́на? - agree with the noun: plural -> ва́ши, feminine -> чья.

Tips

• мой, твой, наш, ваш behave like adjectives: the owned noun decides the ending, not the owner. Match its gender/number first.
• его́, её, их are frozen “of-him / of-her / of-them” words - if you ever add an ending, it is wrong.
• Pronounce его́ as [йиво́] and её as [йийо́] - the г in его sounds like a “v”.
• Same owner as the subject? You will soon meet свой (“one’s own”), covered in lesson 28.

In short

Use э́тот / э́та / э́то / э́ти (“this/these”, near) and тот / та / то / те (“that/those”, far) before a noun; they change to match its gender, number and case. To ask, use кто (who), что (what), како́й (which / what kind), чей (whose) and ско́лько (how many).

The rule

Demonstratives. A demonstrative points at something and tells you if it is near (э́тот) or far (тот). As a determiner it stands before a noun and must agree with it, exactly like a possessive (lesson 5):

• э́тот стол (m), э́та кни́га (f), э́то окно́ (n), э́ти столы́ (pl) = this / these.
• тот стол (m), та кни́га (f), то окно́ (n), те столы́ (pl) = that / those.

Do not confuse the agreeing determiner with the invariable pointer э́то from lesson 2. Standalone э́то means “this is / these are” and never changes - it works for any gender or number:

• Э́то стол. = This is a table. Э́то кни́га. = This is a book. Э́то столы́. = These are tables.
• Э́тот стол но́вый. = This table is new. (here э́тот agrees with стол)

So: pointer Э́то + naming something = invariable; determiner э́тот/э́та/э́ти + noun = agreeing.

Interrogatives. Question words go at the front, the rest of the sentence keeps normal order, and your voice rises (intonation - lesson 19):

• кто = who. It always takes masculine singular agreement, even about a woman or a group: Кто пришёл? (not пришла́/пришли́).
• что = what. It takes neuter singular agreement: Что случи́лось?
• како́й/кака́я/како́е/каки́е = which / what kind. Agrees with its noun like an adjective.
• чей/чья/чьё/чьи = whose. Agrees with the thing owned, not the owner.
• ско́лько = how many / how much. The counted noun goes into the genitive: ско́лько книг? (gen. pl.).

Кто and что also decline by case (you point them with кого́, кому́, чем… depending on the verb or preposition). The other interrogatives decline too, but at A1 you mainly need their nominative forms.

Forms & patterns

Demonstratives - nominative (the form you use most at A1):

э́тот declined (for reference - тот changes the same way: того́, тому́, тем, той, тех):

* animate noun takes the genitive-like form (Я зна́ю э́того челове́ка).

Interrogatives that agree (nominative):

кто / что declined (these you should learn early):

Examples

Common mistakes

• э́тот кни́га -> э́та кни́га - the determiner must match gender; кни́га is feminine.
• Э́тот мой брат. (meaning “this is…”) -> Э́то мой брат. - to name/introduce, use the invariable pointer э́то, not э́тот.
• Кто пришла́? -> Кто пришёл? - кто always takes masculine agreement, even about a woman.
• Ско́лько кни́ги? -> Ско́лько книг? - ско́лько needs the genitive (here genitive plural).
• Чей су́мка? -> Чья су́мка? - чей agrees with the thing owned (су́мка is feminine -> чья).
• Что э́то челове́к? -> Кто э́то? - use кто for people, что for things.

Tips

• Memory hook: э́тот has the “here” vowel - э́тот = near; тот is short and points away = far.
• Treat э́тот/э́та/э́то/э́ти like an adjective: it copies the noun’s gender, number and case.
• Reflex pair: кто -> пришёл (masc.), что -> случи́лось (neut.) in the past tense.
• After ско́лько the noun is genitive: ско́лько вре́мени, ско́лько люде́й, ско́лько книг.
• A question = a statement + a question word in front + rising voice; the word order barely changes (lesson 19).

In short

The dictionary form (infinitive) ends in -ть / -ти / -чь (чита́ть, идти́, мочь). Russian has only ONE present tense, and only imperfective verbs use it. To conjugate, drop the ending and add personal endings of the first conjugation (-е-/-ё-: -ю -ешь -ет -ем -ете -ют) or the second conjugation (-и-: -ю -ишь -ит -им -ите -ат/-ят). The verb agrees with the subject in person and number - never in gender.

The rule

1. The infinitive. The dictionary form names the action without a subject. It ends in:

2. One present tense. There is a single present tense, used both for “I read” and “I am reading.” Only imperfective verbs have it; perfective verbs have no present (their similar-looking forms mean the future - see lesson 21).

3. Two conjugations. To put a verb in the present, drop the infinitive ending and add personal endings. Which set you use depends on the conjugation:

Quick rule of thumb: infinitives in -ить are usually 2nd conjugation; most other infinitives are 1st.

4. Agreement. The verb changes for person (я / ты / он…) and number (singular / plural). In the present there is no gender: он чита́ет and она́ чита́ет are identical.

Forms & patterns

First conjugation - чита́ть (to read), жить (to live):

Second conjugation - говори́ть (to speak), люби́ть (to love):

Consonant mutation & inserted -л-. Many verbs change the final stem consonant or insert -л-. With most 2nd-conjugation verbs this happens only in the я-form:

Irregular / разноспрягаемые verbs. A few common verbs mix the two patterns:

Note хоте́ть: the singular looks like the 1st conjugation (хо́чешь, хо́чет), the plural like the 2nd (хоти́м, хотя́т). The verb быть (to be) has no ordinary present - in the present it is simply left out (lesson 3). The verb дать (to give) is perfective, so its forms (я дам, ты дашь…) mean the future, not the present.

Examples

Common mistakes

• Я есть рабо́таю -> Я рабо́таю - no “to be” is added in the present (lesson 3).
• Она́ чита́ла (meaning “she reads”) -> она́ чита́ет - the present has no gender; чита́ла is past tense.
• Он говори́ет -> он говори́т - 2nd-conjugation verbs take -ит, not -ет.
• Я писа́ю -> я пишу́ - the stem consonant mutates (с → ш) in писа́ть.
• Мы хочи́м / они́ хочу́т -> мы хоти́м / они́ хотя́т - in the plural хоте́ть follows the 2nd conjugation.

Tips

• To choose the conjugation, look at the infinitive: -ить usually means 2nd conjugation; almost everything else is 1st. When in doubt, memorize the он and они́ forms together.
• Spelling rule: after ж, ш, ч, щ never write -ю/-я - use -у/-а instead (пишу́, они́ пи́шут; учу́, они́ у́чат).
• Mutation and the inserted -л- in 2nd-conjugation verbs appear only in the я-form (люблю́ → but лю́бишь, лю́бит…), so learn that one form separately.
• One present form covers both English tenses: чита́ю = “I read” and “I am reading.”

In short

Russian marks a noun’s job in the sentence by changing its ending - there are six cases. The endings you already learned in lessons 2-4 are the nominative (имени́тельный): the dictionary form, used for the subject (the doer) and answering Кто? / Что? (“Who? / What?”). Because the ending carries the grammar, Russian word order is free.

The rule

1. What a case is. A case (паде́ж) is a set of endings that shows a noun’s role: who acts, who is acted on, who owns, who receives, and so on. The same noun appears in different “coats”:

кни́га (subject) - кни́гу (object) - кни́ги (of the book) - кни́ге (to the book) - кни́гой (with the book) - о кни́ге (about the book)

2. The six cases and their jobs. Learn the names and core question now; the oblique cases get their own lessons later.

A common learner-friendly order is Им - Вин - Род - Дат - Тв - Пр (used above). Russian schoolbooks list them slightly differently: Им - Род - Дат - Вин - Тв - Пр.

3. The nominative. This is the base form - exactly what you find in a dictionary. Use it for:

• the subject: Студе́нт чита́ет. (The student reads.)
• a predicate noun after the dropped “to be”: Москва́ - столи́ца. (Moscow is the capital.)
• a label / answer to a pointing question: Это дом. (This is a house.) Кто там? - Анна.

The nominative is the only case that never follows a preposition.

4. Where the endings come from. Each case ending depends on three things: gender (masculine / feminine / neuter), hard or soft stem, and number (singular / plural). You already met the nominative endings as “noun gender” (lesson 1) and “plural” (lesson 3).

Forms & patterns

Nominative singular (the dictionary endings):

Nominative plural (see lesson 4 for the full story):

Spelling rule (lesson 1): after г, к, х, ж, ш, ч, щ write -и, never -ы - that is why кни́га → кни́ги, not кни́гы.

Examples

Common mistakes

• Это кни́гу -> Это кни́га - a thing you name or point to stays in the nominative (the dictionary form), not the accusative.
• На столе́ лежи́т газе́ту -> …лежи́т газе́та - the subject (what is lying there) is nominative, not accusative.
• в Москва́ -> в Москве́ - the nominative never follows a preposition; “in” needs the prepositional (lesson 10).
• о́кны -> о́кна - neuter nouns in -о take the plural -а, not -ы.
• кни́гы -> кни́ги - after г/к/х/ж/ш/ч/щ you must write -и (spelling rule).

Tips

• The nominative is free - you already know it. It is the form in every dictionary and the form from lessons 2-4.
• To find the subject, ask Кто? / Что? about the verb: the answer is in the nominative.
• One quick test: if a word comes right after a preposition, it is not nominative.
• Both the subject and a noun naming it (after the silent “to be”) are nominative: Москва́ - столи́ца.

In short

The prepositional case (предло́жный паде́ж) is the only case that is never used without a preposition - that is exactly why it is called “prepositional.” You need it for two everyday meanings: location (“where?”) after в / на (в Москве́, на рабо́те), and the topic (“about whom / what?”) after о / об / обо (о кни́ге, обо мне). Most nouns just take the ending -е.

The rule

1. Location - “where?” (Где?). Use в (“in, inside”) or на (“on, at”) + prepositional to say where something is:

Note the contrast with movement: location uses the prepositional (Я в шко́ле - I am at school), while direction uses the accusative (Я иду́ в шко́лу - see lesson 10).

2. Topic - “about whom / what?” (О ком? О чём?). Use о (+ consonant), об (+ vowel sound), or обо (in a few fixed phrases):

3. The endings. From the dictionary (nominative) form, change the ending like this:

4. в vs на. As a rule в = “inside” and на = “on a surface,” but на is also fixed with open spaces, events, the four directions, and a small set of nouns you simply memorize: на по́чте (at the post office), на конце́рте (at the concert), на ю́ге (in the south), на рабо́те (at work).

Forms & patterns

Regular -е pattern (the default for all three genders):

The -и group (feminine soft sign + the -ия/-ие/-ий words):

Stressed -у́ masculines. A small, very common set of one-syllable masculine nouns take a stressed -у́ (only after в / на, only for location):

(After о these same words are regular: о ле́се, о го́де.)

Personal pronouns. Third-person forms start with н- after a preposition:

Examples

Common mistakes

• в Россие -> в Росси́и - nouns in -ия end in -и, not -е.
• о мне -> обо мне - before the pronoun мне the preposition becomes обо.
• в лесе -> в лесу́ - лес belongs to the stressed -у́ group for location.
• Я на рабо́ту (meaning “I am at work”) -> Я на рабо́те - location takes the prepositional; -у is accusative (direction).
• о Анне -> об А́нне - use об before a vowel sound.

Tips

• Default to -е; only stop and think when the word ends in -ь (f) or -ия / -ие / -ий (then it’s -и).
• Tie the case to its question word: Где? -> в / на + prepositional; О ком? О чём? -> о / об / обо + prepositional.
• Learn each на-noun as a chunk (на по́чте, на ю́ге, на конце́рте, на рабо́те) - there is no reliable rule, only a short list.
• The stressed -у́ ending only happens for location after в/на; the same nouns are regular after о (в лесу́ but о ле́се).

In short

The accusative (вини́тельный) is the case of the direct object - the thing the action is done to: answers Кого́? Что? (Whom? What?). Я чита́ю кни́гу, Я люблю́ Москву́. The same case, with в / на, also marks direction - Куда́? (Я иду́ в шко́лу) - and days of the week (в понеде́льник).

The rule

1. The direct object. A transitive verb (чита́ть, люби́ть, ви́деть, знать, де́лать, покупа́ть…) takes its object in the accusative. Ask Что? for things and Кого́? for people/animals.

The ending depends on gender and animacy:

So only two groups actually change form: feminine -а/-я nouns and animate masculine nouns. Everything else looks just like the dictionary form.

Note: for feminine -а/-я nouns animacy makes no difference in the singular - both ма́ма and кни́га give -у (Я зна́ю ма́му, Я чита́ю кни́гу).

2. Direction - Куда́? (в / на + accusative). The prepositions в (into) and на (onto/to) + accusative answer Куда́? (where to?). Contrast this with location (Где?), which uses the same prepositions + prepositional (lesson 9):

3. Time - days of the week (в + accusative). To say on a day, use в + accusative: в понеде́льник, в сре́ду, в суббо́ту.

Forms & patterns

Nouns (singular):

Personal pronouns (the accusative forms are the same as the genitive):

After a preposition, the 3rd-person pronouns add н-: на него́, про неё, за них.

Examples

Common mistakes

• Я чита́ю кни́га -> Я чита́ю кни́гу - a feminine -а noun becomes -у as a direct object.
• Я ви́жу Ива́н / студе́нт -> Я ви́жу Ива́на / студе́нта - animate masculine takes the genitive-like -а/-я ending.
• Я иду́ в шко́ле -> Я иду́ в шко́лу - direction (Куда́?) needs в/на + accusative, not the prepositional (that’s location, Где?).
• Он лю́бит я / она́ -> Он лю́бит меня́ / её - the object pronoun must be in the accusative, never the nominative.
• Я открыва́ю дверю -> Я открыва́ю дверь - feminine nouns in -ь do not change in the accusative.

Tips

• The easy cases first: inanimate masculine and all neuter nouns look exactly like the dictionary form, so there is nothing new to learn there.
• Memory hook for feminine: the round vowels “round off” - -а → -у, -я → -ю (кни́га → кни́гу, неде́ля → неде́лю).
• Animate masculine accusative = genitive, and so are the object pronouns (меня́, тебя́, его́, её, нас, вас, их). Learn them once, use them for two cases (compare lesson 11).
• Same preposition, two meanings: в шко́ле (at school - prepositional) vs в шко́лу (to school - accusative). Ask Где? vs Куда́? to choose.

In short

The genitive (роди́тельный, questions Кого́? Чего́?) is the “of” case. Use it for possession (кни́га бра́та - the brother’s book), for having something (у меня́ есть маши́на), for absence with нет / не́ было / не бу́дет (у меня́ нет вре́мени), for quantities (мно́го рабо́ты), and after the prepositions из, с, от, до, без, для, по́сле, о́коло.

The rule

1. Possession / “of”. English “the X of Y” or “Y’s X” becomes X (then) Y-in-genitive. The owned thing keeps its case; the owner goes into the genitive and comes second:

• кни́га бра́та - the brother’s book
• центр го́рода - the centre of the city
• ча́шка ча́я - a cup of tea

2. Having: у + genitive. Russian has no verb “to have.” It says “by someone there is”: у + person (genitive) + есть + thing (nominative):

• У меня́ есть маши́на. - I have a car.

3. Absence: нет / не́ было / не бу́дет + genitive. The opposite of есть. The missing thing (or person) goes into the genitive, and the form of “to be” is the impersonal нет (present) / не́ было (past) / не бу́дет (future):

• У меня́ нет вре́мени. - I have no time.
• Его́ нет до́ма. - He is not at home.
• На ка́рте нет де́нег. - There’s no money on the card.

4. Quantity. After мно́го (a lot), ма́ло (little/few), ско́лько (how much) the noun is genitive:

• мно́го рабо́ты, ма́ло вре́мени, ско́лько са́хара?

5. After prepositions из, с, от, до, без, для, по́сле, о́коло (see the table below).

Forms & patterns

Genitive singular endings

Masculine and neuter share -а / -я; feminine -а -> -ы, -я -> -и. The spelling rule forces -и (never -ы) after к г х ж ч ш щ: кни́га -> кни́ги, кни́жка -> кни́жки.

Personal pronouns in the genitive

After a preposition, the third-person forms add н-: его́ -> у него́, её -> у неё, их -> у них.

Have / don’t have

Prepositions that take the genitive

Examples

Common mistakes

• кни́га брат -> кни́га бра́та - the owner must go into the genitive, not stay in the nominative.
• У меня́ нет вре́мя -> У меня́ нет вре́мени - after нет the thing is genitive, never nominative.
• У него́ нет маши́на -> У него́ нет маши́ны - same rule: feminine -а -> -ы after нет.
• кни́гы, де́вочкы -> кни́ги, де́вочки - after к г х write -и, never -ы (spelling rule).
• Он нет до́ма -> Его́ нет до́ма - an absent person becomes a genitive pronoun (его́/её/их) + нет.
• ко́фе без са́хар -> ко́фе без са́хара - the preposition без always takes the genitive.

Tips

• The genitive answers Кого́? Чего́? (“of whom? of what?”). If you can put “of” in English, you usually need the genitive in Russian.
• Russian “have” = “by me there is”: у меня́ есть literally means “by me is.” To deny it, just swap есть -> нет and put the thing in the genitive.
• One ending pair to remember: masculine/neuter take -а / -я, and feminine simply moves one step - -а -> -ы, -я / -ь -> -и.
• The time triad goes together: present нет, past не́ было, future не бу́дет - all keep the noun in the genitive. Counting (два, пять…) and the genitive plural come later in lesson 30.

In short

A Russian adjective copies its noun in gender, number, and case. In the nominative the basic endings are masc -ый/-ой/-ий, fem -ая/-яя, neut -ое/-ее, plural -ые/-ие (но́вый дом, но́вая кни́га, но́вое окно́, но́вые столы́). One spelling rule overrides them: after к г х and the hushers ж ч ш щ you write -ий/-ие, never -ый/-ые (ру́сский, хоро́ший).

The rule

1. Agreement. An adjective has no fixed form of its own - it takes whatever gender, number, and case its noun has. Change the noun and the ending of the adjective changes with it.

2. Nominative endings. This is the dictionary form (the one you meet first):

Masculine has three endings: stressed stem → -ый (но́вый), stressed ending → -о́й (большо́й, молодо́й), soft stem → -ий (си́ний).

3. The spelling rule (very common). After к г х and the hushers ж ч ш щ you can never write ы, only и. So these adjectives look “soft” in the masculine and plural, but they are really hard-stem:

After the hushers, an unstressed o becomes e: хоро́шее (unstressed), but stressed stays o: большо́е.

4. Hard vs soft stems. Most adjectives are hard (но́вый, ста́рый, кра́сный). A small group is genuinely soft - the -ий type (си́ний, после́дний, дома́шний). Soft adjectives keep a soft vowel through every form (си́него, си́нему, си́ним).

5. Position & predicate. An attributive adjective normally stands before the noun: но́вый дом. Used as a predicate (after the noun, where English puts is), the long form does not change and stays in the nominative: Дом но́вый (“The house is new”). Russian adds no is here (lesson 2).

6. The question word. Ask како́й? (m) / кака́я? (f) / како́е? (n) / каки́е? (pl) - “what kind of?” The question already shows you the ending the answer needs (lesson 7).

Forms & patterns

Full declension - hard stem но́вый (new). The adjective declines through all six cases together with its noun:

The masculine/neuter accusative copies the nominative for things and the genitive for living beings (но́вый стол, but но́вого студе́нта). The same split applies in the plural.

Soft stem си́ний (blue) - singular. Every hard vowel turns soft (ы→и, о→е, у→ю):

Note: -ого/-его is pronounced with a в sound: но́вого = [но́вава], си́него = [си́нева].

Examples

Common mistakes

• но́вая дом -> но́вый дом - дом is masculine, so the adjective must be masculine too.
• ру́сскый язы́к -> ру́сский язы́к - after к you write -ий, never -ый (spelling rule).
• хоро́шый / хоро́шые -> хоро́ший / хоро́шие - after ш write и, not ы.
• в но́вый до́ме -> в но́вом до́ме - the adjective must take the same case as its noun (here prepositional).
• большо́е маши́на -> больша́я маши́на - маши́на is feminine; gender must match.

Tips

• Learn a new adjective inside a phrase that shows the gender: но́вый стол, но́вая ла́мпа, но́вое окно́ - then the ending comes automatically.
• The mnemonic for the spelling rule: after к г х ж ч ш щ there is no ы - always и (ру́сские, хоро́шие, больши́е).
• The question word does the work for you: како́й дом? → большо́й; кака́я кни́га? → но́вая; каки́е столы́? → но́вые. Matching endings rhyme.
• Adjective and noun do not always share the same letters, only the same case: но́вого студе́нта, в но́вом до́ме - listen for “same case”, not “same sound”.

In short

The numbers themselves are easy to learn, but the noun after a number changes its case: 1 -> nominative singular, 2-4 -> genitive singular, 5 and up -> genitive plural. The word оди́н also agrees in gender like an adjective, and 2 has a feminine form две.

The rule

1. Learn the numbers. See the tables below for 0-10, 11-20, the tens and the hundreds. Compound numbers are just written out word by word: два́дцать оди́н (21), сто пять (105), сто два́дцать оди́н (121).

2. оди́н agrees like an adjective. It changes for gender and matches the noun: оди́н стол (m), одна́ кни́га (f), одно́ окно́ (n), and even a plural одни́ for plural-only nouns (одни́ очки́ - one pair of glasses).

3. The counting rule (preview - full rules in lesson 30). The number tells the noun which case and number to take. Look at the last word of a compound number:

Note 2 has a feminine form: два стола́ (m/n) but две кни́ги (f).

Forms & patterns

0-10

11-20 (most end in -надцать)

Tens & hundreds

оди́н agrees in gender

The same noun after different numbers

Examples

Common mistakes

• два кни́ги -> две кни́ги - feminine nouns take две, not два.
• пять рубля́ -> пять рубле́й - 5 and up take the genitive plural.
• два часо́в -> два часа́ - 2, 3, 4 take the genitive singular, not plural.
• два́дцать оди́н рубле́й -> два́дцать оди́н рубль - a compound ending in 1 takes nominative singular.
• мне два́дцать оди́н лет -> мне два́дцать оди́н год - “…one” -> год; only 5+ (and the teens) take лет.

Tips

• Think of it as size: 2-4 is “a few” -> genitive singular; 5+ is “many” -> genitive plural. The break is always at 5.
• In a compound number, only the last word decides the noun’s case: сто два́дцать оди́н рубль, со́рок пять рубле́й.
• Remember the pair: два for masculine/neuter, две for feminine.
• For age use год / го́да / лет; for the teens 11-14 use лет too (двена́дцать лет, not го́да).
• After ско́лько (how many) the noun is always genitive plural: ско́лько книг, ско́лько лет, ско́лько рубле́й.

In short

Ordinal numerals (пе́рвый first, второ́й second, тре́тий third…) are really adjectives: they agree with their noun in gender, number and case (пе́рвый уро́к, пе́рвая страни́ца, на второ́м этаже́). Dates use a neuter ordinal + the month in the genitive (пя́тое ма́я), the year keeps the ordinal in the prepositional (в две ты́сячи два́дцать четвёртом году́), days of the week take в + accusative (в сре́ду), and seasons take the instrumental (ле́том, зимо́й).

The rule

1. Ordinals are adjectives. Unlike cardinal numerals (lesson 13), ordinals decline and agree exactly like ordinary adjectives (lesson 12). Pick the ending from the noun’s gender / case:

Only тре́тий (third) has a soft declension (тре́тий, тре́тьего, тре́тьему, о тре́тьем…); all the others are hard like но́вый / молодо́й.

2. Compound ordinals - only the LAST word changes. In two- or three-word numbers, every part stays a plain cardinal and just the final word becomes ordinal: два́дцать пе́рвый (21st), две ты́сячи два́дцать четвёртый (2024th).

3. Dates. “What’s the date?” - Како́е сего́дня число́? The answer is a neuter ordinal (agreeing with the hidden word число́) + the month in the genitive:

• Сего́дня пя́тое ма́я. (the fifth of May)
• “On” a date puts the ordinal in the genitive: Она́ родила́сь тре́тьего апре́ля. (on the third of April)

4. Years. “In 2024” = в две ты́сячи два́дцать четвёртом году́ - the last word is an ordinal in the prepositional, and год takes the special locative ending -у́. To say the year on its own (nominative): Сейча́с две ты́сячи два́дцать четвёртый год.

5. Days of the week use в + accusative: в понеде́льник, во вто́рник, в сре́ду, в суббо́ту.

6. Time / clock. “What time is it?” - Кото́рый час? or Ско́лько вре́мени? The hour noun час follows the cardinal-numeral rule (lesson 13): час (1), два / три / четы́ре часа́ (gen. sing.), пять… часо́в (gen. pl.).

7. Seasons answer “when?” in the instrumental (no preposition): весно́й, ле́том, о́сенью, зимо́й. (The times of day work the same way: у́тром, днём, ве́чером, но́чью.)

Forms & patterns

Ordinals 1-10 (masculine form; decline like adjectives):

(Higher: двадца́тый 20th, со́тый 100th, ты́сячный 1000th.)

Months in the genitive (used for dates - “of May”, etc.):

Days of the week (в + accusative):

Seasons (instrumental = “in”):

Examples

Common mistakes

• пе́рвый страни́ца -> пе́рвая страни́ца - the ordinal agrees in gender with the noun (страни́ца is feminine).
• Сего́дня пя́тый май -> Сего́дня пя́тое ма́я - the date is neuter (число́) and the month goes into the genitive.
• в две ты́сячи два́дцать четвёртый год -> в две ты́сячи два́дцать четвёртом году́ - “in” a year needs the prepositional (в … году́), and only the last word is ordinal.
• в среда́ / в сре́да -> в сре́ду - days of the week take в + accusative.
• Сейча́с два час / пять час -> два часа́ / пять часо́в - after 2-4 use gen. singular часа́, after 5+ gen. plural часо́в (lesson 13).

Tips

• Learn each ordinal as an adjective trio (пе́рвый - пе́рвая - пе́рвое) and decline like но́вый. Remember the one oddball: тре́тий is soft (тре́тий, тре́тья, тре́тье, тре́тьи).
• Memory hook for “when?”: a year -> в + prepositional (в … году́); a day -> в + accusative (в сре́ду); a season / time of day -> instrumental (ле́том, у́тром); a date -> neuter ordinal + month in genitive (пя́тое ма́я).
• In long numbers only the last word is ordinal - so once you can count (lesson 13), you only need to “ordinalize” the final word.
• “Floors” and rankings use the prepositional with на: на пе́рвом ме́сте (in first place), на второ́м этаже́ (on the second floor).

In short

The Russian past is easy: drop -ть from the infinitive and add -л (he), -ла (she), -ло (it), -ли (plural). The form agrees with the subject’s gender and number, not its person - so я чита́л / чита́ла, ты чита́л / чита́ла, они́ чита́ли all use the same set.

The rule

1. How to build it. Take the infinitive, drop -ть, and add a past-tense ending. There is just one past tense, and only four forms - one for each gender plus one plural:

2. Agreement is by gender & number, not person. Unlike the present tense (lesson 7), the past does not change for я / ты / он. It only cares whether the subject is masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural:

So a man says я чита́л, a woman says я чита́ла. The polite вы always takes the plural -ли (вы чита́ли), even for one person.

3. The verb быть (to be). Its past forms are slightly irregular in stress - watch была́:

4. Special stems (-ти / -чь and a few others). Some verbs don’t simply drop -ть. The masculine form often ends in a bare consonant with no -л; the other forms add -ла / -ло / -ли to a changed stem:

5. Aspect shows up here too. The same -л endings work for both aspects, but the meaning differs: imperfective past = a process, a repeated or general action (я чита́л = I was reading / used to read), while perfective past = one completed action with a result (я прочита́л = I read it through / I’ve read it). Full aspect is lesson 22.

6. Past possession. “Had” uses у меня́ был / была́ / бы́ло / бы́ли…, where the быть-word agrees with the owned thing, not the owner: у меня́ был брат, была́ маши́на, бы́ло вре́мя, бы́ли де́ньги.

Forms & patterns

Regular verbs - drop -ть, add the ending:

быть (to be) - note the moving stress:

Aspect pairs in the past - same endings, different meaning:

Past possession - the быть-word matches the owned noun:

Examples

Common mistakes

• она́ чита́л -> она́ чита́ла - a feminine subject takes -ла.
• они́ рабо́тал -> они́ рабо́тали - a plural subject takes -ли (and вы рабо́тали even for one person).
• я был чита́л -> я чита́л - the Russian past is one word; don’t add быть as an auxiliary like English “was”.
• он идти́л -> он шёл - идти́ has a special past stem; there is no regular -л form.
• у меня́ был маши́на -> у меня́ была́ маши́на - the быть-word agrees with the owned noun (маши́на is feminine).

Tips

• One past verb has only four forms - learn them as a block: -л / -ла / -ло / -ли. No personal endings to memorize.
• Pick the ending by the subject, not by “I/you/he”: a woman always says я была́, я ходи́ла; a man says я был, я ходи́л.
• Memory hook: -л is the masculine baseline (like English “-l”); add -а for “she”, -о for “it”, -и for “they”.
• For “didn’t have / wasn’t”, the stress jumps onto не: у меня́ не́ было вре́мени (note: не́ было + genitive, never не́ была́). More in lessons 12 and 18.

In short

Russian adverbs are invariable: they never change for gender, number, case or tense - one form fits every sentence. Many “manner” adverbs come from adjectives by dropping the ending and adding -о (бы́стрый -> бы́стро), and Russian carefully separates где (location: до́ма) from куда́ (direction: домо́й).

The rule

1. Adverbs do not change. An adjective agrees with its noun (краси́вый дом, краси́вая пе́сня), but an adverb describing a verb has only one fixed form: она́ поёт краси́во, они́ пою́т краси́во, он пел краси́во. Nothing to decline or conjugate - learn the word and you are done.

2. Forming adverbs from adjectives. For most quality adjectives, drop the ending and add -о. The result usually looks like the neuter short adjective.

3. Four meaning groups. Adverbs answer как? (how), где?/куда? (where), когда? (when), наско́лько? (to what degree). See the tables below.

4. где vs куда́ vs откуда - the key A1 contrast. Russian uses different words for being somewhere, going somewhere, and coming from somewhere. A verb of motion (идти́, е́хать) needs the куда́-form, not the location word.

5. Position is flexible. An adverb can come before or after the verb: Я ча́сто чита́ю = Ча́сто я чита́ю. But a degree word (о́чень, сли́шком) sits right in front of the word it intensifies: о́чень бы́стро, сли́шком гро́мко.

6. Language adverbs. Говори́ть / чита́ть / понима́ть по-ру́сски, по-англи́йски - written with a hyphen.

Forms & patterns

Meaning groups

(сли́шком = “too (much)” in the bad sense: сли́шком до́рого = too expensive. The additive то́же / та́кже “also, too” are not degree words - they join clauses, and belong with the conjunctions in lesson 19.)

где? / куда́? / отку́да? - one place, three forms

Adverb vs adjective - don’t mix them up

Examples

Common mistakes

• Она́ поёт краси́вая -> Она́ поёт краси́во - describe an action with an adverb (-о), not an agreeing adjective.
• Я иду́ до́ма -> Я иду́ домо́й - direction (куда́) needs домо́й / сюда́ / туда́, not the location word до́ма.
• Они́ рабо́тают бы́стрые -> Они́ рабо́тают бы́стро - adverbs never agree; they have one form.
• Он никогда́ ку́рит -> Он никогда́ не ку́рит - никогда́ / нигде́ still need не before the verb (double negation).
• по ру́сски -> по-ру́сски - language adverbs are written with a hyphen (по-англи́йски, по-неме́цки).

Tips

• To make a manner adverb, take the adjective, drop the ending, add -о: ти́хий -> ти́хо, гро́мкий -> гро́мко. It often matches the neuter form (хоро́шее -> хорошо́).
• Memory hook for the place trio: куда́ (direction) words tend to end in -а́/-о́й (сюда́, туда́, домо́й); откуда (origin) words start with от-/из- (отсю́да, отту́да, из до́ма); the rest answer где (здесь, там, до́ма).
• One form fits all - no gender, number or tense to worry about. Just learn the word.
• The same -о word can also be a predicate: Здесь хо́лодно (It’s cold here), Мне ску́чно (I’m bored). The modal ones (мо́жно, ну́жно, нельзя́) come in lesson 31.

In short

Use не (“not”) right before the word you want to negate (Я не рабо́таю). Use нет for “there is no / I don’t have,” and put the missing thing in the genitive (У меня́ нет маши́ны). Negative words (никто́, ничего́, никогда́…) keep не on the verb - in Russian double negation is the rule, not a mistake.

The rule

1. не = “not”. Put не directly in front of the word it negates - a verb, an adjective, a noun, an adverb. It never changes form.

2. нет = “there is no / isn’t any” + genitive. Нет is the negative of есть (“there is”). The thing that is absent moves into the genitive case (lesson 11):

The same нет also means “No” as a short answer (see point 5).

3. Double (multiple) negation is obligatory. Negative words all start with ни-. Whenever you use one, you must still put не on the verb - and if several negatives meet, every one of them stays:

• Я никогда́ не курю́. - I never smoke.
• Никто́ ничего́ не зна́ет. - Nobody knows anything.
• Он нигде́ не рабо́тает. - He doesn’t work anywhere.

4. ни…ни = “neither…nor”. The verb still takes не: Я не пью ни ча́й, ни ко́фе. - I drink neither tea nor coffee.

5. Answers. Да = yes, Нет = no. Note the everyday word ничего́ (“nothing”), which also means “it’s OK / never mind”: — Извини́те! — Ничего́! (“Sorry!” — “It’s fine!”).

Forms & patterns

Negative words (each needs не on the verb)

не́чего / не́кого + infinitive - “(there is) nothing / no one to …”. Note the stress jumps onto не́- and the meaning shifts:

нет in past and future. “Wasn’t there” = не́ было + genitive; “won’t be there” = не бу́дет + genitive (the verb stays singular/neuter):

Examples

Common mistakes

• Я нет рабо́таю -> Я не рабо́таю - negate a verb/adjective with не; нет means “there isn’t”.
• У меня́ нет маши́на -> У меня́ нет маши́ны - after нет the noun is genitive, not nominative.
• Никто́ зна́ет -> Никто́ не зна́ет - keep не on the verb; the ни-word alone is not enough.
• Я ничего́ зна́ю -> Я ничего́ не зна́ю - same rule: ничего́ and не must both stay.
• У меня́ есть нет вре́мени -> У меня́ нет вре́мени - нет already means “there isn’t”; don’t add есть.

Tips

• Keep two words apart: не = “not” (goes before a word); нет = “there isn’t / I don’t have” (+ genitive).
• In Russian, more negatives = correct. Stack the ни-words and keep не on the verb: Никто́ никогда́ ничего́ не говори́т.
• “I don’t have X” = take У меня́ есть X and swap есть -> нет, then put X in the genitive (есть кни́га -> нет кни́ги).
• Mind the stress: ничего́ / никого́ = “nothing / nobody” (negative pronoun), but не́чего / не́кого = “nothing / no one to do” (+ infinitive).
• Ничего́ is a useful reply: to “Спаси́бо!” or “Извини́те!” it means “It’s nothing / no problem.”

In short

Russian has two kinds of questions. A yes/no question looks exactly like the statement - same words, same order; you only raise your voice on the focused word (and add ? in writing) and answer Да / Нет. A WH-question opens with a question word (кто, что, где, когда́, почему́, как, ско́лько…). Word order is flexible, and the important word tends to go last.

The rule

1. Yes/No questions - intonation only. Take any statement and keep it as it is. There is no “do/does”, no word swapping: your voice simply rises on the word in focus, and in writing you add a question mark.

• Statement: Вы говори́те по-ру́сски. = You speak Russian.
• Question: Вы говори́те по-ру́сски? = Do you speak Russian?

Answer with Да (yes) or Нет (no). You may echo the verb to sound natural: Да, говорю́. / Нет, не говорю́.

2. WH-questions - a question word in front. Put the question word at the start; the rest of the sentence keeps normal order, and the voice falls toward the end:

• Где ты живёшь? = Where do you live?
• Что э́то? = What is this?
• Ско́лько э́то сто́ит? = How much does this cost?

3. The particle ли (formal / indirect). For a more formal or an embedded yes/no question, Russian uses ли after the focused word. At A1 you only need to recognise it; the full rules come in lesson 44.

• Не зна́ю, придёт ли он. = I don’t know whether he will come.

4. Tag questions. Add да? or пра́вда? at the end to check agreement, like English ”…, right? / …, isn’t it?”: Ты придёшь за́втра, да?

Forms & patterns

Question words (WH-words)

Same sentence, three types

The forms of кто, что, како́й, чей, ско́лько (and how they decline) are covered in lesson 7.

Examples

Common mistakes

• Ли вы говори́те по-ру́сски? -> Вы говори́те по-ру́сски? - don’t translate English “do”; a yes/no question is just the statement with rising intonation, and ли never starts a sentence.
• Где ты идёшь? -> Куда́ ты идёшь? - motion/direction needs куда́; где is only for a static location.
• Где ты прие́хал? -> Отку́да ты прие́хал? - “from where” = отку́да, not где.
• Что твой оте́ц? -> Кто твой оте́ц? - ask кто about a person, что about a thing.
• Ско́лько вре́мя? -> Ско́лько вре́мени? - after ско́лько the noun goes into the genitive (вре́мени).

Tips

• A yes/no question = the statement, unchanged, with your voice rising on the focused word; in writing only the ? differs.
• The focus (the new or important word) usually moves to the end: Ты сего́дня рабо́таешь? vs Рабо́таешь ты сего́дня? - position + intonation shift the emphasis.
• Learn the place trio together: где (where, static) / куда́ (where to) / отку́да (where from).
• Answer да/нет questions with Да or Нет; echoing the verb sounds natural: Да, понима́ю. / Нет, не понима́ю.

In short

Conjunctions are little linking words. The two you must not confuse are а and но: а contrasts two different things side by side (Я чита́ю, а он пи́шет - I’m reading, while he’s writing), но marks a real obstacle or clash (Хочу́, но не могу́ - I want to, but I can’t). Also remember the punctuation: Russian puts a comma before что, потому́ что, е́сли, когда́, кото́рый.

The rule

1. Two families. Coordinating conjunctions join two equal parts (и, а, но, и́ли). Subordinating conjunctions tie a smaller clause to a main one (что, потому́ что, е́сли, когда́, что́бы).

2. и vs а vs но — the key point.

• и = and. It simply adds: хлеб и молоко́; Я чита́ю и слу́шаю му́зыку.
• а = and / but / whereas. It puts two different facts side by side - no conflict, just a difference: Я чита́ю, а он пи́шет (I read, while he writes); Я люблю́ чай, а он лю́бит ко́фе.
• но = but. It marks a real obstacle or contradiction - the second part clashes with the first: Хочу́, но не могу́; Кни́га ма́ленькая, но интере́сная.

Quick test: if you could say whereas in English, use а; if you mean however / yet, use но.

3. и́ли = or; то́же / та́кже = also. Ты бу́дешь чай и́ли ко́фе? То́же means “me too / does the same”: Он лю́бит ко́фе, и я то́же. Та́кже (“also, in addition”) is a touch more formal.

4. Subordinating conjunctions add information.

• что = that: Я ду́маю, что он до́ма. (Do not confuse with что = what from lesson 6.)
• потому́ что = because (the cause): Я до́ма, потому́ что идёт дождь.
• поэ́тому = so / therefore (the result): Идёт дождь, поэ́тому я до́ма.
• е́сли = if: Е́сли бу́дет вре́мя, я позвоню́.
• когда́ = when: Когда́ я отдыха́ю, я чита́ю.
• что́бы = (in order) to + infinitive: Я учу́ ру́сский, что́бы говори́ть с друзья́ми. (Full rules in lesson 37.)

5. Punctuation - very important. Russian places a comma before что, что́бы, потому́ что, е́сли, когда́ and кото́рый, even where English drops the word “that”. You also always put a comma before а and но. No comma is needed before и when it just links two items (хлеб и молоко́).

Forms & patterns

Coordinating / Сочинительные (join equal parts)

Subordinating / Подчинительные (a comma comes before each one)

Examples

Common mistakes

• Я чита́ю, но брат пи́шет -> Я чита́ю, а брат пи́шет - two different actions, no clash, so use а.
• Хочу́, а не могу́ -> Хочу́, но не могу́ - a real obstacle/contradiction needs но.
• Я ду́маю что он до́ма -> Я ду́маю**,** что он до́ма - Russian always puts a comma before что.
• Идёт дождь, потому́ что я до́ма -> Идёт дождь, поэ́тому я до́ма - потому́ что gives the cause, поэ́тому the result; don’t swap them.
• Я до́ма потому́ что хо́лодно -> Я до́ма**,** потому́ что хо́лодно - don’t forget the comma before потому́ что.

Tips

• Memory hook: а = two pictures side by side (whereas); но = a wall in the way (however, yet). Translate the sentence with whereas vs however to choose.
• The comma rule is mechanical: что, что́бы, потому́ что, е́сли, когда́, кото́рый - a comma comes before them. Say the sentence aloud and you’ll hear the pause.
• поэ́тому and потому́ что are mirror images: same two clauses, opposite order. Cause -> потому́ что, result -> поэ́тому.
• то́же is your everyday “me too”: Я люблю́ ко́фе. - Я то́же! Keep та́кже for “in addition” in more formal writing.
• что́бы is always followed by an infinitive when the subject stays the same (…, что́бы отдохну́ть) - you’ll meet the full pattern in lesson 38.

In short

Russian has no “free” prepositions: every preposition forces the noun after it into one particular case, so you always learn the preposition together with its case. Some prepositions even switch case to switch meaning - в / на + prepositional answer Где? (location: в шко́ле), while в / на + accusative answer Куда? (direction: в шко́лу).

The rule

1. One preposition - one case. A preposition never stands alone; it pulls the following noun (or pronoun) into a fixed case. So the unit you memorise is the pair: из + genitive, к + dative, с + instrumental, and so on. The detailed meanings of each case live in the case lessons - here you just match preposition to case.

2. Location vs direction (the в / на pair). This is the most important A1 contrast. The same prepositions в and на take the prepositional for a static place (Где?) but the accusative for movement towards a place (Куда?):

3. Two more two-case prepositions: за and под. With motion they take the accusative (Куда?); with a static place they take the instrumental (Где?):

4. из / с are the opposites of в / на. To say out of / off somewhere, mirror the preposition you would use to go in / on: в → из, на → с. Both take the genitive.

5. Pronouns add н- after a preposition. The third-person pronouns он / она́ / они́ begin with н- whenever a preposition stands in front of them: у него́, к ней, с ни́ми, о них. The 1st/2nd-person pronouns (я, ты, мы, вы) never do this.

Forms & patterns

Prepositions grouped by the case they govern.

Prepositional (Где? О ком?):

Accusative (Куда? / through):

Genitive (Отку́да? Чей?):

Dative (Куда? Как?):

Instrumental (С кем? Где?):

Pronouns after a preposition (the н- rule):

Examples

Common mistakes

• Я в шко́лу (meaning “I am at school”) -> Я в шко́ле - location (Где?) needs в/на + prepositional, not accusative.
• прие́хал с Москвы́ -> прие́хал из Москвы́ - “out of” a city/country mirrors в, so use из (с pairs only with на-words: с рабо́ты).
• у его́, к ей -> у него́, к ней - after a preposition он/она́/они́ must add н-.
• для ты, без я -> для тебя́, без меня́ - after prepositions the pronoun takes the required case (here genitive), never the nominative.
• Кот зале́з под столо́м -> Кот зале́з под стол - motion (Куда?) makes за/под take the accusative, not the instrumental.

Tips

• Never learn a preposition alone - store it as a chunk with its case: «из + genitive», «к + dative», «с + instrumental». The case becomes automatic.
• Ask Где? vs Куда? to choose the case after в, на, за, под: static place -> location case (в шко́ле, под столо́м); movement -> accusative (в шко́лу, под стол).
• из / с simply reverse в / на: if you go в a place you come из it; if you go на a place you come с it.
• One sound to listen for: after a preposition, он/она́/они́ start with н (у него́, к ней, с ни́ми). If you hear “у его́”, it’s wrong.

In short

Almost every Russian verb belongs to an aspect pair: an imperfective verb (чита́ть) views an action as a process, a habit, or a general fact, while its perfective partner (прочита́ть) views it as one single completed action with a result. Same event, two viewpoints. The imperfective has present, past and a compound future; the perfective has no present tense at all - its present-looking endings mean the future.

The rule

1. Two aspects, one event. Russian has no separate “I read / I was reading / I have read” tenses. Instead the aspect of the verb carries that meaning. The two members of a pair usually translate the same English verb:

• Imperfective (НСВ, несоверше́нный вид) - the action as a process, a repetition, or a plain fact, with no focus on a result: чита́ть, писа́ть, де́лать.
• Perfective (СВ, соверше́нный вид) - one single, completed action that produced a result: прочита́ть, написа́ть, сде́лать.

Compare: Я чита́л кни́гу (I was reading a book - process) vs Я прочита́л кни́гу (I read / finished the book - result, it is now done).

2. How pairs are built. You meet a verb in the dictionary together with its partner. Three main ways:

• Prefix - the perfective adds a prefix: чита́ть → прочита́ть, писа́ть → написа́ть, де́лать → сде́лать.
• Stem / suffix change - usually the imperfective is the longer one: дава́ть → дать, покупа́ть → купи́ть, реша́ть → реши́ть.
• Suppletive - two different roots: говори́ть → сказа́ть, брать → взять.

3. The big consequence - tenses. This is why aspect is taught so early: every tense form depends on it.

• The imperfective has all three: present (я чита́ю), past (я чита́л), compound future (я бу́ду чита́ть).
• The perfective has no present. Its present-shaped endings express the future: я прочита́ю = I will read / will have read (full future in lesson 24). Its past (я прочита́л) means I read and finished.

So бу́ду + infinitive is only ever imperfective (я бу́ду чита́ть). A perfective never uses бу́ду.

Forms & patterns

Aspect pairs and how they are formed. Always learn both members together:

The tense grid. The same pair across the three time-zones (1st person singular shown):

Notice the perfective fills the empty “present” box by pushing its plain endings into the future: я прочита́ю, ты прочита́ешь, он прочита́ет - all future. The imperfective instead builds the future with бу́ду / бу́дешь / бу́дет … + infinitive.

Examples

Common mistakes

• Я прочита́ю сейча́с -> Я чита́ю сейча́с - perfective has no present; “прочита́ю” means I will read, not I am reading now.
• Я бу́ду прочита́ть -> Я прочита́ю - the perfective future is simple (one word); бу́ду + infinitive works only with the imperfective.
• Ка́ждый день я прочита́ю газе́ту -> ка́ждый день я чита́ю газе́ту - repeated, habitual actions are imperfective.
• Looking up only one verb and ignoring its partner -> learn the pair (де́лать / сде́лать) so you have both viewpoints ready.
• Я вчера́ сде́лаю -> я вчера́ сде́лал - “сде́лаю” is future; for a finished past action use the perfective past сде́лал.

Tips

• Learn verbs in pairs, like vocabulary couples: де́лать / сде́лать, писа́ть / написа́ть. Memorise the partner the moment you meet the verb.
• A quick test question: imperfective answers что де́лать?, perfective answers что сде́лать? The little с- in the question mirrors the prefixed perfective.
• If a perfective verb looks like a present tense (я напишу́, он ку́пит), read it as future - the perfective box for “now” is empty.
• Signal words point the way: ча́сто, обы́чно, ка́ждый день, до́лго, всегда́ pull the imperfective; уже́, вдруг, наконе́ц often pull the perfective result.

In short

The dative answers Кому́? (to whom?) and Чему́? (to what?). It marks the recipient / indirect object (to whom you give, write, say something), the person who feels, needs, or has an age in impersonal phrases (Мне хо́лодно, Мне ну́жно, Мне два́дцать лет), and the noun after к (toward) and по (along/on).

The rule

1. Indirect object (recipient). Many verbs take a direct object in the accusative and a recipient in the dative: что? кому́?

• Я дал кни́гу дру́гу. - I gave the book to a friend.
• Я пишу́ письмо́ ма́ме. - I’m writing a letter to mom.
• Verbs that govern the dative directly: звони́ть (to call), помога́ть (to help), говори́ть / сказа́ть (to tell), отвеча́ть (to answer), ве́рить (to believe), сове́товать (to advise).

2. Logical subject of impersonal phrases. The person experiencing a state goes in the dative; there is no nominative “subject”:

• Мне хо́лодно / тепло́ / ску́чно. - I’m cold / warm / bored.
• Ему́ ну́жно рабо́тать. - He needs to work.
• Нам мо́жно войти́? - May we come in?
• Тебе́ два́дцать лет. - You are twenty (age is always dative).

3. The нра́виться construction. With нра́виться (to please / to be likable) the person who likes is in the dative, and the thing liked is the grammatical subject (nominative). So the verb agrees with the liked thing:

• Мне нра́вится Москва́. - I like Moscow. (sing. → нра́вится)
• Мне нра́вятся э́ти кни́ги. - I like these books. (pl. → нра́вятся)

4. After prepositions к and по.

• к (+ dat.) = to / toward a person or place: иду́ к врачу́, к окну́.
• по (+ dat.) = along, around, on (a means/schedule): по у́лице, по телефо́ну, по понеде́льникам (on Mondays).

Forms & patterns

Noun endings

Pronouns (note: after a preposition е-forms add н-: к нему́, к ней, к ним)

Examples

Common mistakes

• Я звоню́ ма́му -> Я звоню́ ма́ме - звони́ть takes the dative, not the accusative.
• Мне нра́вится э́ти кни́ги -> Мне нра́вятся э́ти кни́ги - the verb agrees with the liked thing (plural → нра́вятся).
• Я два́дцать лет -> Мне два́дцать лет - age uses the dative of the person, never a nominative subject.
• Я иду́ к врач -> Я иду́ к врачу́ - к must be followed by the dative, not the nominative.
• по у́лицу -> по у́лице - по takes the dative (-е), not the accusative.

Tips

• Tag the dative with its question Кому́? When you can ask “to whom?” about a noun, put it in the dative.
• Memory hook for forms: masc/neut love -у/-ю, feminine -а/-я turns to -е, and anything soft/-ия/-ь ends in -и.
• “Feeling / need / age / permission” phrases have no English-style subject — the person is always in the dative: Мне, Тебе́, Ему́…
• With нра́виться, flip your English thinking: I like X = “X is pleasing to me”, so X is the subject and the verb follows X (нра́вится / нра́вятся).

In short

The instrumental (твори́тельный, questions Кем? Чем? - “by/with whom? with what?”) names the tool you do something with (писа́ть ру́чкой), accompaniment after с (ко́фе с молоко́м, с дру́гом), a profession/role after быть, стать, рабо́тать (рабо́тать врачо́м), positions after над, под, пе́ред, за, ме́жду, and the object of занима́ться, интересова́ться, увлека́ться. Typical endings: m/n -ом/-ем, f -ой/-ей, pl -ами/-ями.

The rule

1. The instrument / means - NO preposition. The thing you act with goes into the bare instrumental; English “with” is not translated by a word here:

• Я пишу́ ру́чкой. - I write with a pen.
• Он ест ви́лкой. - He eats with a fork.
• Мы е́дем по́ездом. - We go by train. (also маши́ной, авто́бусом)

2. “(Together) with” - с + instrumental. To add company or an ingredient, use с (со) + instrumental:

• Я гуля́ю с дру́гом. - I walk with a friend.
• ко́фе с молоко́м, хлеб с ма́слом - coffee with milk, bread with butter.

Careful: the same preposition с + genitive means “from / off” (с рабо́ты - from work, see lesson 11). With + instrumental = company; from/off + genitive.

3. Profession or role - быть / стать / рабо́тать. The predicate noun is instrumental except in the present tense, where “to be” is dropped and the noun stays nominative:

• present (no verb): Он врач. - He is a doctor. (nominative)
• past: Она́ была́ студе́нткой. - She was a student.
• future: Я бу́ду инжене́ром. - I will be an engineer.
• become / work as: Я хочу́ стать инжене́ром. Он рабо́тает врачо́м.

4. After над, под, пе́ред, за, ме́жду. These spatial prepositions take the instrumental:

• над (above), под (under), пе́ред (in front of), за (behind), ме́жду (between)
• Ла́мпа над столо́м, су́мка под сту́лом, ме́жду на́ми.

5. Verbs занима́ться, интересова́ться, увлека́ться + instrumental. “Be busy with / be interested in / be keen on”:

• Я занима́юсь спо́ртом. Она́ интересу́ется му́зыкой. Он увлека́ется футбо́лом.

Forms & patterns

Instrumental singular endings

Masculine and neuter share -ом / -ем; feminine takes -ой / -ей (soft -ь feminine: -ью). Spelling rule: after ж ч ш щ ц write о only under stress, otherwise е: врачо́м, ножо́м (stressed) but му́жем, ме́сяцем, ка́шей (unstressed).

Instrumental plural - always -ами / -ями

Two irregulars to memorise: лю́ди -> людьми́, де́ти -> детьми́.

Personal & interrogative pronouns

After a preposition the third-person forms add н-: им -> с ним, ей -> с ней, и́ми -> с ни́ми. Before мной the preposition becomes со (со мной).

Examples

Common mistakes

• писа́ть с ру́чкой -> писа́ть ру́чкой - the instrument takes the bare instrumental; do not translate English “with.”
• ко́фе с молоко́ -> ко́фе с молоко́м - after с (company/ingredient) the noun must be in the instrumental.
• Я хочу́ стать врач -> Я хочу́ стать врачо́м - стать / рабо́тать / быть (non-present) require the instrumental, not the nominative.
• занима́ться спорт -> занима́ться спо́ртом - занима́ться / интересова́ться / увлека́ться always govern the instrumental.
• с я, с ты -> со мной, с тобо́й - pronouns have special instrumental forms.
• над стол -> над столо́м - над / под / пе́ред / за / ме́жду all take the instrumental.

Tips

• Tool = no preposition. “Write with a pen” = пишу́ ру́чкой (no с!). The с appears only for company/ingredient: with a friend, coffee with milk.
• One preposition с, two meanings: с + instrumental = “(together) with”; с + genitive = “from / off.” The case tells them apart.
• Jobs flip by tense: present Он врач (nominative, no verb), but Он был / бу́дет / стал / рабо́тает врачо́м (instrumental).
• Bonus: many time words are frozen instrumentals - у́тром (in the morning), днём, ве́чером, но́чью, весно́й, ле́том, о́сенью, зимо́й.

In short

Russian has two futures, and aspect (lesson 21) chooses between them. The imperfective (compound) future = conjugated быть (бу́ду, бу́дешь…) + an imperfective infinitive for a process or a repeated action: За́втра я бу́ду рабо́тать. The perfective (simple) future = the perfective verb’s present-shaped endings for one completed action: Я прочита́ю э́ту кни́гу. быть alone also means plain “will be”: Я бу́ду до́ма.

The rule

1. First pick the aspect, then the form. Decide what you mean - a process / repetition (imperfective) or one completed result (perfective) - exactly as in lesson 22. The aspect then forces the future form:

2. Imperfective = compound future (быть + infinitive). Conjugate быть for the subject and add the imperfective infinitive, which never changes:

За́втра я бу́ду рабо́тать. Что ты бу́дешь де́лать?

3. Perfective = simple future (one word). A perfective verb has no present (lesson 22), so its present-looking endings - the very ones from lesson 8 - express the future:

Я прочита́ю э́ту кни́гу. Он придёт за́втра.

4. The contrast in one line. Same verb pair, two viewpoints in the future:

• За́втра я бу́ду писа́ть письмо́. - I’ll be writing a letter (process, maybe unfinished).
• За́втра я напишу́ письмо́. - I’ll write / finish the letter (result, it gets done).

5. быть alone = “will be.” With no other verb, the быть-form is the future of “to be” (which has no present, lesson 3): Я бу́ду до́ма. Бу́дет дождь. За́втра бу́дет хо́лодно.

6. The cardinal error. You can never say бу́ду / бу́дет + perfective infinitive. бу́ду pairs only with an imperfective infinitive; a perfective always goes into the one-word future.

Forms & patterns

The future grid (1st person singular) - aspect decides the column:

Perfective future - watch the stress shift (just like the present-tense pattern, lesson 8):

Examples

Common mistakes

• я бу́ду прочита́ть кни́гу -> я прочита́ю кни́гу - the perfective future is one word; never бу́ду + perfective infinitive.
• он бу́дет прийти́ -> он придёт - same rule for every perfective verb.
• я бу́ду рабо́таю -> я бу́ду рабо́тать - after бу́ду use the infinitive, not a conjugated form.
• ка́ждый день я повторю́ слова́ -> ка́ждый день я бу́ду повторя́ть слова́ - a repeated future action is imperfective (compound).
• я бу́ду быть до́ма -> я бу́ду до́ма - бу́ду by itself already means “will be”; don’t add a second быть.

Tips

• Two-step choice: (1) pick the aspect (lesson 22), (2) pick the form. Imperfective → бу́ду + infinitive; perfective → present-shaped endings.
• Memory hook: if the verb has a present (я чита́ю), its future just adds бу́ду + infinitive (я бу́ду чита́ть). A perfective has no present, so its “present” endings already are the future (я прочита́ю).
• бу́ду / бу́дешь / бу́дет… on its own = “will be”: Я бу́ду до́ма, бу́дет хо́лодно, бу́дут го́сти.
• Signal words: за́втра, ско́ро, пото́м point to the future; до́лго, ка́ждый день, всегда́ pull the imperfective (бу́ду + inf.), while уже́, за час, наконе́ц pull the perfective result.

In short

The imperative gives commands, requests and invitations (read!, open!, go!). You build it from the они́-form (3rd person plural) of the present/future: drop the ending to get the stem, then add -й (after a vowel), -и (after a consonant with end-stress) or -ь (after a consonant with stem-stress). Add -те for the polite/plural вы. A one-off “do it!” is perfective; a process, a habit and almost every negative “don’t!” is imperfective.

The rule

1. Find the stem from the они́-form. Forget the infinitive - the imperative is built on the present/future stem. Take the 3rd person plural (они́), cut off the ending (-ют / -ут / -ят / -ат), and look at what is left:

• Stem ends in a vowel → add -й / -йте. чита́ют → чита́й / чита́йте; открыва́ют → открыва́й; рису́ют → рису́й.
• Stem ends in a consonant, stress on the ending → add -и / -ите. говоря́т → говори́ / говори́те; иду́т → иди́; пи́шут (but я пишу́, end-stress) → пиши́.
• Stem ends in a consonant, stress on the stem → add -ь / -ьте. гото́вят → гото́вь / гото́вьте; отве́тят → отве́ть.

Quick stress check: look at the я-form. If it ends in a stressed -ю́ / -у́ (говорю́, иду́, пишу́), use -и. If the stress sits on the stem (гото́влю, отве́чу), use -ь.

2. -те = polite or plural. The bare form is for ты (one friend, a child). Add -те for вы - a stranger, an older person, or several people: иди́ (to a friend) → иди́те (polite/plural).

3. Aspect decides the “flavour”.

• Perfective = one single, completed request (“do it, get it done”): Прочита́йте текст! Откро́йте окно́! Скажи́те, где метро́?
• Imperfective = an invitation, a process, a repetition, or general advice: Чита́йте гро́мче! Заходи́те! Отдыха́йте.
• Negative “don’t!” is almost always imperfective - it is a prohibition or a warning: Не опа́здывайте! Не волну́йтесь! Не закрыва́йте дверь!

4. “Let’s…” and “let him…”.

• дава́й(те) + perfective future (мы-form) = let’s (one action): Дава́й пойдём! Дава́йте начнём!
• дава́й(те) + imperfective infinitive = let’s (process): Дава́йте говори́ть по-ру́сски.
• пусть + 3rd person present/future = let him / her / them: Пусть он подождёт. Пусть де́ти игра́ют.

Forms & patterns

Building the imperative from the они́-form:

“Let’s” and “let him” - the helper words:

Examples

Common mistakes

• говорь -> говори́ - the stem ends in a consonant and the stress is on the ending (говорю́), so the marker is -и, never -ь.
• писа́й -> пиши́ - build from the present stem (они́ пи́шут / я пишу́), not from the infinitive писа́ть.
• Не закро́йте дверь! -> Не закрыва́йте дверь! - a negative command (prohibition) takes the imperfective, not the perfective.
• Иди́! (to a stranger) -> Иди́те! - use -те with вы: a polite, formal or plural addressee.
• Дава́й пойти́ -> Дава́й пойдём - with a perfective verb “let’s” uses the мы-future form, not the infinitive (the infinitive only follows imperfectives: дава́йте чита́ть).

Tips

• One golden rule: start from они́, not the infinitive. Cut the ending, then choose -й (vowel), -и (consonant + end-stress) or -ь (consonant + stem-stress).
• Aspect shortcut: a positive “do it once” → perfective (Откро́йте! Скажи́те!); anything negative (“don’t!”) → imperfective (Не открыва́йте! Не говори́те!).
• -те is just politeness/plural glued on the end. One friend = no -те (чита́й); вы or a group = add -те (чита́йте).
• Learn a few common irregulars as ready phrases: дай / да́йте (give), ешь / е́шьте (eat), пей / пе́йте (drink).

In short

A reflexive verb carries the particle -ся (after a consonant) or -сь (after a vowel) glued onto the end of every form: учу́сь, у́чишься, у́чится. It can mean the action turns back on the subject (мы́ться = wash oneself), that two people do it to each other (встреча́ться = meet), it can be passive (Дом стро́ится = the house is being built), or the verb may simply exist only with -ся (смея́ться, боя́ться). A -ся verb never takes a direct object in the accusative.

The rule

1. The particle and its spelling. Take a normal verb and add the particle on top of the usual ending. The choice -ся / -сь depends only on the last letter of that ending:

• after a consonant (including ь and й) → -ся: у́чится, у́чимся, учи́лся;
• after a vowel → -сь: учу́сь, у́читесь, учи́лась.

The particle stays on every form - present, past, infinitive, imperative. It never drops off.

2. Five meanings. The same -ся can do different jobs; context decides which:

• True reflexive - the subject acts on itself: мы́ться (wash oneself), одева́ться (get dressed), умыва́ться (wash one’s face). Roughly English -self / get-.
• Reciprocal - two or more people act on each other: встреча́ться (meet), целова́ться (kiss), обнима́ться (hug), знако́миться (get acquainted).
• Verbs that exist only with -ся - there is no form without the particle: смея́ться (laugh), наде́яться (hope), боя́ться (fear), горди́ться (be proud), занима́ться (study / do), улыба́ться (smile), нра́виться (please).
• Passive (imperfective only) - the subject undergoes the action: Дом стро́ится (the house is being built), Кни́га легко́ чита́ется (the book reads easily).
• Intransitive partner of a transitive verb - “by itself”, with no doer named: открыва́ть (open sth) → открыва́ться (open, of itself); начина́ть (begin sth) → начина́ться (begin, of itself).

3. No accusative object. Because the action already turns back on the subject, a -ся verb cannot take a direct object. Compare: Я мо́ю маши́ну (I wash the car - object) vs Я мо́юсь (I wash myself - no object). Some -ся verbs instead require another case: боя́ться + genitive, горди́ться / занима́ться / интересова́ться + instrumental.

Forms & patterns

Conjugation - учи́ться (to study / learn). The base verb is учи́ть; just add the particle:

Past tense - учи́ться. The particle follows the same vowel/consonant rule:

The five meanings at a glance:

Transitive vs intransitive partners - same root, the -ся one has no object:

Examples

Common mistakes

• я учу́ся -> я учу́сь - after a vowel the particle is -сь, not -ся.
• Я бою́сь соба́ку -> Я бою́сь соба́ки - боя́ться takes the genitive, never the accusative.
• Я занима́юсь спорт -> Я занима́юсь спо́ртом - занима́ться takes the instrumental.
• Дверь открыва́ет -> Дверь открыва́ется - “the door opens (by itself)” needs the intransitive -ся form; without it the verb demands an object.
• Я мо́юсь маши́ну -> Я мо́ю маши́ну (or just Я мо́юсь = I wash up) - a -ся verb cannot take a direct object; drop -ся when there is one.

Tips

• Spelling shortcut: -сь after a vowel (учу́сь, у́читесь, учи́лась), -ся after a consonant (у́чится, учи́лся). Look at the last letter before the particle - nothing else matters.
• The particle is welded on for life: it appears in every form, including the infinitive and past, and never falls off.
• Map many -ся verbs to English “get / become” or “each other”: одева́ться = get dressed, начина́ться = get started, встреча́ться = meet each other.
• Memorise the case a few key verbs need: боя́ться + genitive; горди́ться, занима́ться, интересова́ться + instrumental.
• Don’t confuse the verbal -ся with the pronoun себя́ (lesson 27): мо́юсь is a normal habitual I wash up, while мо́ю себя́ is rare and emphatic.

In short

Two words both point back to the subject of the clause. себя́ is the reflexive pronoun “-self” (myself, yourself, himself…); it has no nominative and uses one set of forms for every person. свой is the reflexive-possessive “one’s own”; it agrees like мой and means that the thing belongs to whoever is the subject.

The rule

1. себя́ — the reflexive pronoun. Use it when the object of the verb (or of a preposition) is the same person as the subject. It works for any person — я, ты, он, мы, all use the same forms — and it has no nominative (you can never start a sentence with it).

• Я зна́ю себя́. - I know myself.
• Ты ду́маешь то́лько о себе́. - You think only about yourself.
• Он купи́л себе́ маши́ну. - He bought himself a car.
• Возьми́ де́ньги с собо́й. - Take the money with you.

If the object is a different person, use a normal personal pronoun:

• Он ви́дит себя́ в зе́ркале. - He sees himself. (same person)
• Он ви́дит его́ в зе́ркале. - He sees him (somebody else).

2. свой — the reflexive-possessive pronoun. Grammatically it is a possessive (like мой, твой), but it always means “belonging to the subject of the clause” → “one’s own”. It agrees with the noun it describes in gender, number and case.

• Я люблю́ свою́ рабо́ту. - I love my (own) job.
• Она́ забы́ла свои́ ключи́. - She forgot her (own) keys.
• Мы про́дали свой дом. - We sold our (own) house.

3. The key contrast: свой vs его́ / её / их. In the 3rd person this distinction carries real meaning, because его/её/их do not change for “own”:

• Он взял свою́ кни́гу. - He took his own book.
• Он взял его́ кни́гу. - He took his book (= somebody else’s).
• Анна лю́бит свою́ сестру́. - Anna loves her own sister.
• Анна лю́бит её сестру́. - Anna loves her (= another woman’s) sister.

For я / ты / мы / вы there is no ambiguity, so мой and свой are both possible (Я взял свою́/мою́ кни́гу). With он / она́ / они́, prefer свой whenever the owner is the subject.

Forms & patterns

себя́ - one set of forms, no nominative, no plural:

свой - declines exactly like мой / твой (agrees with its noun):

* animate accusative = genitive form (Я ви́жу своего́ бра́та; Я зна́ю свои́х друзе́й).

Examples

Common mistakes

• Я ду́маю о мне -> Я ду́маю о себе́ - when the object is the subject again, use себя́, not a personal pronoun.
• Он лю́бит его́ жену́ (meaning his own) -> Он лю́бит свою́ жену́ - свой = own; его́ would mean another man’s wife.
• Возьми́ де́ньги с тобо́й -> Возьми́ де́ньги с собо́й - “with you/oneself” is always с собо́й, for every person.
• Он купи́л себя́ маши́ну -> Он купи́л себе́ маши́ну - “for himself” is the dative себе́, not the accusative.
• …свой брат живёт здесь (as the subject) -> Его́ брат живёт здесь - свой points back to the subject, so it cannot itself be the subject of the sentence.

Tips

• себя́ never starts a sentence: there is no «себя́ делаю» — the doer is the normal pronoun (я, ты…), and себя́ is the object.
• Learn себе́ (dat.) and собо́й (instr.) as set phrases: купи́ть себе́ (buy oneself), взять с собо́й (take along), дово́лен собо́й (pleased with oneself).
• Quick test for свой: ask “whose? — the subject’s.” If the owner is the one doing the action, use свой; otherwise use его́/её/их.
• The свой-vs-его́ trap lives in the 3rd person. For я/ты/мы/вы both мой and свой are fine, so save your attention for он/она́/они́.

In short

Russian splits “to go” into pairs by direction, not by tense. Unidirectional verbs (идти́, е́хать) = one trip, one way, happening now; multidirectional verbs (ходи́ть, е́здить) = round trips, habits, or general ability. Both members are imperfective; choose on foot (идти́/ходи́ть) vs. by vehicle (е́хать/е́здить).

The rule

Each basic verb of motion is really a pair of two imperfective verbs. They differ by directionality:

• Unidirectional - one single trip, in one direction, usually right now or at one moment: идти́ (on foot), е́хать (by vehicle), лете́ть, бежа́ть, нести́, везти́.
• Multidirectional - round trips (“there and back”), repeated/habitual actions, or general ability: ходи́ть, е́здить, лета́ть, бе́гать, носи́ть, вози́ть.

Compare:

• Я иду́ в шко́лу. = I am on my way to school now (one direction).
• Я хожу́ в шко́лу. = I go to school regularly (every day, back and forth).

Also choose by mode of transport: идти́/ходи́ть = on foot; е́хать/е́здить = by transport. You walk to the shop but you ride to another city - don’t say иду́ в Москву́.

In the past, the same logic holds:

• Вчера́ я ходи́л в кино́. = Yesterday I went to the cinema (and came back - a completed round trip).
• Когда́ я шёл домо́й, шёл дождь. = While I was walking home… (in progress, one direction).

Direction question: Куда́? (“where to?”) + в / на + accusative: в шко́лу, на рабо́ту, в кино́.

Forms & patterns

The six core pairs:

Present tense - идти́ vs. ходи́ть:

Present tense - е́хать vs. е́здить:

Past tense (gender/number, not direction-marked here):

Examples

Common mistakes

• Я хожу́ в шко́лу сейча́с -> Я иду́ в шко́лу сейча́с - “now / on the way” needs the unidirectional verb.
• Я иду́ в Москву́ -> Я е́ду в Москву́ - long distance / another city is by vehicle, not on foot.
• Я ходи́л в па́рке -> Я ходи́л в па́рк - direction “where to?” takes в/на + accusative, not prepositional.
• Я ходи́ла в кино́ и сейча́с там -> Я ходи́ла в кино́ implies you already came back; for “I’m there now” use a different frame - ходи́ть marks a completed round trip.
• Mixing the pairs by transport: я е́зжу пешко́м -> я хожу́ пешко́м - “on foot” only pairs with идти́/ходи́ть.

Tips

• Memory hook: one arrow -> one verb (идти́, е́ду) for a single straight trip; arrows back-and-forth <-> (ходи́ть, е́здить) for repeats and round trips.
• If you can add сейча́с (“now”) or “I’m on my way”, pick the unidirectional verb.
• If you can add ка́ждый день / ча́сто / обы́чно (“every day / often / usually”), pick the multidirectional verb.
• ходи́л / е́здил in the past = “went there and came back”. For “was on the way” use шёл / е́хал.
• This lesson is the unprefixed core. Adding prefixes (по-, при-, у-) changes meaning and aspect - that is lesson 41.

In short

Every Russian noun follows one of three declension patterns, chosen by its nominative ending. 1st: feminine and a few masculine nouns in -а/-я (кни́га, неде́ля, па́па). 2nd: masculine in a consonant or -й and neuter in -о/-е (стол, музе́й, окно́). 3rd: feminine in -ь (ночь, дверь, мать). Within each pattern a hard or soft stem just swaps the ending vowel (-ом/-ем, -ы/-и, …).