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.

With a noun predicate the returning verb also changes the noun’s ending - it goes into the instrumental: Она́ студе́нтка, but Она́ была́ студе́нткой, Он бу́дет врачо́м (lesson 23). A place, an adjective, or a noun after э́то stays as it is: Он был до́ма, Чай был горя́чий, Э́то была́ кни́га.

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 6).
• 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 11). And remember: past (был) and future (бу́дет) keep the verb.