I often hear from students of Russian that verbal aspect (perfective and imperfective verbs) and verbs of motion are the two grammar topics most difficult to comprehend. As a native speaker, I can only guess how scary and confusing it can be when one has to choose which verb of motion to use and whether […]
Russian Language
These are my articles about the Russian language – its grammar, word usage and more.
- Q&A
- ...
Q&A: Do Russians Understand Mispronounced R-sound?
I’m a German native speaker and I can’t roll the R at all. It really bothers me and I feel awkward while speaking Russian because it just doesn’t sound right. Am I worrying too much? One of my Russian teachers said that there are even Russians who can’t roll the R at all, but I […]
Why Etymology Matters
The question of why some words look suspiciously similar in Russian and English first arose when I started learning English at the age of 11. I was so puzzled by this fact that I asked our Russian teacher to explain the mystery to me, and she told me that many centuries ago, there was a […]
A Word That Can Mean Anything
Any language has many words that have literal definitions but are rarely used in their direct meanings. For example, nobody means that you are fearsome by saying “you are awesome!”. In the Russian language, there is a word that may mean either excitement or huge disappointment in colloquial Russian, while its literal meaning “in general”, […]
What Do You Call Your Loved Ones?
Russian has many ways of expressing your affection for someone. One of the most common is adding a diminutive suffix to someone’s name. This is the way that loving parents address their kids, or close friends (usually girls, because it sounds really girlish) or lovers address each other. Mashenka (Машенька) – the affectionate form of […]
Lowercase This
he first thing I learned about the German language was that all nouns in German are written with a capital letter. This rule puzzled me a lot, but nobody could tell me why is that. Probably, old Germans respected objects more than actions and attributes for some reason. The difference in capitalization between English and […]
Russian Words Derived From Geographical Names
The Russian language, like many other languages, has many words that derived from the names of geographical places. The French province Champagne gave the name to all sparkled wines in Russian. Though French wine-makers insist that only wines produced in Champagne can be called Champagne, in Russia the word “Шампанское” (Shampanskoye) became the label for […]
The Man Who Created the Russian Language As We Know It
Outside Russia, Russian literature is associated with names of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. No doubt, these writers deserve to represent Russia in the global culture. But if you ask any Russian whom he or she thinks about when talking about classic Russian literature, you’ll most probably get the answer “Pushkin”. During last two centuries, Alexander Pushkin […]
Russian Diminutive Names
Like in many other languages, Russian names have two forms — a full name for official communication and a diminutive or affectionate name for family and close friends. Usually, it is easy to form a diminutive form out of the full name. Thus, when you get into a person’s intimate circle, Elena turns to Lena, […]
How to Deal with Long Russian Words
Often enough, my students get frightened by long Russian words. A student, who normally reads fluently, stops in terror upon seeing a four-syllable word and approaches it like a horse face-to-face with a tall hurdle. I found that explaining what the long word consists of helps to disassemble or lower the hurdle. Compare two words: […]