# Dictionary of Spoken Russian/Russian-English/Grammatical Introduction

PART II
Russian-English
GRAMMATICAL INTRODUCTION
CONTENTS
    Abbreviations Used in Part II…215
    §1. Sounds…215
    §2. Russian Writing…217
    §3. Alternation of Sounds…218
    §4. Alternations of Sound and Spelling…220
    §5. Inflection…221
    §6. Nouns…221
    §7. Nouns with пол-…223
    §8. Abbreviated Nouns…223
    §9. Variations of Sound and Spelling in Nouns…223
    §10. Declension of Nouns…224
    §11. Adjective Declension…225
    §12. Irregular Adjectives…226
    §13. Special Adjectives…226
    §14. Pronominal Adjectives and Pronouns…227
    §15. Possessive Adjectives…227
    §16. один, сам, весь…227
    §17. тот, этот…227
    §18. он…227
    §19. некий, сей…228
    §20. кто, что…228
    §21. Personal Pronouns…228
    §22. Numerals…228
    §23. Compounds of Question Words…229
    §24. Verbs…230
    §25. Regular Verbs…231
    §26. Irregular Verbs…232
    §27. Irregular Present…232
    §28. Irregular Infinitive and Past…232
    §29. Special Irregular Forms…233
    §30. Durative and Punctual Aspect…233
    §31. Prepositions…234
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN PART II
    1,2,3 first, second, third person
    a accusative
    adv adverb
    AF adjective in feminine form
    AM adjective in masculine form
    AN adjective in neuter form
    AP adjective in plural form
    ap accusative plural
    as accusative singular
    cp comparative
    d dative
    dls dative and locative singular
    dp dative plural
    ds dative singular
    dur durative
    F feminine
    g genitive
    gdh genitive, dative, locative singular
    gp genitive plural
    gr grammatical
    gs genitive singular
    i instrumental
    imv imperative
    indecl indeclinable
    inf infinitive
    ip instrumental plural
    is instrumental singular
    iter iterative
    l locative
    lp locative plural
    ls locative singular
    M masculine
    N neuter
    n nominative
    np nominative plural
    ns nominative singular
    P plural
    p past
    pap past active participle
    pct punctual
    pger past gerund
    pr present
    prap present active participle
    prger present gerund
    prpp present passive participle
    ppp past passive participle
    refl reflexive
    S singular
    sh short adjective form
§1. SOUNDS
In indicating pronunciation and in explaining grammatical forms we shall use a modified English alphabet. Everything that is printed in this alphabet is inclosed in square brackets.
We can here give only a very rough description of the sounds of Russian.
Hard and Soft Consonants. Most Russian consonants occur in two varieties: hard (or plain) and soft (or palatalized).
In producing a hard consonant the Russian speaker lowers the middle or back of his tongue and slightly thrusts out his lips. This gives the consonant a dull sound; to the English ​speaker's ear the Russian hard consonant often sounds as if it had a short glide like a w after it. Thus, a word like [škola] школа "school" sounds almost as if it were [škwola], and a word like [mi] мы "we" sounds as if it were [mwi].
In producing a soft consonant the Russian speaker presses the middle or forward part of his tongue up against the roof of the mouth, much as we do at the beginning of a word like year. This gives the consonant a high-pitched sound; to our ear the Russian soft consonants seem to be followed by a short glide like a y. We mark the soft consonants in our modified alphabet by writing the sign [j] after them: [bjitj] бить "to beat." The y-like glide sound after a soft consonant is shorter than a full [y]; for instance, [sjestj] сесть "to sit down" begins with soft [sj], but [syestj] съесть "to eat up" begins with hard [s] followed by [y].
As to the occurrence of the hard and soft varieties, Russian consonants fall into four sets:
1. The consonants [b, d, f, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, z] occur hard or soft, regardless of what sounds may follow.
[b] б, like English b in bat: [baba] баба "country woman"; [bjel'y] белый "white."
[d] Д, like English d in den, but the tip of the tongue touches the upper front teeth: [da] да "yes"; [djadja] дядя "uncle."
[f] Ф, like English f in fan: [fakt] факт "fact"; [fjiga] фига "fig."
[l] Л, like English l in wool, but with the back of the tongue lowered, so as to give a hollow sound: [lapa] лапа "paw"; in the soft [lj], on the other hand, the middle part of the tongue is pressed up against the palate, giving an even higher-pitched sound than the l of English least: [ljist] лист "leaf."
[m] м, like English m in man: [mama] мама "mama"; [mjot] мёд "honey."
[n] н, like English n in net, but the tip of the tongue touches the upper front teeth: [nos] нос "nose": soft [nj] sounds much like English ni in onion, only the y-glide is weaker: [njanja] няня "nurse." Russian [n] never has the sound that we have in sing, finger, sink: in a word like [bank] банк "bank" the Russian [n] is made with the tip of the tongue touching the upper front teeth.
[p] п, like English p in pen, but without any puff of breath after it: [papa] папа "papa"; [pjatj] пять "five."
[r] р, the tip of the tongue vibrates against the upper gums, as in a telephone operator's pronunciation of thr-r-ree: [rak] рак "crab"; [rjat] ряд "row."
[s] c, like English s in see: [sat] сад "garden"; [sjena] сено "hay."
[t] т, like English t in ten, but the tip of the tongue touches the upper front teeth, and there is no puff of breath after the consonant: [tam] там "there"; [tjotja] тётя "aunt."
[v] в, like English v in van: [vata] вата "cotton batting"; [vjas] вяз "elm."
[z] з, like English z in zero: [zup] зуб "tooth"; [zjatj] зять "son-in-law."
2. The consonants [g(h), k, x] are always soft before the vowels [e, i] and always hard in all other positions. (There are a very few exceptions: [tkjot] ткёт "he weaves"; [kep] кэб "cab".)
[g] г, like English g in go, get, give: [naga] нога "foot"; [nogji] ноги "feet."
[h] г, like English h in ahead, but voiced (that is, with more of a buzzing sound). This is in Russian merely a variety of [g]; most speakers use it only in a very few words or phrases: [slava bohu, slava bogu] слава Богу "thank the Lord."
[k] к, like English c in cut and k in kit, but with no puff of breath after it: [ruka] рука "hand"; [rukji] руки "hands."
[x] x, a breathy h-like sound, made by raising the back of the tongue up against the soft part of the palate (like German ch in ach, but weaker): [muxa] муха "fly"; [muxji] мухи "flies."
3. The consonants [c (dz), š, ž] occur only hard; they have no soft varieties.
[c] ц, like English ts in hats, tsetse-fly: [carj] царь "tsar."
[dz] ц, like English dz in adze, occurs only in rapid speech for [c]; see §3.
[š] ш, like English sh in shall: [šina] шина "tire."
[ž] ж, like English z in azure: [žaba] жаба "toad."
4. The consonants [č (j), šč, y, žj]] occur only soft; they have no hard varieties.
[č] ч, like English ch in church [čas] час "hour."
[j] ч, like English j in judge, occurs only in rapid speech for [č]; see §3.
[šč] щ, is a long soft sh-sound: [pjišča] пища "food."
[y] й, like English у in yes: [čay] чай "tea."
[žj] зж, жж is a long soft [ž] sound: [yežju] езжу "I ride."
Clusters. Russian has many clusters, which are unbroken sequences of consonants, as in [fstatj] встать "to get up." When the last consonant of a cluster is soft, the preceding ones fluctuate between hard and soft; in general [d, n, r, s, t, z] are most likely to be made soft before a soft consonant: [svjet] свет "light," [dnji] дни "days." Only [l] and [lj] are fully distinct before a soft consonant: [molnj'ya] молния "lightning" has hard [l], but [spaljnja] спальня "bedroom" has soft [lj]. Before a hard consonant the distinction of hard and soft consonants is maintained: [banka] банка "can, container" has hard [n], but [vanjka] ванька "Johnnie" has soft [nj].
Long Consonants. In English we have long consonants only in phrases and compounds, such as ten nights, pen-knife; in Russian there are long consonants in all kinds of positions: [vanna] ванна "bathtub," [žžeč] сжечь "to burn up," [ silka] ссылка "exile," [s soljyu] с солью "with salt." Note that the consonants [šč, žj] are always long.
Vowels. In Russian, as in English, a word of two or more syllables has one syllabic stressed (or accented) — that is, spoken louder than the rest. In our modified alphatet we put an accent mark over the vowel of the stressed syllable: [muka] мука "torment," [muka] мука "flour." In Russian, as in English, the vowels of unstressed syllables are slurred and weakened; we shall describe these weakened vowels in §3. Section 4.
Russian vowels, when stressed, before a single consonant that is followed by another vowel are about as long as the vowel of an English word like bad: [baba] баба "country woman." Before a final consonant or a cluster they are somewhat shorter: [dal] дал "he gave," [banka] ванка "can." At the end of a word they are quite short, like the vowel of English bit: [da] да "yes." Unstressed vowels are still shorter; see §3. Each Russian vowel differs greatly in sound according to the hard or soft sound of the preceding and following consonants. After a hard consonant there is an on-glide like a w, and before a hard consonant there is a w-like off-glide; after a soft consonant there is a y-like on-glide, and before a soft consonant a y-like off-glide. Between hard consonants a vowel is made with the tongue drawn back; between soft consonants it is ​made with the tongue pushed forward. See especially under [e] and [i], below.
There are five vowels: [a, e, i, o, u].
[a] а, Я, like English a in father, but shorter: [как] как "how"; [dalj] даль "distance," with a y-like off-glide before the [lj]; [pjatj] пять "five," tongue drawn forward between the soft consonants; almost like English a in pat.
[e] Э, е, like Enghsh e in bet: [eta] это "this." Before soft consonants the tongue is drawn forward and the vowel is almost like English ai in bait: [yestj] есть "to eat."
[i] ы, и, like English i in will. After a hard consonant the tongue is drawn back (almost as if one were gagging), so as to produce a dull, hollow sound: [sin] сын "son," [bil] был "he was." At the beginning of a word and after soft consonants the front of the tongue is raised, giving a sharp high-pitched sound, almost like English ее in beet, but shorter: [iva] ива "willow," [pjitj] пить "to drink."
[o] о, е, like the vowel of English board, but shorter: [dom] дом "house"; [solj] соль "salt," with a y-like off-glide before the [lj]; [tjotja] тётя "aunt," with the tongue drawn forward between the two soft consonants; almost like French eu in peur.
[u] у, ю, like the vowel of English put, foot, but with the lips slightly thrust out, so that the sound, though short, resembles the vowel of English goose, soup: [sup] суп "soup"; [rulj] руль "steering wheel," with a y-like off-glide before the [lj].
The variations in the Russian vowel sounds take place in ordinary rapid speech in accordance with consonants in preceding and following words. Thus, [idjot] идёт "he goes" has the sharp initial sound of [i], but in [on idjot] он идёт "he goes" or in [brat idjot] брат идёт "the brother goes," the [i] has its dull sound after the hard consonant. In [fsje] все "all" the [e] is like the vowel of English bet, but in [fsje dnji] все дни "all days" the [e] has its fronted sound, resembling the vowel of English made, before the soft cluster [dnj].
§2. RUSSIAN WRITING
Russian writing and printing, like English, fails to show the place of the stress. In books like the present one, which are intended for non-Russian students, the stress, is indicated by an accent mark, and by two dots over the letter e when it has the value of accented [é]: мука [muka] "torment," мука [muka] "flour," ковёр [kavjor] "rug." Two such marks on one word mean that this word is spoken in two ways, with one or the other stress: броня "armor" means that they say either [bronja] or [branja].
The Russian alphabet, with the most usual values of the letters, is as follows:
| Capital | Small | Value | Name of Letter |
| А | а | [a] | [a] |
| Б | б | [b] | [be] |
| В | в | [v] | [ve] |
| Г | г | [g] | [gje] |
| Д | д | [d] | [de] |
| Е | е | [e, o] | [ye] |
| Ж | ж | [ž] | [že] |
| З | з | [z] | [ze] |
| И | и | [i] | [i] |
| Й | й | [y] | [i kratk'ya] |
| К | к | [k] | [ka] |
| Л | л | [l] | [elj] |
| М | м | [m] | [em] |
| Н | н | [n] | [en] |
| О | о | [o] | [o] |
| П | п | [p] | [pe] |
| Р | р | [r] | [er] |
| С | с | [s] | [es] |
| Т | т | [t] | [te] |
| У | у | [u] | [u] |
| Ф | ф | [f] | [ef] |
| Х | х | [x] | [xa] |
| Ц | ц | [c] | [ce] |
| Ч | ч | [č] | [če] |
| Ш | ш | [š] | [ša] |
| Щ | щ | [šč] | [šča] |
| Ъ | ъ | [y] | [tvjord'y znak] |
| Ы | ы | [i] | [yiri] |
| Ь | ь | [y] | [mjaxk'y znak] |
| Э | э | [e] | [e abarotn'ya] |
| Ю | ю | [u] | [yu] |
| Я | я | [a] | [ya] |
Vowel Letters. The Russian alphabet has two signs for each vowel sound:
| sound: | [a, | e, | i, | o, | u] |
| letter (1) | а | э | ы | о | у |
| letter (2) | я | е | и | ё | ю |
In general, the letters in row (1) simply represent the vowel sound: ад [at] "hell," баба [bdba] "country woman." The letters in row (2) represent the vowel sound and in addition indicate that a preceding consonant has the soft sound: няня [njanja] "nurse"; at the beginning of a word or after another vowel letter or after the letters ъ and ь, they indicate that the vowel is preceded by [y]: яд [yat] "poison," шёя [ščya] "neck," объять [abyatj] "to embrace," семья [sjimjya] "family." There are various special cases and exceptions, mentioned in the following paragraphs.
At the beginning of a word, the vowel sounds are written а, э, и, о, у: ад [at] "hell," это [eta] "this," имя [imja] "name," он [on] "he," ум [um] "intelligence." Note that here и (and not ы) is used; this accords with the fact that at the beginning of a word [i] has its sharp sound, much as after a soft consonant.
Hard and Soft Consonant Spellings. The Russian alphabet has no special signs for the soft consonants other than [č, šč, y] ч, щ, й, which are always soft. There is no letter for the consonant [žj], long soft [ž]; it is written зж or жж: езжу [yežju] "I ride," жжёт [žjot] "he burns."
When a soft consonant comes before a vowel, the vowel letters я, е, и, ё, ю are used to show that the consonant is soft: баба [baba] "country woman": дядя [djadja] "uncle" сет [set] "set (of tennis)": вес [vjes] "weight" сын [sin] "son": винт [vjint] "screw" дом [dom] "house": лёд [ljot] "ice" муж [muš] "husband": люблю [ljublju] "I love"
But after some consonant letters a different choice is made. After the letters ж (including зж, жж), ч, ш, щ the vowels are written a, e, и, о, у: час [čas] "hour," шар [šar] "sphere" ​честь [čestj] "honor," шесть [šestj] "six"
щи [šči] "cabbage soup," шина [šina] "tire"
чорт [čort] "devil," дружок [družok] "little friend"
хочу [xaču] "I want," шум [šum] "noise"
In many words, however, е (which we distinguish as ё) is written for [o] after these consonants: жёны [žoni] "wives," чёрный [čorn'y] "black," шёл [šol] "he went," щёки [ščokji] "cheeks."
After the letter ц they write а, е, ы, о, у: царь [carj] "tsar," цены [ceni] "prices," отцы [atci] "fathers," кольцо [kaljco] "ring," отцу [atcu] "to the father." But in some foreign words they write и: цирк [cirk] "circus."
When a soft consonant is not before a vowel, the letter ь, called мягкий знак [mjaxk'y znak] "soft sign," is placed after it: дать [datj] "to give," свадьба [svadjba] "wedding." However, ь is not used after й: чай [čay] "tea," чайник [čaynj'k] "teapot."
After the letters ч, щ (which represent consonants that are always soft) the ь is written in some words, but not in others: мяч [mjač] "ball," плащ [plasc] "man's cape," but мочь [moc] "to be able" вещь [vjdic] "thing."
The letters ж, ш, which represent consonants that are always hard (except for зж, жж [žj]), are nevertheless written in some words with ь after them: нож [noš] "knife," душ [duš] "shower bath," but рожь [roš] "rye," вошь [voš] "louse."
Spellings for [y]. The consonant [y] is indicated in writing as follows:
After a vowel when no vowel follows, [y] is represented by the letter й: чай [čay] "tea," гайка [gdyka] "screw-nut."
After a vowel when another vowel follows, [y] is indicated by the use of the letters я, е, и, ё, ю for the second vowel: шёя |šeya] "neck," боец [bayec] "warrior," стоит [stayit] "he stands," поёт [payot] "he sings," стою [stayu] "I stand."
At the beginning of a word, [y] occurs only before vowels and is indicated by the use of the letters я, e, и, ё, ю for the vowel: я [ya] "I," ест [yest] "he eats," им [yim] "to them," ёлка [yolka] "Christmas tree," юг [yuk] "the south." Thus the letter и at the beginning of a word is used for both [i] and [yi], but this latter occurs only in a few pronoun forms; see §18.
After consonants, [y] occurs only when a vowel follows. After a soft consonant [y] s indicated by the letter ь and the use of я, е, и, ё, ю for the following vowel: семья [sjimjya] "family," в семье [f sjimjye] "in the family," семьи [sjemjyi] "families," пьёт [pjyot] "he drinks," пью [pjyu] "I drink." After the consonant letters ж, ш, the same spelling is used: ружья [ružya] "guns," шьёт [šyot] "he sews," шью [šyu] "I sew." After hard consonants other than ж, ш, the [y] is indicated by the letter ъ, called твёрдый знак [tvjord'y znak] "hard sign," and the use of я, е, (и), ё, ю for the following vowel: объять [abyatj] "to embrace," объезд [abyest] "detour," объём [abуom] "circumference."
Irregular Spelling. Some words are spelled in misleading ways. In such cases the dictionary indicates the pronunciation in square brackets: дождь [došč] "rain," конечно [-šn-] (that is, [kanješna]) "of course."
The following are the more important cases of irregular spelling:
The adjective and pronoun ending [-ovo] is spelled with г (instead of в): ничего [ny'čivo] "nothing."
The adjective ending [-oy] when unstressed is spelled with ы, и (instead of o): плохой [plaxoy] "bad," but старый (star'y) "old," дикий [djik'y] "wild."
In some verbs the ending for "they" is usually pronounced [-ut] when unstressed, but it is spelled -ят, -at: видят [vjidj't] "they see," слышат [sliš't] "they hear."
In some foreign words e is written for э: туннель [tunelj] "tunnel."
Consonant letters are written double in many words where ordinarily only a single consonant is spoken, especially in foreign words: класс [klas] "class," суббота [subota] "Saturday."
§3. ALTERNATION OF SOUNDS
In this Section we shall describe alternations of sounds that are not shown in the spelling; in §4 we shall describe those which appear also in the spelling of words:
Voiced and Unvoiced Mutes. Certain of the Russian consonants, which we call mutes, are classed in pairs. In each pair of mutes one is voiced and one is unvoiced:
| Voiced | Unvoiced |
| b | p |
| bj | pj |
| d | t |
| dj | ti |
| dz | c |
| g | k |
| gj | kj |
| h | y |
| hj | xj |
| j | č |
| v | i |
| vj | fj |
| z | z |
| zj | sj |
| ž | š |
| žj | šč |
The remaining consonants [l, m, n, r, y,] are non-mutes.
Final Mutes. At the end of a Russian word, as it is spoken alone, only unvoiced mutes occur. When an unvoiced mute comes to be at the end of a word, it is unchanged: пилоты [pjiloti] "pilots," пилот [pjilot] "pilot"; мосты [masti] "bridges," мост [most] "bridge"; души [duči] "shower baths," душ [duš] "shower bath." But when a voiced mute comes to be at the end of a word, it is replaced by the corresponding unvoiced mute. This is not shown in the writing: деды [djedi] "grandfathers," дед [djet] "grandfather"; поезди [p'yizda] "trains," поезд [poy'st] "train"; ножи [naži] "knives," нож [noš] "knife."
But when words belong closely together in a phrase, a final mute is replaced by the corresponding voiced mute, if the next word begins with a voiced mute other than [v]: брат [brat] "brother," брат ушёл [brat ušol] "the brother went away," брат молился [brat maljilsa] "the brother prayed," брат пошёл [brat pašol] "the brother went there," but брат забыл [brat zabil] "the brother forgot." Similariy, дед [djet] "grandfather," дед ушёл [djet ušol] "the grandfather went away," but дёд забыл [djet zabil] "the grandfather forgot"; бог [box] "God," but бог даст [boh dast] "the Lord will grant it." The sound [v] does not produce this effect: брат вошёл ​[brat vašol] "the brother came in," дед вошёл [djet vašol] "the grandfather came in." This is the only use of the sounds [dz, j]: отец [atjec] "father," отeц думал [atjedz dum'l] "the father thought"; дочь [doč] "daughter," дочь забыла [doj zabila] "the daughter forgot."
Clusters of Mutes. Within a word the same habit prevails, and is not shown in the spelling. Thus, beside просить [prasjitj] "to request," there is просьба [prozjba] "a request." Similarly, the prefix от- [ot-] appears in отнять [atnjatj] "to take away," отбросить [adbrosj'tj] "to throw off," отдать [addatj] "to give back." Before [v] the unvoiced mute remains: ответ [atvjet] "answer."
Within a word, a voiced mute is replaced by the corresponding unvoiced mute whenever any unvoiced mute immediately follows: труба [truba] "tube," but трубка [trupka] "pipe"; ложечка [lož'čka] "little spoon," but ложка [loška] "spoon"; лягу [ljagu] "I shall lie down," but лягте (ljaktji] "lie down." This is not shown in the writing; only prefixes that end with з are written with с before unvoiced mutes: разбить [razbjitj] "to break," but раскрыть [raskritj] "to uncover," расстроить [rasstroy'tj] "to disorder" (from строить [stroy'tj] "to build"). In some words [g] is replaced by [x] (instead of [k]) before an unvoiced mute: коготь [kog'tj] "claw," когти [koxtji] "claws"; лёгок [ljog'k] "he is light of weight," лёгкий [ljoxk'y] "light of weight."
Prepositions which end in a mute present a special case, because Russian prepositions are spoken as if they were part of the following word. A preposition which ends in a unvoiced mute follows the general rule: the mute is voiced before voiced mutes other than [v]: от отца [at atca] "from the father," от сына [at sina] "from the son," от врага [ad vraga] "from the enemy," but от брата [ad brata] "from the brother," от дочери [ad doč'rji] "from the daughter." But a preposition which ends in a voiced mute has an unvoiced mute only before unvoiced mute and keeps the voiced mute before all other sounds: под столом [p't stalom] "under the table," but под окном [p'd aknom] "under the window," под ножом [p'd nažom] "under the knife," под бумагой [p'd bumag'y] "under the paper"; similarly, в комнате [f komn'tji] "in the room," в городе [v gor'dji] "in the city," в армии [v armj'yi] "in the army."
Changes of [s] and [z]. Within a word or when words come together in a phrase, the sounds [s, z] combine with following [č] into the long soft [š] sound [šč], but this is not shown in the writing: возить [vazjitj] "to cart," but мзвозчик [izvošč'k] "cabman," чёт [čot] "even number" with prefix с- gives счёт [ščot] "account, bill."
When [s, z] come before [š] they are replaced by [š]: шить [šitj] "to sew" with prefix с- gives сшить [ššitj] "to sew up"; из шёлку [iš šolku] "out of silk" has long [šš]. Before [ž] they are replaced by [ž]: жечь [žeč] "to burn" with prefix с- gives сжечь [žžeč] "to burn up"; из журнала [iž žurnala] "out of a magazine" has long [žž].
Changes of [č]. The sound [č] before [n] is often replaced by [š]: скучать [skučatj] "to be bored," but скучно [skusna] "tiresome." In less common words the [č] is often kept. In the dictionary we indicate the change in the words where it is most commonly made: скучно [-šn-].
Weakening of Vowels. In unstressed syllables, vowels are weakened, shortened, and slurred. In all unstressed syllables the distinction between [a] and [o] is lost. The weakening of unstressed vowels is not shown in the spelling, except for a few instances. The chief exception is this: that the letter о, which is used, when accented, in some words after ж, ц, ч, ш, щ, is never used after these letters when it is unstressed; after these letters only е is written for the stressed varieties of [o]. Thus the ending [-om] when unstressed is written with о in such forms as ножом [nažom] "with a knife," с отцом [s atcom] "with the father," but when unstressed it is written with е in such forms as массажем [masaž'm] "by massage," с перцем [s pjerc'm] "with pepper." Except for this, and except for a few special cases, each vowel is written as if it is were in a stressed syllable and has its full sound.
Unstressed vowels are weakened in four different positions:
1. At the beginning of a word, unstressed vowels are shortened, and [o] is replaced by short [a]: адрес [adrj's] "address":
адреса [adrjisa] "addresses" экспорт [ekspo'rt] or [eksport] "export" ищет [išč't] "he seeks": ишу [išču] "I seek" отпуск [otp'sk] "leave": отпускать [atpuskatj] "to grant leave" ум [um] "intelligence": уметь [umjetj] "to know how"
2. At the end of a word, unstressed vowels are greatly weakened and shortened: [a] and [o] are alike, and [e] and [i] are alike.
After hard consonants, final unstressed [a, o] sound like the final vowel of English words like sofa; [e, i] have a short sound like the dull variety of Russian [i]:
ending [-a]: семья [sjimjya] "family," but няня [njanja] "nurse" ending [-o]: ружьё [ružyo] "gun," but поле [polja] "field" ending [-e]: на столе [n' stalje] "on the table," but на стуле [na stulji] "on the chair" ending [-i]: очки [ačkji] "eyeglasses," but руки [rukji] "hands" ending [-u]: даю [dayu] "I give," but знаю [znayu] "I know"
After soft consonants (including ч, щ) and after ж, ц, ш, the letter е is used for final unstressed [o] and for final unstressed [e], although the two sound quite different: поле [polja] "field" (sounds exactly like поля "of the field"), but в поле [f polji] "on the field"; сердце [sjerca] "heart" (exactly like сердца "of the heart"), but в сердце [f sjerci] "in the heart." In such cases the grammar shows whether the ending is [o] or [e].
3. In the syllable immediately before the stressed syllable, vowels are somewhat shortened.
After hard consonants other than [š, ž], the vowels [a, o] coincide as a short [a] and the vowels [e, i] as a short dull [i]:
страны [strani] "countries": страна [strana] "country" ​ноги [nogji] "feet": нога [naga] "foot" цены [ceni] "prices": цена [cina] "price" был [bil] "he was": была [bila] "she was" руки [rukji] "hands": рука [ruka] "hand"
After [š, ž], all four of the vowels [a, o, e, i] coincide in a short dull [i] sound, with the lips slightly rounded:
шар [šar] "sphere": шары [širi] "spheres" жёны [žoni] "wives": жена [žina] "wife" шесть [šestj] "six": шестнадцать [šisnatc'tj] "sixteen" жил [žil] "he lived": жила [žila] "she lived" шум [šum] "noise": шуметь [šumjetj] "to be noisy"
After soft consonants, [a, o, e, i] coincide in a short sharp [i] sound:
час [čas] "hour": часы [čisi] "clock" сёла [sjola] "villages": село [sjilo] "village" свечи [svječi] "candles": свеча [svjiča] "candle" винт [vjint] "screw": винты [vjinti] "screws" любит [ljubj't] "he loves": люблю [ljublju] "I love"
4. In all other unstressed syllables (that is, after the stress when not final, and two or more syllables before the stress when not initial), the vowels are extremely short and weak; we write them with small raised letters [', ', '].
After hard consonants other than [š, ž] the vowels [a, o] here coincide in a very short sound, somewhat like the English u in circus; [e, i] coincide in a very short dull [i]:
ending [-atj]: читать [čitatj] "to read," but делать [djel'tj] "to do" головы [gol'vi] "heads": голова [g'lava] "head" целый [cel'y] "whole": целиком [c'ljikom] "entirely" сын [sin] "son": сыновья [s'navjya] "sons" ending [-ut]: идут [idut] "they are going," but едут [yed't] "they are riding"
After [š, ž], the vowels [a, o, e, i] here coincide in a very weak dull [i] sound:
ending [-atj]: мешать [mjišatj] "to disturb," but слышать [slis'tj] "to hear" ending [-ot]: стрижёт [strjižot] "he shears," but может [mož't] "he is able" жечь [žec] "to burn": выжечь [viž'c] "to burn out" ending [-it]: страшит [strašit] "he frightens," but слышит [sliš't] "he hears" шум [šum] "noise": шумовой [š'mavoy] "noisy"
In this position, however, [a, o] at the beginning of case endings appear as a weak [']: на крышах [na kriš'x] "on the roofs."
After soft consonants, [a, o, e, i] here coincide in a very short sharp [i]:
ending [-atj]: гулять [guljatj] "to stroll," but чуять [čuy'tj] "to scent" ending [-ot]: идёт [idjot] "he is going," but едет [yedj*t] "he is riding" ending [-etj]: глядеть [gljidjetj] "to look," but видеть [vjidj'tj] "to see" ending [-it]: глядит [gljidjit] "he looks," but видит [vjidj't] "he sees" ending [-ut]: узнают [uznayut] "they recognize," but узнают [uznay't] "they will recognize"
Weakening and Loss of [y]. Before [i] the sound [y], when not initial, is weak or drops out entirely: стоит [stayit] "he stands," стоит [stoy't] "it costs." We write it in our modified alphabet, since this simplifies our grammatical statements and causes no ambiguity.
§4. ALTERNATIONS OF SOUND AND SPELLING
In this Section we describe alternations of sound which are shown in Russian writing and accordingly bring it about that some forms of words are spelled in ways that differ from the related forms.
1. Change of [g, k, x]. Within a word, when the sounds [g, k, x] come to stand before the vowels [e, i], they are replaced by their soft varieties [gj, kj, xj]. The writing shows this by using the letters е, и for the vowels. Thus, with вор [vor] "thief," воры [vori] "thieves" compare the following: знак [znak] "sign," знаки [znakji] "signs"; плуг [pluk] "plow," плуги [plugji] "plows"; успех [uspjex] "success," успехи [uspjexji] "successes."
2. Insertion of Vowels. When the last consonant of a cluster is [c, g, k, l, lj, n, nj, r, rj, s, sj, y] and comes to stand at the end of a word or before the consonant of a suffix, a vowel is inserted. Thus we have ковры [kavri] "rugs," with the ending [-i], but ковёр [kavjor] "rug," with no ending and an inserted vowel. The choice of the inserted vowel is made as follows:
If either of the two last consonants in the cluster is [g, k, x], the inserted vowel is [o]:
куски [kuskji] "pieces": кусок [kusok] "piece" когти [koxtji] "claws": коготь [kog'tj] "claw" коньки [kanjkji] "skates": конёк [kanjok] "skate"
Otherwise, if the last consonant is [c] or [y], the inserted vowel is [je]; the [j] means that the preceding consonant is made soft if possible:
отцы [atci] "fathers": отец [atjec] "father" перцу [pjercu] "some pepper": перец [pjerj'c] "pepper" ручьи [ručyi] "brooks": ручей [ručey] "brook" ульи [uljyi] "beehives": улей [ulj'y] "beehive"
In all other cases the inserted vowel is [jo]; that is, [o] with softening of the preceding consonant were possible:
котлы [katli] "kettles": котёл [katjol] "kettle" пепла [pjepla] "of ashes": пепел [pjepj'l] "ashes" смешно [smjišno] "it's funny": смешон [smjišon] "he's funny" страшно [strašna] "it's terrible": страшен [straš'n] "he's terrible"
​There are quite a few irregularities. Thus, beside во сне [va snje] "in one's sleep," there is сон [son] "sleep," with [o] inserted instead of [jo]. Some words, like блеск [bljesk] "sheen," do not insert a vowel. These irregularities are shown in the dictionary.
Words ending in consonants other than those named do not insert vowels: мост [most] "bridge," чувств [čustf] "of feelings."
3. Spelling of Prefixes. When a prefix ending in a hard consonant combines with a form that begins with [i], this vowel, in accordance with the general habit, gets the dull sound, and this is shown in the spelling: играть [igratj] "to play" with prefix c- gives сыграть [sigratj] "to play off." In the case of prepositions, which are written (but not pronounced) as separate words, the same habit obtains, but the writing does not show it: игра [igra] "game," с игрой [s igroy] "with the game": [i] here has its dull sound.
When a prefix ending in a hard consonant comes before a form with initial [y], the letter ъ is added, indicating a hard consonant before [y]: есть [yestj] "to eat" with prefix с- gives съесть [syestj] "to eat up."
Prefixes ending with [z] are written with с before unvoiced mutes (§3).
§5. INFLECTION
The parts of speech in Russian are much as in English: noun, adjective, pronoun, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection.
Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs are inflected; that is, there are different forms for singular and plural, present and past, and the like. Words are cited in the dictionary in only one of their forms; the others are not given and it is presumed that the reader can recognize them. In order to enable the reader to do so, we here give an outline of Russian inflection.
Inflected forms consist usually of a stem with different endings; thus слива [sljiva] "plum," сливы [sljivi] "plums," show a stem [sljiv-] and endings [-a, -i]. We write the sign [j] at the beginning of an ending to indicate that before this ending a hard consonant is made soft if possible. Thus, with ending [-je]: стол [stol] "table," на столе [n' stalje] "on the table"; стул [stul] "chair," на стуле [na stulji] "on the chair," руль [rulj] "steering wheel," на руле [n' rulje] "on the steering wheel," нож [noš] "knife," на ноже [n' naze] "on the knife" (because [ž] has no corresponding soft consonant).
In ordinary inflected words the stress is in all forms on the same syllable of the stem or else in all forms on the ending: еду, едет, едем, едете, едут [yedu, yedj't, yedj'm, yedj'tji, yed't] "I am riding, he is riding, we, you, they are riding"; иду, идёт, идём, идёте, идут [idu, idjot, idjom, idjotji, idut] "I am going, he is going, we, you, they are going"; the stems here are [yed-] with stress on the stem, and [id-] with stress on the endings, and the endings are in both instances [-u, -jot, -jom, -jotji, -ut].
If the stress of a set of forms is on the endings, then in a form which has no ending the stress is on the last vowel of the stem: карандаш [k'randaš] "pencil," with no ending, belongs to the set карандаши [k'r'ndaši] "pencils," карандашей [k'r'ndašey] "of pencils," and so on. The last vowel may be an inserted vowel: отец [atjec] "father" belongs to the set отцы [atci] "fathers," отцов [atcof] "of fathers," and so on. Quite a few words, however, have shifting stress, now on one syllable, now on another: голове [g'lava] "head," but головы [gol'vi] "heads." All such cases are indicated in the dictionary.
§6. NOUNS
Gender. Nouns are divided into three genders, according to the shape of the adjectives, pronouns, and verbs that go with them:
masculine (M): этот стол "this table" feminine (F): эта книга "this book" neuter (N): это перо "this pen"
Number. Each noun has forms for two numbers: singular (S) and plural (P), much as in English: стол "table," столы "tables." Some nouns occur only in the singular: молоко "milk"; and some occur only in plural: ножницы "scissors", чернила "ink." The distinctions of gender are absent in the plural: эти столы "these tables," эти книги "these books," эти перья "these pens," эти чернила "this ink."
Case. Each noun has, both in the singular and in the plural, six case forms, each of which is used according to the relation of the noun to the other words in the sentence. The cases are nominative (n), accusative (a), genitive (g), dative (d), instrumental (i), and locative (l).
The nominative is a subject, both with and without verbs: брат ушёл "brother has gone away," брат дома "brother is at home." It is used also for a predicate noun when neither the beginning nor the end of the state is involved: Иван солдат "John is a soldier."
The accusative is the normal object of verbs: он взял книгу "he took the book." It is used in some expressions for duration and distance traversed: он жил целый год в Америке "he lived a whole year in America"; мы прошли километр "we walked a kilometer." A few impersonal expressions have an accusative object: мне надо эту кнгу "I need this book." A few prepositions have an accusative object; see §31.
A possessor is genitive: книга моего брата "my brother's book," его книга "his book"; as in English, this includes an object whose part is named: лицо моего брата "my brother's face"; ножки стола "the legs of the table." The genitive forms of the personal pronouns (§21) are not used in this way; instead there are possessive adjectives (§15): моя книга "my book," он взял свою книгу "he took his (own) book," but, with g, он взял его книгу "he took his (another man's) book." The g is used for a divisible substance or set when only some of it is involved: стакан воды "a glass of water," много денег "lots of money," мало времени "little (of) time." It is used for the object of a verb when only a part is involved: дайте мне хлеба (сахару, -воды) "give me some bread (some sugar, some water)." The subject of negative impersonal expressions of existence is g: там нет стола "there's no table there." The object of a negated verb is usually g: я не читал этой книги "I haven't read this book." A few verbs take a g object: она боится грозы "she is afraid of the thunderstorm"; a few have their object in the g when it is indefinite: мы ищем удобной квартиры "we are looking for a comfortable apartment," but, with a, мы ищем квартиру гражданина Ильина "we are ​looking for Citizen Ilyin's apartment." Comparative adjectives have the object of comparison g: он старше своего брата "he is older than his brother" (also, он старше чем брат, with n after чем "than"). A few adjectives have a g object: карман полон денег "the pocket is full of money." Time when, in a few expressions, is g: я приехал третьего сентября "I arrived on the third of September." Most prepositions take an object in the g case; §31. For the g with numbers, see §22.
The dative case is used for the second (usually personal) object of verbs that take tow objects: он дал книги отцу "he gave the book (a) to his father (d)." Some verbs with one object have it d: он помогает брату "he helps his brother"; so especially some verbs whose subject is not necessarily personal but whose object is a person: брату нравится Москва "Moscow pleases our brother; brother likes Moscow"; что вам снилось? "what appeared to you in a dream? What did you dream?" With most impersonal expressions, especially predicative adjectives, the person affected is d: мне холодно "it's cold to me; I feel cold"; нам надо денег "to us there is need of money; we need some money"; мне сорок лет "to me forty years; I'm forty years old", мне пора "it's time for me (to go)." A few adjectives have a d object: я рад случаю "I'm glad of the opportunity." A few preposition like a d object; §3l.
The instrumental case tells the means: он пишет карандашом "he writes with pencil"; also the respect: он родом руский "he is a Russia by family." A predicate noun is i when the beginning or end of the state is involved: он был солдатом "he was (then) a soldier; he has been a soldier" but, with n, он был солдат "he (as, a stranger with whose earlier and later states we are not concerned) was a soldier." The actor of a passive expression is i: письмо написано отцсом "the letter was written by my father"; so especially with impersonal expression: избу зажгло молнией "it (impresonal) set the hut (a) on fire with lighting (i); the hut was set on fire by lightning." A few verbs take an i object: он правил автомобилем "he was driving the automobile" A few expressions of time when are i: зимой "in winter," днём "in the daytime; in the afternoon." A few prepositions take an i object; §31.
The locative case occurs only as the object of a few prepositions; §31.
Animate and Inanimate. There is a distinction between animate nouns, which denote a living being, and inanimate nouns, which do not. This distinction appears chiefly in the a form: in all plurals and in one large class of masculine singular nouns, the a of animates is like the g, and the a of inanimates is like the n. Thus, the n is книги "books" and the a has the same form: я вижу книги "I see the books"; the n люди "people" has by its side the g людей, and the a has this latter form: я вижу людей "I see people." Only in a few fixed expressions is the a plural of animates like the n: он поехал в гости "he went among the guests; he has gone on a visit"; compare: я вижу гостей "I see the guests."
Thus we have for each noun six singular form and five plural forms: ns (nominative singilar), as, gs, ds, is, ls; np (nominative plural), gp, dp, ip, lp, the accusative plural (ap) having the same form either as the np or as the gp.
Declensions. There are four types of nouns inflection; we call them declensions. Same nouns, however, do not change their form for the various cases and numbers; these nouns are indeclinable (indecl). Thus, the N noun пальто "overcoat" is the same for all cases and both numbers.
In all four types of declension the dp, ip, and lp have the same endings: dp, [-am], ip [-amji], lp [-ax]; when the endings are stressed, the stress is on the [a]: к столам "on the tables," под столами "under the tables," на столах "on the tables." Only a very few nouns have a different ip ending.
Ordinarily a preposition before its object is unstressed, but in some special expressions a noun stressed on the first syllable loses its stress after a preposition, which receives the stress: он держал котёнка за голову [za g'l'vu] "he held the kitten by its head"; §31.
Certain combinations of prepositions plus noun, usually with special meanings, are run together in writing: верх "top, upper part," наверху "on top, upstairs"; муж "husband," замужен "married" (of a woman).
Class of Nouns. Nouns are given in the dictionary in the ns form: стол "table." The gender and declension are shown as follows by the shape of the ns form and the gender marks:
-а, -я, with no gender sign: the noun is F, of declension 1: сила, пуля
-а, -я, with the sign M: the noun is M, of declension 1: слуга M, дядя M
-а -я, with the sign M, F, the noun is of declension 1 and is M when it means a male, F when it means a female: сирота M, F "orphan"
-я with the sign N: the noun is N, of declension 4: имя N
-о, -е, with no gender sign: the noun is N, of declension 3: слово, поле, ружьё
-о, -е, with the sign M: the noun is M, of declension 3: домище M "big house"
Hard consonant, except ж, ш, with no gender sign: the noun is M, declension 2: стол
-й, with no gender sign: the noun is M, declension 2: музей
-ж, -ч, -ш, -щ, with the sign M: the noun is M, declension 2: нож M, ключ M
-жь, -чь, -шь, -щь, with the sign F: the noun is F, declension 4: рожь F, вешь F
Soft consonant, with the sign M: the noun is M, declension 2: руль M (except only путь M "road," which in M, declension 4)
Soft consonant, with the sign F: the noun is F, declension 4: грязь F
Nouns which occur only in plural form are given in the np with indication of the gp and the sign P: ножницы, -ниц P "scissors."
Indeclinable nouns are marked indecl, with a gender sign: палто indecl N.
In nouns of Declensions 2 and 4 the ns form has no ending and therefore fails to show whether the stress in the remaining forms is on the stem or on the endings. When the stress is on the endings we therefore always show the gs ending with an accent mark:
факт (all forms stress the stem: gs факта, np факты, and so on); стол, -а (all forms stress the ending: gs стола, np столы, and so on).
The ns form of these nouns also fails to show whether the last vowel is an inserted vowel. When the last vowel is an inserted vowel we therefore always show the gs form:
​кузнец, (-а) "smith" (no inserted vowel: gs кузнеца, np кузнецы, and so on); перец (-рца) (the е is an inserted vowel: gs перца, ds перцу, and so on); отец (-тца) (the е is an inserted vowel: gs отца, np отцы, and so on).
Two accent marks mean that the stress is in either place: броня means that in all the forms the word is spoken with either stress: ns броня or броня, np брони or брони, and so on.
Shifting Accent. Quite a few nouns are irregular in their stress, which is in different places in different forms.
1. Some nouns shift their stress in the P forms; we indicate this by showing the np with the sign P before it:
сад, P -ы: the S forms stress the stem, gs сада, and so on; the P forms stress the endings, np сады, gp садов, dp садам, and so on; жена, P жёны: the S forms stress the endings, as жену, gs жены, and so on; the P forms stress the stem, np жёны, gp жён, dp жёнам, and so on.
2. Some nouns stress the stem in the S forms and in the np, but the endings in the other P forms; for these, we show the np and gp with the sign P before them:
вещь (P -щи, -щёй: gs вещи, is вещью, np вещи, but gp вещей, dp вещам, and so on).
3. Sometimes the gp has an irregular stress; then we give the np, gp, and dp, with the sign P before them:
сестра (P сёстры, сестёр, сёстрам): the S forms stress the endings, as сестру, gs сестры, and so on; the P forms stress the stem, except for the gp, which stresses the inserted vowel.
4. Other, less common shifts of stress are indicated by citation. For instance, some nouns in declension 1 which stress the endings in the S forms stress the stem in the as: голова, a голову, P головы, голов, головам.
An irregular accentuation given in parentheses is optional:
приз (P -ы): the S forms stress the stem, gs приза, and so on; the P forms are stressed either way, np призы or призы, gp призов or призов, and so on.
рукопись (P -си, -сёй) F: the S forms and the np stress the stem, gs and np рукописи, but the remaining P forms stress either way, gp рукописей or рукописей, dp рукописям or рукописям, and so on.
Irregular Forms. The dictionary indicates all irregular forms.
1. Some nouns have a different stem in the P forms from that of the S forms; we indicate this by showing the np, gp, and dp with the sign P before them:
брат, P братья, -тьев, -тьям: the S forms are regular, gs брата, ds брату, and so on; the P forms are made from a stem [bratjy-] and the np has the irregular ending [-а]; the gp is братьев, dp братьям, ip братьями, lp братьях.
2. Special irregular forms are shown separately;
лошадь, P -ди, -дёй, ip лошадьми F: the S forms are regular, gs лошади; the P has shifting stress, np лошади, but gp лошадей, dp лошадям, lp лошадях, and the ip has the entirely irregular form, as given.
Irregular forms between slanted lines are optional:
адрес (/P -a., -ob/): the P forms are either regular, np адресы ("speeches"), gp адресов, and so on, or else they stress the endings and have the irregular np ending [-а], np адреса ("designations of places"), gp адресов, dp адресам, and so on.
§7. NOUNS WITH ПОЛ-
When nouns are compounded with пол- "half" they have the endings of the gs in the ns and as form; in all other case forms they have the usual endings, but пол- then optionally appears as полу-. Thus beside дюжина "dozen," as дюжину, gs дюжины, is дюжиной, there is полдюжины "half dozen," as полдюжины , gs полдюжины or полудюжины, is полдюжиной or полудюжиной, and so on.
In the nouns полдень "noon" and полночь "midnight," пол- has another meaning, and the inflection, though irregular, is different.
Nouns with the prefix in the form полу- do not have the above peculiarity; thus, полуостров "peninsula" inflects just like остров "island."
§8. ABBREVIATED NOUNS
Abbreviations, such as СССР (for Союз Советских Социалистических Республик "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics") are pronounced by the names of the letters, with stress on the last: [es-es-es-er], and are indeclinable nouns. They are M when the name of the last letter ends in a consonant; when the name of the last letter ends in a vowel they have the gender of the noun in the full expression: for instance, ВКП [ve-ka-pe], for Всесоюзная Коммунистическая Партя "All-Russian Communist Party," feminine because партя is feminine.
§9. VARIATIONS OF SOUND AND SPELLING IN NOUNS
Throughout the declension of nouns the habits of §3 and §4 will apply; we do not mention them specially for each noun.
сад [sat], but gs сада [sada] кубок [kub'k], but gs кубка [kupka] сад, np сады, but ключ, np ключи [-kji]; is with ending [-om]: столом, отцом, стулом, but рулём, музеем, автомобилем, перцем
Note especially the insertion of vowels when there is no ending.
трубка [-pk-], gp трубок [-b'k] ​ложка [-šk-], gp ложек [-ž'k] кухня, gp кухонь овца, gp овец сестра, gp сестёр
but, for instance, звезда, gp звёзд; битва, gp витв, because [d] and [v] are not among the consonants before which a vowel is inserted.
§10. DECLENSION OF NOUNS
First Declension. Nouns of the First Declension have the following endings. Our example shows the stem [yam-] "pit."
| Sn | [-a] | яма |
| a | [-u] | яму |
| g | [-i] | ямы |
| d | [-je] | яме |
| i | [-oy] | ямой |
| l | [-je] | яме |
| Pn | [-i] | ямы |
| g | [-] | ям |
| d | [-am] | ямам |
| i | [-amji] | ямами |
| l | [-ax] | ямах |
The is has also a longer form in [-oyu]: ямою, рукою or рукой.
Most nouns of this declension are F. A few, denoting persons, are M: судья "judge." All those that denote only male persons are M: дядя "uncle." A few that denote persons are M or F, according to the sex: сирота "orphan": этот сирота "this (male) orphan," эта сирота "this (female) orphan." Adjectives that modify a M noun of this declension in as form have the gs form (as though the noun belonged to declension 2): ns мой дядя "my uncle," gs моего дяди, as он встретил моего дядю "he met my uncle."
Special Features of Spelling. On stems that end in [iy] the ds and ls ending is written -и: армия, stem [armjiy-], dls армии. When the inserted vowel in the gp comes before й and is unstressed, it is written и: гостья "female guest," stem [gostjy-], gp гостий.
Irregularities. Some nouns of this declension which stress the endings in the S forms, nevertheless shift the stress to the stem in the as form; in the dictionary we indicate this by giving the as: голова a голову: this means that the gs is головы, dls голове, is головой.
Quite a few nouns of this declension have irregularities of stress in the np or the gp or both; in all such cases we give the np, gp, and dp; the ip and lp go like the dp: голова, a голову, P головы, голов, головам.
Irregular forms occur especially in the gp; the dictionary cites them: война, gp войн (no vowel insertion); басня, gp -сен (hard [n] instead of soft [nj] at the end of the gp form).
Second Declension. Nouns of the Second Declension have the following endings. As an example we take the stem [fakt-] "fact."
| Sn | [-] | факт |
| g | [-a] | факта |
| d | [u] | факту |
| i | [-om] | фактом |
| l | [-je] | факте |
| Pn | [-i] | факты |
| g | [-of] | фактов |
| d | [-am] | фактам |
| i | [-amji] | фактами |
| l | [-ax] | фактах |
The as of inanimates is like the ns; the as of animates is like the gs: я знаю этот факт "I know this fact," but, with человек "person, man," я знаю этого человека "I know this person, this man."
All nouns in this declension are M.
Special Features. On stems that end in [iy] the ls ending is written with -и: гений "genius," ls гении.
Stems ending in a soft consonant other than й, and stems ending in ж, ш have the ending [-ey] in the gp: руль, gp рулей; автомобиль, gp автомобилей; нож, gp ножей; карандаш, gp карандашей; but музей, gp музеев; край, gp краёв.
Irregular Forms. Some nouns fail to insert a vowel in the ns form: блеск, рубль. Some insert a vowel other than the usual one: сон, gs сна, np сны, and so on. This appears sufficiently in the ns form given in the dictionary.
Most nouns that denote divisible substances have a second gs form with the ending [-u], used when a part or quantity of the substance is involved: чай "tea," gs чая (as, цвет чая "the color of tea"), but стакан чаю "a glass of tea," дайте мне чаю "give me some tea." Some other nouns have this second gs form in special phrases: берег "shore, bank," gs берега, but с берегу "down from the bank." This is indicated in the dictionary thus: чай /g -ю/.
Some nouns have a second ls form with the ending [-u], always stressed. This form is used after one or both of the prepositions в and на, either always or optionally or in special phrases: лес "wood, forest," ls лесе (о лесе "about the woods"), but в лесу "in the woods." This is indicated by the phrase between slanted lines: лес, P -а, -ов /в лесу/.
Some nouns have the np ending [-а] and stress the P endings; for these we give the np and gp: город, P -а, -ов; адрес (P -а, -ов), optionally regular.
Third Declension. Nouns of the Third Declension have the following endings; all except ns, np, and gp are the same as in the Second Declension. As an example we take the stem [bljud-] "dish."
| Sn | [-o] | блюдо |
| g | [-a] | блюда |
| d | [u] | блюду |
| i | [-om] | блюдом |
| l | [-je] | блюде |
| Pn | [-a] | блюда |
| g | [-] | блюд |
| d | [-am] | блюдам |
| i | [-amji] | блюдами |
| l | [-ax] | блюдах |
Note that the ns ending when unstressed sounds like the gs and np: [bljuda]; the difference appears under stress: окно "window," gs окна. Similarly after soft consonants: ns поле "field" [polja] sounds just like gs поля, but ns ружьё [ružyo] "gun" differs from gsружья [-žya]. After soft consonants and ж, ц, ш, the ns ending [-o], being written е, looks like the ls, though the two differ in sound: ns поле, сердце ​[polja, sjerca], but ls в поле, в сердце [f polji, f sjerci]: compare ns лицо, ls на лице.
The nouns of this declension are N, except for some few special types: домище, M "huge house," домишко M "mean little house," серко M "gray horse," подмастерье "apprentice," and some family names, which are optionally indeclinable: Шевченко. The a forms are like the n: Он встретил Шевченко "he met Shevchenko."
Special Features. On stems ending in [-iy] the ls ending is written with и: знание "knowledge," ls знании.
Stems ending in consonant plus [y] optionally have ls [-i]. In the gp these have the inserted vowel spelled и when it is unstressed: предместье, ls предместьи or предместье, gp предместий.
Stems ending in a soft consonant other than [y] or [šč] have the ending [-ey] in the gp: поле, gp полей. Note especially that in this declension stems in [šč] do not take the ending [-ey] in the gp: кладбище, gp кладбйщ.
Irregular Forms. Irregularities are indicated as in the other declensions. In many nouns the P forms have different stress from the S: слово, P словa; письмо, P письма. When, in addition, there is some irregularity in the gp, we give also the dp form: окно, P окна, окон, окнам.
Fourth Declension. Nouns of the Fourth Declension have the following endings. Our example is the stem [kravatj-] "bedstead, bed."
| Sn | [-] | кровать |
| g | [-i] | кровати |
| d | [-i] | кровати |
| i | [-yu] | кроватью |
| l | [-i] | кровати |
| Pn | [-i] | кровати |
| g | [-ey] | кроватей |
| d | [-am] | кроватям |
| i | [-amji] | кроватями |
| l | [-ax] | кроватях |
The ns is written with the sign ь even after ж, ч, ш, щ, where it is superfluous: вещь "thing"; this distinguishes these nouns in spelling from those of the second declension. All the stems end in a soft consonant or in [š, ž].
The nouns of this declension have the as like the ns. All are F, except for a few irregular N words with ns in -я: имя "name"; also, there is one M, путь "way, road"; it has is [-om]: путём.
Irregular Forms. Some of the ns forms lack an inserted vowel: жизнь; these also insert no vowel in the is: жизнью [žiznjyu]. Only a few insert [o] in the ns and is: рожь, gdls ржи, is рожью.
Some nouns which do not stress the S endings have a second locative form with stress on the ending [-i], used like the second locative forms of the second declension: грязь "dirt," gdls грязи, but в грязи "in the dirt, all covered with dirt." The dictionary indicates this by giving the phrase between slant lines: грязь /в грязи/.
Two nouns, [matj'rj-] "mother" and [doč'rj-] "daughter," drop the last syllable in the ns: мать, gdls матери, is матерью.
The few N nouns drop the last syllable and take the ending [-a] in the ns: [imjonj-] "name," ns имя, gdls имени; they have is [-om]: именем, and a P stem with hard [n] and stress on the endings: np имена, gp имён, dp именам; similarly the old-fashioned word дитя "child," gdls дитяти, is дитятею, no P forms.
§11. ADJECTIVE DECLENSION
Long Forms. The ordinary or long form of adjectives has the following endings. Our example is the stem [prjam-] "straight."
| Mn | [-оу] | прямой |
| g | [-ovo] | прямого |
| d | [-omu] | прямому |
| i | [-im] | прямым |
| l | [-om] | прямом |
| Nn | [-oyo] | прямое |
| Fn | [-aya] | прямая |
| a | [-uyu] | прямую |
| g | [-oy] | прямой |
| d | [-oy] | прямой |
| i | [-oy] | прямой |
| l | [-oy] | прямой |
| Pn | [-iyi] | прямые |
| g | [-ix] | прямых |
| d | [-im] | прямым |
| i | [-imji] | прямыми |
| l | [-ix] | прямых |
The a forms of the M and of the P are like the n when the adjective is applied to an inanimate noun, and like the g when it is applied to an animate noun: я нашёл тупой нож "I found a dull knife," я нашёл тупые ножи "I found dull knives," but я встретил молодого человека "I met a young man," я встретил молодых людей "I met the young people."
The N has the a like the n. The remaining N forms are like the M.
The Fi has also a longer form with [-oyu]: прямою.
The unstressed final [o] in the N and Pn endings is written е, since [y] precedes.
The M and Ng ending is written with г instead of в.
When regular adjectives stress the endings, the two-syllable endings have the stress on the first syllable, as in the example above.
Special Spelling. When the Mn ending [-oy] is unstressed it is spelled with ы instead of о: старый [star'y] "old"; after г, к, х, after ж, ш, and after soft consonants it is then spelled with и: дикий [djik'y] "wild," свежий [svjež'y] "fresh," синий [sjinj'y] "blue."
In the other endings where ы (и) is written the sound is actually [i]: прямым, прямые,: плохой "bad": плохим, плохие [plaxjim, plaxjiyi]; старым, старые [star'm, star'yi]; диким, дикие [djikj'm, -kj'yi]; свежим, свежие [svjež'm, -ž'уа]; синим, синие [sjinj'm, -nj'yi].
The accent stays in the same place throughout all the long forms.
Some adjectives are habitually used, in one or another gender or in the plural, without any noun, in noun-like constructions and meanings; these are entered in the dictionary in their n form and marked as follows: нищий AM "beggar"; столовая AF "dining room"; животное AN "animal"; лёгкие AP "lungs."
Short Forms. Many adjectives have also a set of short (sh) forms, nominative only, with noun-like endings: красивый "beautiful": M красив, F красива, N красиво, P красивы. ​These are used, beside the long forms, as predicates: она красива "she is beautiful," она красивая rather "she is a beautiful person." The N form is used also as an adverb: хорошо "well, nicely," and as an impersonal predicate: хорошо "it's good; things are fine; (it's) all right"; мне хорошо "I feel fine."
The short M form, having no ending, is subject to vowel insertion: краткий "short": краток "he's short"; горький "bitter": горек; умный "clever": умён; видный "visible": виден; покойный "quiet": покоен; but, with consonants that take no inserted vowel, мёртвый "dead": мёртв; ветхий "decrepit": ветх; жёлтый "yellow": жёлт; твёрдый "hard": твёрд.
Many adjectives whose stem ends in [n] preceded by an unstressed vowel are spelled with нн except in the short M form, which is spelled with н: безнравственный [bjiznraistvj'n'y] "immoral": sh M безнравствен, F безнравственна [-stvj'na]. Other adjectives end in [nn] preceded by a stressed vowel; these insert a vowel in the short M form: длинный [dljinn'y] "long": sh M длинен, F длинна. However, adjectives of both these kinds which are participles of verbs (§24) have only one [n] in the short forms: испорченный [isporč'n'y] "spoiled": испорчен, испорчена; поражённый [p'ražonn'y] "beaten": поражён, поражена.
There are many irregularities of accent in the sh forms; these are shown in the dictionary by the sign sh and the endings; many have optional shifts of accent; we place the indications of these between slanted lines:
бедный, sh -дни: the sh forms are беден, бедна, бедно, бедны
великий sh /-ка, -о, -и/: the sh forms are велик, велика or велика, велико or велико, велики or велики; the forms with accent on the stem mean rather "great"; those with accent on the endings rather "big" видный, sh -дна /-ы/: the sh forms are виден, видна, видно, видны or видны сухой, sh сух, -ха, сухо, -хи: the sh forms are сух, суха, сухо, сухи.
Occasionally the sh N form has a different stress in adverbial and impersonal use; we mark this as adv: больной, sh болен, -льна, -о, -ы; adv больно; this means that the sh forms are болен, больна, больно, больны, and that больно means "it is sick," but больно means "painfully" or "it hurts."
Short forms, with noun-like endings, in cases other than n appear only in special phrases; thus, beside первый "first," there is сперва (preposition с with g N) "first of all."
Many adjectives have no sh forms; especially some whose stems end in [nj], such as верхний "upper" and those in [sk], such as русский "Russian." The latter have adverbs with ending [-i]: дружески "in a friendly way," and often with no- prefixed: по-русски "in Russian." Other instances are more isolated: большой "big" has no sh forms; those of великий "great" are used instead; маленький "little" has none; those of малый are used instead.
Comparative Forms. Many adjectives have comparative (cp) forms. The long cp form is made by adding [-jeyš] with long adjective endings: красивый "beautiful": красивейший. This form means "very beautiful." With наи- prefixed it has superlative meaning: наикрасивейший "the most beautiful." In comparative meaning one uses the adverb более "more" with the ordinary long form: более красивый "more beautiful." In superlative meaning one uses самый "the same, the very" with the ordinary long form: самый красивый "the most beautiful."
There is only one cp sh form for all three genders and the plural; it has the ending [-jeya], written -ее: она красивее "she is prettier." This form often has no- prefixed to it, meaning "somewhat more" or "as much as possible" or forming an adverb or used with nouns: поскорее "more quickly; rather quickly; as quickly or as soon as possible"; картина покрасивее "a prettier picture." Often the ending is shortened to [-ey]: красивей.
The cp forms stress the same syllable as the ordinary form; however, all adjectives that stress any ending in the ordinary long or sh forms have the stress on the first syllable of the cp ending: бледный, sh -дни "pale" gives cp бледнейший, бледнее.
Many adjectives have no cp forms.
There are many irregular cp forms. Most of these have [-ayš] in the long forms and [-i], written -е in the short: горький "bitter": горчайший, горче [gorči]. A few differ entirely from the ordinary forms:
большой "big": больше, adv более [bolj'ya], больший "bigger" малый, мaленький "small": меньше, adv менее, меньший молодой "young": моложе; младший плохой "bad": хуже, плоше,: худший старый "old": старше; старший хороший "good": лучше; лучший
These six long forms have comparative meaning; лучшая квартира "a better apartment"; also, they, and not the ordinary forms, combine with самый in superlative meaning: самый лучший "the best," also наилучший.
Irregular cp forms are given in full in the dictionary.
§12. IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES
Irregular adjectives include some types of special formations and a small number of pronominal adjectives and pronouns. In the dictionary we indicate their irregularities by numbers which refer to the sections here following.
§13. SPECIAL ADJECTIVES
Adjectives whose stem ends in consonant plus [y] have noun-like forms in the nominatives and in the F accusative, and lack sh forms. In the Mn the inserted vowel is written и: stem [trjetjy-] "third": n третий, третья, третье, третьи, Fa третью. The other forms are regular: Mg третьего, Fgdil третьей, Pgl третьих, and so on. Most of these mean "obtained from" a living being: рыбий "of fish," божий "of God, divine."
Family names and place names whose stem ends in [-in, -ov] have noun-like forms in the nominatives, the F accusative, ​and the M and Ng, d, and l; thus, the family name Петров has Fn Петрова, a Петрову; Pn Петровы "the Petrov's"; Mg Петрова, d Петрову, l Петрове; the remaining forms are regular, as, Mi я говорил с гражданином Петровым "I was talking with Citizen Petrov."
§14. PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES AND PRONOUNS
The pronominal adjectives and pronouns have noun-like forms in the nominatives, short or irregular forms in the F accusative, and when they stress the M and Ng and d endings they stress the last syllable: кого [kavo] "whose," кому "to whom."
§15. POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
The g forms of the personal pronouns (§21) are not used to denote a possessor; instead, there are pronominal (possessive) adjectives: наш "our," ваш "your," and, with stress on the endings, мой "my," твой "your" (familiar singular, §21), свой "one's own." This last differs in use from the pronoun себя, §21, in that a possessor of the first or second person who is the same as the subject is often expressed by the ordinary possessive adjective; thus, one always says он взял свою шляпу "he took his (own) hat," for он взял его шляпу means "he took his (the other man's) hat"; but one says indifferently я взял свою шляпу or я взял мою шляпу "I took my hat."
The possessive adjective чей "whose" is used alongside the g of кто "who." The stem is (čy-) and the M has an inserted vowel: чей, чья, чьё, чьи Fa чью, etc.
All these words have [e] instead of [o] in the Fgdil.
| Mn | наш | мой |
| g | нашего | моего |
| d | нашему | моему |
| i | нашим | моим |
| l | пашем | моём |
| Nn | наше | моё |
| Fn | наша | моя |
| a | нашу | мою |
| g, d, l | нашей | моей |
| i | нашей, нашею | моей, моею |
| Pn | наши | мой |
| g, l | наших | моих |
| d | нашим | моим |
| i | нашими | моими |
In the expression по-моему "in my opinion," по-твоему, по-своему the stress is on the stem.
§16. ОДИН, САМ, ВЕСЬ
The pronominal adjective [odn-] "one" inserts [ji] in the M nominative, and [vsj-] "all" inserts [je].
Instead of [i] in the endings, [odn-] and сам "he himself" have [ji] and [vsj-] has [e] also for [o] in the Fgdil.
All three stress the endings, except сам in the Pn. This word has also an irregular Fa form with ending [-ayo].
| Mn | один | сам | весь |
| g | одного | самого | всего |
| d | одному | самому | всему |
| i | одним | самим | всем |
| l | одном | самом | всём |
| Nn | одно | само | всё |
| Fn | одна | сама | вся |
| a | одну | самоё | всю |
| g, d, l | одной | самой | всей |
| d | одной, одною | самой, самою | всей, всею |
| Pn | одни | сйми | все |
| g, l | одних | самих | всех |
| d | одним | самим | всем |
| i | одними | самими | всеми |
The Р forms of один are used in the meaning "only," "alone." The pronominal adjective сам stresses the identity: я спросил самого полковника "I asked the colonel himself"; it is different from the regular adjective самый "same": я встретил того самого полковника "I met that same colonel."
§17. ТОТ, ЭТОТ
The pronominal adjectives [t-] "that" and [et-] "this, that" take an ending [-ot] in the M nominative. Instead of [i] in the endings [t-] takes [je] and [et-] takes [ji]:
| Mn | тот | этот |
| g | того | этого |
| d | тому | этому |
| i | тем | этим |
| l | том | этом |
| Nn | то | это |
| Fn | та | эта |
| a | ту | эту |
| g, d, l | той | этой |
| i | той, тою | этой, этою |
| Pn | те | эти |
| g, l | тех | этих |
| d | тем | этим |
| i | теми | этими |
§18. ОН
The pronoun он has this stem in the nominative forms only. All the other forms have a stem [y-]. The Pn form has the ending [-ji]. The Fg and a has the ending [-оуo]. The F endings have [e] instead of [o]. All the accusative forms, regardless of gender or animation, are the same as the genitives. ​
| Mn | он |
| g | его |
| d | ему |
| i | им |
| l | (нём) |
| Nn | оно |
| Fg | её |
| d, l | ей |
| i | ей, ею |
| Pn | они |
| g, l | их |
| d | им |
| t | ими |
After prepositions the stem [у-] is replaced by [nj-]: от него "from him," с ним "with him," в нём "in it," and so on; excepted are the g forms as possessors of a noun: от его брата "from his brother," у её брата "at her brother's, in her brother's possession," в их стране "in their country."
§19. НЕКИЙ, СЕЙ
The pronominal adjective некий "some," "a kind of" is used only in writing and in bookish speech. It has some forms from a stem [njek-], some from a stem [njekoy-], and the Pn некий from a stem [njekjiy-]: Mn некий, g некоего, d некоему, i неким or некоим, l некоем; Nn некое; Fn некая, a некую, g, d, l некой or некоей; Pn некий, gl неких or некоих, and so on.
Another old-fashioned pronominal adjective is сей "this," F сия, N сие, P син, as F сию; the remaining forms are from a stem [sj-]; gs M, N сего, dls F сей, etc. This word survives in a few expressions: сегодня "today," сейчас "right away."
§20. КТО, ЧТО
The interrogative pronouns [k-] "who" and [č-] "what" have an ending [-to] in the n forms; before this [č] is replaced by [š], but written ч. The i ending has [e] instead of [i]. There are no distinctions of gender or number:
| n | кто | что [što] |
| a | кого | что |
| g | кого | чего |
| d | кому | чему |
| i | кем | чем |
| l | ком | чём |
For compounds of these words see §23.
§21. PERSONAL PRONOUNS
The personal pronouns are я "I," мы "we," вы "you." In addition there is a familiar singular pronoun for "you," used in talking to one child, to one person with whom one is on very familiar terms, or to one non-human being (animal, saint, God). Further, there is a reflexive pronoun, g a себя (with no n form), used when an object is the same person as the subject: я вижу себя "I see myself"; он дал себе слово "he gave himself his word"; вы говорите о себе "you are talking about yourself (or yourselves)." The g forms are not used for a possessor; see §15. The inflections are very irregular.
| n | я | ты | |
| a, g | меня | тебя | себя |
| d, l | мне | тебе | себе |
| i | мной, мною | тобой, тобою | собой, собою |
| n | мы | вы | |
| g, a, l | нас | вас | |
| d | нам | вам | |
| i | нами | вами | |
§22. NUMERALS
The number один "one" has pronominal adjective inflection, §16. After it, nouns and adjectives are inflected in the usual way: один большой стол "one big table." When один is the last part of a longer number, the nouns and adjectives are still singular: двадцать один рубль "21 rubles"; я видел сорок одного мальчика "I saw 41 boys." The P forms are used with things that go in pairs, meaning "one pair": у человека одни рукм "a human being has one pair of hands"; also with nouns that occur in P form only: одни часы "one watch or clock."
The numbers два "two," три "three," четыре "four" are inflected as follows:
| n | два, две | три | четыре |
| g, l | двух | трёх | четырёх |
| d | двум | трём | четырём |
| i | двумя | тремя | четырмя |
The n две is used with F nouns.
The number оба "both" has one set of forms for M and N nouns and one for F:
| n | оба | обе |
| g, l | обоих | обеих |
| d | обоим | обеим |
| d | обоими | обеими |
When an expression with these numbers is in the n case (including the a of inanimates; see below), the noun is in genitive singular form, a pronominal adjective (§§14-17) before the number is in nominative plural form, and an ordinary adjective before or after the number is in genitive plural or nominative plural form: эти два больших (or большие) стола "these two big tables." When the expression is in some other case, the numeral and the other words agree, the latter in plural form: на этих двух больших столах "on these two big tables." The a of these expressions is like the n when the noun is inanimate: дайте мне ваши три рубля "give me your three ​rubles"; it is like the g when the noun is animate: вы встретили этих четырёх красивых дёвушек? "did you meet those four pretty young ladies?" However, when the numbers 2, 3, 4 are at the end of a longer number, the a is even with animates like the n: мы видели двадцать два мальчика "we saw 22 boys"; only a pronominal adjective before the number has the a like the g: мы видели ваших двадцать два ученика "we saw your 22 pupils."
The numbers пять "5," шесть "6," семь, "7," восемь "8," девять "9," десять "10," двадцать "20," тридцать "30" inflect like S nouns of the fourth declension, with stress on the endings; the е in восемь is an inserted vowel: g, d, l пяти, восьми, двадцати; i пятью, восьмью, двадцатью. In multiplication there are also i forms stressed on the stem: пятью "5 times," восемью (with inserted vowel) "8 times."
The numbers одиннадцать "11," двенадцать "12," тринадцать "13," четырнадцать "14," пятнадцать "15," шестнадцать [šisnatc'tj] "16," семнадцать "17," восемнадцать "18," девятнадцать "19" have the same inflection, but stress the stem: g, d, l двенадцати, i двенадцатью.
The numbers пятьдесят "50," шестьдесйт [š'zdjisjat] "60," семьдесят "70," восемьдесят "80" inflect both parts, with stress on the ending of the first part, but with hard final [t] in the n forms: g, d, l пятидесяти, i пятьюдесятью.
The numbers сорок "40," девяносто "90," сто "100" have the ending [-a] in all forms except the n, stressed in сорок and сто: сорока, девяноста, ста. In noun-like use сто has also P forms of the third declension: n ста, g сот, d стам, i стами, l стах.
The numbers from 200 to 900 contain сто, inflected as a third declension noun; the stress is on the preceding number only when сто is in S form. In writing, the two words are usually run together. In the n двести "200" both parts are irregular in shape. Thus we have n триста, четыреста, пятьсот, шестьсот, семьсот, восемьсот, девятьсот; g двухсот, восьмисот; d двумстам, восьмистам; i двумястами, восьмьюстами; l двухстах, восьмистах.
In n expressions with the numbers from 5 to 900, nouns and adjectives are in gp form; only a pronominal adjective before the number is np: эти пять больших столов "these five big tables." In the other case forms all the words are in the same case: g от этих пяти больших столов "from these five big tables"; l на этих пяти больших столах "on these five big tables." The a of these expressions is like the n even with animates: я видел пять девушек "I saw five young women"; only a pronominal adjective before the number has a like g with animates: мы встретили этих пять девушек "we met those five young women."
Compound numbers inflect each part: n четыреста шестьдесят восемь рублей "468 rubles," i с четырьмястами шестьюдесятью восьмью рублями "with 468 rubles."
The number тысяча "1,000" is inflected like a F noun of declension one, except that the is is optionally тысячью. Nouns and adjectives that go with it are gp; less commonly, when тысяча is d, i, or l, they are in the same case: тысяча рублей "1,000 rubles"; i с тысячей (тысячью) рублей (less often рублями) "with 1,000 rubles"; две тысячи рублей "2,000 rubles"; пять тысяч рублей "5,000 rubles."
Higher units, like миллион "million," миллиард "thousand millions" (American "billion"), биллион "million millions" (British "billion") are treated as M nouns: миллион рублей "a million rubles," с пяью миллионами рублей "with 5 million rubles."
A number after its noun is approximate: года два "about two years."
Ordinal numbers, such as первый "first," втарой "second," четвёртый "fourth," пятый "fifth," шестой "sixth," сороковой "fortieth," пятидесятый "fiftieth," are regular adjectives; only третий "third" goes by §13. In compound numbers only the last part is ordinal: в тысяча девятсот сорок пятом году "in the year 1945."
There are collective numbers from 2 to 10: двое, трое, четверо, пятего, шестего, семеро, восьмеро, девятего, десятего. The n form are like N nouns; the other cases have P adjective endings, stressed. In n and a expressions accompanying words are in gp form; in the other cases they concord: двое братьев "two brothers," g двоих братьев, d двоим братьям. The a of animates is like the g: он встретил двоих товарищей "he met two comrades." There are a few special expressions such as втроём "three of them together." The collective numbers are used very largely with animate masculines: четверо сыновей "four sons," beside четыре сына. They are used with names of things that occur in pairs, meaning "so many pairs": у обезьян двое рук "monkeys have two pairs of hands." They are used with nouns that are P only: трое часов "three watches or clocks"; from 5 on, however, the ordinary numbers are here also used: пятеро ножниц "5 pairs of scissors" beside пять ножниц; in forms other than n (and a) the ordinary numbers are here more usual: с тремя часами "with three watches."
Fractions are половина "half," треть "third," четверть "quarter," F nouns: три четверти этих людей "three fourths of these people." The other fractions are the F forms of the ordinals (sometimes with част F part added): одна пятая километра "one fifth of a kilometer"; after 2 and higher numbers there are in gp form три пятых километра "three fifths of a kilometer." One often hears such expressions as два с половиной километра "two with a half (that is, two and one half) kilometers."
The number полтора "one and a half," F полторы, in the n (and a) form combines with a noun in gs form: полтора рубля "one and a half rubles," полторы недели "one and one half weeks." In the other cases it is полутора: с полутора рублями "with one and a half rubles"; около полтура тысяч "about one and a half thousand, about 1,500."
The number полтораста "150" has in the cases other than n (and a) optionally the form полутораста; nouns are in the gp form: полтораста рублей "150 rubles," с полутораста (or с полтораста) рублями "with 150 rubles."
For numbers after по, see §3l.
§23. COMPOUNDS OF QUESTION WORDS
The interrogative pronouns кто, что (§20), interrogative adjectives, such as который "which," какой "what kind, which," and other question words, such as где "where," куда "whereto," откуда "wherefrom," когда "when," как "how," сколко "how much, how many," are compounded with various other words.
With ни before them they make negative; the words are run together in writing unless a preposition comes between: никто ​"nobody," ничто [nji što] "nothing" (usually in g form, ничего [nji čivo]), ни с кем "with nobody," никогда "never," and so on. Verbs take the negative: я никогда никому ничего не говорил об этом "I've never told anyone anything about this."
With stressed не there are two meanings. Some combinations have an indefinite meaning: несколько "a few," некоторый "some or another." Others are predicative, meaning "there is no": некого послать "there's no one to send," не с кем поговорить "there's no one to have a talk with," некогда читать "there's no time for reading."
With кое or кой, written with a hyphen, the words mean "one and another," кое-какйе знакомые "a few acquaintances here and there."
Followed by то, written with a hyphen, they mean "some," implying that there is some notice or identification: кто-то "somebody" (identified, heard, or otherwise noticed), когда-то "at a certain time, at some time" (which I can somehow identify).
Followed by нибудь, written with a hyphen, they mean "any" or "some," implying that there is no identification: кто-нибудь "anybody, anybody at all," как-нибудь "in some way or other, in any way." In writing and in bookish speech либо is sometimes used instead: кто-либо.
§24. VERBS
Verbs are cited in the dictionary in infinitive (inf) form: читать "to read." The forms are made from two stems, a present stem (pr stem) and an infinitive stem (inf stem). Some of the forms are lacking and some differ in meaning, according to whether the verb is durative (dur) or punctual (pct); see §30. In giving the forms of a verb we often supply a lacking form by taking it from a compound.
Verbs have the following forms:
1. The following forms are made from the present stem.
The present tense (pr) has forms for actors of the first, second, and third persons, singular and plural: S1 читаю "I am reading," P1 читаем "we are reading," P2 читаете, "you are reading," S3 читает "he (she, it) is reading," P3 читают "they are reading." The S2 form is used where one uses the familiar singular ты, §21, (ты) читаешь "you (as, one child) are reading." In dur verbs the pr means action now going on; in a few also future action: куда вы идёте? "where are you (now) going? where are you bound for?" but also: куда вы идёте сегодня вечером? "where are you going (to go) this evening?" In pct verbs the pr means future action: я прочитаю эту книгу "I'll read this book (through)."
The imperative (imv) gives a command to a second person actor: S2 читай "read," P2 читайте, pct verbs and a few dur verbs use the P1 form, (with -те added as in the imperative) for commands: сделаем (or сделаемте) это "let's do that," идём (идёмте) "let's be on our way, let's go."
The present active participle (prap) is an adjective: читающий "(one who is) reading." It is made from dur verbs only, and is used almost only in writing and bookish speech.
The present gerund (prger) is an adverb. In dur verbs it means "while doing so and so": читая "while reading"; in pct verbs it means "having done so and so" (the same as the past gerund): прочтя письмо "having read (through) the letter." The pct present gerund is used chiefly in writing and bookish speech.
The present passive participle (prpp) is an adjective; it is made only from dur verbs that have an a object: читаемая книга "a book that is being read." It is used chiefly in writing.
2. The following forms are made from the infinitive stem.
The infinitive (inf): читать "to read."
The past tense (p) has forms for M, F, N, and P actors, without distinction of person:
M: я читал "I was reading" (man or boy speaking), ты читал "you were reading" (familiar, to one male), он читал "he was reading," and so for all M nouns: стол стоял в углу "a table was standing in the corner";
F: я читала "I was reading" (woman or girl speaking), ты читала "you were reading" (familiar, to one female), она читала "she was reading," чашка стояла на столе "the cup was standing on the table";
N: оно читало "it was reading," кресло стояло в углу "the armchair was standing in a corner";
P: мы читали "we were reading," вы читали "you were reading" (said to one or more persons), они читали "they were reading," ученики читали "the pupils were reading."
The past active participle (pap) is an adjective: читавший "one who has been reading," прочитавший "one who has read (through)." It is used chiefly in writing.
The past gerund (pger) is an adverb: читав "after reading," прочитав "having read (through)."
The past passive participle (ppp) is an adjective; it is made only from verbs that take an a object: прочитанная книга "a book that has been read through." This participle is used in ordinary speech.
Reflexive Forms. To the complete verb forms there is added, in various meanings, a reflexive (refl) suffix. It has the following shapes:
After vowels, except in participles, [-s], written сь: мою "I wash," моюсь [moyus] "I wash myself." Occasionally, especially after [i], the suffix is pronounced [-sj], in accordance with the spelling.
After [t, tj] the suffix is [-ca], written ся; before it [tj] of the infinitive is replaced by [t], but spelled ть: моет "he washes," моется [moy'tca] "he washes himself"; мыть "to wash," мыться [mitca] "to wash oneself."
After other consonants, and after all participle forms, the suffix is [-sa], written ся: мoем "we wash," моемся [moy'msa] "we wash ourselves," мыл "he washed," мылся "he washed himself."
The meaning of the refl form is various: action upon oneself (as above); action of several actors upon one another: мы часто видимся "we often see each other"; undergoing of an action: книга читается "the book is being read." Some verbs occur only in refl forms: бояться "to be afraid," смеяться "to laugh."
Preverbs. Verbs occur frequently in composition with preverbs, prefixes some of which are like prepositions in form: писать "to write," подписать "to sign" (preposition под "under"), выписать "to copy out" (there is no independent word corresponding to this preverb).
§25. REGULAR VERBS
There are four classes of regular verbs. All have a vowel before the inf ending -ть. Class One, by far the largest, includes all regular verbs whose inf does not end in -овать (-евать), -нуть, or -ить. Class Two contains those in -овать (-евать), Class Three those in -нуть, and Class Four those in -ить.
Class One. The pr stem is formed by adding [y] to the inf stem: читать "to read," inf stem [čita-], pr stem [čitay-].
The pr has the following endings:
| S1 | [-u] | читаю |
| 2 | [-još] | читаешь |
| 3 | [-jot] | читает |
| P1 | [-jom] | читаем |
| 2 | [-jotji] | читаете |
| 3 | [-ut] читают |
The S2 ending is written with ь. The full forms of the endings do not appear here or in Class Two, since the endings are unstressed (and come after [y]); they appear in Class Three.
The imv S2 is merely the stem: читай; the P2 adds [-tji]: читайте.
The frap is formed with [-ušč]: читающий.
The prger has the ending [-a]: читая.
The prpp is formed with [-jom]: читаемый.
The remaining forms are made from the inf stem.
The inf has the ending [-tj]: читать.
The p adds [-l] and then F [-a], N [-o], P [-ji]: читал, читала, читало, читали. Note that the P ending differs from np [-i] of nouns and sh P [-i] of adjectives.
The pap is formed with [-iš]: читавший.
The pger ends in [-iši] or, when the refl suffix is not present, in [-i]: прочитавши, прочитав.
The ppp is formed with [-n] but the long forms are spelled with нн: прочитанный, sh прочитан, прочитана.
The stress is on the stem and stays on the same syllable in all forms: делать "to do," делаю; белеть "to get white," белею; знать "to know," знаю. Only verbs in stressed -ать draw back the stress to the preceding syllable in the ppp: читать, прочитанный; this happens even in one-syllable verbs that have a preverb with a vowel in it: узнать "to recognize": узнанный; some of these have stress on the sh F ending: узнан, узнана, узнано, узнаны (which is then indicated in the dictionary).
The dictionary makes no comment on regular verbs of Class One, except for a few that end in -овать, -евать as though they belonged to Class Two: здороваться "to exchange greetings," where the pr S1 and S3 are given: здороваться, -ваюсь, -вается; also, there are a few in [-atj] which do not retract the stress in the ppp: изваять "to sculpt," изваянный.
Class Two. The inf stem ends in [ova]; in the pr stem this is replaced by [uy]: радовать "to gladden," inf stem [radova-], pr stem [raduy-]. Otherwise the inflection is exactly as in Class One: pr радую, радует, imv радуй, prap радующий, p радовал, радовала, ppp обрадованный.
After soft consonants and ж, ц, ш the spelling goes by the usual rules: переночевать "to stay overnight."
Verbs in stressed [ovatj] stress the [uy] in the pr stem and draw back the stress in the ppp: переночую; образовать "to educate": образую, образует, образуй, образовал, образовала, but образованный "educated."
Class Three. The inf stem ends in [nu]; the pr stem drops the [u], ending in [n]: кинуть "to throw," inf stem [kjinu-], pr stem [kjin-]: pr кину, кинешь, кинет, кинем, кинете, кинут; note that the four endings which we write with [j] make the [n] soft: [kjinu, kjinj't].
The imv adds [-j]: кинь, киньте. If there is a consonant before the [n], the imv adds [-ji]: дёрнуть "to pull," дёрни, дёрните.
P кинул, кинула, -о, -и.
The ppp is formed with [-t]: кинутый.
Verbs whose inf stem has stressed [nu] stress the endings in the pr stem, take [-ji] in the imv, and draw back the stress in the ppp: вернуть "to bring back," верну, вернёшь, вернёт, вернём, вернёте, вернут (here we see the full forms of the pr endings [vjirnu, vjirnjot]); верни, верните; вернул, вернула; повёрнутый "turned." The dictionary tells whether unstressed e of the stem appears in the ppp as е or as ё.
A few verbs of Class Three in stressed [nu] draw back the stress also in the five pr forms other than S1, and in the prap: тянуть "to pull," тяну, тянешь, тянет, тянем, тянете, тянут; тяни; тянущий; тянул, тянула; потянутый. The dictionary shows this by giving the pr S1 and S3: тянуть, тяну, тянет.
Class Four. The inf stem ends in [i], before which there is always a soft consonant or ж, ш; the pr stem drops this [i], but most of its endings contain the vowel [i]: мерить "to measure." inf stem [mjerji-], pr stem [mjerj-].
The pr has the following endings:
| S1 | [-u] | мерю |
| 2 | [-iš] | меришь |
| 3 | [-it] | мерит |
| P1 | [-im] | мeрим |
| 2 | [-itji] | мерите |
| 3 | [-ut, -at] | мерят |
The P3 ending is spelled -ят (-at), but is usually pronounced [-'t], as [mjerj't] rather than [mjerj't].
The imv has no ending after a single consonant, but [-i] after a cluster: мерь, мерьте, but чистать "to clean," чисти, чистите.
The prap is formed with [-ašč]: мерящий.
The prger has [-a]: меря.
The prpp is formed with [-im]: меримый.
The p forms and pap and pger are made as in the other classes: мерил, мерила, -о, -и; меривший, смеривши or смерив.
The ppp drops [i] and adds [-en], spelled in the long forms with нн: смеренный, смерен, смерена.
Verbs whose inf stem has stressed [i] have either fixed or shifting stress.
Those with fixed stress stress the endings in the forms from the pr stem and in the sh forms of the ppp; in the imv they have [-i]: веселить "to make cheerful": веселю, веселишь, веселит, веселим, веселите, веселят; the P3 ending is pronounced [-at], as spelled: [vj'sjiljat]; весели, веселите; веселящий, веселя, веселимый; веселил, веселила, -о, -и; веселивший, развеселивши or развеселив; развеселённый, sh развеселён, развеселена, -о, -ы.
Those with shifting stress draw back the stress in the five pr forms other than S1 and in the ppp: хвалить "to praise": хвалю, хвалишь, хвалит, хвалим, хвалите, хвалят [xvalj't]; ​хвали, хвалите; хвалящий, хваля, хвалимый; хвалил, хвалила; похваленный [-lj'n'y], похвален, похвалена. The dictionary indicates shifting stress by giving the pr S1 and S3: хвалить, хвалю, хвалит.
When verbs in [itj] are compounded with the stressed preverb вы-, they keep the ending [-i] in the imv: курить "to smoke," курию, курит, imv кури; выкурить "to smoke up," imv выкури.
Before the pr S1 ending [-u] and in the ppp the final consonant of the stem is replaced as follows:
[bj, fj, mj, pj, vj] add [ij]: любить "to love," люблю, любишь, любит, любим, любите, любят; люби; любил; возлюбленный
[dj, zj] are replaced by [ž]: щадить "to spare," щажу, щадит, пощажённый; разить "to strike down," ражу, разит, поражённый
[sj] is replaced by [š]: броснть "to throw," брошу, бросит, брошенный
[stj] is replaced by [šč]: чистить "to clean," чащу, чистит, почищенный
[tj] is replaced by [č]: тратить "to spend," трачу, тратит, потраченный
[zdj] is replaced by [žj]: ездить "to ride," езжу, ездит, заезженный "worn out by riding."
A few verbs are irregular in replacing [tj] by [šč]: посетить "to visit," посещу, посетит, посещённый. A few replace [dj] by [ždj] in the ppp: наградить "to reward," награжу, наградит, награждённый; also, with [zdj], пригвоздить "to nail on," пригвозжу, пригвоздит, пригвождённый. These forms are shown in the dictionary.
§26. IRREGULAR VERBS
Most irregular verbs are peculiar only in that the inf stem and the pr stem do not match. Thus, держать "to hold" has the pr forms as of Class Four: держу, держит; the dictionary, by showing these forms, tells the whole story: imv держи, p держал, ppp подержанный. Similarly, чуять "to scent" has the pr stem [čuy-]: чую, чует; this indication suffices: imv чуй, p чуял, чуяла.
All other irregularities are cited in the dictionary and require no comment here; we name some of the more frequent ones in §§27, 28, 29. When the dictionary cites irregular forms between slanted lines, this means that the regular forms are also used.
§27. IRREGULAR PRESENT
A few verbs have a pr stem ending in consonant plus [y]; these insert a vowel in the imv form: пить "to drink," пью, пьёт; the imv is пей, пейте.
Some irregular verbs have the pr like Classes One, Two, and Three, but the pr stem ends in a consonant other than [n, j]: несу "I carry," несёшь, несёт, несём, несёте, несут, imv неси, несите. All those whose pr stem ends in [g] and nearly all whose pr stem ends in [k] replace these consonants by [ž] and [č] respectively before the endings that we write with [j]: могу "I can," можешь, может, можем, можете, могут, imv помоги "help"; пеку "I bake," печёшь, печёт, печём, печёте, пекут; imv пеки.
The verbs давать "to give," даю, даёт; -знавать (used chiefly in compounds) "to know," -знаю, -знаёт; -ставать (used chiefly in compounds) "to stand," -стаю, -стаёт, form the imv and prger as if they were regular verbs: давай, давайте, давая.
Only four verbs are entirely irregular in the present forms:
бежать "to run": бегу, бежишь, бежит, бежим, бежите, бегут, imv беги дать "to give": дам, дашь, даст, дадим, дадите, дадут, imv дай есть "to eat": ем, ешь, ест, едим, едите, едят, imv ешь хотеть "to want"; хочу, хочешь, хочет, хотим, хотите, хотят, imv хоти
§28. IRREGULAR INFINITIVE AND PAST
Some verbs whose inf stem has only one syllable (not counting preverbs) have shifting stress in the p forms. Some stress only the F ending: жить "to live," живу, живёт, p жил, жила, жило, жили. Mostly such verbs draw the stress back to a preverb in the other p forms: занять "to occupy," займу, займёт, p занял, заняла, заняло, заняли, and they similarly stress the ppp forms: занятый "occupied," sh занят, занята, занято, заняты. In the p refl forms they often stress the last syllable throughout, but in this there is much variation: занялся "occupied himself," занялась, занялось, занялись. A few draw the stress back to a preceding не "not": быть "to be," буду, будет, p был, была, было, были, but не был [nje b'l] "he was not," не была [nj' bila], не было, не были.
Some few verbs stress all the p endings: вёл "he led," вела, вело, вели.
Some irregular verbs make the ppp with [-t]: занять "to occupy," занятый; дуть "to blow" (otherwise regular: дую, дует, дуй, дул, дула), надутый "puffed up"; брить "to shave," брею, бреет, побритый; петь "to sing," пою, поёт (imv пой), петый "(one that has been) sung."
Some irregular verbs have the inf stem ending in a consonant. This consonant combines in various ways with the inf ending [-tj], which here sometimes has a stressed form [-tji]. In the p forms, final [d, t] drop before the [-l]; after other consonants the [-l] drops in the M form. After [r] the inf ends in [-etj]. The ppp, when not formed with [-t], is made with [-jonn], before which [g, k] are replaced by [ž, č]. The following are typical instances:
stem [vjod-] вести "to lead," веду, ведёт, p вёл, вела, вело, вели, поведённый
stem [strjig-] стричь "to shear," стригу, стрижёт, imv стриги, p стриг, стригла, стригло, -и, стриженный ​stem [žg-] жечь "to burn," жгу, жжёт [žjot], imv жги, p жёг, жгла, жгло, жгли, сожжённый stem [pjok-] печь "to bake," пеку, печёт, p пёк, пекла пекло, пекли, печённый stem [tjor-] тереть "to rub," тру, трёт, imv три, p тёр, тёрла, тёрло, тёрли, тёртый stem [njos-] нести "to carry," несу, несёт, imv неси, p нёс, несла, несло, несли, понесённый stem [vjoz] везти [vjistji] "to cart," везу, везёт, p вёз, везла, везло, везли, повезённый
The stem [id-] has p forms from a stem [šd-]: итти or идти [itjf] "to be going," иду, идёт, imv иди, p шёл, шла, шло, шли, pap шедший. After preverbs the stem is [yd-]: войти "to go in," войду, войдёт, imv войди, p вошёл, вошла, вошло, вошли, pap вошедший.
Some verbs in -нуть go by Class Three but drop [nu] in the p forms, гаснуть "to be extinguished," гасну, гаснет, p гас, гасла, гасло, гасли.
§29. SPECIAL IRREGULAR FORMS
Irregularities of more special kinds are mentioned in the dictionary. For instance, стоять "to stand," стою, стоит optionally draws back the stress in the prger стоя; ехать "to be riding," еду, едет, and all its compounds lack an imv form; this is supplied from -езжать (used in compounds only): поезжай "drive"; уехать "to depart," уеду, уедет, but imv уезжай. When the dictionary cites irregular forms between slanted lines, this means that the regular forms are also used.
§30. DURATIVE AND PUNCTUAL ASPECT
Russian verbs are divided into durative (dur, or imperfective) and punctual (pct, or perfective); each verb has one or the other of these two aspects.
Dur verbs are more general in their meaning, which is two-fold: actual and iterative (iter).
The actual durative means an action which covers a stretch of time during which other things may happen: я писал письмо. "I was writing a letter" (as, "when someone knocked at the door"). It means also actions which cover an appreciable stretcb of time: он жил в Москве "he lived in Moscow," как вы спали? "how did you sleep?"
The iterative durative means a repeated, habitual, or general action or a complex action (moving in more than one direction, back and forth, or the like): я часто писал "I often wrote," вы ему писали? "have you ever written to him?" он пишет хорошо "he writes well."
Most dur verbs are used in both actual and iterative meanings, but some verbs of motion have by their side a special iterative verb. Thus, итти "to be going" is used only in actual meaning: куда вы идёте? "where are you going?" я иду в театр "I'm going to the theater"; the iter is ходить, as я ходил по улицам "I walked along the streets" (in more than one direction); я часто хожу в театр "I often go to the theater." The dictionary, for a verb like итти, adds between slanted lines/ iter: ходить/; a verb like ходить is described as iter of итти.
The pr of durative verb is the only verb form that states an action in present time. A future action of a dur verb is expressed by a combination of a pct present, usually буду, будет, with the dur inf: я буду писать "I shall be writing; I shall write (repeatedly)." A few dur verbs also have future meaning in the pr form: сегодня вечером мы идё в театр "this evening we're going to the theater."
Punctual verbs are more specialized in meaning. They denote a simple action which comes to an end, without regard to any time covered or any repetition: я написал письмо "I wrote (or have written) a letter"; вы ему написал? "have you written to him (now)?" он пошёл в театр "he went to the theater." The pr forms of pct verbs mean a simple future action: я ему напишу "I'll write to him," я напишу письмо "I'll write a letter."
Nearly all simple verbs are dur: писать "to write," спать "to sleep." Compounds of a simple verb with a preverb are pct: подписать "to describe," выписать "to copy out."
Some few simple verbs are pct; for instance, дать "to give," бросить "to throw," and a number in -нуть meaning a single stroke of action: стукнуть "to give a knock." These, like all other pct verbs, are marked pct in the dictionary; any verb not marked as pct in the dictionary is dur.
In most, but not all instances, there are pairs of verbs, one dur and one pct, which differ only in aspect, and otherwise have quite the same meaning. Among the compounds of a simple dur verb there is often such a pct verb; most usually it is formed with the preverb по-, as терять "to lose" pct потерять. If a simple dur verb has no such pct verb by its side, or if this pct verb is made with по-, the dictionary makes no comment: спать "to sleep" (no corresponding pct), думать "to think" (a pct is made with по-). Under the pct verb reference is made to the dur: подумать (pct. of думать).
Many simple 'dur of verbs have an exactly corresponding pct compound with some preverb other than по-; for these pairs the dictionary makes cross-references: писать "to write" (pct: на-); делать "to do, to make" (pct: с-) and написать; pct of писать; сделать; pct of делать. Some simple dur verbs have a corresponding simple pct verb: давать "to give" (pct: дать); стучать "to knock" (pct: стукнуть). Here too the dictionary gives cross-references.
Most pct compounds of simple verbs differ in meaning, beyond the mere difference of aspect, from the simple dur verb; as подписать "to sign" differs from писать "to write." Almost always there is then a compound durative verb, witch consists of a longer stem (the compound durative stem) with the same preverb. Thus, the compounding durative stem of писать is -писывать, used in forming подписывать "to sign," dur of подписать. Thus on says я подпишу письмо "I'll sign the letter," but я подписываюю письма "I sign (or am signing) the letters." Similarly, compound duratives приписывать "to prescribe," выписывать "to copy out," and so on.
Most compounding duratives are regular verbs, made from the inf stem of the simple verb suffixes [-va, -ja, -a, -iva], разбить pct "to smash," dur разбивать; измерить pct "to measure out," dur измерять. There are only a few irregular compounding duratives, as итти, -ходить (same as the iterative): войти pct "to go in," dur входить. ​In some instances the pairing of dur and pct verbs is quite odd: dur говорить "to speak, to say," pct сказать; dur ловить "to catch," pct поймать; dur покупать "to buy," pct купить; dur брать "to take," pct взять; dur класть "to put," pct положить.
The preverb вы- is stressed in pct verbs, but not in compound duratives: вынуть "to take out" pct, but dur вынимать.
In addition to compound duratives, some other verbs that contain preverbs are durative: надеяться "to hope." Compounds with без and не are not pct: беспокоить "to disturb," pct обеспокоить; ненавидеть "to hate," compare the pct compound verb возненавидеть "to conceive a hatred of."
A few verbs are both dur and pct: жениться "to get married" (of a man), телеграфировать "to telegraph."
§31. PREPOSITIONS
Most prepositions have their object in the g case: около дома "near the house"; for these the dictionary gives no comment. The commonest are без, для, до, из, от, у, из-за, из-под.
Irregularly, some take their objects in other cases; the dictionary tells with which case they are used. With a: про, сквозь, через; with d: к, вопреки; with i: между, над; with l при. A few take different cases in different meanings: with a and i: за, перед, под; with a and l: в, на, о (об); with g, а, and i: с; with a, d, and l: по.
The meanings differ very much from the meanings of English prepositions; this appears plainly in the dictionary, and we give here only a few general comments.
The chief difference between the use of в, за, на, под with а and l (в, на) or i (за, под) appears in expressions of place. With an a object the expression answers the question куда "whereto": он вошёл в комнату "he went into the room," он сел на кровать "he sat down on the bed," он поехал за границу "he went abroad," он бросил книгу под стол "he threw the book under the table." With the other cases the expression answers the question где "where, in what place": он был в комнате "he was in the room," он сидел на кровати "he was sitting on the bed," он жил за границей "he was living abroad," книга лежала под столом "the book was lying under the table."
With most places, в with a means "into," в with l "in," and из (with g) "from (the inside of), out of": мы пошли в театр "we went to the theater," мы были в театре "we were in the theater," мы вернулись из театра "we came back from the theater." But certain nouns instead use на with a and l and с with g: мы пошли на вокзал "we went to the railway station," мы были на вокзале, мы вернулись с вокзала; similarly концерт "concert," рынок "market," собрание "meeting." With persons one uses к (with d), у (with g), от (with g): к Ильиным "to the Ilyins'," у Ильиных "at the Ilyins'," от Ильиных "from the Ilyins'."
In meanings like "so much apiece, so many each," по is used with numbers as follows. Один is d and the noun in concord: он дал им по одному рублю "he gave them one ruble each"; два, три, четыре are a with gs noun: по два рубля, по две копейки "two kopeks each," по четыре яблока, "four apples each." Двести, триста, четыреста are a with gp noun: по двести рублей. The remaining numbers are d with gp (occasionally dp) noun: по пяти рублей "five rubles each"; по сороке рублей, по ста рублей. But the hundreds from 500 on have the second part in gp form: по пятисот рублей. With a по полтора рубля "one and a half rubles each," по полтораста рублей "150 rubles each." The collective numbers also are a with gp noun, even for animates: по двое ножниц "two pairs of scissors each," по трое санёй "three sleighs in each place or group."
Before vowels, о is replaced by об: о чём? "about what?" об армии "about the army"; before [y] occasionally, especially before possessive их: об их деле "about their affair," beside о их деле (but, of course, always о них "about them," §18). Before other consonants об is used in some special expressions: об стену [op stj'nu] "against the wall." A still longer form обо is used in обо мне "about me," обо что, обо всё and occasionally before other forms of весь (§16).
The prepositions без, в, из, к, над, под, с have longer forms with -о added. These are used before the forms мне, мной (мною, §21) and forms of весь that begin with вс- (§16) and before р, л plus consonant: безо всех "without all," во рту "in the mouth," ко мне "to me," надо лбом "over the forehead." Some are used also before other clusters, either always or optionally. Thus, во is used before [v] and [f]: во-время "on time," во Франции "in France"; also in some others: во что "into what," во дворе "in the court," во сне "in one's sleep." Similarly ко двору "toward the yard," ко сну "toward sleep." Before [s, z] со is always used in some combinations: со стола "from the table," со and "out of one's sleep," со звездой "with a star (medal)," and optionally in others: со слезами "with tears"; before [šč] always: со счастьем "with good fortune."
От less commonly has ото: от всех, ото всех "from all."
Of the longer prepositions, перед takes о in передо мной "before me" and occasionally before forms of весь: перед всем, передо всем.
The prepositions до, за, из, на, по, под take the stress before some nouns, which then lose their stress: до земли "toward the ground," за город "outside of town" (whereto), за городом "outside of town" (where), из лесу "out from woods," на пол "onto the floor," по двору "along the yard; across the yard," под гору "downhill." Similarly, one-syllable numbers after за, на, по: за три рубли "for three rubles."
Other one-syllable prepositions take the stress in fewer instances: без толку "without sense," об пол "against the floor," от роду "from birth."