Understanding Adjectives in Russian

In Russian, adjectives are words that describe nouns.

These adjectives have to match the nouns in three ways: gender (boy or girl), number (one or more), and case (which shows how the noun is used in a sentence).

For example, the words "красивый" (beautiful) and "умный" (smart) are used with masculine nouns. If we want to use these words with the feminine noun "девушка" (girl), we need to change the endings of the adjectives.

Changing Adjectives for Feminine Nouns

When we describe "девушка," which is feminine and singular, we change the adjectives:

• красивый changes to красивая
• умный changes to умная

Here are some example sentences:

• Эта красивая девушка. (This is a beautiful girl.)
• Она умная девушка. (She is a smart girl.)

Gender and Cases of Nouns

In Russian, nouns can be masculine, feminine, or neuter. Since "девушка" is feminine, the adjectives must be in the feminine form as well.

Adjectives also change depending on their case:

• Nominative Case (this is the subject of the sentence):

  • Example: Девушка красивая. (The girl is beautiful.)

• Accusative Case (this shows what you are talking about):

  • Example: Я вижу девушку красивую. (I see a beautiful girl.)

Making Plurals

To change adjectives to plural (for more than one), you do this:

• красивый becomes красивые
• умный becomes умные

Here’s how they look in plural:

• Эти красивые девушки. (These are beautiful girls.)
• Они умные девушки. (They are smart girls.)

Key Grammar Points to Remember

• Know Noun Gender and Cases: Check if the noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter.
• Match Adjectives with Nouns: Make sure adjectives match the noun in gender, number, and case.
• Use Present Tense Carefully: Regular verbs need to match the subject, like "Она любит" (She loves).
• Remember No Articles: Russian doesn’t use "the" or "a," so knowing the context is very important.

By practicing these rules and understanding how adjectives change with nouns, you will improve your skills in the Russian language!