In Russian, personal pronouns change based on their role in a sentence and the gender of the nouns they refer to. Let's break it down simply:
Personal Pronouns:
-
Nominative Case (subject):
- я (I)
- ты (you, informal)
- он (he)
- она (she)
- оно (it)
- мы (we)
- вы (you, formal or plural)
- они (they)
-
Accusative Case (direct object):
- меня (me)
- тебя (you, informal)
- его (him)
- её (her)
- его (it)
- нас (us)
- вас (you, formal or plural)
- их (them)
-
Genitive Case (possession):
- меня (of me)
- тебя (of you)
- его (of him)
- её (of her)
- его (of it)
- нас (of us)
- вас (of you)
- их (of them)
-
Dative Case (indirect object):
- мне (to me)
- тебе (to you)
- ему (to him)
- ей (to her)
- ему (to it)
- нам (to us)
- вам (to you)
- им (to them)
-
Instrumental Case (means by which):
- мной (with me)
- тобой (with you)
- им (with him)
- ею (with her)
- им (with it)
- нами (with us)
- вами (with you)
- ими (with them)
-
Prepositional Case (location):
- обо мне (about me)
- о тебе (about you)
- о нём (about him)
- о ней (about her)
- о нём (about it)
- о нас (about us)
- о вас (about you)
- о них (about them)
Basic Sentence Structure:
- In Russian, the usual sentence order is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO).
- For example: Я читаю книгу. (I read a book.)
Verb Conjugation in Present Tense:
Here’s how to say "read":
- я читаю (I read)
- ты читаешь (you read)
- он/она/оно читает (he/she/it reads)
- мы читаем (we read)
- вы читаете (you read)
- они читают (they read)
Adjectives:
- Adjectives need to match the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case.
- For example: хороший мужчина (good man), хорошая женщина (good woman).
Asking Questions:
- For questions that start with "What": Что ты читаешь? (What are you reading?)
- For Yes/No questions: Ты читаешь? (Are you reading?)
Making Negatives:
- To make something negative, add не before the verb: Я не читаю книгу. (I am not reading a book.)
Simple Conditional Sentences:
- A simple conditional sentence looks like this: Если я буду работать, я буду учиться. (If I work, I will study.)