Russian Grammar

Welcome to the 8th lesson about Russian grammar. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including: personal, object and possessive pronouns. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

We will start with prepositions. In general, they are used to link words to other words. For example: I speak Russian and English the preposition is [and] because it connects both words Russian and English. The following is a list of the most used prepositions in Russian.

Prepositions - Russian - Pronunciation
and и [i]
above выше [vishye]
under под [pod]
before до [do]
after после [poslye]
in front of перед [pyeryed]
behind за [za]
far from далеко от [dalyeko ot]
near около [okolo]
in в [v]
inside внутри [vnootri]
outside за пределами [za pryedyelami]
with с [s]
without без [byez]
about о [o]
between между [myeʐdoo]
but но [no]
for для [dlya]
from от [ot]
to к [k]

Preposition Grammar Rules

The following examples use prepositions in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Prepositions + Rules - Russian + Pronunciation
I eat without a knife [preposition + noun] я ем без ножа [ya yem byez noʐa]
she lives near the church [verb + preposition] она живет рядом с церковью [ona ʐivyet ryadom s tzyerkovʲyo]
he is taller than her [adjective + preposition] он выше чем она [on vishye chyem ona]
he came with his small dog [preposition + pronoun] он пришел со своей маленькой собачкой [on prishyel so svoyey malyenʲkoy sobachkoy]
can you come with me? [preposition + pronoun] вы можете пойти со мной? [vi moʐyetye poyti so mnoy?]

Negation in Russian

Now let's learn how to make a negative sentence (negation). For example: Saying no, I can't, I don't ... The following examples use negation in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Negation + Rules - Russian + Pronunciation
I understand you [affirmative form] я вас понимаю [ya vas ponimayo]
I don't understand you [negation + verb] я вас не понимаю [ya vas nye ponimayo]
this is not the correct word [negation + adjective] это неправильное слово [eto nyepravilʲnoye slovo]
don't leave me [imperative negation] не оставляй меня [nye ostavlyay myenya]
no problem [negation + noun] нет проблем [nyet problyem]

Negative Sentences - Russian + Pronunciation
I don't speak French [negation + present tense] я не говорю по-французски [ya nye govoryo po-frantzoozski]
she didn't visit Germany [negation + past tense] она не посещала германию [ona nye posyeshtala gyermaniyo]
he cannot see us [negative modal verb] он не может видеть нас [on nye moʐyet vidyetʲ nas]
can't she play chess? [interrogative negation] она не может играть в шахматы? [ona nye moʐyet igratʲ v shakhmati?]
we will not come late [negation + future tense] мы придем непоздно [mi pridyet nyepozdno]

Questions in Russian

Now let's learn how to ask questions (interrogative). Such as: what, why, can you ...? Here are some common examples:

English - Russian - Pronunciation
how? каким образом? [kakim obrazom?]
what? что? [chto?]
who? кто? [kto?]
why? почему? [pochyemoo?]
where? где? [gdye?]

More of the interrogative form, now in a sentence:

Questions + Rules - Russian + Pronunciation
where do you live? [interrogative + verb] где ты живешь? [gdye ti ʐivyeshʲ?]
does she speak Chinese? [interrogative verb] она говорит по-китайски? [ona govorit po-kitayski?]
how much is this? [interrogative preposition] сколько это стоит? [skolʲko eto stoit?]
can I help you? [interrogative modal verb] я могу вам помочь? [ya mogoo vam pomochʲ?]
what is your name? [interrogative preposition] как тебя зовут? [kak tyebya zovoot?]

Adverbs in Russian

It's time to learn the adverbs in Russian. But what is an adverb? In general, adverbs modify verbs and adjectives. For example: You speak fast. The adverb is [fast] because it describes the verb and answers the question how do you speak?. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Adverbs - Russian - Pronunciation
now в настоящее время [v nastoyashtyeye vryemya]
yesterday вчера [vchyera]
today сегодня [syegodnya]
tonight сегодня вечером [syegodnya vyechyerom]
tomorrow завтра [zavtra]
soon скоро [skoro]
quickly быстро [bistro]
slowly медленно [myedlyenno]
together вместе [vmyestye]
very очень [ochyenʲ]
almost почти [pochti]
always всегда [vsyegda]
usually обычно [obichno]
sometimes иногда [inogda]
rarely редко [ryedko]
never никогда [nikogda]

The following examples use the adverbs in different ways and places to demonstrate how it behaves in a sentence.

Adverbs + Rules - Russian + Pronunciation
do you understand me now? [pronoun + adverb] вы понимаете меня сейчас? [vi ponimayetye myenya syeychas?]
I need help immediately [noun + adverb] мне нужна помощь немедленно [mnye nooʐna pomoshtʲ nyemyedlyenno]
she is very intelligent [adverb + adjective] она очень умная [ona ochyenʲ oomnaya]
I will always love you [verb + adverb] я всегда буду любить тебя [ya vsyegda boodoo lyobitʲ tyebya]
can we learn German together? [adverb in a question] можем мы учить неиецкий язык вместе? [moʐyem mi oochitʲ nyeiyetzkiy yazik vmyestye?]

Pronouns in Russian

We're almost done! This time we will learn the pronouns in Russian. In general, a pronoun can be used instead of a noun. For example instead of saying my teacher speaks 3 languages, you can use the pronoun he, and say he speaks 3 languages. Here is a list of the most common ones:

Personal Pronouns - Russian - Pronunciation
I я [ya]
you вы [vi]
he он [on]
she она [ona]
we мы [mi]
they они [oni]

Object Pronouns - Russian - Pronunciation
me мне [mnye]
you вы [vi]
him ему его [yemoo yego]
her ей ее [yey yeye ]
us нам [nam ]
them им [im]

Possessive Pronouns - Russian - Pronunciation
my мой [moy]
your ваш [vash]
his его [yego]
her ее [yeye]
our наш [nash]
their их [ikh]

I think it's better to put the above example in a sentence to better assist you. The following examples use pronouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence. We will start with the personal pronouns.

Personal Pronouns - Russian + Pronunciation
I am your friend [1st pronoun + verb] я твой друг [ya tvoy droog]
you speak very fast [2nd pronoun + adverb] вы говорите очень быстро [vi govoritye ochyenʲ bistro]
he has three dogs [3rd pronoun + verb] у него есть три собаки [oo nyego yestʲ tri sobaki]
she can speak German [3rd pronoun + verb] она говорит по-немецки [ona govorit po nyemyetzki]
we will not come late [1st plural pronoun] мы придет не поздно [mi pridyet nye pozdno]
they bought milk and bread [3rd plural pronoun] они купили молока и хлеба [oni koopili moloka i khlyeba]

The object pronoun is used as a target by a verb, and usually come after that verb. For example: I gave him my book. The object pronoun here is him. Here are more examples:

Object Pronouns - Russian + Pronunciation
can you tell me your name? [1st object pronoun] вы можете сказать мне свое имя? [vi moʐyetye skazatʲ mnye svoye imya?]
I will give you money [2nd object pronoun] я дам вам денег [ya dam vam dyenyeg]
she wrote him a letter [3rd object pronoun] она написала ему письмо [ona napisala yemoo pisʲmo]
they visited her yesterday [3rd object pronoun] они посетили ее вчера [oni posyetili yeye vchyera]
can she help us? [1st pl. object pronoun] она может нам помочь? [ona moʐyet nam pomochʲ?]
he gave them food [3rd pl. object pronoun] он дал им еды [on dal im yedi]

Possessive Pronouns - Russian + Pronunciation
my name is Maya [1st possessive pronoun] меня зовут Майя [myenya zovoot mayya]
your brother lives here [2nd possessive pronoun] ваш брат живет здесь [vash brat ʐivyet zdyesʲ]
her mother cooks for us [3rd possessive pronoun] ее мать готовит для нас [yeye matʲ gotovit dlya nas]
his hobby is reading books [3rd possessive pronoun] он увлекается чтением книг [on oovlyekayetsya chtyeniyem knig]
our dream is to visit Paris [1st pl. possessive pronoun] наша мечта побывать в Париже [nasha myechta pobivatʲ v pariʐye]
their house is not far [3rd pl. possessive pronoun] их дом находится недалеко [ikh dom nakhoditsya nyedalyeko]

One more thing you need to know is the demonstrative pronouns. They're very easy to learn.

Demonstrative Pronouns - Russian - Pronunciation
this is my house это мой дом [eto moy dom]
that restaurant is far это ресторан далеко [eto ryestoran dalyeko]
these apples are delicious эти яблоки очень вкусные [eti yabloki ochyenʲ vkoosniye]
those stars are shiny эти звезды блестящие [eti zvyezdi blyestyashtiye]

I hope you learned a lot about the Russian grammar in this lesson. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. The next lesson is below, have fun!