NOUNS – Page 2

Beyond the “Basic Word List”

 

 

Books, etc. (additional vocabulary)

	feather,	перо (see irr. pl. tables)
	quill pen

 

Clothes (additional vocabulary)

	clothing	одежда
	size	размер
	color	цвет (pl. -а)
	umbrella	зонт
	belt	ремень
	boot	сапог (pl. -и)
	suit	костюм
	underpants	трусы (pl.)
	hat	шляпа
	handkerchief	носовой платок
	men’s shoes	ботинки (pl.)
	sneakers	кроссовки (pl.)
	overcoat	пальто (indeclinable)
	glove	перчатка

 

People (additional vocabulary)

customer

покупатель

 

General (additional vocabulary)

	time	время (n., see irregular nouns)
	first name	имя (n., see irregular nouns)
	patronymic	отчество
	family name	фамилия

 

Irregular Nouns

Irregular neuter nouns in –мя

 

время (time), имя (first name)

	stems	N.	A.	G.	D.	I.	P.
singular	врем-, им-	-я	-я	-ени	-ени	-енем	-ени
plural	врем-, им-	-ени	-ена	-ён	-енам	-енами	-енах

 

There are 10 such neuter nouns in –мя, such as знамя (banner). The other 7 are less common :

 

Irregular Plural Tables

Irregular Plurals – soft-sign used throughout

to pluralize	use stem	N.	A.	G.	D.	I.	P.
перо	пер-	-ья	-ья	-ьев	-ьям	-ьями	-ьях

 

Pluralization of Nouns – Rules for the Nominative Case

Generally, the plurals of masculine and feminine nouns will need to end in –ы or –и,

and of neuter nouns, –а or -я.

 

Here are the details.

1. Masculine nouns.
1. If the final letter is a consonant (except as below), add –ы
2. If the final letter is –г, -к, -х,–ж, -ч, -ш or -щ , add –и
3. If the final letter is a soft sign or -й, replace it with –и
4. Some masculine nouns pluralize with stressed –а . They must be learned individually:
   адреса, берега, бока, века, вечера, глаза, года (годы), голоса, города, доктора, дома, колокола, края, купола, кучера, лагеря (-ей), леса, луга, мастера, меха, номера, образа, ордена, острова, отпуска, паруса, паспорта, повара, погреба, поезда, пояса, провода, рога, снега, сорта, тома, тона, тормоза, цвета, якоря
2. Feminine nouns.
1. If the final letter is –а

                                                               i.      not following –г, -к, -х,–ж, -ч, -ш or -щ, replace it with –ы

                                                             ii.      following –г, -к, -х,–ж, -ч, -ш or -щ, replace it with –и

2. If the final letter is a soft sign or -я, replace it with –и
2. Neuter nouns
1. If the final letter is –о, replace it with –а. Usually the stress will undergo a reversal.
2. If the final letter is –е or -ё, replace it with –я

 

Reviewing the spelling rule

Although the Russian spelling rules always apply to all native Russian words, there are certain times when you will notice that they affect your activity:

 

1. When you are conjugating verbs, the 8-letter rule for -ю and –я may be needed.
   Following г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, щ, ц : -ю is replaced by -у, and -я is replaced by -а.

 

2. When you are pluralizing masculine and feminine nouns, the 7-letter rule for –ы may be needed.
   Following г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, щ : -ы is replaced by –и.

 

3. When you are declining adjectives, the 5-letter rule for unstressed –о may be needed.
   Following ж, ч, ш, щ, ц : unstressed -о is replaced by -е.

 

Stated in the way that it is above, the three parts may be easier to remember. Thus:

• the 8-letter rule for -ю and –я
• the 7-letter rule for –ы
• the 5-letter rule for unstressed –о
  
  

By way of comparison, if you would like to see the rule as originally stated, go to Spelling Rule.

 

YouTube animated cartoons

-- (Many thanks to Tatyana, who e-mailed these links.)

 

The Tale of Tsar Saltan-Сказка о царе Салтане(with English subtitles) 1/6:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow4i9fMBfZM&feature=related

The Tale of Tsar Saltan-Сказка о царе Салтане(with English subtitles) 2/6:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMk0z3H0Mws&feature=related

The Tale of Tsar Saltan-Сказка о царе Салтане(with English subtitles) 3/6:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvQJf-1s9oc&feature=related

The Tale of Tsar Saltan-Сказка о царе Салтане(with English subtitles) 4/6:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB0hC1hFJrU&feature=related

The Tale of Tsar Saltan-Сказка о царе Салтане(with English subtitles) 5/6:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBXagf-Wb6c&feature=related

The Tale of Tsar Saltan-Сказка о царе Салтане(with English subtitles) 6/6:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsppqu6jPWU&feature=related

How to deal with years

The word for year is declined as follows. A few forms have alternates, which are sometimes used, but note in particular that the substituted root ”лет” must be used whenever the genitive plural case is required.

	N.	A.	G.	D.	I.	P.
sing.	год	год	года	году	годом	годе
						году
plural	годы	годы	лет	годам	годами	годах
	года

 

one year	год
two years	два года
three years	три года
four years	четыре года
five years	пять лет
six years	шесть лет
seven years	семь лет
eight years	восемь лет
nine years	девять лет
ten years	десять лет

 

Ей четыре года. She is four years old.

Ему пять лет. He is five years old.

Мне семнадцать лет. I am seventeen.

Сколько вам лет? How old are you?

Несколько лет. Several years.

Много лет. Many years.

 

Prepositional forms in –у

Some masculine nouns take stressed -у (-ю) in the prepositional case, singular. If you want to start with a few of these, here are six, which have been arranged in a short list for easy remembering:

 

garden and forest,

bridge and shore,

edge and floor

 

1. Дядя любит сидеть в саду.
2. Я люблю гулять в лесу.
3. Где Анастасия? -- Она гуляет на мосту.
4. Городок находится на берегу моря.
   Где дом? -- Наш дом на берегу реки.
5. Она стояла на краю пропасти.
6. Где рыбёнок? -- Он играет на полу.

 

пропасть - (f.) abyss, chasm

край - edge

 

1. Uncle likes to sit in the garden.
2. I like to walk in the forest.
3. Where is Anastasia? -- She is strolling on the bridge.
4. The small town is located on the seashore.
   Where is the house? -- Our house is on the riverbank.
5. She is standing on the edge of an abyss.
6. Where is the child? -- He is playing on the floor.

 

Here is a longer list:

аду, балу, берегу, бою, боку, борту, бреду, (веку), виду, глазу, году, долгу, Дону, дыму, краю, кругу, Крыму, льду, лесу, лбу, лугу, (меху), мосту, носу, отпуску, пиру, плену, плоту, полу, полку, порту, посту, пруду, раю, рву, рту, ряду, саду, снегу, строю, суку, тазу, тылу, углу, шкафу

 

For meanings, see the web-page Rebel Masculine Nouns.

5/21/2012