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Thread: Endings on Adjectives

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    Endings on Adjectives

    I've noticed that in Russian adjectives, there are sometimes differences in vowels. I asked a native Russian speaker about this, and he said that there might be a rule, but he couldn't remember it offhand. Some examples:
    • русский, русская, русское - Russian[/*:m:3gy2vz33]
    • последний, последняя, последнее - last[/*:m:3gy2vz33]
    • зубной, зубная, зубное - tooth(related)[/*:m:3gy2vz33]


    I do understand the differences between ый and ий endings, in that the former cannot follow к, г, or х. But why would a word like последний use -ий?
    So, is there a general rule that I should learn when dealing with these adjectives?

    ---

    Мне кажется что в русских прилагательных, есть разницы в гласних звуках. Я спросил природный русский об этом, и он сказал что может быть принцип, а он не смог помнить немедленно. Например:

    • русский, русская, русское - Russian[/*:m:3gy2vz33]
    • последний, последняя, последнее - last[/*:m:3gy2vz33]
    • зубной, зубная, зубное - tooth(related)[/*:m:3gy2vz33]


    Я понимаю разницы между использование форм "ый" и "ий" (не можно "ый" следовать "к", "г", "х"). А почему "последний" имеет "ий"?
    Надо мне узнать принцип чтобы я могу знать какие гласные использовать?
    I am a native English speaker currently learning Russian -- all corrections are appreciated!

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    I believe it is due to the soft 'н'... when it's soft you have 'ий'... I think
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    Quote Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie
    I believe it is due to the soft 'н'... when it's soft you have 'ий'... I think
    I also thought that at first. The "-яя" ending would make sense because of the palatization, but wouldn't the "-ое" ending change to "-ёе" instead of just plain "ее"?

    Я думал это так, потому что палатализация бы создал "-яя" форму. А долждно форме "-ое" измениться в "-ёе", не только "ее"?
    I am a native English speaker currently learning Russian -- all corrections are appreciated!

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    Я понимаю разницу между использованием форм "ый" и "ий" (не можно "ый" следовать "к", "г", "х"). А почему "последний" имеет "ий"?
    Надо мне узнать принцип, чтобы я мог знать какие гласные использовать?

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    Re: Endings on Adjectives

    Quote Originally Posted by Phobia
    But why would a word like последний use -ий?

    Я понимаю разницы между использование форм "ый" и "ий" (не можно "ый" следовать "к", "г", "х"). А почему "последний" имеет "ий"?
    Надо мне узнать принцип чтобы я могу знать какие гласные использовать?
    It's just the way it is. There are adjectives in Russian, that end with "ий":
    последний
    зимний
    лисий
    медвежий

    plural:
    последние
    зимние
    лисьи
    медвежьи


    и. Последний, медвежий
    р. Последнего, медвежьего
    д. Последнему, медвежьему
    в. Последний, медвежий
    т. Последним, медвежьим
    п. О последнем, медвежьем
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    Quote Originally Posted by Phobia
    Я думал это так, потому что палатализация бы создал "-яя" форму. А долждно форме "-ое" измениться в "-ёе", не только "ее"?

    In Russian, it is not uncommon for "ё" or "o" to become "e" and vice versa, depending on whether or not the syllable is stressed."Ё" in Russian can only exist in stressed positions. And the ending "-ee" is stressless.
    You should also realize that the present-day spelling does not necessarily reflect the history of the language development. Besides, the rules for spelling reduced sounds in stressless endings are somewhat random and have changed over time. For example, the ending "-ого" used to be spelled as "-аго" in the past.

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    Hmm, the New Penguin book briefly states that a large number of soft adjectives have some kind of "time" meaning, i.e., последний, зимний.

    Would this be a general guideline of some sort?

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    I also thought that at first. The "-яя" ending would make sense because of the palatization, but wouldn't the "-ое" ending change to "-ёе" instead of just plain "ее"?
    Ё and Е are not really seperate letters. Remember Ё is always stressed. If the stress moves away from Ё, it becomes E.

    Look at the stresses below:

    последний
    последняя

    For the ending to be ёe, the stress would have to jump to the end of the sylable. Since the stress is fixed on the stem, you can't have a ё at the end.

    Generally the soft counterpart of O is E.
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