Thread: How is ручка spelled in the accusative case?

Why does Rosetta Stone show ручка as it is in the following image?



http://screencast.com/t/3gFZ69lF

Shouldn't ручка be in the accusative case? (ручку or ручки... I'm not sure which is right)

In the accusative case ручка becomes ручку.

The «have» idea in Russian is not expressed with a verb that takes a direct object. Instead you rephrase it like «At the boy there is a pen.» Pen needs to be in the nominative. No accusative is required.

No, it should be in Nominative, as it is. "Ручка" is a Subject here.

У мальчика (есть) ручка = A boy has a pen. (literally something like "A pen [belongs] to a boy").

Seriously, start using that wonderful textbook you have. Just start reading from the page one. Or use any other interactive course that gives you the basics of grammar.
Rosetta Stone will not bring you far. I tried to use it, and it's horrible and not useful (in my opinion).

PS. Oops, I was late. ))

Thanks Well, that explains for me why ручка is in the nominative form here. I love this message board!

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

No, it should be in Nominative, as it is. "Ручка" is a Subject here.

У мальчика (есть) ручка = A boy has a pen. (literally something like "A pen [belongs] to a boy").

Seriously, start using that wonderful textbook you have. Just start reading from the page one. Or use any other interactive course that gives you the basics of grammar.
Rosetta Stone will not bring you far. I tried to use it, and it's horrible and not useful (in my opinion).

PS. Oops, I was late. ))

I am using several text books, but sometimes I can't find the answer I'm looking for quickly. That's what this forum is for. (And it has proven great for that!)

I agree that Rosetta Stone leaves you in the dark as to why things are spelled the way they are, but I find that it's repetition and clear pronunciation help me retain words and phrases. It is very useful for those times when my mind is too tired to think, but I still feel like learning some Russian. You can also slow down the speakers' pronunciation of words and phrases in Rosetta Stone which greatly helps a beginner like myself. I'm using all these tools together to help me learn in my own way.

Thanks for your explanation. I was wondering why есть was not included in the phrase. I guess from your explanation it seems that есть is optional?

Oh, I wasn't trying to force you into something you don't like. It was just a bit of friendly advice (also I thought that you avoid using textbooks).

Originally Posted by SoftPretzel

I guess from your explanation it seems that есть is optional?

Exactly! In the Present tense it's often omitted, especially in the simple sentences like that one.
But in Future or Past tense you still need a verb: У мальчика будет ручка (A boy will have a pen), У мальчика была ручка (A boy had a pen). You can't omit those.

Russian can be very laconic sometimes. You may omit verbs in the sentences, if it's clear what you're talking about.
For example:
Я играю на пианино. А ты? (I play piano. And what about you?
А я на гитаре. (I [play] guitar)

But it's not always acceptable, you'll need some practice, until you'll learn to recognise such situations.

Thank you for your further elaboration That is very useful information.

You are welcome!
But I've just found a fault in my explanation.

You absolutely can't omit "был(а)" and "будет" in stand-alone sentences (like your example), or it would be assumed that you are talking about present.
But you can omit them (as any other verb) in the situation which was described above (when it's obvious which verb should be there from the context or previous dialogue):

- Когда я был маленьким, у меня была собака. (I had a dog when I was a kid)
- А у меня только рыбки. (And I only [had] fishes).

Originally Posted by SoftPretzel

I guess from your explanation it seems that есть is optional?

It's optional in the sense that sometimes you see it and sometimes you don't, but there are times when you must say it and times when you must not say it. Learning the contexts when it is and isn't required is complex. Sadly, it's rather beyond a simple forum entry.

One can omit "ручка":
- Мальчику нужна ручка? (Does the boy need a pen?)
- У него есть. ( He has [a pen] )

Getting started using grammar references is quite difficult. It can be like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles. All I can say is that it gets (slowly) better as you keep at it. The best thing is to just keep at it working from as many different angles as you can. Use a textbook. Try to read sentences you find (there are plenty to practice with here in the forum). Get and use a dictionary. Katzner is everyone's favorite, but Langenscheidt publishes a very good pocket dictionary which should meet most of your needs (provided you stick to the Russian-English side of it--the other side isn't quite so good). Learning to use the dictionary is also difficult at first.

For simpler grammar questions often the best resources are other language learners who are a little farther along. Sometimes the basics are easier to explain if you AREN'T a native speaker. I know I wouldn't want to try to explain articles to a beginning English student.

Keep at it and good luck.

У мальчика три ручки
Левая, правая и шариковая (или гелевая?).

I know what you mean about the rosetta stone where it doesn't always explain why some grammar is one way and others are different. The program is good for learning words and pronunciation. One needs to use more than just rosetta stone like you are doing now you are on the right track. I have the program, two books, children's picture books, and a few native speakers to aid my learning. It works well. You should check out the tutor section on here if you haven't already.

I'd like just to add that if you say "The boy doesn't have a pen", you'll have to use the genitive case. So, it'll sound "У мальчика нет ручкИ"