Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: a and y at the end of a word

  1. #1
    Новичок
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    California, USA
    Posts
    2
    Rep Power
    0

    a and y at the end of a word

    Learning Russian through Rosetta Stone and it's kind of difficult because it doesn't tell you what the word you are trying to learn means. I'm currently on lesson 2 and I'm supposed to fill in the blanks. So my question is. What is the difference between a word that ends with "a" and a word that ends in "y"?

  2. #2
    Подающий надежды оратор Nichole.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Филадельфия, США
    Posts
    27
    Rep Power
    10
    Most likely, it's in a different case.

    For example, "книга" and "книгу" both mean "book", but "книга" is in the nominative case (subject) and "книгу" is in the accusative case (direct object).

    Also, if a word ends in "а" in it's nominative form, it is a feminine word. And if it ends in "й" in it's nominative form, it is masculine.
    *****
    First Fluent Language: American English
    Written Fluency Only: Español, Français
    Currently Studying: Русский язык
    Interested In: Íslenska, Język polski, Eesti keeles, português brasileiro, Norske språk
    Languages I Hate: British English, 汉语, Esperanto, Filipino, Afrikaans, Cymraeg

  3. #3
    Завсегдатай it-ogo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Ukraine
    Posts
    3,048
    Rep Power
    29
    In Russian, as well as in many other languages, noun (mostly ending of noun) is changed according to its role in the sentence. It is called case system. There are six most common cases in Russian.

    English also has remnants of case system, for example personal pronouns have 3 cases in English: I-me-my, he-him-his etc.

    Looks like you need to learn some theory to start.
    "Россия для русских" - это неправильно. Остальные-то чем лучше?

  4. #4
    Завсегдатай chaika's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Чапелхилловка, NC USA
    Posts
    1,986
    Rep Power
    19
    >Also, if a word ends in "а" in it's nominative form, it is a feminine word. And if it ends in "й" in it's nominative form, it is masculine.
    Not always! There are many exceptions. There are very few nouns that end in й.

    Мой дядя самых честных правил, когда не в шутку занемог
    Юрий Чайка арестовал моего дедушку.

    The basic rule for IE languages is:
    If noun ends in a consonant, masculine.
    If noun ends in a, feminine
    If noun ends in o or e, neuter.
    With many adjustments in each language!!

Similar Threads

  1. A word! My cottage for a word!
    By radomir in forum Translate This!
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: August 14th, 2009, 10:53 AM
  2. Word to Word translation
    By penguinhead in forum Getting Started with Russian
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: April 12th, 2009, 10:39 PM
  3. Help with one word
    By Nikolai The Tracker in forum Translate This!
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: January 11th, 2009, 06:18 AM
  4. How bad is the word ***?
    By Автобус in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 34
    Last Post: December 6th, 2007, 10:39 AM
  5. seven O in one word!
    By Leof in forum Fun Stuff
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: February 18th, 2006, 07:38 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  


Russian Lessons                           

Russian Tests and Quizzes            

Russian Vocabulary