Russian Word of the Day

"Не люблю звонит подруге домой."

In this case you have to use "звонить" - infinitive ...

...звонит - it means "he,she,it - calls" or "is calling" depends on situation

Don responds: Thanks! Typo corrected.

Hi!
For me as a native Russian speaker it is very interesting to read your blog.
I would like to add a comment here - when you use "Вы" for polite singular you need to capitalise it in writing. I am not sure of the origin of this rule - may be it is used to distinguish between plural and singular, may be to make it even more polite.
So it should be like "Я считаю Вас прекрасным педагогом"

Don responds: You are absolutely right, of course. I'm afraid I've let myself get sloppy on that issue. In this day of internet communication most educated native speakers of my acquaintance when they write e-mail or post online don't bother to capitalize вы. They are a bad influence on me... :)

So when you write a formal letter or are trying to make a good impression, definitely capitalize.

I am not so particular with writing an address: I used to write the address when lived in Russia starting from the name of the town, then street name, then #, and name of the recipient... (And I lived there for 47 years since my birth...)
But I do not like Russian version of the first sample dialog: we wouldn't make such a big deal of the address, it doesn't mean that somebody lied to you, and it doesn't make you feel miserable. And we do not say "I will throw myself under a train...
So, my Russian version of the same short dialogue would be as following:
Не подскажете, где улица Ахматовой двацать восемь?
— Нет такого адреса. НYмерация домов только до двадцать шестого дома.— Ой, не может быть! Почему же девушка в клубе не сказала мне об этом? Это очень грустно... Ничего тут не поделаешь. Я из-за этого не буду бросаться под поезд.
That way the dialogue will sound happier...))

Hello there! :) You can use also the dative in some constructions with "следовать".
Следовать моде.
Я последую вашему совету.
ecc.

Best regards

I escpecially love the yeti testicles!

Aaaagh!

"It declines like this." Once upon a time I lived in a country where this would never be said. At that time in that country I even learned Latin. This country is no more, but the expression would have been "It is declined like this." Or even, "It is declined thusly."

Yes, one can wax ad nauseam about the life of a language, but really, this rapid, thoughtless deterioration is why I would prefer to never speak English again.

Don responds: Ach, Oliphant, you make me smile!

I, too, have my linguistic pet peeves. Moi, I hate it when people use ‘disrespect’ as a verb or pronounce ‘realtor’ as ree-luh-ter. Or when people unnecessarily throw in French words.

Hi,thank you for your page. I have a question concerning this subject. Why is it that "есть" sometimes is ommited? For example, i find:

-у меня 99% точности. у меня учёт,как в аптеке.

-у неё в спальне висела картина.

-какое у него приятное лицо сентиментальное серце, как хорошо он знает искусство?

- поэтому он регулярно покупал у вас чёртвые булочки.

- я получил эту болезнъ от сына. у него это болезнь хроническая.

- ...что у вас очень податливая натура.

- я первый раз был на матче и не знал, какой характер у болельщиков.

I hope you can help me!

Don responds: Mirek, that's an excellent question. I'm afraid the answer is fairly complex. For a discussion of it, I would refer to the есть discussion in ‘Advanced Russian’ by Nakhimovsky and Leed, as well as Catherine Chvany's article on existential ‘be.’

Among my rules of thumb are the following.

Don't use есть when:

• referring to inalienable possession, i.e. body parts, character, etc. «У меня две руки». No есть is used here because two arms are presumably a permanent attribute.


• focus is on specifying the quantity of the object. «У тебя есть братья?» — «Да, у меня два брата».


• focus is on specifying the quality of the object. «Какая у тебя квартира?» — «У меня двухкомнатная квартира».


• discussing diseases or medical conditions. «У тебя грипп?» — «Нет, просто простудился.»


• discussing schedules. «У меня сегодня физики и химия.»


• the у phrase is simply the equivalent of a possessive, e.g. «у неё в спальне» = «в её спальне».


• the у phrase is the equivalent of “at so-and-so’ place.” For instance, one might have a phone conversation like this: «Где ты?» — «Я у Веры. Мы смотрим телевизор.» “Where are you?” “I’m at Vera's. We’re watching TV.”

Hope that helps! D.

Never did капуста mean dollars; only money in general.

Dollars were referred to as зелёные, баксы, and in cash smugglers spheres as "первый номер" – Number One, as the most widely spread and most important currency; also, German MArk was called Второй номер – Number Two.

Do not forget that спать also means "to have (more or less continuous) sexual relations with someone, like – - Петя спит с Катей
– Petya is dating Katya and they have sex sometimes.

- А кто ещё с ней спит?
- Не знаю, я свечку не держал.

- Who also does have sex with her?
– No idea, I do not have full report of her sexual life.

Knocking on wood works in Russia, too. (Постучи по деревяшке).
One could use one's head as a symbol of said wood, actually; it's both funny and effective, you know)))

варить -- to boil (ie. dumpling)
пирог -- North American pie
пирожок, пирожки -- small pie[s], turnover[s]

Kapusta didn't mean just money, it meant dollars 10-15 years ago. Dollars is green, kapusta is green. For many years just $, now when the "iron curtain" is open, any kind of money.

Do you know that people in Ukraine do not eat schi or care for it. It's a common knowledge that Russians cannot cook, Ukrainians can. To some degree it's true. Ukraine always had bigger assoertment of fruits and vegetables and used an international cuisine even in 15 century. Turkish, Romanian, Bolgarian, etc.

I can't believe I didn'y know about this blog for sooo long. it is an outstanding teaching and entertaining blog. I was laughing many times during reading some of the entries.I will assign my students to read it as a homework assignment. Cool! In class they have to tell me what the entry is about.

I can't believe I didn'y know about this blog for sooo long. it is an outstanding teaching and entertaining blog. I was laughing many times during reading some of the entries.I will assign my students to read it as a homework assignment. Cool! In class they have to tell me what the entry is about.

This post isn't categorized like the other posts about чтобы.

Don responds: Thanks! I've made the correction.

Вам скорее ответят:
- Да нет, я Таня.
или
- Да нет, я не Таня.

:)

как следует means "as it should (be)", "in the proper way".

When I was at field training, they would carefully inspect out feet for blisters every night. Troublesome, painful little things! This is very useful, thank you.

At least they are nice! LOL They kinda remind me of Faberge eggs a bit.