Archives for: "April 2011"
Мoжно
Можно is a great Russian word that means “it is allowed”. In that sense it is always complemented by an imperfective verb: В ресторанах в Аризоне можно есть и пить, но нельзя курить. In Arizona one can eat or drink in restaurants, but one is not allowed… more »
Консервный нож
Last summer I lived in Russia in my own apartment for the first time, so I learned all sorts of new skills... how to pay for the phone, how to pay for the internet, how to add money to my World of Warcraft account... Anyhoo, not too surprisingly, I also… more »
Консервы
The word консервы means “canned food”. It is a word that only occurs in the plural in Russian, never the singular. Such nouns we call “pluralia tantum”. It declines like this: Pl Nom консервы Acc Gen консервов Pre консервах Dat консервам Ins консервами… more »
Холодно (часть вторая)
Yesterday we talked about the incredibly simple impersonal sentences in Russian. Of course that wasn't the whole story. If it were, Russian would be much too simple and not worth studying at all. What if we want to say that a person feels cold? Then we… more »
Холодно (часть первая)
The word холодный is an adjective; adjectives are used to directly modify nouns: Я люблю холодный борщ. I love cold borscht. Вампир ласкал Беллу холодной рукой. The vampire carressed Bella with a cold hand. Many qualitive adjectives in Russian can be… more »