The Russian word она can be translated into English as she or it. It is translated as she when referring to a human being. It is translated as it when referring to an inanimate object. When referring to an animal, it can be translated either as she or it. The word is declined like this:

Here are some sample sentences:

Actually, sometimes она and its other case forms can be translated as ‘them.’ How can that be? Well, it turns out that many berries and vegetables in Russian are referred to by feminine singular collective nouns. When that is the case, it is best to translate them with they/them. For instance:

The Russian word for ‘that,’ as in “that car,” “that dog” or “that house” is тот. Grammatically it is a demonstrative adjective, thus it occurs in forms that vary for case, number, and gender, and of course it agrees with the noun it modifies. It declines like this:

Here are some sample sentences:

In English the difference between ‘this’ and ‘that’ is essentially distance. Theoretically the same thing is true in Russian, but somehow the distance factor is not quite the same in these languages. Truth to tell, I haven't come up with a proper explanation of the difference, but here are my current hypotheses:

English

• If something is close to me, I use ‘this.’
• If something is close to you, I use ‘that.’
• If something is far from both of us, I use ‘that.’

Russian

• If something is close to me, I use «этот».
• If something is close to you, I use «этот».
• If something is far from both you and me but I can use a gesture (either hands or a glance) to point it out and we can both clearly see it, I use «этот».
• If something is far from both you and me and it is partially blocked by intervening items, I use «тот».
• If something is far from both of us and not visible but we have spoken about it before, I use «тот».

In other words, there are quite a few contexts where even этот is best translated as ‘that’ in English. For instance, let's say your Russian friend sees you reading a book and wants to know the name of the book, the question will most likely come out like this:

If you and a Russian friend are standing on the sidewalk looking at a building across the street. If your friend points to the building and inquires who lives there, then it's most likely to come out like this:

If you and your Russian friend are talking about a building in the distance that is partially blocked by other buildings, you will most likely use «тот»:

And if you can't see the building but you've discussed it before, «тот» is best:

In short, one cannot mechanically say that этот always corresponds to ‘this,’ and тот always corresponds to ‘that.’ You will need practical experience wth Russian life to start getting a feel for the contexts where each is used.

BTW, I'm actively on the lookout for better explanations of the this/that этот/тот distinction. Please feel free to express disagreements, corrections, or other insights in the comments. We are all here to do a better job at cross-cultural communication, so your input will be appreciated.

Today we will talk about the word замужем, which means ‘married.’ The word is used to refer to women being married. If you look it up in most dictionaries, you will see it is noted as an adverb. I hate that association. What it really is is an indeclinable feminine predicative adjective that is non-specified for number. So why don't dictionaries just label it that way? Because the abbreviation ifpatinfn is ugly. Even lexicographers are slaves to fashion, pointedly ignoring the instructions of grammatical luminaries like myself. It maddens me.

Let's say you have just run into your old friend Angelina, who for some recent work-related reason has learned to speak Russian. You could have this conversation with her.

If you are talking about more than one woman, замужем does not change form:

If the woman you are talking to is one whom you address in вы form, then замужем does not change form:

Of course, once you know the person is married, you will want to know to whom she is married, for which purpose you will could use the preposition за followed by the instrumental case:

With that in mind, theoretically one could have the following conversation:

Although that conversation is perfectly grammatical, it is also a bit odd. Instead of using the за кем construction, most Russians will make it simpler:

The Russian word for number is номер. It is used in much the same way as the American version.

Another meaning for it is trick. In my experience this was more a reference to bad behavior.

Этот номер не пройдёт.
This trick won't work.

However, the translation of номер that applies most to my life as a stewardess is hotel room. Four days out of a week I live in various hotels around the country. You would never use "комната" to refer to a room in the hotel.

Иногда номер в отеле большой.
Sometimes the hotel room is large.

Ключ к моему номеру не подходит.
The key to my hotel room doesn't fit.

Я собираюсь остаться в своем номере.
I am planning to stay in my room.

В нашем отеле в Нью-Йорке очень тесные номера.
Our hotel in New York has very small rooms.

While growing up, it seemed to me that every occasion called for gatherings of numerous people. And all of these wonderful people came to our house. Whether it was family, friends, for a meal, or for a weekend, our house had seen many a guest. The Russian word for guest is гость. Russians are a very welcoming people, always willing to do their best for the guest.

Some examples:

Сегодня я жду много гостей.
I am expecting many guests today.

Катин гость, Миша, из Москвы.
Katie's guest Michael is from Moscow.

Я встретила моего гостя на вокзале.
I met my guest at the train station.

The preposition в plus the prepositional plural of гость has the special meaning “to be a guest” or “to be visiting”:

Она была в гостях у него дома.
She was a guest at his house.