Questions tagged [существительные]
Questions concerning nouns, their form, spelling, functions, derivation, meaning and so on.
73
questions
3
votes
5answers
582 views
Is there a shorter or more colloquial word for “pet”?
The Russian translation for "pet" is домашнее животное, in this case meaning a domesticated animal one keeps in one's home. To a native English-speaker that seems like quite a bookish term. ...
1
vote
3answers
154 views
Are “свет” and “свеча” forms of the same word?
"Свет" and "свеча" are the same part of speech, they have the same lexical root, and they haven't got any other word parts, only the root and the ending.
But "свеча" ...
1
vote
2answers
108 views
Крово- и слёзопролитная война
Как я должен говорить и писать:
Это была крово- и слёзопролитная война
Это была крово и слёзопролитная война
Это была крово-и-слёзопролитная война
Это была крово и слёзопролитная война
2
votes
1answer
206 views
Люди or человек after numerals?
From what I know, the plural noun "people" is люди when no numeral precedes it. Whereas "people" preceded by a numeral take the stem человек-, as in два человека, пять человек (the ...
2
votes
1answer
114 views
Plural of сын as сыны instead of сыновья
On a poster of the Stalinist era, I saw the following extract:
Будем сынами и дочерьми (...)
Then I looked for some information on dictionaries. If I understood correctly, does the usual (and "...
2
votes
1answer
76 views
Cases after connectives
In a given sentences, does the noun after a connective go into the same case of the noun before the connective or does it go into a different case.
For example:
Я должнá звони́ть матери и (тётя) пóсле ...
2
votes
2answers
196 views
Difference between “в тишине” and “в тишину”?
What is the difference between в тишине and в тишину? I know the first one is the prepositional singular of тишина, and the second is the accusative singular of тишина, but I don't really understand ...
4
votes
1answer
126 views
Is it true that adding an attributive sometimes causes a change in part of speech of the main word?
Please look at the following two sentences:
Летом она отдыхала в санатории.
Этим летом она отдыхала в санатории.
What part of speech is the word "летом" in the 1st and in the 2nd sentence? ...
1
vote
2answers
155 views
What is the internal distribution of -ов/-ёв/-ев in the genitive plural and ой/-ёй/-ей in the instrumental singular?
If we disregard those nouns whose genitive plural ending is zero, -ей, or -ий – are the rules for which vowel letter to use in the genitive plural ending -ов/-ёв/-ев the same as the rules for which ...
3
votes
1answer
132 views
what is the nominative for кутасы (and what does it mean)
I believe the nominative form of кутасы will be кутаса?
What does кутаса mean?
I found this word in the following sentence, which I took from
Война и мир (Толстой)/Том I/Часть II/Глава VII:
...
7
votes
2answers
139 views
Anthropomorphized inanimates masculine declension
Take a clearly inanimate masculine noun, say подсолнух, and put it in a fable with anthropomorphic features. Now how should I put it in accusative?
Мы видели высокий подсолнух, когда он пришёл.....
...
4
votes
1answer
596 views
Plural for indeclinable nouns
Some foreign nouns are indeclinable (take пальто for example), yet sometimes we want to express many of it. How to do it?
7
votes
3answers
247 views
How should I inflect animate nouns when they are used to figuratively call inanimate objects, and vice versa?
In Russian, animate and inanimate nouns inflect differently. Let's compare "кабан" and "стакан":
Я вижу кабанов. Я стреляю в кабана.
Я вижу стаканы. Я стреляю в стакан.
It is all ...
6
votes
1answer
2k views
Одушевлённость шахматных фигур
Являются ли слова вроде ферзь одушевлёнными?
С одной стороны, ферзь отвечает на вопрос "что", а не "кто".
С другой, склоняется это существительное, по крайней мере в ед. ч., как одушевлённое: ...
4
votes
5answers
201 views
“у нас туго с деньга́ми”: Does this instrumental “деньга́ми” stem from “де́ньги” or “деньга́”?
у нас туго с деньга́ми
The descriptions on Wiki have me puzzled, as it seems the "деньга́ми" can be the plural instrumental of either the plural-only noun "де́ньги" or the colloquial singular noun "...
1
vote
3answers
216 views
Russian noun that ends with -ы in singular: Myth or Reality?
I was wondering, if there are any or -ы ending is always a definite indicator of plural form...
6
votes
2answers
267 views
Why are some city names, when named after people, given -sk suffix, but others aren't?
Two examples:
Yekaterinburg was renamed to Sverdlovsk in 1924, after the man Yakov Sverdlov. Notice the -sk prefix.
Orenburg was renamed to Chkalov in 1938, after the man Valery Chkalov. Notice this ...
3
votes
3answers
251 views
I am confused by the difference between the word for a language and the word for a people who speak that language [duplicate]
The word for a Russian is Русский. The word for the Russian language is по-русский or русский язык (i.e. they are the same). So you could say я Русский.
However the word for an Englishman is ...
5
votes
4answers
201 views
“Я один кто не знал, что вариантов у итогового теста два?”
вариантов или варианта? Или можно использовать обе вариации?
Нужна ли запятая перед что?
Можно ли использовать один, или грамматически верно использовать только единственный?
Нужна ли запятая перед ...
8
votes
1answer
996 views
Describe a Language Without the Noun for “Language”
In English it is rare to use the noun "language" when describing them. It is most common to name the language as such:
Engl -ish
Span -ish
French
Russi -an
Germ -an
Is it acceptable/common/...
2
votes
2answers
220 views
Does anyone know of any good resource(s) that categorize the declensions of Russian plurals?
Occasionally I see a reference to categorized noun declensions (e.g., first, second, third). I would imagine some question whether or not learning about such declensions is essential to learning the ...
6
votes
5answers
579 views
Difference in usage between “пи́ща” and “еда”
As the title asks, what is the difference in usage between пи́ща and еда? Is one just a more formal version of the other? Are there any people/situations to which you could not usually apply one or ...
1
vote
1answer
271 views
How is яблони different from яблоки?
Consider the first line of the famous song Катюша:
Расцветали яблони и груши
In English, this line roughly translates to "Apples and pears were blossoming".
However, the plural noun "apples" in ...
3
votes
3answers
206 views
Colours as nouns
Ran into this situation when trying to order fabric. Can colours in Russian take a noun form, or must it always be adjective + цвет?
Secondly, if you were to name multiple colours, would you have to ...
4
votes
1answer
437 views
Does the Russian numeral rule for the adjective that comes between the number and the noun (see below) apply to animate nouns in actual usage?
The rule I refer to is this:
For numeral + adjective + noun in genitive case structures where the numeral-noun-adjective phrase is serving in a nominative case (e.g., the three little pigs went to ...
12
votes
3answers
539 views
Can anyone clear up some discrepancies between rules for numeral+adjective+noun agreement for 2/3/4 and actual usage (as found through e-sources)?
While trying to augment my knowledge on Russian numerals with regard to how they combine with nouns and adjectives, I paid a visit to Reverso after learning that any adjectives placed between the ...
2
votes
1answer
179 views
“Радио” or “ра́дио”
I was wondering which is the correct form. радио or ра́дио ? I mean I've seen people writing both of them. And I've also seen many letters with this accent above the a. Is it necessary? Which spelling ...
8
votes
4answers
371 views
«И беспечной птицей» - why instrumental?
Every source I can find of the lyrics of Тополиный пух claims that the song contains the following line near the beginning:
И беспечной птицей в небо улетаешь
If I understand correctly, «беспечной»...
1
vote
0answers
343 views
2
votes
1answer
140 views
Other nouns formed by prepending _само_ to an action
There are a number of nouns formed by prepending само to the action that that thing does that are very common: самолет, самовар. Other similar formations, like самодвижущийся, are uncommon.
Are ...
6
votes
2answers
3k views
Forming Russian nouns from verbs
I've noticed a couple of patterns in regards to forming nouns from verbs.
1) Removing the -ть from verbs ending in -бить/быть, -вить, чать and -ять and adding -тие (for example: разбить --> разбитие,...
9
votes
3answers
356 views
Meaning of “подъезд”
When I look in dictionaries, they give me driveway, but then the following sentences don't really make sense. It sounds more like a part of a building (complex):
Мы живем в одном подъезде.
Моя ...
7
votes
2answers
202 views
“Добавить в друзья” - why nominative?
As far as I can tell, the Russian equivalent of the English phrase "to add smb" with regards to social media accounts like Facebook, VKontakte, etc. is "добавлять/добавить в друзья." My question is: ...
4
votes
4answers
312 views
What's the difference between пользование and использование?
I looked пользование and использование up in the dictionary but they look the same to me. They translate the english word "use" or "usage". Could you please explain in which contexts you can use these ...
2
votes
2answers
357 views
Is there a locative for words not ending in a consonant?
There are some nouns that take the ending -у (locative) instead of -е (prepositional) after the prepositions в, на, like год, лес, сад.
Question: Is there any such noun which does not end on a ...
2
votes
2answers
176 views
“Отца не стало в июне.” Why is Отца not Отец?
Shouldn't it be in nominative form, not (I assume) genitive?
8
votes
4answers
342 views
Difference between сожитель, любовник and фаворит
I encountered three different words to say "lover".
My teacher said that
сожитель has a negative connotation, it is rather "plebish", but I don't actually understand what kind of bad connotation it ...
1
vote
6answers
498 views
Is there a word for Motherworld, similar to Motherland (Родина)?
родина means motherland, but I'm looking for the translation to a related word, "motherworld". This is similar to mother earth or mother nature.
Google translate does not even attempt a translation ...
2
votes
2answers
223 views
When does неделя become неделю?
I've seen неделю, but I don't know of when the transformation occurs. Could somebody explain it to me?
2
votes
1answer
250 views
Why do you use “воды” in this sentence?
I just saw the following two sentences:
У мальчиков есть вода.
У мальчиков нет воды.
It seems that the meaning is something like The children have water. and The children don't have water.. However, ...
2
votes
2answers
272 views
Is the “Great Patriotic War” used only for the Eastern European Theater 1941 - 1945?
In the west, it's called World War 2. For Russians, this is called the Great Patriotic War...but does this only refer to the Eastern European Front 1941 Jun 22 to 1945 May 9?
Is the Battle of Britain,...
4
votes
2answers
407 views
Little questions regarding “tram stop”
I'm a beginner and have a question regarding bus stop and tram stop.
I want to say: "I'm going to the bus stop/tram stop." And I would like to use остановке.
I know that остановка is feminine and I ...
5
votes
2answers
193 views
Nouns with mixed masc./fem. declensions
Does anyone know of any nouns like путь that are declined in a mixed masc./fem. way? What I mean is путь follows a typical feminine pattern for the dat./gen./prep. cases (пути), but its instrumental ...
3
votes
1answer
219 views
What gender do place names take if they do not end in letters that mean that a gender is assigned to a noun by default?
I know that nouns that end in certain letters become by default male, but if a noun does not end in any of these letters (e.g., Бостон) what gender does it take by default?
4
votes
2answers
773 views
What are the rules, if any, for naming a city after a person?
Let me start with some examples:
Leningrad / Ленинград (today Saint Petersburg / Санкт-Петербург)
Leninsk / Ленинск
Stalingrad / Сталингрaд (today Volgograd / Волгогрaд)
Gorky / Горький (today ...
8
votes
5answers
275 views
1
vote
3answers
247 views
Are there in Russian any inanimate masculine nouns ending on -я?
Are there any Russian inanimate masculine nouns ending in -я?
I can think of many feminine ones (торговля, трескотня, болтовня, мастерская, спальня, келья, etc.), but are there any masculine ones?
3
votes
1answer
312 views
Are there in Russian any inanimate masculine nouns ending on -a?
Are there any Russian inanimate masculine nouns ending on -a?
I can think of many feminine ones (машина, ангина, книга, панорама, перспектива, etc.), but are there any masculine ones?
3
votes
2answers
204 views
Существительное “забывало”
I just used, without thinking, the word "забывало" to mean "a person who forgets things all the time". When I started to think about it, I couldn't remember having heard the word, nor could I find ...
7
votes
1answer
252 views
Именование жителей городов
Человек, живущий в городе, может быть назван специальным существительным, которое обозначает его принадлежность к этому городу.
Например житель:
Москвы — москвич,
Омска — омич,
Ленинграда — ...
