Russian · TORFL Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 12
У меня две кошкиI have two cats
The number "два" has gender in Russian: "два" for masculine/neuter (два стола), "две" for feminine (две кошки). After 2, 3, 4 the noun takes a special form (две кошк-и, два стол-а) — for now just memorise "две кошки", "два брата". The plural also varies: кошка → кошки, стол → столы, книга → книги. Quantity words: много, мало. Everyday objects: кошка, собака, книга, стол, стул, стакан, ручка, сумка, вещь. Reading: the hard ы in "ты/сумка" and the soft ending of "вещь".
Dialogue
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Два или две?— два or две?
- AnyaМайк,утебяестьживотные?Mike, do you have pets?
- MikeДа,уменядвакошки.Yes, I have two cats. (slip: кошка is feminine, so it's «две кошки», not «два»)
- Anya«Кошка»женскогорода—значит«двекошки»."Кошка" is feminine, so it's "две кошки".
- MikeПонятно:уменядвекошкиимногокниг.Got it: I have two cats and many books.
Dialogue
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Вещи на столе— Things on the Table
- IvanАня,чтоутебявсумке?Anya, what do you have in your bag?
- AnyaУменятрикнигиидверучки.I have three books and two pens.
- IvanАнастолемноговещей:стаканы,стулья…And many things on the table: glasses, chairs…
- AnyaДа,унасмноговещей.Yes, we have many things.
Vocabulary
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- кошка
nouncat (f)
- собака
noundog (f)
- книга
nounbook (f)
- стол
nountable (m)
- стул
nounchair (m)
- стакан
nounglass (m)
- ручка
nounpen (f)
- сумка
nounbag (f)
- вещь
nounthing (f)
- много
adverbmany, much
- мало
adverbfew, little
Grammar
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два and две + a noun
Explanation
A Russian quirk: the number "два" changes by gender. "Два" for masculine and neuter (два стола, два окна), "две" for feminine (две кошки, две книги). After 2, 3, 4 the noun takes a special form — the genitive singular: две кошк-И, два стол-А, три книг-И. Five and up needs yet another form (пять кошек) — that's Book 2. The English mistake is to forget the gender of "два": "два кошки" instead of "две кошки". And the plain plural: кошка → кошки, стол → столы. The words "много/мало" also take a special form: много книг, мало времени.
Examples
- У меня две кошки и собака.I have two cats and a dog.
- У меня два стола.I have two tables.
- У меня много книг.I have many books.
- Три стула и два стакана.Three chairs and two glasses.
Cyrillic
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Кластеры и мягкая «щь»— Clusters and the soft "щь"
Today we read objects. In "кошка", "ручка", "сумка" there is a cluster -шк-/-чк- pronounced together: "KOSH-ka", "RUCH-ka", "SUM-ka". The letter "щ" is a long, soft "sh": "вещь" = "veshch" (with a soft sign at the end), not "vesh". In "много" and "собака" the unstressed о sounds like "a": "MNO-ga", "sa-BA-ka". And "ы" in "ты/мы" is a hard sound, tongue back, not the English "ee". Read the words aloud and listen for the clusters. Trust your ear.
Read the words aloud:
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