Russian · TORFL Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 33
Я еду автобусомI go by bus
How do you get around? Vocabulary: автобус, поезд, машина, самолёт, метро, велосипед, пешком, ехать, работа, быстро. Key grammar: to say BY WHAT you travel, put the transport in the INSTRUMENTAL case — the very one the seasons had in chapter 28 (зимой, летом) — and with NO preposition. автобус → «автобусом», поезд → «поездом», машина → «машиной», самолёт → «самолётом», велосипед → «велосипедом». «Я еду автобусом», «Мы едем поездом». «метро» does not change: for now we just say «метро». And «пешком» is a ready-made word: «Я иду пешком» (I go on foot). In English «by bus» — the word «bus» does not change, so Mike leaves it in its base form: «Я еду автобус» ✗ → «Я еду автобусом» ✓. Sound corner: «автобус» = «af-TÓ-bus» (в = «f»), the ending «-ом» unstressed = «-am».
Dialogue
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Как ты едешь на работу?— How do you get to work?
- ivan
- mike
- ivan
- mike
- ivan
- mike
Dialogue
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В центр города— To the city centre
- anya
- ivan
- anya
- ivan
- anya
- ivan
Vocabulary
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- автобус
nounbus
- поезд
nountrain
- машина
nouncar
- самолёт
nounaeroplane
- метро
nounmetro, underground
- велосипед
nounbicycle
- пешком
adverbon foot
- ехать
verbto go (by vehicle)
- работа
nounwork
- быстро
adverbfast, quickly
Grammar
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Transport: the instrumental case («автобусом»)
Explanation
To say BY WHAT you travel, Russian puts the transport in the INSTRUMENTAL case — and with no preposition at all. You already met this case in chapter 28: «зимой», «летом» are the instrumental of the seasons. Now we apply it to transport. Masculine and neuter take the ending «-ом» (or «-ем»): автобус → автобусом, поезд → поездом, самолёт → самолётом, велосипед → велосипедом. Feminine «-а» changes to «-ой»: машина → машиной. So: «Я еду автобусом на работу», «Мы едем поездом», «Она летит самолётом». The verb for transport is «ехать» (я еду, ты едешь, он едет). The word «метро» does not decline — it stays «метро». And «пешком» is a ready-made form (also an old instrumental): «Я иду пешком» (I go on foot). The English speaker’s typical mistake: English «by bus» — the word «bus» does not change form. So Mike keeps the nominative: «Я еду автобус» ✗. But the instrumental is needed: «Я еду автобусом» ✓.
Examples
- Я еду на работу автобусом.I go to work by bus.
- Мы едем в город поездом.We are going to the city by train.
- Она едет в парк велосипедом.She goes to the park by bike.
- Магазин близко, я иду пешком.The shop is near, I go on foot.
Cyrillic
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Оглушение: «поезд» = «поест», «в» = «ф»— Devoicing: "поезд" = "póyest", "в" = "f"
One more reading rule — "devoicing" (оглушение). A voiced consonant at the END of a word, or before a voiceless consonant, sounds like its voiceless pair: "б"→"п", "д"→"т", "в"→"ф", "г"→"к", "з"→"с". So "поезд" is read "PÓ-yest" (final "д" → "t"), "велосипед" → "vilosi-PYÉT", "автобус" → "af-TÓ-bus" (the letter "в" before the voiceless "т" becomes "f"). The pairs are easy to remember: voiced and voiceless are the same mouth shape, just with or without the voice. This rule and last chapter’s "akanye" work together: in "автобус" the first "а" is clear, the second unstressed "о" → "a": "af-TÓ-bus". Read aloud and listen for the devoicing.
Read the words aloud:
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