Russian · TORFL Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 43
Ты был в России?Have you been to Russia?
Travel and experience. Words: путешествие, самолёт, аэропорт, гостиница, чемодан, паспорт, пляж, остров, граница, сувенир, отдых, путешествовать. Key grammar: where have you been? — the PLACE in the PREPOSITIONAL case after «в» and «на». You already know the past of «быть» (chapter 34): был, была, было, были. Now we add the place: «Я был в Москве» (I have been to Moscow), «Мы были на море» (we were at the sea). This is a new case — the prepositional: a noun after «в»/«на» usually takes «-е»: город → в городе, море → в море, пляж → на пляже. But words in «-ия» take «-ии»: Россия → в России, Япония → в Японии. This is how you talk about experience: «Ты был когда-нибудь в Японии?» (Have you ever been to Japan?). To deny experience use «никогда не» (a double negative): «Я никогда не был за границей» (I have never been abroad). English speakers’ mistake: in English «in Moscow» does not change, so they say «в Москва» ✗ → «в Москве» ✓. After «в»/«на» change the ending. Reading: the soft «е» and the ending «-е».
Dialogue
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Я был в Москве— I was in Moscow
- mike
- ivan
- mike
- ivan
- mike
- ivan
Dialogue
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Ты путешествовал на самолёте?— Have you travelled by plane?
- anya
- ivan
- anya
- ivan
- anya
- ivan
Vocabulary
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- путешествие
nounjourney, trip
- самолёт
nounairplane
- аэропорт
nounairport
- гостиница
nounhotel
- чемодан
nounsuitcase
- паспорт
nounpassport
- пляж
nounbeach
- остров
nounisland
- граница
nounborder (за границей = abroad)
- сувенир
nounsouvenir
- отдых
nounrest, holiday
- путешествовать
verbto travel
Grammar
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Where have you been? — the place in the prepositional
Explanation
To say WHERE you have been, combine the past of «быть» (chapter 34: был, была, было, были) with the place in the PREPOSITIONAL case. The prepositional answers «где?» (where?) and always follows «в» or «на». Ending rule: most nouns take «-е»: город → в городе, парк → в парке, море → в море, пляж → на пляже, остров → на острове. Words in «-ия» and «-ие» take «-ии»: Россия → в России, Япония → в Японии. «Быть» agrees in gender: он был, она была, оно было, они были. This is how you talk about experience: «Ты был когда-нибудь на море?» (Have you ever been to the sea?) — «Да, я был на юге» (Yes, I was in the south). To say «never» you need TWO negatives: «никогда» + «не»: «Я никогда не был за границей» — in Russian the double negative is correct! English speakers’ mistake: in English «in Moscow» does not change, so they say «Я был в Москва» ✗. But after «в» you need the prepositional: «Я был в Москве» ✓. Change the ending of the place after «в» and «на».
Examples
- Я был в Москве.I have been to Moscow.
- Ты был когда-нибудь в Японии?Have you ever been to Japan?
- Мы были на море летом.We were at the sea in summer.
- Я никогда не был за границей.I have never been abroad.
- Она была в гостинице в центре города.She stayed in a hotel in the city centre.
Cyrillic
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Мягкая «е» и окончание «-е»— The soft «е» and the ending «-е»
The letter «е» is soft: it softens the consonant before it and sounds like «ye». In the prepositional most words end in «-е», and it is a soft sound: «в Москве» = v mask-VYÉ (soft «в»), «на столе» = na sta-LÉ, «в городе» = v GÓ-ra-dye. Compare the hard «Москва» (mask-VÁ) and the soft «в Москве» (mask-VYÉ) — the ending changes both the sound and the meaning (it is «where», not «what»). Words in «-ие» end in «-i-ye»: путешествие = pu-ti-SHÉST-vi-ye. And words in «-ия» give «-ии» in the prepositional: Россия → в России (v ras-SÍ-i), Япония → в Японии. Read the ending «-е» softly and with a light «y».
Read the words aloud:
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