Unit

Outline Conjunctions (и, а, но́) Numbers Present tense pseudo-quiz The single-stem verb system – Learn to conjugate verbs by memorizing only one form – (Okay, and a few rules)

The conjunctions и, а, and но́ Three conjunctions that correspond to the two English conjunctions and and but но́ is stressed, the other two are unstressed Always write a comma before но́ and а Do not write a comma before и (most of the time) Never use a serial comma – Ivan, Dmitrij, and Fedor live in Moscow. – Ivan, Dmitrij and Fedor live in Moscow. – Ива́н, Дми́трий и Фёдор живу́т в Москве́.

и и combines two things that are alike, with no expression of contrast or contradiction – Мы читаем и пишем хорошо. The subject is the same (мы́) and we do both things well. The only difference is that there are two activities. – Мы пишем хорошо и вы пишете хорошо́. The activity is the same (writing) and everyone does it well. The only difference is that there are two subjects.

но́ но́ implies contradiction One clause sets up an expectation that is then frustrated in the other – Мы́ пи́шем хорошо́, но́ ме́дленно. Most people who write well dont have to qualify such a statement by adding that they have to do it slowly. Good writing suggests writing at a normal speed, so having to do it slowly frustrates the normal expectation. Usually one difference (we and write are constant, but the adverb [well/slowly] changes)

а а implies contrast, but not contradiction – Мы́ пи́шем хорошо́, а вы́ пи́шете пло́хо. – On the one hand, we write well, but, on the other hand, you write poorly – We write well, whereas you write poorly. – There is no expectation that if we write well, you should also write well (that is, there is no contradiction) – Reversing the order of the clauses doesnt change the meaning – Usually two differences (write is constant, but we/you and well/poorly varies)

Conjunction practice Ма́ма говори́т по-ру́сски ___ па́па говори́т по- ру́сски. – Ма́ма говори́т по-ру́сски и па́па говори́т по-ру́сски. Мама говори́т по-ру́сски ___ она́ не чита́ет по- ру́сски. – Мама говори́т по-ру́сски, но́ она́ не чита́ет по-ру́сски. Ма́ма говори́т по-ру́сски ___ па́па говори́т по- англи́йски. – Ма́ма говори́т по-ру́сски а па́па говори́т по-англи́йски. – Ма́ма говори́т по-ру́сски но па́па говори́т по-англи́йски.

New numbers You already know 0–10, the teens, 20, 30, 40, and 50 This unit adds 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, which lets you count up to 199 Form compound numbers in Russian as you do in English (but with no hyphens) – String the pieces together – One hundred twenty-eight = сто двадцать восемь Practice in recitation

Learning numbers Memorize 0–10 Teens sound like the units value plus –надцать – одиннадцать, двенадцать, тринадцать, … 20 and 30 sound like the units value plus –дцать – два́дцать, три́дцать 50, 60, 70, 80 sound like the units value plus –десят (note: no soft sign at the end) – пятьдеся́т, шестьдеся́т, се́мьдесят, во́семьдесят Memorize 40, 90, and 100, which are peculiar – со́рок – девяно́сто – сто́

Numbers and the soft sign Numbers never have more than one soft sign Numbers through 30 with a soft sign have the soft sign at the end – пя́ть, ше́сть, се́мь, во́семь, де́вять – одиннадцать, двенадцать, тринадцать, … – де́сять, два́дцать, три́дцать Numbers from 50 up with a soft sign have the soft sign in the middle – пятьдеся́т, шестьдеся́т, се́мьдесят, во́семьдесят

How to use numbers Surprisingly, numbers are not normally followed by the nominative plural (!) Numbers are normally followed by case forms we havent learned yet (coming in Unit 6) – Notice SAM, p. 57, ex. Б, with different forms of the word for ruble after different numbers This means that we dont yet know how to count things – We do know how to recognize telephone numbers, addresses, prices, etc. – We dont know how to say I have six cats and four dogs

Present tense pseudo-quiz 1.In the ёт conjugation, when do we write –у (e.g., я́ пишу́, они́ пи́шут) and when do we write –ю (e.g., я́ зна́ю, они́ зна́ют)? a.It depends on the place of stress. b.It depends on whether there is a /j/ sound before the ending. c.It depends on whether the other forms have е or ё. d.It must be memorized for each verb.

Present tense pseudo-quiz 2.In –ёт conjugation verbs, when do we write ё (e.g., о́н живёт) and when do we write е (e.g., о́н пи́шет)? a.It depends on the place of stress. b.It depends on whether there is a /j/ sound before the ending. c.It depends on whether the они form uses –ут or –ят. d.It must be memorized for each verb.

Present tense pseudo-quiz 3.What is the difference in stress patterns between conjugation type (–ёт vs –ит) and stress? a.–ит conjugation verbs always have mobile stress. b.–ёт conjugation verbs always have end stress. c.–ит conjugation verbs always have end stress. d.There is no correlation between conjugation type and stress.

Present tense pseudo-quiz 4.In –ит conjugation verbs, when is the ending for the я form –у and when is it –ю? a.It depends on the place of stress. b.It depends on whether there is a /j/ sound before the ending. c.It is always –ю. d.It must be memorized for each verb. (As far as we know.)

Present tense pseudo-quiz 5.In –ит conjugation verbs, what is the ending of the они form? a.ут b.ят c.unstressed ют d.stressed ю́т

How to learn verb forms What forms should you memorize, and which ones can you derive by rule? The infinitive has no predicative power – чита́ть, чита́ю – писа́ть, пишу́ (not *писа́ю) – жи́ть, живу́ – говори́ть, говорю́ (not *говори́ву) The present tense has no predictive power – живу́, жи́ть – пишу́, писа́ть (not *пи́ть) Your textbook tells you to memorize four forms for each verb: infinitive plus three present-tense (я́, ты́, они́) You can cut that down to just one form per verb

The single-stem verb system For each verb, memorize a single stem Derive all forms from that single stem by rules Pro: Much less memorization – Are you comfortable with learning systems and applying rules? Con: The stem and the rules are abstract – Would you prefer to avoid abstraction, even if doing so requires more memorization? Disclosure: The presentation here is slightly simplified because you know only seven verbs

Stems and endings As with nouns and adjectives, think in terms of sounds, not letters Like nouns and adjectives, verb forms are made by combining stems and endings Stems may end in consonant sounds or vowel sounds Endings may begin with consonant sounds or vowel sounds

Verb stems InfinitiveStemSuffix type зна́тьzn-áj+aj изуча́тьizuč-áj+aj понима́тьponim-áj+aj чита́тьčit-áj+aj жи́тьživ+non-suffixed писа́тьpis-a+a говори́тьgovor-í+i

The parts of a Russian verb form Root – Always ends in a consonant – Lexical part of the verb, e.g., /čit/ read Suffix – Provides information about how the verb is conjugated, e.g., /-aj+/ Stem – Combination of root plus suffix, e.g., /čit-áj+/ – Some verbs are unsuffixed, e.g., /živ+/ Grammatical ending – Tense, number, person, and gender e.g., /u/ in чита́ю = first person singular present tense

Working with stems and endings Think of words and their parts in terms of sounds, not letters – чита́ю has five letters but six sounds /čitáju/ – The stem is the sounds /čitáj/ – The ending is the sound /u/ The stem is not a real word – You have to add an ending to it to make it a real word The stem is useful because you can derive real words from it by following the rules If you memorize one stem for each verb, plus the general rules, you dont need to memorize any other forms

Suffixes and conjugations There are two conjugations in Russian – –ёт and –ит Suffixes indicate conjugation unambiguously There are about a dozen suffixes You know four suffix types – /–aj+/, /–a+/, /–i+/, and non-suffixed verbs Of the types you know – /–i+/ is ит-conjugation – all others are ёт-conjugation

–ёт conjugation SubjectGrammatical endingExample я/–u/живу́, пишу́, чита́ю ты/–'oš/живёшь, пи́шешь, читаешь он, она, оно/–'ot/живёт, пи́шет, читает мы/–'om/живём, пи́шем, читаем вы/–'ot'e/живёте, пи́шете, читаете они/–ut/живу́т, пишут, чита́ют As always in Russian, unstressed ё loses its dots and is pronounced like е. живёт /živót/, пи́шет /píšet/, and чита́ет /čitájet/ have the same ending: /–'ot/ живу́ /živú/, пишу́ /pišú/, and чита́ю /čitáju/ have the same ending: /–u/

–ит conjugation SubjectGrammatical endingExample я/–'u/говорю́ ты/–'iš/говори́шь он, она, оно/–'it/говори́т мы/–'im/говори́м вы/–'it'e/говори́те они/–'at/говоря́т

The two conjugations SubjectGrammatical endingExample я/–'u/говорю́ ты/–'iš/говори́шь он, она, оно/–'it/говори́т мы/–'im/говори́м вы/–'it'e/говори́те они/–'at/говоря́т SubjectGrammatical endingExample я/–u/живу́, пишу́, чита́ю ты/–'oš/живёшь, пи́шешь, читаешь он, она, оно/–'ot/живёт, пи́шет, читает мы/–'om/живём, пи́шем, читаем вы/–'ot'e/живёте, пи́шете, читаете они/–ut/живу́т, пишут, чита́ют

Juncture The meeting of stem and ending is called juncture When two unlike things meet (C+V or V+C) – Stable juncture – Nothing happens When two like things meet (C+C or V+V) – Unstable juncture – Something (predictable) happens

When two unlike things meet (C+V or V+C) Stable juncture Just slap the stem and ending together /čit–áj+u/ = чита́ю (C+V) /pis–a+l/ = писа́л (V+C)

When two like things meet (C+C or V+V) Unstable juncture Something (predictable!) happens – C+C: Truncation of the first item /živ+t/ = жи́ть /v/ is truncated – V+V: Truncation of the first item and mutation of the preceding consonant /pis–a+u/ = пишу́ /a/ is truncated and /s/ mutates to /š/

Truncation is easy No truncation at stable junctures (C+V, V+C) – Nothing interesting happens at stable junctures At unstable junctures (C+C or V+V) – C+C truncation: delete the first consonant /živ+t/ = жи́ть /žit/ /čit–aj+l/ = чита́л /čital/ – V+V truncation: delete the first vowel /govor–í+u/ = говорю /govorú/ /govor–í+iš/ = говоришь /govoríš/

Mutation is easy At V+V junctures, the consonant before the first vowel mutates (changes to another consonant) V+V mutation If a consonant mutates, it always mutates to the same thing – /r/ doesnt mutate – /s/ mutates only to /š/ /govor–í+u/ – V+V truncation: /govoru/ – V+V mutation (/r/ doesnt mutate): /govorú/ = говорю́ /pis–a+u/ – V+V truncation: /pisu/ – V+V mutation (/s/ mutates to /š/): /pišú/ = пишу́

How do you know what mutates to what? Your instructors tell you So far – /r/ doesnt mutate This means that when you learn the verb дари́ть to give, with the stem /dar–i/, you will know that the я́ form has to be я́ дарю́ (truncation but no mutation) – /s/ always mutates to /š/ This means that when you learn the verb чеса́ть scratch; comb, with the stem /čes–a+/, you will know that the я form has to be я́ чешу́ (truncation plus mutation)

Past tense The past-tense endings are /l, la, lo, li/ – All past-tense endings begin with a consonant sound If the stem ends in a vowel sound (/pis–a+/, /govor–í+/) – Adding a past ending produces a stable juncture (V+C) – Just add the stem and ending /pis–a+l/ = писа́л /govor–í+la/ = говори́ла If the stem ends in a consonant sound (/živ+/, /čit–áj+/) – Adding a past ending produces an unstable juncture (C+C) – Truncation of first consonant /živ+l/ = жи́л /čit–áj+la/ = чита́ла

Past tense SubjectGrammatical endingExample Masculine singular/–l/я, ты, он жил, читал, писал, говорил Feminine singular/–la/ я, ты, она жила, читала, писала, говорила Neuter singular/–lo/(оно жило, читало, писало, говорило) Plural (all genders)/–l'i/ мы, вы, они жили, читали, писали, говорили

Infinitive The infinitive ending for most verbs (and all verbs we know so far) is /t/ – The infinitive ending begins with a consonant sound If the stem ends in a vowel sound (/pis–a+/, /govor–í+/) – Adding an infinitive ending produces a stable juncture (V+C) – Just add the stem and ending /pis–a+t/ = писа́ть /govor–í+t/ = говори́ть If the stem ends in a consonant sound (/živ+/, /čit–áj+/) – Adding an infinitive produces an unstable juncture (C+C) – Truncation of first consonant /živ+t/ = жи́ть /čit–áj+t/ = чита́ть

How do you know the stem of a verb? You cant predict the stem from any single real form Your textbook doesnt tell you what the stem is – Your textbook authors dont tell you about single stems; they tell you to memorize four separate forms Your instructors tell you what the stem is

/rabót–aj+/ work сейча́с я́ – я́ рабо́таю /rabót–aj+u/ сейча́с ты́ – ты́ рабо́таешь /rabót–aj+oš/ сейча́с о́н – о́н рабо́тает /rabót–aj+ot/ сейча́с мы́ – мы рабо́таем /rabót–aj+om/ сейча́с вы́ – вы́ рабо́таете /rabót–aj+ote/ сейча́с они́ – они́ рабо́тают /rabót–aj+ut/ ра́ньше о́н – о́н рабо́тал /rabót–aj+l/ ра́ньше она́ – она рабо́тала /rabót–aj+la/ ра́ньше они́ – они́ рабо́тали /rabót–aj+li/ Infinitive – рабо́тать /rabót–aj+t/

/čes–a+/ scratch, comb сейча́с я́ – я́ чешу́ /čes–a+u/ сейча́с ты́ – ты́ че́шешь /čes–a+oš/ сейча́с о́н – о́н че́шет /čes–a+ot/ сейча́с мы́ – мы че́шем /čes–a+om/ сейча́с вы́ – вы́ че́шете /čes–a+ote/ сейча́с они́ – они́ че́шут/čes–a+ut/ ра́ньше о́н – о́н чеса́л /čes–a+l/ ра́ньше она́ – она чеса́ла /čes–a+la/ ра́ньше они́ – они́ чеса́ли /čes–a+li/ Infinitive – чеса́ть /čes–a+t/

/dar–i+/ give сейча́с я́ – я́ дарю́ /dar–i+u/ сейча́с ты́ – ты́ да́ришь /dar–i+iš/ сейча́с о́н – о́н да́рит /dar–i+it/ сейча́с мы́ – мы да́рим /dar–i+im/ сейча́с вы́ – вы́ да́рите /dar–i+ite/ сейча́с они́ – они́ да́рят /dar–i+at/ ра́ньше о́н – о́н дари́л /dar–i+l/ ра́ньше она́ – она дари́ла /dar–i+la/ ра́ньше они́ – они́ дари́ли /dar–i+li/ Infinitive – дари́ть /dar–i+t/