- Define and explain Describing People in your own words
- Use key terms such as мама (máma) — mum accurately
- Apply what you have learned to new examples and questions
- Avoid the common mistakes learners make with this topic
This lesson focuses on Describing People: use adjectives to describe what people look like and what they are like.
Use adjectives to describe what people look like and what they are like.
Key ideas
Мой, моя, моё: possessives agree
The word for 'my' changes to match the noun: мой брат (moy brat — my brother, masculine), моя сестра (moyá sestrá — my sister, feminine), моё хобби (moyó khóbbi — my hobby, neuter). Get the gender right and the possessive follows automatically.
Любить: loving things in the present tense
The verb любить (lyubít' — to love, to like) conjugates as я люблю (ya lyublyú — I love), ты любишь (ty lyúbish — you love), он/она любит (on/oná lyúbit — he/she loves). So Я люблю музыку (ya lyublyú múzyku — I love music), and Моя сестра любит спорт (moyá sestrá lyúbit sport — my sister loves sport).
Key term — мама (máma) — mum: The word for mother. Note the double М and the stress on the first syllable: МА-ма.
Build the sentence 'My brother plays football' in Russian.
'My brother' — брат is masculine, so 'my' is мой: мой брат (moy brat). The verb 'plays' — играть (igrát' — to play): он играет (on igráyet — he plays). Football is a borrowed word that never changes: футбол (futból). Put it together: Мой брат играет в футбол (moy brat igráyet f futból — my brother plays football).
Answer: Мой брат играет в футбол (moy brat igráyet f futból) — 'My brother plays football'.
- Saying моя брат Брат (brat — brother) is masculine, so it must be мой брат (moy brat — my brother), not моя брат.
- Forgetting the prepositional ending in в школе It is в школе (f shkolé — at school), not в школа. The -а changes to -е after в.
Practice
Моя сестра (moyá sestrá).
Я люблю музыку (ya lyublyú múzyku).
Друзья (druz'yá — friends).
Я учусь в школе (ya uchús' f shkolé — I study at school).
Quick check
Which of these best defines "мама (máma) — mum"?
Translate 'She loves sport' into Russian.
How do you say 'my hobby' (хобби is neuter)?
- Describing People: use adjectives to describe what people look like and what they are like.
- Мой, моя, моё: possessives agree: The word for 'my' changes to match the noun: мой брат (moy brat — my brother, masculine), моя сестра (moyá sestrá — my sister, feminine), моё хобби (moyó khóbbi — my hobby, neuter).
- брат (brat) — brother: A masculine noun.
- Watch out for: saying моя брат