Language/Russian/Grammar/Adjective-Agreement

Russian → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Adjectives and Adverbs → Adjective Agreement

As a Russian language teacher with 20 years of experience, I know that mastering the grammar of any language can be challenging. In this lesson, we will dive into the topic of adjective agreement in Russian. Understanding how to make adjectives agree with the nouns they modify is a crucial step towards becoming fluent in the language. So let's get started!

Adjective Agreement

When using adjectives in Russian, it's important to remember that they must agree with the nouns they describe in terms of gender, number, and case. This means that the ending of the adjective will change depending on the noun it modifies.

In Russian, there are three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Each of these genders has specific endings for singular and plural forms. Additionally, there are six cases in Russian, and the adjective must agree with the noun in whatever case it is in.

Let's take a look at some examples:

Russian	Pronunciation	English
красивый мальчик	krah-SEE-vyî MAHL'-chik	handsome boy
красивая девушка	krah-SEE-vuh-ya DYE-vush-ka	beautiful girl
красивое здание	krah-SEE-vuh-ye ZDA-nee-ye	pretty building

In the examples above, you can see that the adjective "красивый" (krasivyy - beautiful) changes endings to match the gender and number of the nouns it modifies. In the first example, "мальчик" (mal'chik - boy) is masculine singular, so the adjective ends in "-ый" (iy). In the second example, "девушка" (devushka - girl) is feminine singular, so the adjective ends in "-ая" (aya). In the third example, "здание" (zdanie - building) is neuter singular, so the adjective ends in "-ое" (oye).

Now, let's look at how adjectives agree with plural nouns:

Russian	Pronunciation	English
красивые мальчики	krah-SEE-vyî MYAHL'-chi-kee	handsome boys
красивые девушки	krah-SEE-vyî DYE-vush-kee	beautiful girls
красивые здания	krah-SEE-vyî ZDA-nee-ya	pretty buildings

In the plural forms above, you can see that "красивый" (krasivyy - beautiful) changes to "красивые" (krasivye) to match plural nouns, regardless of their gender.

Let's take a look at some example sentences to see how it all comes together:

• Моя красивая мама готовит вкусный обед. (Moya krasivaya mama gotovit vkusnyy obed.) - My beautiful mom is cooking a delicious lunch.
• Я вижу большую зеленую траву. (Ya vizhu bol'shuyu zelenuyu travu.) - I see a big green grass.
• Это старое, но уютное здание. (Eto staroye, no uyutnoye zdanie.) - This is an old, but cozy building.

In each of the above examples, you can see that the adjectives agree with the gender, case, and number of the nouns they modify.

Irregular Endings

Like any rule in grammar, there are exceptions to adjective agreement. Some adjectives have irregular endings that do not follow the usual pattern. Here are a few examples:

Russian	Pronunciation	English
хороший	kha-RA-shiy	good
плохой	PLO-hoy	bad
большой	BAL'-shoy	big

As you can see, the above adjectives do not follow the usual pattern for each gender and number. For example, "хороший" (kharoshyy - good) does not end with "-ый" (iy), "-ая" (aya), or "-ое" (oye). Instead, its endings change depending on the case and gender of the noun it modifies.

Learning the irregular endings will take some practice, but they follow their own patterns and can become easier to recognize over time.

Exceptions

There are a few exceptions to the rules of adjective agreement in Russian. One of these is the usage of the genitive case after negation. When "нет" (net - not) or "не" (ne - not) is used to negate a noun, the adjective that describes it must be in the genitive case singular, regardless of the gender of the noun.

For example:

• Нет хорошей музыки. (Net khoroshey muzyki.) - There's no good music.
• Я не вижу большого здания. (Ya ne vizhu bol'shogo zdaniya.) - I don't see a big building.

In the above examples, you can see that the adjectives "хорошей" (khoroshey) and "большого" (bol'shogo) are in the genitive case singular, even though they refer to feminine and neuter nouns, respectively.

Conclusion

Adjective agreement can be confusing, but with enough practice and exposure to the language, it can become easier to understand. Remember that adjectives must agree with the gender, number, and case of the noun they modify, except in cases of irregular endings and certain exceptions such as negation.

I hope this lesson has helped you to better understand adjective agreement in Russian. Keep practicing and you'll see your language skills improve in no time!

Table of Contents - Russian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Alphabet and Pronunciation

• Cyrillic Alphabet
• Pronunciation Rules

  ---

Basic Phrases and Greetings

• Greetings and Introductions
• Everyday Phrases

  ---

Nouns and Gender

• Noun Gender
• Plurals

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-10
• Telling Time

  ---

Cases and Prepositions

• Nominative Case
• Prepositional Case

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationships and Marital Status

  ---

Verbs and Conjugation

• Present Tense
• Past Tense

  ---

Food and Dining

• Common Foods
• Dining Out

  ---

Russian Traditions and Holidays

• National Holidays
• Traditional Celebrations

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Travel Phrases

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjective Agreement
• Comparatives and Superlatives

  ---

Hobbies and Leisure Activities

• Hobbies
• Entertainment

  ---

Russian Literature and Arts

• Famous Writers
• Russian Art and Music

Related Lessons

• Comparatives and Superlatives
• The verb to have
• Past Tense
• Give your Opinion
• Negation
• Russian cases
• Punctuation
• A vs И
• Nouns
• Imperative give an order