Unit 2: We are studying Russian 29
Note the two forms of ‘you’. Ты is only used when talking to one person
with whom you are on informal terms, the equivalent of ‘tu’ in French.
Вы is used both for the plural and when talking to one person with
whom you are on polite terms. Even when addressing one person,
verbs used with вы are always plural.
Spelling rule
It is a rule of spelling in Russian that the letter ы may never follow the
letters г, к, x, ж, ч, ш, щ. Instead the letter и is written.
Plural of nouns
The usual nominative plural ending for masculine nouns ending in a
consonant and feminine nouns ending in -a is -ы. If, however, that con-
sonant or the letter preceding the -a is г, к, x, ж, ч, ш or щ then the
ending will be -и: жуpна�л – жуpна�лы and газе�та – газе�ты, but
язы�к – языки� and тури�стка – тypи�стки. This is because of the
spelling rule.
Nouns ending in -ь also have their plural in -и: но�вость – но�вости.
Indeclinable nouns
Some nouns, usually of foreign origin, never change their endings,
even for the plural, and are indicated by the word ‘indeclinable’ in the
dictionary, e.g. pа�диo – ‘radio’; метро� – ‘metro’; кино� – ‘cinema’.
Упражне�ние 3 / Exercise 3 (Audio 1.18)
Answer the questions using the words in brackets and replacing the
nouns with personal pronouns.
For example:
Где Пи�тер Грин? (Москва�) Он в Москве�.1 Где студе�нтка? (университе�т)
2 Где тури�ст? (гости�ница)