A0 · Punto Cero Capítulo 3

Meeting the Nouns

4 Reglas totales
40 ejemplos
1 min
Reglas en este capítulo Práctica rápida

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Unlock the building blocks of Russian by mastering noun gender, animacy, and basic plurals.

  • Categorize nouns into masculine, feminine, and neuter genders.
  • Distinguish between living people and inanimate objects.
  • Form simple plurals to describe the world around you.
Mastering the identity of every Russian object.

Lo que aprenderás

Introduction to basic noun gender and the concept of animate vs inanimate. Building a foundational vocabulary of common objects.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to: correctly identify the gender of common household objects.
  2. 2
    By the end you will be able to: use 'Это' to introduce people and things.

Ejemplos clave (8)

1

Этот телефон очень старый.

This phone is very old.

Género de los sustantivos rusos: ¿Él, ella o ello?
2

Моя пицца холодная.

My pizza is cold.

Género de los sustantivos rusos: ¿Él, ella o ello?
3

Я вижу `друга`.

I see a friend.

Sustantivos animados vs. inanimados (Animacidad)
4

Я вижу `телефон`.

I see a phone.

Sustantivos animados vs. inanimados (Animacidad)
5

Мои друзья сейчас в кино.

My friends are at the cinema now.

Plurales en ruso: Más de una cosa (-ы, -и)
6

Я люблю эти фотографии!

I love these photos!

Plurales en ruso: Más de una cosa (-ы, -и)
7

Это мой телефон.

This is my phone.

El 'Esto es' ruso: La palabra mágica 'Это' (Eto)
8

Это Москва.

This is Moscow.

El 'Esto es' ruso: La palabra mágica 'Это' (Eto)

Consejos y trucos (4)

💡

The Soft Sign Rule

If a word ends in 'ь', look it up immediately. Don't guess. Write it down with 'он' (he) or 'она' (she) to remember.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Género de los sustantivos rusos: ¿Él, ella o ello?
🎯

The Face Rule

If it has eyes and a mouth (like a doll or a chess king), Russian usually treats it as animate, even if it's plastic!
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Sustantivos animados vs. inanimados (Animacidad)
💡

The 'Stomach Kick' Mnemonic

To remember the sound of -ы, imagine someone just kicked you in the stomach. That 'ugh' sound is exactly what -ы sounds like. It's the 'hard' plural.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Plurales en ruso: Más de una cosa (-ы, -и)
💡

The Finger Rule

If you can physically point your finger at it while saying it, you should probably use 'Это'.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: El 'Esto es' ruso: La palabra mágica 'Это' (Eto)

Vocabulario clave (5)

стол table (masc) книга book (fem) окно window (neut) друг friend (animate) это this is

Real-World Preview

book-open

At the Library

Review Summary

  • M: cons, F: -а/-я, N: -о/-е
  • Это + Noun

Errores comunes

Nouns ending in -а are feminine. Remember the -а rule.

Wrong: Это книга (masculine)
Correcto: Это книга (feminine)

Tables cannot be animate. Only living creatures are animate.

Wrong: Это столы (animate)
Correcto: Это столы (inanimate)

You don't need the verb 'to be' in Russian present tense.

Wrong: Это есть книга
Correcto: Это книга

Next Steps

You've mastered the foundation. Keep going, the language is opening up to you!

Label your furniture with sticky notes

Continue to: Everyday Actions — Your First Verbs

Práctica rápida (10)

Which sentence correctly asks 'Is this a taxi?'

Choose the correct question:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Это такси?
Russian doesn't use the verb 'is' in this context, and 'Это' is the correct pronoun for identification.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: El 'Esto es' ruso: La palabra mágica 'Это' (Eto)

Identify the gender of 'окно' (window).

The word 'окно' is ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Neuter
Words ending in 'о' are neuter.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Género de los sustantivos rusos: ¿Él, ella o ello?

Change the word in brackets to its plural form.

У меня есть новые (билет) ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: билеты
Билет is masculine and ends in a hard consonant, so we add -ы.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Plurales en ruso: Más de una cosa (-ы, -и)

Which word is animate?

Choose the animate noun from the list:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: собака (dog)
Animals are always animate. Trees and tables are inanimate.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Sustantivos animados vs. inanimados (Animacidad)

Fill in the correct question word (Кто or Что)

___ это? Это мой брат (my brother).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Кто
We use 'Кто' (Who) for people and animate beings.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Sustantivos animados vs. inanimados (Animacidad)

Which is the correct plural of 'окно' (window)?

Выберите правильную форму:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: окна
Neuter nouns ending in -о change to -а in the plural.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Plurales en ruso: Más de una cosa (-ы, -и)

Find the mistake in this sentence.

Find and fix the mistake:

Мой пицца вкусная.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Моя пицца вкусная.
'Пицца' is feminine, so 'my' must be 'моя'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Género de los sustantivos rusos: ¿Él, ella o ello?

What is the gender of the word 'студент' (student)?

Choose the correct gender for 'студент':

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Masculine
It ends in the consonant 'т', which makes it masculine.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Género de los sustantivos rusos: ¿Él, ella o ello?

Find the mistake

Find and fix the mistake:

Russian biology: Is a 'flower' (цветок) animate?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: No, it is inanimate.
Grammatically, plants are inanimate in Russian.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Sustantivos animados vs. inanimados (Animacidad)

Find and fix the mistake in the sentence: 'Эта мой друг.'

Find and fix the mistake:

Эта мой друг.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Это мой друг.
Even if 'друг' (friend) is masculine, the phrase 'This is...' always uses the neutral form 'Это'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: El 'Esto es' ruso: La palabra mágica 'Это' (Eto)

Score: /10

Preguntas frecuentes (6)

It determines how adjectives and verbs behave. If you get the gender wrong, your whole sentence will sound slightly 'off' to a native speaker.
It is for nouns that aren't masculine or feminine. They usually end in -о or -е, like 'окно' (window) or 'поле' (field).
Yes! A ghost (привидение) or a dead person (покойник) is considered animate because they represent a human being.
Yes, all insects like муха (fly) or паук (spider) are animate. You ask 'Кто это?' (Who is this?) about them.
Look at the ending! Consonants are usually masculine, -а/-я are feminine, and -о/-е are neuter. If it ends in a soft sign (-ь), you just have to memorize the gender.
It often shifts! For example, 'рукА' (hand) becomes 'рУки' (hands). There isn't a single rule for this, so listen to native speakers or check a dictionary.
Capítulo anterior
Me, Myself & I — Talking About You
Siguiente capítulo
Everyday Actions — Your First Verbs
Volver a la hoja de ruta