A1 Adjetivos 6 min read Fácil

Adjetivos cortos: Describiendo estados temporales (красив, готов)

Short adjectives describe the current state of a subject, functioning like a verb 'to be' in the present.
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Practícalo

Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Short adjectives describe a state or quality, usually acting as the predicate in a sentence instead of a noun modifier.

  • Short adjectives are used after the verb 'to be' (often omitted in present tense). Example: Он болен (He is sick).
  • They change based on gender and number, but not case. Example: Она больна (She is sick).
  • They are never used before a noun. You cannot say 'болен человек'.
Subject + (is) + Short Adjective

Overview

¿Alguna vez te has preguntado por qué algunos adjetivos rusos parecen haber pasado por la peluquería? En ruso, a menudo verás adjetivos que son más cortos que los que encuentras en el diccionario...
Los adjetivos cortos son una clase especial de palabras en ruso que se utilizan principalmente como el predicado de una oración...

How This Grammar Works

En ruso, los adjetivos largos (красивый, новый) suelen ir *antes* del sustantivo...

Gender & Agreement

Los adjetivos cortos deben coincidir con el sujeto en género y número...

Conjugation Table

Form Ending Example Translation
Masculine - (None) он красив Él es guapo...

Common Collocations

Hay algunas palabras que los rusos *casi siempre* usan en su forma corta...

Formation Pattern

1
Crear un adjetivo corto es como tallar una estatua: simplemente tomas el adjetivo largo y quitas lo que sobra...

Common Mistakes

El error más grande que cometen los principiantes es intentar usar adjetivos cortos antes de un sustantivo...

Quick FAQ

Q

¿Puedo usar adjetivos cortos en pasado? A: ¡Sí! Solo añade был...

Short Adjective Gender/Number Agreement

Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
готов
готова
готово
готовы
рад
рада
радо
рады
болен
больна
больно
больны
умён
умна
умно
умны
занят
занята
занято
заняты
свободен
свободна
свободно
свободны

Meanings

Short adjectives are a special form of qualitative adjectives used primarily as the predicate in a sentence to denote a temporary or permanent state.

1

Predicative State

Describing the state of a subject.

“Он готов.”

“Она рада.”

Reference Table

Reference table for Adjetivos cortos: Describiendo estados temporales (красив, готов)
Adjective (Long) Masculine (Short) Feminine (Short) Plural (Short)
красивый (beautiful)
красив
красива
красивы
готовый (ready)
готов
готова
готовы
занятый (busy)
занят
занята
заняты
свободный (free)
свободен
свободна
свободны
нужный (necessary)
нужен
нужна
нужны
здоровый (healthy)
здоров
здорова
здоровы

Espectro de formalidad

Formal
Он готов.

Он готов. (General)

Neutral
Он готов.

Он готов. (General)

Informal
Он готов.

Он готов. (General)

Jerga
Он в теме.

Он в теме. (General)

Short vs. Long Adjectives

Russian Adjectives

Long Form

  • красивый Permanent quality
  • перед существительным Before noun

Short Form

  • красив Temporary state
  • после существительного After noun

Short Adjective Endings

Gender
Masculine Zero ending (Ø)
Feminine -а
Neuter -о
Plural -ы / -и
Example (Ready)
готов He is ready
готова She is ready
готово It is ready
готовы They are ready

How to form the Masculine Short Form

1

Remove long ending. Are there 2 consonants at the end?

YES
Insert 'е' or 'о' (fleeting vowel)
NO
Keep as is
2

Does the stem end in -н?

YES
Usually use 'е' (свободен)
NO ↓

Common Short-Only Adjectives

😊

Feelings

  • • рад (glad)
  • • должен (must)
  • • согласен (agree)
⏳

States

  • • занят (busy)
  • • готов (ready)
  • • свободен (free)
Regístrate gratis para leer la explicación completa

Ejemplos por nivel

1

Я готов.

I am ready.

2

Она рада.

She is happy.

3

Он болен.

He is sick.

4

Дети здоровы.

The children are healthy.

1

Это ясно.

It is clear.

2

Ты прав.

You are right.

3

Они заняты.

They are busy.

4

Погода хороша.

The weather is good.

1

Я согласен с вами.

I agree with you.

2

Он был очень удивлён.

He was very surprised.

3

Задача трудна.

The task is difficult.

4

Они были уверены в успехе.

They were sure of success.

1

Его слова были полны смысла.

His words were full of meaning.

2

Я не намерен ждать.

I do not intend to wait.

3

Она была сердита на него.

She was angry at him.

4

Результаты были весьма скромны.

The results were quite modest.

1

Он был достоин этой награды.

He was worthy of this award.

2

Всё было сделано вовремя.

Everything was done on time.

3

Она была преисполнена решимости.

She was full of determination.

4

Это было крайне важно.

It was extremely important.

1

Он был свободен от предрассудков.

He was free from prejudices.

2

Она была верна своим принципам.

She was true to her principles.

3

Город был окружён лесами.

The city was surrounded by forests.

4

Он был лишён выбора.

He was deprived of a choice.

Fácil de confundir

Short Adjectives: Describing 'Right Now' (красив, готов) vs Full vs Short Adjectives

Learners use full adjectives where short are required.

Short Adjectives: Describing 'Right Now' (красив, готов) vs Short Adjective vs Adverb

Neuter short adjectives look like adverbs.

Short Adjectives: Describing 'Right Now' (красив, готов) vs Short Adjective vs Participle

Short passive participles look like short adjectives.

Errores comunes

✗

Красив дом.

✓

Дом красивый.

Short adjectives cannot modify nouns directly.
✗

Он готову.

✓

Он готов.

Masculine short form has no ending.
✗

Они готов.

✓

Они готовы.

Plural requires -ы/-и.
✗

Я есть готов.

✓

Я готов.

The verb 'to be' is omitted in present tense.
✗

Она болен.

✓

Она больна.

Gender mismatch.
✗

Это было ясному.

✓

Это было ясно.

Short adjectives don't decline by case.
✗

Они занят.

✓

Они заняты.

Plural agreement error.
✗

Он был очень занятый.

✓

Он был очень занят.

Predicative position prefers short form.
✗

Она была сердитая на него.

✓

Она была сердита на него.

Short form is more natural for state.
✗

Они были уверены в успехе.

✓

Они были уверены в успехе.

Correct, but learners often use full form.
✗

Он был достоинный награды.

✓

Он был достоин награды.

Short form is required here.
✗

Всё было сделанный.

✓

Всё было сделано.

Short participle usage.
✗

Она была преисполненная решимости.

✓

Она была преисполнена решимости.

Short form is required.

Patrones de oraciones

Я ___.

Он был ___.

Она ___ в успехе.

Всё ___.

Real World Usage

Texting constant

Я готов!

Job Interview common

Я готов к работе.

Social Media common

Всё ясно.

Travel occasional

Я свободен.

Food Delivery occasional

Заказ готов.

Academic Report common

Результаты важны.

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⚠️

Word Order Matters

Short adjectives never go before the noun. 'Красивый дом' is okay, but 'Красив дом' is not. Always say 'Дом красив'.
🎯

The 'Must' Hack

The word for 'must' (должен) is a short adjective. It changes by gender: он должен, она должна, они должны.
💬

Politeness in Short Forms

Using the short form 'здоров' (healthy) is common in the greeting 'Будь здоров!' (Be healthy/Bless you).

Smart Tips

Always use the short form if you are using the verb 'to be'.

Он есть хороший. → Он хорош.

Check if you need to add a fleeting vowel.

Он умн. → Он умён.

Don't forget the -ы/-и ending.

Они готов. → Они готовы.

Use short adjectives for a professional tone.

Я очень занятый человек. → Я занят.

Pronunciación

умён (u-MYON)

Stress

Stress in short adjectives can shift compared to full forms.

Statement

Он готов. ↓

Falling intonation for facts.

Memorízalo

Mnemotecnia

Short adjectives are like 'stamps'—they mark the subject's state, but they don't move around like full adjectives.

Asociación visual

Imagine a person standing on a scale. The scale shows their state (e.g., 'Ready', 'Happy'). The scale is the 'short' form, fixed in place.

Rhyme

Short and sweet, the state is neat, gender and number make it complete.

Story

Ivan was 'готов' (ready). Maria was 'рада' (happy). They were 'заняты' (busy). The house was 'пусто' (empty).

Word Web

готоврадболензанятправумён

Desafío

Write 5 sentences describing how you and your friends feel right now using short adjectives.

Notas culturales

Short adjectives are often used in formal correspondence to sound more professional.

Short adjectives were heavily used in socialist realism to describe heroic states.

Short adjectives are used for brevity in quick status updates.

Short adjectives are the original nominal forms of adjectives in Proto-Slavic.

Inicios de conversación

“

Ты готов к экзамену?

“

Ты согласен с этим мнением?

“

Ты занят сегодня?

“

Ты уверен в своём решении?

Temas para diario

Describe how you feel today using short adjectives.
Write about a time you were surprised.
Discuss a difficult task you completed.
Reflect on your goals for the future.

Errores comunes

Incorrect

Correcto

Incorrect

Correcto

Incorrect

Correcto

Incorrect

Correcto

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Test Yourself

Fill in the blank with the correct short form of 'готовый'.

Мама, обед ___?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: готов
'Обед' is masculine, so we use the masculine short form 'готов'.
Find the mistake in the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Она очень занят сегодня.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Она очень занята сегодня.
The subject 'Она' is feminine, so the adjective must be 'занята'.
Match the pronoun with the correct short form of 'свободный'. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: matched
Masculine uses the fleeting vowel 'е', feminine adds 'а', and plural adds 'ы'.

Score: /3

Ejercicios de practica

8 exercises
Fill in the blank.

Он ___ (ready).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: готов
Masculine short form.
Choose the correct form. Opción múltiple

Она ___ (happy).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: рада
Feminine short form.
Correct the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Красив дом.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Дом красивый.
Short adjectives don't modify nouns.
Change to short form. Sentence Transformation

Это был трудный урок.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Урок был труден.
Predicative position.
True or False? True False Rule

Short adjectives decline by case.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: False
They do not decline.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

Ты готов? - Да, я ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: готов
Agreement with 'я'.
Build a sentence. Sentence Building

болен / он / сегодня

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Он сегодня болен.
Standard word order.
Sort by gender. Grammar Sorting

Sort: готов, готова, готово, готовы.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: M, F, N, Pl
Correct order.

Score: /8

Practice Bank

10 exercises
Fill in the blank: I agree (masculine). Completar huecos

Я ___ с тобой.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: согласен
Translate to Russian: 'The coffee is cold.' (neuter) Traducción

Кофе (masc. in Russian) ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: холоден
Reorder to say 'You are right' (to a woman). Sentence Reorder

права / Ты

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ты права
Which is the correct short form for 'умный' (masculine)? Opción múltiple

Он очень ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: умён
Fix the sentence: 'The window is open.' Error Correction

Окно открыт.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Окно открыто.
Match the adjective with its masculine short form. Match Pairs

Match them:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: matched
Fill in the blank: 'The girls are beautiful.' Completar huecos

Девушки ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: красивы
How do you say 'I'm glad' (feminine)? Opción múltiple

Я ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: рада
Translate: 'It is important.' Traducción

Это ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: важно
Reorder: 'Are you busy?' (to a man) Sentence Reorder

Ты / занят / ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ты занят?

Score: /10

Preguntas frecuentes (8)

No, that is a common mistake. Use full adjectives instead.

No, they are indeclinable.

It's for pronunciation when two consonants meet.

Yes, especially for states like 'ready' or 'busy'.

Most qualitative adjectives do, but check a dictionary.

It depends on the context. If it modifies a verb, it's an adverb.

They can be, but they are also very common in daily life.

'Он занят' means he is busy right now. 'Он занятый' means he is a busy person generally.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

Regístrate gratis para practicar

In Other Languages

Spanish moderate

Ser/Estar

Russian doesn't change the verb, but changes the adjective form.

German high

Predicative adjectives

German adjectives don't change for gender in the predicate.

French moderate

Adjectifs attributs

French doesn't have a separate 'short' form.

Japanese low

i-adjectives

Japanese adjectives don't have gender.

Arabic moderate

Nominal sentence

Arabic has complex gender/number agreement.

Chinese low

Adjectival verbs

Chinese has no gender or number.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Concordancia de Género en Adjetivos Rusos: (новый, новая, новое)

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