Russian verb conjugation… If you’re a beginner, you must be looking for your first conjugation tables to finally see what those proficient Russian learners have been intimidating you with. Or maybe you’re an intermediate learner who’s already mastered basic Russian conjugation rules and are now looking for more of a challenge. Maybe you’re an advanced learner who wouldn’t mind going over the basics again or learning new verb conjugation nuances you’ve never heard of? In any case, I’m happy to reveal some secrets to you that will help you tame the Russian verbs. It’s not a secret that Russian grammar (and verb conjugation, in particular) are demanding. It’s a long and complicated adventure, but I’m happy to guide you through the dark... Show more

Why is it important to study the most common verbs in Russian? Verbs are the backbone of every sentence. They help you keep track of the action in a sentence, and are absolutely essential for improving your language skills. So, this article is all about Russian verbs and will try to explain some of their important and unique aspects. Then at the end, we’ll give you a list of the 100 most essential Russian verbs to know for everyday situations. Before continuing, though, you may find it helpful to brush up on other parts of speech in Russian. We recommend checking out the following RussianPod101.com blog posts: Top 100 Adjectives in RussianTop 100 Nouns in RussianTop Russian Pronouns Table of Contents Learning the Russian... Show more

Psss, psss, you.  Yes, you.  RussianPod101 has chosen you for a top-secret mission. Don’t worry, no guns or poisoned apples are required. All you need is to equip yourself with a new portion of the Russian language and learn Russian pronouns with us. The thing is that we need you to deliver a message with secret information to a Russian spy. He’ll find you in the crowd on the street himself. The only difficulty is that you can’t name things directly in case there are enemy ears around. You’ll need to just drop some hints, and the Russian agent will understand. How? Well, Russian pronouns will help you. These tiny words replace nouns, and even adjectives, so that only the one who knows what you’re talking about will get the... Show more

This article is the result of a diligent inquiry into the question of how native Russians are actually telling time in Russian. If you’ve taken a peek at this topic before, you probably know that Russians usually add one of the following words to the number of hours: утра (utra) — "of the morning"дня (dnya) — "of the day"вечера (vechera) — "of the evening"ночи (nochi) — "of the night"  But how would you define three a.m.? Is it still night or is it already morning?  Well, the Russian language is very flexible, so both options are possible depending on the context and what you want to emphasize. If you’re talking about early wakeups, saying Сегодня я встал в 3 утра (Segodnya ya vstal v tri utra), or "Today I woke up at three in the... Show more

You’ve probably noticed that a lot of kids start learning words with nouns—besides sound imitations, of course. They say "mom," "dad," "dog," "cat," and so on. Only after that do they start to glue sentences together with verbs and add adjectives. It’s just so easy to point at something and pronounce its name—causing loud excitement in the rows of grannies and grandads. It’s actually a great way for grownups to study as well. You can put stickers with Russian nouns on things around you, practice saying the names of things in Russian while walking down the street, or talk about what you’re eating during dinner with Russian friends. It may also be helpful to make learning cards and draw pictures on them. In this article, RussianPod101... Show more

Russian prepositions are the glue of a sentence, connecting pronouns, nouns, and other words in order to convey the most accurate meaning and describe how things relate to each other. If you don’t know the main prepositions of the Russian language and have no idea how to use prepositions in Russian grammar, then you can’t write or speak the language correctly. In this article, you’ll find everything you need to master Russian prepositions and Russian prepositional cases. If you study properly, your Russian speech will become much richer and clearer. Table of Contents What is a Preposition? Prepositions of Time Prepositions of Location Prepositions of Relation Quiz Conclusion 1. What is a Preposition? Learn Russian... Show more

Did you know that there’s a Russian holiday called Крещение (Kreshcheniye), or "Baptism," when everyone jumps into прорубь (prorub’), or an "ice hole" in just their underwear? This holiday is in January, so it might be -10°C or -20°C, or even -50°C outside. Russian people believe that it washes off their sins and improves health. This holiday salutes the end of Russian winter holidays, each of which contains even more peculiar traditions. (You thought you were just going to learn Happy Birthday in Russian, didn’t you?) To feel confident in living in Russia and communicating with Russian people, it’s important to know these traditions, especially how people congratulate each other. So, let’s dig into the festive side of life and learn how... Show more

It’s великолепная идея (velikolepnaya ideya)—"a great idea"—to learn Russian adjectives ahead of nouns and verbs. They can be used as a whole sentence when speaking, so once you have the most essential Russian adjectives down, you can start characterizing objects, people, and occasions right away. For advanced learners, Russian adjectives will make your speech richer, wittier, and more expressive. Table of Contents Russian Grammar: Adjectives & How They Work Top 100 Russian Adjectives Every Language Learner Should Know Conclusion 1. Russian Grammar: Adjectives & How They Work The declension of Russian adjectives might seem difficult at first, but after seeing some example sentences and getting deeper into the language as a... Show more

The best way to learn any language is to immerse yourself in the culture of the target language. Such as reading in Russian, watching movies and TV shows in Russian, listening to Russian podcasts, chatting with Russian friends, and learning new words with Russian teachers. Russian series on Netflix will be a great step in creating this true Russian atmosphere for boosting the learning process. Yes, you really can learn Russian on Netflix! And when it comes to Russian TV, Netflix is a gold mine. So, what’s the best way to learn from Netflix Russia? Here are some tips on how to watch Russian Netflix for language-learning purposes: First, don’t translate every single word. You’ll get tired and lose interest pretty fast. Instead, either... Show more

Compared to verbs, nouns, and adjectives, conjunctions in Russian don’t decline, agree, or conjugate. Yaaaay! Moreover, they’re very similar to those in English. Once you learn the top ten (well, the top twelve) conjunctions—if you’ve set your mind seriously—your Russian language skills will become undeniably better. Ready to start learning the most basic conjunctions in Russian? Let’s get to our Russian conjunctions list! Table of Contents What is a Russian Conjunction? Conjunctions to Correlate Similar Thoughts: И (I) — "And" Conjunctions to Express Opposition: Но (No) — "But" Conjunctions to Express Choice: Или (Ili) — "Or" Conjunctions to Express Condition: Если (Yesli) — "If" Conjunction for Comparison: Как (Kak) —... Show more