The Focus of this Lesson is How to Say "This is..." and "This is not.." in Russian
Нет, это не банк, это торговый центр.
"No, this is not a bank, this is a shopping center."

Grammatical structure:

Q: Это музей?
Eto muzey?
A: Да, это музей.
Da, eto muzey.
A: Нет, это не музей.
Net, eto ne muzey.          
Q: "Is this a museum?"
A: "Yes, this is a museum."
A: "No, this is not a museum."

This grammar is quite simple. The phrase  "This is" could be literally translated as Это есть (Eto est'), where Это (Eto) means "This" and есть (est') means "to be." In this grammatical structure, the verb "to be" should be elided, in other words, omitted. So instead of saying Это есть музей (Eto est' muzey?) you should simply say Это музей (Eto muzey).

The affirmative answer has the following structure:

"Yes, this is..."/Да, это.... (Da, eto..)

For example:

- Это парк? (Eto park?) - Да, это парк. (Da, eto park.)

- "Is this a park?" - "Yes, this is a park."

A negative answer has the following structure:

"No, this is not..."/Нет, это не....(Net, eto ne...)

As in English, in Russian, the negative answer has double negation: Нет, это не...(Net, eto ne....) No, this is not...

For example:

- Это парк? (Eto park?) -Нет, это не  парк. (Net, eto ne park.)

- "Is this a park?" - "No, this is not a park."

Note: Be careful about your intonation. 

This question can be asked in two ways by using two different intonations. Depending on the intonation the answer will also differ.

The first type of intonation is: Это музей? (Eto muzey?) "Is this a museum?" the stress should be put on the word музей (muzey) "museum." This type of question means that the speaker is not sure whether this building is a museum or, for example, a bank. The answer to this question is: Да, это музей (Da, eto muzey), "Yes, this is a museum" or Нет, это не музей (Net, eto ne muzey), "No, this is not a museum."

The second type of intonation is Это музей? (Eto muzey?) "Is it a museum?" The stress should be put on the word Это (Eto) "Is it." This type of question means that a speaker is probably thinking that this building is a museum but needs confirmation of it. The answer to this question will be: Да, это (Da, eto), "Yes, it is" or Нет, не это (Net, ne eto), "No, it is not."

Language Tip

All consonants in Russian can be divided into voiced and voiceless. Some letters denote only one sound, for example щ whereas others can denote two sounds, for example з, д, б, о and so on. What does it depend on? It depends on their position and whether they are stressed or unstressed. Let's take a closer look.

О - {а} and {о}. Here is the rule: If the letter O is stressed we should read and pronounce it as O. If the letter O is unstressed we should read and pronounced it as А.

For example: 

The first key word for this lesson is Уважаемые (Uvazhayemyye), which can be translated as "Dear."

Example from the dialogue:

1. Уважаемые туристы, это Красная площадь.
   Uvazhayemyye turisty, eto Krasnaya ploshchad'.
   "Dear tourists, this is Red Square."

The word Уважаемые (Uvazhayemyye)  is the plural form of the word Уважаемый (Uvazhayemyy), masculine, Уважаемая (Uvazhayemaya), feminine.

This word is a very polite way to address to a third party and can be used at official presentations, meetings, announcements, in official letters etc. The phrase Уважаемые (Uvazhayemyye) should be put at the beginning of the sentence.

For example:

1. 1. Уважаемые дамы и господа, Вас приветствует компания "Аэрофлот" на борту нашего самолета Аэробус A330.
   Uvazhayemyye damy i gospoda, Vas privetstvuyet kompaniya "Aeroflot" na bortu nashego samoleta Airbus A330.
   "Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Aeroflot company welcomes you on board of our plane Airbus A330."
2. В зоопарке: Уважаемые посетители, просим Вас не кормить животных.
   V zooparke: Uvazhayemyye posetiteli, prosim Vas ne kormit' zhivotnykh.
   "At the zoo: "Dear visitors, please do not feed the animals."

The next keyword for this lesson is an interjection Ого! (Ogo!).

Example from the dialogue:

1. Ого! Целый дворец!
   Ogo! Tselyy dvorets!
   "Wow! A great big Palace!"

The interjection Ого is used when we want to emphasize our feelings of astonishment, surprise; that something is unexpectedly better or worse that we expected. Such feelings are usually strong and sudden.

In written Russian, the interjection Ого should be separated by a comma or an exclamation mark. The interjection  Ого can be used either with other words in the sentence or separately.

For example:

1. -Это платье стоит 10 000 долларов.
   Eto plat'ye stoit 10 000 dollarov.
   "This dress costs 10,000 dollars."
   Ого! Как дорого!
   Ogo! Kak dorogo!
   "Oho! How expensive!"

In this sentence the interjection "Oho!" emphasizes the feeling of unpleasant surprise because of the dress being unexpectedly expensive.

1. -Я выиграл в лотерею!
   Ya vyigral v lotereyu!
   "I won the lottery!"
   Сколько?
   Skol'ko?
   "How much?"
   15 000 долларов.
   15 000 dollarov.
   "15 000 dollars."
   Ого!
   Ogo!
   "Wow!"

In this sentence the interjection "Ogo!" emphasizes the astonishment of a huge amount of money won in the lottery. Whether the amount of money is huge or not depends on the speaker's opinion.

Places to See in Russia

Russia is rich for sightseeing places. There are plenty of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (both natural and of artificial origin) such as the Golden Mountains of Altai (Золотые горы Алтая), the mysterious Lake Baikal (озеро Байкал), Moscow Kremlin (Кремль) and Red Square (Красная площадь), the Historic Center of St. Petersburg (Исторический центр Санкт Петербурга) and so on. But one of the most famous sightseeing places, one of the symbols of Russia for many foreign tourists is Saint Basil's Cathedral.

The construction of the Cathedral started around the year 1555 on the order of Ivan the Terrible and was accompanied by many legends. As the saying goes, the architects went on to build the most beautiful and gorgeous cathedral in the world. In order for the architects not to be able to set the same or even more magnificent church, Ivan the Terrible ordered that they be blinded. Nowadays, the Saint Basil's Cathedral works only as a museum and is still considered to be one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world.