HSC Russian Continuers cheat sheet

In the HSC Russian Continuers Listening section, each item is played twice; first play for gist (who, where, what), second play for detail (numbers, times, reasons).

Russian verbs of motion: идти/ходить (on foot, one-way/multi-way), ехать/ездить (by vehicle). Listening texts often test the choice between these.

Aspect in past tense: imperfective (делал) = repeated/ongoing action; perfective (сделал) = completed result. Listen for time markers: часто, всегда, вдруг, уже, ещё не.

Numbers in Russian: listen for cases after prepositions (в пять часов, после пяти часов). Genitive after два/три/четыре vs пять and above changes the noun ending.

Common listening traps: negation (не хочу, никогда), double negation (никто не пришёл), and words that sound similar (сейчас vs сейчас же).

Time expressions: через (in/after), назад (ago), до (before), после (after). Distinguish «через час» (in an hour) from «час назад» (an hour ago).

Discourse markers signal answers: но (but), поэтому (therefore), хотя (although), зато (on the other hand). Note the speaker's attitude, not just facts.

When answering in Russian, match the case required by the question word: Где? → в/на + prepositional; Куда? → в/на + accusative; Откуда? → из/с + genitive.

Skim the text first for gist and text type (advertisement, letter, article, dialogue). Then scan for specific information requested by the questions.

Russian word order is flexible; the new/focused information (rheme) usually comes at the end. Do not assume the first noun is the subject.

Case endings carry meaning: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), genitive (possession/absence/quantity), dative (recipient/age), instrumental (means/with), prepositional (location after в/на).

Verbs of motion with prefixes: при- (arrive), у- (leave), вы- (exit), в- (enter), пере- (cross), до- (reach). The prefix changes both direction and aspect.

Reflexive verbs ending -ся/-сь often indicate intransitivity or reciprocity: встречаться (to meet each other), начинаться (to begin).

Short adjectives (рад, должен, болен, уверен) take dative for the person: Я рад (I am glad), Мне холодно (I am cold).

For inference questions, locate the sentence with the key word, then check surrounding sentences for contrast (но, однако) or cause (потому что, так как).

Answer in Russian using the same register and person as the question; for «Почему?» use потому что + clause; for «Зачем?» use чтобы + infinitive.

HSC Russian Continuers writing tasks typically require 150–200 words; plan 5 minutes, write 20, review 5. Address all bullet points in the prompt.

Text types and their conventions: informal letter (Привет, ... До свидания), formal letter (Уважаемый ... С уважением), diary (Дорогой дневник), article (title, introduction, body, conclusion), speech (Обращение, вступление, основная часть, заключение).

Use a range of complex structures: subordinate clauses (который, потому что, если, хотя), participial phrases (человек, читающий книгу), and gerunds (читая, сделав).

Aspect consistency in narration: use perfective for sequential completed events, imperfective for background, description, and repeated actions.

Cohesive devices: во-первых, во-вторых, кроме того, однако, следовательно, таким образом. These raise the coherence criterion.

Register: informal letters use ты, contractions (сейчас → щас is too colloquial), and expressive particles (ведь, же, вот). Formal letters use вы, passive constructions, and no slang.

Punctuation: Russian uses commas before что, чтобы, потому что, если, хотя, который; dashes replace missing copula (Москва - столица).

Vocabulary variety: avoid repeating сказать/делать/хорошо; use synonyms (говорить, заявить, отметить; делать, совершать, выполнять; хорошо, отлично, прекрасно).