QCAA Russian (SEE) cheat sheet

Russian has 6 cases; listening items often hinge on case endings that mark who does what (кого/кому/кем), so track noun endings, not just word order.

Aspect is audible: perfective verbs (сделал, скажу) present a completed single act; imperfective (делал, говорил) presents process, repetition, or background.

Past-tense gender agreement (-л/-ла/-ло/-ли) identifies the subject when the noun is omitted: сказала = a female speaker.

Verb of motion prefixes change meaning: при- (arrival), у- (departure), вы- (exit), пере- (crossing), до- (reaching); listen for the prefix, not the root.

Negation doubles in Russian: не + никого/ничего/никогда/нигде; a double negative is standard and still means negative.

Numbers govern case: 2-4 take genitive singular (два года), 5+ take genitive plural (пять лет); dates use ordinal genitive (пятого мая).

Discourse markers signal structure: во-первых/во-вторых list points; однако/зато contrast; кстати digresses; итак concludes.

Stress placement distinguishes minimal pairs (за́мок castle / замо́к lock; му́ка torment / мука́ flour); use context to disambiguate.

Skim for text type first: заголовок, подзаголовок, выделенный шрифт and bullet lists reveal genre (advert, article, letter, notice) and purpose.

Cognates and internationalisms (информация, проблема, театр, компьютер) give fast lexical footholds, but watch for false friends (аккуратный = tidy, not accurate).

Aspect in the infinitive signals intent: начать + imperfective (start doing), успеть + perfective (manage to do).

Short adjectives in -о/-е form impersonal statements (важно, интересно, запрещено); these often carry the main point of a notice.

Participles compress clauses: читающий (who reads), прочитавший (who has read), прочитанный (which was read); the suffix marks tense and voice.

Reflexive -ся/-сь removes the object: продаётся (is sold), открывается (opens); common in signs and advertisements.

Time expressions: через + accusative (in X time), назад + accusative (X ago), до + genitive (before), после + genitive (after).

Inference items require evidence in the text; a plausible real-world fact not stated in the passage is not the answer.

Text types carry fixed conventions: письмо (address, greeting, body, closing), объявление (headline, details, contact), статья (headline, introduction, argument, conclusion).

Register controls pronoun choice: ты/тебя for peers and friends; вы/вас for adults, officials, and unknown addressees - capitalised Вы only in formal correspondence.

Greetings and closings pair by register: Привет! … Пока! (informal); Здравствуйте! … С уважением, … (formal).

Aspect in the imperative: perfective (напиши, прочитай) = single completed request; imperfective (пиши, читай) = ongoing or repeated instruction.

Verbs of motion without prefix take по- for one-way travel (пойти, поехать); prefixed forms specify direction (прийти, уйти, войти).

Genitive after prepositions у, от, до, из, с, без, для, около; accusative after в/на for direction; prepositional after в/на for location.

Cohesive devices to deploy: во-первых, кроме того, однако, поэтому, таким образом, в заключение.

Word count and task instructions (audience, purpose, required points) are marked; omitting a required point costs more than a grammatical slip.

Stress is lexical, not predictable: говори́ть, звони́ть, краси́вее; misstressed syllables impede comprehension more than wrong consonants.

Unstressed о reduces to [a] (Москва → [масква]) and unstressed е/я reduce toward [i]; akanye/ikanye is the standard marker of natural speech.

Voiced consonants devoice word-finally and before voiceless consonants (друг → [друк], всё → [фсё]); voiceless assimilate to voiced before б, д, г, ж, з (сделать → [зделать]).

Soft sign ь and letters е, ё, ю, я palatalise the preceding consonant; hard vs soft contrast can change meaning (угол/уголь).

Fillers and hedges buy planning time naturally: ну, значит, как бы, то есть, наверное, по-моему.

Answer structure for discussion: state position (Я считаю, что…), justify (потому что…), give example (например…), concede (хотя…), conclude (таким образом…).

Formal address uses имя + отчество (Иван Петрович) without a surname; using only a first name with an adult signals disrespect.

Comparatives: лучше, хуже, больше, меньше are suppletive; use чем + nominative or genitive for comparison (лучше, чем раньше).