Pancyprian Russian flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Genitive after нет

Constructions meaning 'there is no' take the genitive: нет времени, нет денег, нет проблемы. The same case follows у, без, от, до, из, and after numerals 2–4 (два стола, три книги).

Imperfective versus perfective

Imperfective describes process, repetition, or duration: я читал весь вечер. Perfective marks one completed result: я прочитал книгу. The choice changes the future form: буду читать versus прочитаю.

Verbs of motion pairs

идти and ехать describe one direction now; ходить and ездить describe repeated or round-trip movement; пойти and поехать mark the start of a journey. Prefixed forms use the идти stem: прийти, уйти, войти.

Dative with нравиться

The person who likes something stands in the dative, the thing liked is the nominative subject: Мне нравится этот фильм. Plural: Мне нравятся эти книги. The verb agrees with the thing, not the person.

First versus second conjugation

First conjugation: -у/-ю, -ешь, -ет, -ем, -ете, -ут/-ют. Second: -у/-ю, -ишь, -ит, -им, -ите, -ат/-ят. Irregular verbs include хотеть, бежать, дать, есть, and their compounds.

Prepositional case for location

Location inside or on something uses в or на plus the prepositional case: в городе, на столе, в школе. Direction uses the same prepositions with the accusative: в город, на стол, в школу.

Indeclinable neuter nouns

Loanwords ending in a vowel do not decline and are neuter: метро, кино, такси, пальто, кафе, радио. They take neuter agreement: новое кафе, быстрое такси. Exceptions are personal names like Иван.

Past tense gender agreement

Past-tense verbs agree in gender and number: он читал, она читала, оно читало, они читали. The suffix -л- is absent in masculine verbs whose stem ends in a consonant: нёс, мог, умер.

Comparative and superlative forms

Comparatives use -ее/-ей or the short form: быстрее, дороже. Suppletive forms: хороший - лучше, плохой - хуже, маленький - меньше. Superlative: самый новый or новее всех.

Counting words with numerals

After один the noun is singular; after два, три, четыре the genitive singular is used (два стола, три книги); after пять and above the genitive plural (пять столов, шесть книг).

Numbers in listening tasks

Dates put the day first: третье мая, двадцать первого июня. Years take the prepositional after в: в тысяча девятьсот восемьдесят пятом году. Prices: двести тридцать пять рублей.

Discourse markers as answer cues

Markers such as во-первых, кроме того, однако, поэтому, итак, наконец introduce the information tested in detail questions. The correct option typically follows one of these signals in the recording.

Negation placement in answers

In listening dialogues the tested point is often a negation: не надо, не стоит, нельзя, не успел, не помню. Compare with the positive form; a single не reverses the meaning of the whole statement.

ты versus вы register cues

Second-person singular forms (звонишь, скажи, хочешь) indicate friends, family, or children. Plural or polite forms (звоните, скажите, хотите) indicate officials, shop staff, doctors, and teachers.

Correction pattern in dialogues

One speaker states something, the other corrects it: Нет, не в среду, а в четверг. The corrected element, not the first statement, answers the question. Listen for нет, а, наоборот.

Announcement formula chunks

Public announcements use fixed phrases: Внимание! Поезд отправляется, Аптека закрыта, Вход воспрещён, Просьба выключить телефоны. They are recognised as whole units rather than word by word.

Hearing each recording twice

The first hearing establishes topic, speakers, and situation. The second hearing is used to confirm numbers, names, and negations. Notes taken during the first hearing should record only key words.

Scanning for anchors

Before reading sentences, locate numbers, capitalised names, dates, and headings. Detail questions in reading tasks are usually anchored to one such element, which narrows the search to a single paragraph.

Scope words that falsify options

Options containing все, всегда, никогда, только, кроме, большинство, единственный are usually false when the text states a limited or partial fact. Check the exact scope in the source text.

Fact versus opinion markers

Words such as по-моему, наверное, кажется, я думаю, возможно mark the author's opinion, not a fact. Questions asking what is stated as fact exclude sentences carrying these markers.

Recognising text types quickly

Объявление has a heading and contact line; расписание lists times and days; меню lists dishes and prices; письмо has greeting and closing formulas. Layout identifies the type before full reading.

Gap-fill by part of speech

Decide what the gap needs: noun, verb, preposition, or conjunction. Grammar eliminates some options before meaning is considered, for example after с only the instrumental case can follow.

Word formation for unknown words

Prefixes change direction or completion (при-, у-, вы-, пере-, под-); suffixes build nouns (‑ость, ‑ение, ‑тель, ‑ик) and adjectives (‑ный, ‑ский). International roots often give the meaning.

Time clause sequencing

Clauses with когда, после того как, до того как, пока не fix the order of events. Questions often test which action happened first, so map the sequence before choosing an option.

Formal letter closing formulas

Formal letters close with С уважением, followed by the name on a new line. Informal messages use До свидания, Пока, or Всего доброго. The closing must match the register chosen in the greeting.

Opinion paragraph structure

State the position, give two arguments with во-первых and во-вторых, add an example with например, present the counter-view with с другой стороны, and close with таким образом.

Aspect in narrative writing

Background description uses the imperfective: было тепло, мы гуляли. Single events use the perfective: вдруг мы увидели, потом пошли, наконец приехали. Mixing them randomly is a common accuracy error.

Planning word count

Plan about ten to twenty percent more words than the minimum, because editing removes repetitions and vague phrases. Under-length tasks lose marks even when the language is accurate.

Punctuation before connectors

A comma precedes что, потому что, который, если, когда in subordinate clauses. In «Я думаю, что…» the comma is obligatory. Missing commas are a frequent written-production penalty.

Final check of endings

Reserve the last minutes for endings only: noun and adjective case endings, verb person endings, and the distinction between -тся and -ться. Reading the text aloud silently helps detect missing agreement.

Repair phrases in oral tasks

Извините, повторите, пожалуйста; Что вы имеете в виду?; Можно медленнее? These keep the interaction going and are assessed positively, because they show strategic competence rather than failure.

Turn-taking in interaction

Answer the examiner's question, add one reason, then return a question: А ты как думаешь? А у вас? Single-word answers score low even when grammatically correct, because interaction is being assessed.