Saxony-Anhalt Abitur Russian cheat sheet

Operational format: typically two or three playbacks (global, detail, selective) with short pauses; tasks are usually true/false, multiple-choice, or short-answer in German or Russian.

Global listening first: identify text type (Interview, Nachrichten, Dialog, Vortrag), speaker roles, topic, and communicative intention before noting details.

Detail listening: capture numbers, dates, names, places, and negations; Russian numerals in oblique cases (двух тысяч, пятьюстами) are frequent distractors.

Signal words mark structure: russ. во-первых, кроме того, однако, таким образом; germ. zunächst, allerdings, deshalb, zusammenfassend.

Distinguish main statement from speaker attitude: russ. вероятно, якобы, supposedly vs. sicher, tatsächlich; germ. angeblich vs. tatsächlich.

False-friend trap in listening: russ. актуальный = current, not 'actual'; german aktuell = current. Do not transfer meaning across languages.

Numbers and quantities: russ. полтора (1.5), дюжина (12), пара (2), четверть (25 %); germ. ein Dutzend, anderthalb.

If a detail is missed, keep listening: later clauses often restate or correct earlier information (russ. точнее, вернее; germ. genauer gesagt).

Task types: global (title/main idea), selective (specific information), detailed (true/false/not in text); answers must be grounded in the text, not world knowledge.

'Not in text' (nicht im Text / нет в тексте) is a distinct option: if the statement is plausible but unstated, it is not 'true'.

Scan for the keyword of the statement, then read the whole sentence plus one before and after; Russian word order is flexible, so the subject may follow the verb.

Negation and hedging change truth value: russ. не, никогда, вряд ли, едва ли; germ. nicht, kaum, keineswegs. A hedged statement is not a categorical one.

Russian participles and verbal adverbs (причастие, деепричастие) compress clauses: читающий = who reads; прочитав = after reading. Expand them to check meaning.

German nominal style in non-fiction: long noun phrases with genitive chains; locate the head noun (last element) and resolve the genitive attributes from right to left.

Register and source: a commentary (Kommentar) contains opinion markers (russ. по-моему, на мой взгляд; germ. meines Erachtens); a report (Bericht) does not.

Time references: russ. в прошлом году, два года назад, к концу года; germ. vor zwei Jahren, bis Jahresende. Map them to a timeline before answering.

Mediation is not literal translation: the task defines addressee, purpose, and text type (E-Mail, Notiz, Bericht, Zusammenfassung); these determine register and length.

Situational adequacy beats word-for-word fidelity: render function (request, apology, invitation) with the target-language convention, e.g. germ. Ich würde mich freuen, wenn ... for russ. Буду рад, если ...

Keep proper names, institutions, and numbers exact; convert units and dates to the target convention (russ. 05.03.2024 vs. germ. 5. März 2024).

Omit or condense what the addressee does not need; add a short gloss in the target language for culture-specific terms (Datscha, Silvester) instead of transliterating blindly.

Formulaic correspondence: germ. Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren / Mit freundlichen Grüßen; russ. Уважаемые дамы и господа / С уважением. Match the formality of the source.

False friends in mediation: russ. магазин = shop (not magazine); germ. Gift = poison (not gift); russ. симпатичный = likable (not sympathetic).

Check mediation output against three criteria: information completeness, addressee orientation, and linguistic correctness; note any deliberate omission in one sentence if the task allows.

Reported speech shift: when summarizing, use Konjunktiv I in German (Er sagte, er komme) and appropriate Russian tense/ person shifts (Он сказал, что придёт).

Task types: (a) summary of a Russian source text, (b) argumentative essay/comment on a statement, (c) formal letter or e-mail; each has its own structure and register.

Essay structure: Einleitung with thesis, 2–3 body paragraphs each with claim–evidence–example, counter-argument, Schluss with restated position.

Summary rules: present tense, third person, no personal opinion, no quotations, roughly one third of the source length; use reporting verbs (russ. автор утверждает; germ. der Autor betont).

Cohesion devices: germ. zunächst, darüber hinaus, im Gegensatz dazu, folglich, abschließend; russ. во-первых, кроме того, напротив, следовательно, в заключение.

Formal letter register: no contractions, no colloquialisms; German uses Sie consistently, Russian uses Вы with capital letter in correspondence.

Argumentation markers in Russian: с одной стороны ... с другой стороны; это свидетельствует о том, что; нельзя не согласиться с тем, что.

Word count and task instructions are part of the assessment: cover every bullet point (Inhaltspunkte) before polishing style; a missing point costs more than a grammar slip.

Avoid empty phrases (Ich denke, dass es wichtig ist, dass ...); replace with a specific claim and a concrete example.

Russian aspect: perfective for completed/single results (прочитать, написать), imperfective for process, repetition, and general facts (читать, писать).

Russian cases after prepositions: в/на + Akk. for direction, + Präp. for location; через + Akk. (time span); после + Gen.; благодаря + Dat.

German case government: Wechselpräpositionen take Akk. for direction and Dat. for position; genitive prepositions (wegen, trotz, während, statt) take Gen.

Russian verb government differs from German: помогать + Dat. (jemandem helfen), интересоваться + Instr. (sich für etwas interessieren), зависеть от + Gen. (von etwas abhängen).

German word order: verb second in main clauses, verb final in subordinate clauses (weil, dass, obwohl); after an initial adverbial the subject follows the verb (In der Schule lernt man ...).

Russian negation: не + verb for general negation; нет + Gen. for absence (У меня нет времени); double negation is standard and not a mistake.

German adjective declension: after definite article weak endings (-e, -en); after ein/kein mixed; without article strong (-er, -es, -e).

Russian plural and numeral government: 2–4 + Gen. Sg. (два года), 5+ + Gen. Pl. (пять лет); German: zwei Jahre, fünf Jahre (no plural ending on Jahr after numerals).