Russian Language and Literature
Russian language and literature tests spelling, punctuation, speech norms, and analysis of 19th–20th-century texts. Expect items on не/ни, -н-/-нн-, prefixes, participial and adverbial phrases, complex sentences, and literary movements from classicism to realism.
Core rules
- Не with full participles is separate when there is a dependent word: не прочитанная мной книга; together without one: непрочитанная книга.
- Participial phrases are set off by commas after the noun; adverbial phrases are almost always set off.
- In complex sentences, subordinate clauses are separated; recognise cause, condition, concession, and consequence connectors.
Worked example
“Книга, (не) прочитанная мной, лежала на столе.” The participle has the dependent word мной, so write не separately: не прочитанная мной. If the phrase were непрочитанная книга, with no dependent word, it would be one word. Check first for a dependent word.
Traps
- -тся/-ться: ask what the subject does versus what is to be done.
- One н in short participles (прочитана), two in full passive participles with prefixes.
- Commas before как are not automatic; compare “как художник” (comparison) and “как известно” (parenthetical).
- Literature: confusing hero, narrator, and author; quoting without commentary.