Town, Region and Country

Those endings finally explained

You have already met Russian phrases where the word changed shape and you were told to learn the whole thing: на поезде, by train. The ending was there; the reason was not. Here is the reason. When a Russian word says where something is, its ending changes. English puts a small word in front and leaves the noun alone; Russian alters the noun itself. This module teaches that on six words, and no further, so you finish with something you can actually use.

Where you live

Five words to learn, plus парк (park), which Russian borrowed and you can already read:

Match each word to its meaning

Saying you are IN it

For every word in this module, saying you are in the place means putting -е on the end. город becomes в городе - in the city. деревня becomes в деревне - in the village. страна becomes в стране - in the country. магазин becomes в магазине - in the shop. The little word in front is usually в. But streets take на: на улице, in the street. That is not a rule you can work out - it is simply how Russian says it, so learn it with the word. And the honest limit: this is one ending on six words. Russian nouns change in several other ways, for other jobs, and none of those is taught here. What you have is enough to say where you are, and enough to see why на поезде looked the way it did.

How do you say "in the city"?

город (gorod) is city. Which of these means "in the city"?

• в городе (v gorode)
• в город (v gorod)
• на городе (na gorode)
• городе (gorode) on its own

The rule

To say where something is, Russian changes the _____ of the word. For every word in this module you add _____: город becomes _____, and деревня becomes _____. The little word in front is usually в, but streets take _____ instead.

Which word has changed?

Here is a short sentence. Tap the word whose ending has changed because it is saying where.

• Я
• живу
• в городе
• , а мой брат живёт
• в деревне
• .

Order them by size

Put these four places in order, smallest first.

• улица (ulitsa) - street
• деревня (derevnya) - village
• город (gorod) - city
• страна (strana) - country

Which are correct?

Select the TWO that are correctly formed.

• в магазине, for "in the shop"
• на улице, for "in the street"
• в улице, for "in the street"
• в страна, for "in the country"

Use it

Three moments where the ending matters.

• You want to say you live in a village. What do you need to do to деревня?
• You want to say something is in the street. Which small word?
• You meet a Russian noun that is not in this module and want to say "in" it.

Naming it, or being in it

The same word, doing two different jobs. English changes nothing; Russian changes the end.

City, country and street in Russian

A city is _____ and a village is _____. A country is _____ and a street is _____. And to say you are in one of them, put в in front and add _____ to the end of the word - except for streets, which take на.

Where you live, the Russian way

Write in English about where you live, and then explain what you have learned about how Russian says where something is.

• Say whether you live in a village, a town or a city, and give the Russian word for it
• Give the Russian for "in" that place, and say what changed about the word
• Explain what happens to a Russian noun that English does not do to its own nouns
• Say which word in this module behaves differently, and what it takes instead of в