Russian Lesson 10
Десятый Урок
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| Lessons | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
In Russian Lesson 10 you will listen to an interesting dialog; learn some Russian words about the body; phrasal verbs; verb to be in the Past Tense; voiced and voiceless consonants.
Contents on this lesson:
- Даже уши болят — Even my ears hurt
- 10A. Phrasal Verbs
- 10Б. Omitting Obvious Possessive Pronouns
- 10B. The Verb hurts
- 10 Г. The Verb be in the Past Tense
- 10Д. Voiced (vibrating) and Voiceless (non-vibrating) Consonants
Диалог — Dialogue
Даже уши болят — Even my ears hurt
| Таня | 1 | Привет, Витя! Как дела? | Hey, Vitya, what's up? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Витя | 2 | Ой! Я плохо себя чувствую. | Ugh! I don't feel well. |
| Таня | 3 | Что с тобой? | What's wrong with you? |
| Витя | 4 | Живот болит. Голова болит. Всё болит. Даже уши болят. | My stomach hurts. My head hurts. Everythng hurts. Even my ears hurt. |
| Таня | 5 | Болят уши! Ну ты даёшь! Как это? | Your ears hurt! You are really something. How is that possible? |
| Витя | 6 | Я был в T I* вчера. | I was at TI yesterday. |
| Таня | 7 | Всё ясно. | Enough said. (lit. Everything is clear) |
*Most Russians recognise Latin letters and use them in abbreviations for which there are no Russian equivalents, eg., IBM, PC, www, NB, SOS.
Словарь - Russian Vocabulary
| 2 | я плохо себя чувствую | I don't feel well (lit. I badly myself feel) |
| 3 | что с тобой? | what's (wrong) with you? |
| 4 | живот | stomach |
| 4 | болит | hurts; aches (3sg.; only 3rd. person is used with this verb) |
| 4 | голова | head |
| 4 | даже | even |
| 4 | уши | ears (sg. ухо) |
| 4 | болят | hurt; ache (3pl) |
| 5 | ну ты даёшь | you're really something (lit. well, you give - this is a very common Russian expression. It's almost impossible to translate) |
| 5 | как это? | how is that possible; what do you mean? |
| 6 | вчера | yesterday |
| 7 | ясно | clear; understandable |
Грамматика - Russian Grammar
10A. Phrasal Verbs
я плохо себя чувствую (2)
The verb feel (sick, well) consist of 2 parts - чувствую* feel and себя self. Leaving out себя, which a lot of American students learning Russian do, is like saying Everyone was laughing John instead of Everyone was laughing at John. (Actually this phrasal verb requires a third component, an adverb, eg., плохо, хорошо).
Also note: In English we would most likely say I don't feel well, while in Russian it's much better to say I feel badly).
*This is the 1st. person singular form. This form changes for other persons. You'll learn more about verbal conjugation on Lesson 16.
10Б. Omitting Obvious Possessive Pronouns
живот болит, голова болит, уши болят (4)
In Russian possessive pronouns (my, his, your) are often omitted, especially when it's obvious whose stomach / head / sister / husband / is being described.
10B. The Verb hurts
голова болит; уши болят (4)
The verb hurt has the same verb conjugation as be (in a lying position).
| Verb | 3rd. SG. | 3rd. PL |
|---|---|---|
| be (in a lying position) | лежит | лежат |
| hurt | болит | болят |
This verb is used only in the 3rd. person to indicate that a part of the body hurts. To ask someone else if anything hurts them, use the following Russian Language construction:
| у тебя + болит / болят + body part(s) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| У тебя by you |
болит hurts |
голова? head |
Does your head hurts? | |
| Болят hurt |
уши. ears |
My ears hurt. | ||
| Что what |
у тебя by you |
болит? hurts |
What hurts (you)? | |
Use the body parts listed below to form sentenses according to the example. (The new body parts listed are not part of your active vocabulary yet.) Example:
- Живот ==> У тебя болит живот? Да, живот болит.
Try to answer the questions before listening to the recording. Then compare your answers here.
- рука (arm) ==>
- уши ==>
- живот ==>
- голова ==>
- ноги (legs) ==>
- глаз (eye) ==>
- плечи (shoulders) ==>
- нога (leg) ==>
- нос (nose) ==>
- горло (throat) ==>
- руки (arms) ==>
- ухо ==>
10 Г. The Verb be in the Past Tense
я был (6)
Unlike in the Present Tense, there is a form of the verb be in the Past. The stem is бы+, onto which is added either -а / -ла / -ли depending on the gender of the subject. Note that the stress moves to the end only for the Feminine.
| Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine я, ты, он |
Feminine я, ты, она |
Neuter оно |
All Genders мы, вы*, они |
| был | была | было | были |
*The plural form of the verb is used with вы, even when it is Formal singular.
Transform the Russian sentences as in the example, supplying the correct form of 'to be' in the Past Tense. Examples:
- мой отец (Нью-Йорк) ==> Вчера мой отец был в Нью-Йорке.
- Маша (ресторан) ==> Вчера Маша была в ресторане.
Try to answer the questions before listening to the recording. Then compare your answers here.
- Моя жена (Филадельфия) ==>
- Наш сын (Москва) ==>
- Боря (Трентон) ==>
- Я (masc.) (клуб) ==>
- Его родители (Россия) ==>
- Мы (Гарвард) ==>
- Ты (fem.) (Петербург) ==>
- Они (Калифорния) ==>
- Аня (Париж) ==>
- Зоя и Лёва (Детроит) ==>
- Вы (ресторан) ==>
- Я (fem.) (Нью-Йорк) ==>
- Она (Чикаго - think) ==>
- Их дети (Принстон) ==>
10Д. Voiced (vibrating) and Voiceless (non-vibrating) Consonants
10Д1. The 'Throat Test'
Close your eyes, put your fingers on the sides of your throat and pronounce the sound б over and over. Pay attention to the movement of your lips, teeth, and tongue. You should feel a vibration near your vocal chords. Now quickly switch to a series of the sound п. Everything (lips, teeth, tongue) should be exactly the same, except that the vibration is gone.
'Vibrating' consonants are referred to as Voiced consonants, non-vibrating as Voiceless. There are 6 such Voiced /Voiceless pairs: (do the 'throat test' with the other 5 pairs - it's the most fun you'll have in this lesson):
| Voiced | б / Бь | в / вь | г* | л / ль | ж* | з / зь |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voiceless | п / пь | ф / фь | к* | т / ть | ш* | с / сь |
*Remember that гь and кь do not occur in Russian Language; ж and ш are inherently hard.
Why am I telling you all this? In some cases a voiced consonant will be pronounced voiceless, and vice versa, a voiceless consonant will be pronounced like its voiced counterpart. These assimilations occur automatically for Russian speakers (actually, except for Russian language teachers, the vast majority of Russians are not aware of these sound changes), but for English speakers they must be learned and practiced. English also has some instances of devoicing: have to is normally pronounced - and occassionally written - 'hafta', where 'v' devoices to [f].
10Д2. Where devoicing / voicing occurs
Devoicing (voiced > voiceless)
A voiced consonant loses its vibration:
- at the end of a word
- directly preceding one or more voiceless consonants (including prepositions that end in a voiceless consonant, which are pronounced together with the following word):
Hardness /Softness of the consonant play no role. Final soft voiced consonants devoice - and remain soft.
Listen and repeat
| At The End Of A Word | Directly Preceding 1 or More Voiceless Consonants | |
|---|---|---|
| Б > П | хлеб (bread), гроб (coffin), голубь (dove), скорбь (grief) | rare |
| В > Ф | Чехов, Горбачёв, кровь (blood), любовь (love) | второй (second), в Принстоне, завтра (tomorrow), Достоевский, всё |
| Г > К | враг (enemy), снег (snow), диалог, друг (friend) | rare |
| Д > Т | Ленинград, обед (lunch), город (city), тетрадь (notebook), лошадь (horse) | водка |
| Ж > Ш | муж, багаж (baggage), нож (knife), Recall that both ж and ш are permanently hard consonants, and so a ь has no influence on the pronunciation: ложь (lie), настежь (wide open) |
ложка (spoon) |
| З > С | джаз (jazz), майонез (mayonaise), мороз (frost), князь (prince), связь (connection) | французский (French) |
Voicing (voiceless > voiced)
A voiceless consonant becomes voiced directly preceding one or more voiced consonants. Voicing occurs MUCH less frequently than devoicing.
Listen and repeat:
| Ф > В | афганец (Afghanistani) |
|---|---|
| К >Г | рюкзак (backpack), экзамен (exam) |
| С > З | сделать (to do /make), бейсбол, просьба (favor) |
| Т > Д | футбол, баскетбол |
| Ш > Ж | волшба (magic) |
These two rules (Voiced > devoiced and vice versa) can be simplified into a single rule for your convenience:
In a group of consonants, the final consonant determines the voicing for the whole cluster.
Exceptions (what did you expect?)
Before в voiceless consonants DO NOT become voiced:
Listen and repeat
- твой - voiceless 'т' does not become voiced [д] before 'в'
- шведы (Swedes) - voiceless 'ш' does not become voiced [ж] before the 'в'
- квота (quota) - voiceless 'к' does not become voiced [г] before the 'в'
- свой (one's own) - voiceless 'с' does not become voiced [з] before the 'в'
Домашнее Задание - Homework
Упражнение 1 - Exercise 1
Fill in the correct form of the verb for hurt:
- Живот __________ .
- Плечи (shoulders) __________ .
- Уши __________ .
- Нога (leg) __________ .
- Голова __________ .
- Ноги (legs) __________ .
Check your answers here
Упражнение 2 - Exercise 2
Fii in the correct form of the past tense of be:
- Где ты _________ ? (talking to your brother)
- Где ты _________ ? (talking to your wife)
- Где вы _________ ?
- Миша _________ в клубе.
- Вера вчера _________ в Трентоне.
- Мы _________ в Москве.
- Он _________ в Питтсбурге.
- Они _________ в ресторане.
- Я _________ в Нью-Йорке. (give the appropriate form)
Check your answers here
Упражнение 3 - Exercise 3
Translate into Russian:
- What's wrong with you? - I don't feel well.
- Where's my coat? Did you happen to see my coat?
- -- Coffee please.
- -- Here you go.
- -- Thank you.
- -- You're welcome.
Check your answers here
Answers
Compare your answers. Hit the Back or Backspace key on your keyboard to continue your Russian Language lessons.
- рука (arm) ==> У тебя болит рука? Да, рука болит.
- уши ==> У тебя болят уши? Да, уши болят.
- живот ==> У тебя болит живот? Да, живот болит.
- голова ==> У тебя болит голова? Да, голова болит.
- ноги (legs) ==> У тебя болят ноги? Да, ноги болят.
- глаз (eye) ==> У тебя болит глаз? Да, глаз болит.
- плечи (shoulders) ==> У тебя болят плечи? Да, плечи болят.
- нога (leg) ==> У тебя болит нога? Да, нога болит.
- нос (nose) ==> У тебя болит нос? Да, нос болит.
- горло (throat) ==> У тебя болит горло? Да горло болит.
- руки (arms) ==> У тебя болят руки? Да, руки болят.
- ухо ==> У тебя болит ухо? Да, ухо болит.
Compare your answers. Hit the Back or Backspace key on your keyboard to continue your Russian Language lessons.
- Моя жена (Филадельфия) ==> Вчера моя жена была в Филадельфии.
- Наш сын (Москва) ==> Вчера наш сын был в Москве.
- Боря (Трентон) ==> Вчера Боря был в Трентоне.
- Я (masc.) (клуб) ==> Вчера я был в клубе.
- Его родители (Россия) ==> Вчера его родители были в России.
- Мы (Гарвард) ==> Вчера мы были в Гарварде.
- Ты (fem.) (Петербург) ==> Вчера ты была в Петербурге.
- Они (Калифорния) ==> Вчера они были в Калифорнии.
- Аня (Париж) ==> Вчера Аня была в Париже.
- Зоя и Лёва (Детройт) ==> Вчера Зоя и Лёва были в Детройте.
- Вы (ресторан) ==> Вчера вы были в ресторане.
- Я (fem.) (Нью-Йорк) ==> Вчера я была в Нью-Йорке.
- Она (Чикаго - think) ==> Вчера она была в Чикаго.
- Их дети (Принстон) ==> Вчера их дети были в Принстоне.
- Живот (болит).
- Плечи (shoulders) (Болят).
- Уши (Болят).
- Нога (leg) (болит).
- Голова (болит).
- Ноги (legs) (Болят).
- Где ты (был)? (talking to your brother)
- Где ты (была)? (talking to your wife)
- Где вы (были)?
- Миша (был) в клубе.
- Вера вчера (была) в Трентоне.
- Мы (были) в Москве.
- Он (был) в Питтсбурге.
- Они (были) в ресторане.
- Я (был /а) в Нью-Йорке. (give the appropriate form)
- What's wrong with you? - I don't feel well.
Что с тобой? -- Я плохо себя чувствую. - Where's my coat? Did you happen to see my coat?
Где моё пальто? Ты не видел моё пальто? - -- Coffee please.
-- Кофе, пожалуйста. - -- Here you go.
-- пожалуйста. - -- Thank you.
-- Спасибо. - -- You're welcome.
-- пожалуйста.
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