Russian grammar - The verb 'to be' |
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The Russian verb 'to be' ('is', 'are' etc.) does not appear in the present tense. -- So in Russian we say 'Sergei here' when we mean 'Sergei is here'. But only in the present tense. In phrases like 'A is B', when both A and B are nouns, a dash '—' is used in place of the verb 'to be'. Note that Russian has no concept of articles like [a] and [the]. They are implied from context. |
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Сергей здесь.
Sergei is here.
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Ульяна там.
Ulyana is there.
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Вот Ольга.
Here is Olga.
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Дом там.
[The] house is there.
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Иван дома.
Ivan is at home.
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Татьяна — женщина.
Tatiana is [a] woman.
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Виктор — мужчина.
Victor is [a] man.
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Татьяна — профессор.
Tatiana is [a] professor.
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Виктор — водитель.
Victor is [a] driver.
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