LinguaThe possessive copies the gender of the thing
Мой changes to match the noun that follows it: мой before a masculine word, моя before a feminine one, моё before a neuter one. Who the owner is does not matter at all – a man says моя машина and a woman says мой дом, because it is the car and the house that choose the form. Твой works exactly the same way.
| Gender | my | your (to a friend) | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | мой | твой | мой брат |
| feminine | моя | твоя | моя сестра |
| neuter | моё | твоё | моё письмо |
наш and ваш – and the polite ваш
Наш means our and ваш means your, either for several people or for one person you address with вы. They agree in exactly the same way: наш дом, наша комната, наше окно; ваш друг, ваша сумка, ваше письмо. In a letter Ваш is often written with a capital letter as a sign of respect.
Это наша комната.This is our room.
Asking: чей?
The question word agrees too. Чей asks about a masculine word, чья about a feminine one, чьё about a neuter one, and чьи about several things at once. The answer keeps the same gender: Чья это сумка? – Это моя сумка.
| Gender | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | Чей это ключ? | Это твой ключ. |
| feminine | Чья это сумка? | Это твоя сумка. |
| neuter | Чьё это письмо? | Это наше письмо. |
| plural | Чьи это ключи? | Это ваши ключи. |
Чей это ключ? Это мой ключ.Whose key is this? It is my key.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| чей | whose | Чей это дом? Whose house is this? |
| мой | my | Это мой брат. This is my brother. |
| твой | your (to one friend) | Твой ключ здесь. Your key is here. |
| наш | our | Наш дом там. Our house is over there. |
| ваш | your (polite or plural) | Это ваш телефон? Is this your phone? |
| друг | friend | Это мой друг. This is my friend. |
| подруга | female friend | Это моя подруга. This is my friend, a woman. |
| брат | brother | Мой брат дома. My brother is at home. |
| сестра | sister | Моя сестра здесь. My sister is here. |
| ключ | key | Где мой ключ? Where is my key? |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which form stands before the word сумка?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.