LinguaThree ways Russian marks a time
This unit gave you three separate mechanisms, and mixing them up is the only real difficulty here. Each one belongs to a different kind of time expression, and none of them borrows from the others.
| Kind of time | How it is built | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a day of the week | в plus the day, feminine days in -у | в среду |
| a clock hour | в plus the plain numeral | в девять |
| a part of the day | the noun alone, in a special form | вечером |
The counting rule, once more
The word for hour changes with the last digit of the numeral, and this same rule will come back for every countable noun in the language.
| Last digit | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | час | двадцать один час |
| 2, 3, 4 | часа | четыре часа |
| 0, 5 to 9 | часов | девять часов |
Words that need nothing at all
Сегодня, завтра, вчера, рано, поздно, обычно and всегда take no preposition and no ending. They are the cheapest time words in the language, and a beginner should reach for them first.
Обычно я ужинаю поздно, а завтра поужинаю рано.I usually have dinner late, but tomorrow I will eat early.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| расписание | timetable | Вот наше расписание. Here is our timetable. |
| свободный | free | У меня свободный вечер. I have a free evening. |
| занятый | busy | Он очень занятый человек. He is a very busy person. |
| успевать | to have time, to manage | Я не успеваю утром. I never have enough time in the morning. |
| ждать | to wait for | Мы ждём вас в два. We are expecting you at two. |
| встреча | meeting | Встреча в четверг. The meeting is on Thursday. |
| будильник | alarm clock | Будильник звонит в шесть. The alarm clock rings at six. |
| отдых | rest | После работы нужен отдых. One needs a rest after work. |
| рабочий | working, work- | Понедельник – рабочий день. Monday is a working day. |
| минутка | a moment | Есть минутка? Have you got a moment? |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- fill the gap: 2
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
An alarm goes off before dawn: Будильник звонит в ___.
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.