%PRESENT 1 10 0 TEN VERBS TO EAT YEST' I wanted TO EAT YESTerday. TO TAKE BRAT' I wished TO TAKE that BRAT away. TO SLEEP SPAT' trying TO SLEEP next to someone who always SPAT in his sleep. TO SEE VEEDYET' asking TO SEE if the gardener has killed a WEED YET. TO WORK RABOTAT' watching a ROBOT AT WORK. TO LIKE LYOOBEET' YOU BEAT up someone you LIKE. TO READ CHITAT' your friend always CHATS AT you when you try TO READ. TO TALK GAVAREET' you TALK about an idea to GATHER IT together. TO GIVE DAVAT' before you GIVE you DIVIDE the cake. TO DRINK PEET' your favourite drink is water which has run over PEAT (whisky). * %TEXT 1 ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR Nearly all the verbs TO EAT, TO DRINK, and so on, end in -T'. The 'T'' is pronounced softly, like the T in TUESDAY. It is very easy to make the past tense of the verb from a form such as TO EAT, TO DRINK, etc. If a masculine word is the subject of the verb, you take off the -T' and add -L. 0 So, TO DRINK is PEET' 0 HE DRANK is ON PEEL. # Whatever masculine word you use the verb will remain the same: THE TIGER DRANK is TEEGR PEEL. 0 TEEGR PEEL also means: 0 THE TIGER WAS DRINKING, 0 THE TIGER HAS DRUNK, 0 THE TIGER USED TO DRINK, and 0 THE TIGER HAD BEEN DRINKING There is only one past tense in Russian, so for any action which happened in the past you use this form of the verb. An exception to this is the verb TO EAT (YEST'). The past tense is ON YEL. # * %SENTENCES_E_F 5 THE BOY WAS SLEEPING MALCHIK SPAL THE WAITER USED TO GIVE SPOONS AFEETSEEANT DAVAL LOJKEE HE LIKED TEA ON LYOOBEEL CHAY THE HORSE WAS TAKING A FLOWER KON' BRAL TSVYET (MY) BROTHER HAD BEEN TALKING FOR AN HOUR BRAT GAVAREEL CHAS * %TEXT 0 PLEASE NOTE: In the last sentence (MY) BROTHER HAD BEEN TALKING FOR AN HOUR BRAT GAVAREEL CHAS remember that you did not have to translate MY. Everyone will assume that you are talking about your own brother # * %SENTENCES_F_E 5 RAYNOK NYE RABOTAL V VASKRYESYENYE THE MARKET DIDN'T WORK ON SUNDAYS (wasn't open on Sundays) PACHEMOO ON YEL TOLKO KHLYEB EE MASLO? WHY DID HE EAT ONLY BREAD AND BUTTER? PRADAVYETS VEEDYEL, KAK BEEZNYESMYEN CHITAL THE SALESMAN SAW THE BUSINESSMAN READ (saw how the businessman read) V STARAYYE GODAY SAYN LYOOBEEL VEEDYET' YEVO IN FORMER (old) YEARS THE (his) SON LIKED TO SEE HIM YA PEEL PEEVO, V SRYEDOO I DRANK BEER ON WEDNESDAY * %PRESENT 2 10 0 TRAVELLING WORDS PASSPORT PASPORT spilling a glass of vodka on your PASSPORT. SUITCASE CHEMODAN hitting the CHIN O' DAN Dare with a suitcase. CUSTOMS TAMOJNYA the Welshman THOMAS NEAR you as you go through customs. TOILET TOOALYET flushing a TOILET with vodka. TICKET BEELYET that you have not had the BILL YET for your ticket. ENTRANCE VKHOD a HOOD over an entrance. EXIT VAYKHOD having a VACANT look as you leave through the exit. DANGEROUS APASNO I PASS NO danger in Russia. FORM BLANK having to fill in a BLANK form. BARRIER BARYER a BARRIER of vodka bottles. * %TEXT 1 ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR If a feminine word is the subject of the verb you add -A to the masculine form of the past tense. 0 So, HE DRANK is ON PEEL, and 0 SHE DRANK is ANA PEELA 0 SISTER DRANK is SYESTRA PEELA 0 I DRANK is 0 YA PEELA if 'I' am a woman 0 YA PEEL if 'I' am a man. The same applies to TAY. # * %SENTENCES_E_F 5 WHY WAS SHE TAKING THE SUITCASE AND A PASSPORT PACHEMOO ANA BRALA CHEMODAN EE PASPORT? "WHERE'S THE EXIT?" SHE WAS SAYING "GDYE VAYKHOD?" GAVAREELA ANA DID SHE SEE A TOILET? ANA VEEDYELA TOOALYET? HAS YOUR MOTHER READ THE FORM? VASHA (TVOYYA) MAT' CHITALA BLANK? THE CAT WAS EATING THE TICKET KOSHKA YELA BEELYET * %SENTENCES_F_E 5 NA TAMOJNYE KRASEEVAYA DYEVOOSHKA BRALA PASPORTA EE BEELYETAY (N.B. The plural of PASPORT is PASPORTA). IN THE CUSTOMS A BEAUTIFUL GIRL WAS TAKING THE PASSPORTS AND THE TICKETS GDYE VKHOD? YA VEEDYELA YEVO FCHERA WHERE'S THE ENTRANCE? I SAW IT YESTERDAY APASNO CHITAT' NA BARYERYE. YA NYE CHITALA IT IS DANGEROUS TO READ (SITTING) ON THE BARRIER. I WASN'T READING (Note, a woman or girl is speaking). OLGA, TAY VEEDYELA EEKH CHEMODAN? NYET OLGA, HAVE YOU SEEN THEIR SUITCASE? NO NATASHA LYOOBEELA NOCH', KAGDA DOCH' SPALA NATASHA LIKED THE NIGHT-TIME, WHEN HER DAUGHTER SLEPT * %PRESENT 3 10 0 VEHICLES CAR MASHINA a car is a beautiful MACHINE. BUS AVTOBOOS passengers on a BUS all drinking vodka. TRAIN POYEZD being POISED on top of a train. AEROPLANE SAMOLYOT SOME OLD YACHT being used as your aeroplane. STEAMER PARAKHOD landing on a steamer with a PARACHUTE. GARAGE BENZOKALONKA BENZINE KLONKING in a tank in the garage. PETROL BENZEEN petrol is BENZINE in Russia. OIL MASLO MASLO is the word for butter: imagine you use melted butter to oil your car. GREASE MAZ' your MA'S all covered in grease. JACK DAMKRAT you use a DAMN CAT as a jack. * %TEXT 1 ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR The plural form of the past tense of a verb is made by adding -EE to the masculine. There is only one plural form. 0 So, THEY GAVE is ANEE DAVALEE 0 THE BOYS GAVE is MALCHIKEE DAVALEE and so on. # Do not forget that VAY, the polite way to say YOU, is a plural word and needs the plural of the verb. YOU GAVE is VAY DAVALEE This is true even if you are speaking to only one person. # * %SENTENCES_E_F 5 DID YOU (plural and formal) SLEEP IN THE BUS? VAY SPALEE NA (V) AVTOBOOSYE? (N.B. With most forms of transport either NA or V can be used). WE DRANK COFFEE ON THE STEAMER MAY PEELEE KOFYE NA PARAKHODYE THE GARAGES WERE NOT WORKING BENZOKALONKEE NYE RABOTALEE (N.B. BENZOKALONKA is both a PETROL PUMP and a FILLING STATION). MY FRIENDS SAW GREASE ON THE JACK MOYYEE TAVAREESHCHEE VEEDYELEE MAZ' NA DAMKRATYE THEY ATE IN THE CAR ANEE YELEE V MASHINYE * %SENTENCES_F_E 5 PACHEMOO NA SAMOLYOTYE? NA POYEZDYE NYE APASNO WHY (GO) BY AEROPLANE? IT'S NOT DANGEROUS ON A TRAIN BENZOKALONKEE NYE VSYEKDA DAVALEE BENZEEN THE PETROL PUMPS DID NOT ALWAYS GIVE (have) PETROL ANEE BRALEE BENZEEN EE MASLO NA FABREEKYE THEY TOOK PETROL AND OIL IN THE FACTORY NA SAMOLYOTYE MAY VEEDYELEE POYEZD NA ZYEMLYE ON THE AEROPLANE WE SAW A TRAIN ON THE GROUND (EARTH) AVTOBOOS NYE MASHINA. ON BOLSHE A BUS IS NOT A CAR. IT IS BIGGER * %PRESENT 4 10 0 PARTS OF A VEHICLE STEERING WHEEL ROOL' hitting the steering wheel with a RULer. AXLE OS' a HORSE jumping over an axle. TYRE SHINA you hit your SHIN ON a tyre. BRAKE TORMOZ hot TAR MUST make you brake. MOTOR MATOR your motor does not MATTER in your car. TANK BAK asking a Russian policeman "Can I have my tank BACK?" (FAN) BELT RYEMYEN' you REMAIN attached to your belt. SEAT MYESTO you MESSED A car seat up. FAN VENTEELYATOR using a fan as a VENTILATOR. LIGHT FARA seeing a light FAR Away. * %TEXT 0 ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR To make the neuter form of the verb in the past tense, you add -O to the masculine form. 0 So, 0 HE GAVE is ON DAVAL 0 THE MORNING GAVE is OOTRO DAVALO At this stage you will not need to use this form very often. The following sentences combine all the forms of the past tense of the verb. # * %SENTENCES_E_F 5 THE OIL TOOK MONEY MASLO BRALO DYENGEE THE LIGHTS ON THE CAR WERE NOT WORKING FARAY NA MASHINYE NYE RABOTALEE WHEN I WAS ASLEEP (MY) WIFE USED TO TAKE THE STEERING WHEEL KAGDA YA SPAL JENA BRALA ROOL' THE ENGINE WAS WORKING YESTERDAY MATOR RABOTAL FCHERA WHAT WERE YOU SAYING? YES, THE FAN BELT IS (OVER) THERE WHERE I SEE A FAN SHTO VAY GAVAREELEE? DA, RYEMEN' TAM, GDYE YA VEEJOO VENTEELYATOR * %SENTENCES_F_E 5 ETO VASHA OS'. VAY SPALEE (N.B. OS' is feminine) THIS IS YOUR AXLE. YOU WERE ASLEEP YA CHITAL MYENSHE O TORMOZYE CHEM O MATORYE I HAVE READ LESS ABOUT THE BRAKE THAN ABOUT THE MOTOR ANNA NEEKOLAYEVNA GAVAREELA SHTO V BAKYE BENZEEN (N.B. SHTO means THAT as well as WHAT) ANNA NEEKOLAYEVNA SAID THAT PETROL WAS IN THE TANK TAY LYOOBEEL TVOYYO MYESTO NA SAMOLYOTYE? DID YOU LIKE YOUR SEAT ON THE AEROPLANE? ON VEEDYEL SHINOO NA TRAPEENKYE HE SAW A TYRE ON THE PATH *