Week 7, Lesson 13, Thursday
Describe your city
Russian adjectives copy the gender of their noun. Learn the four endings once, and every adjective follows them.
1Recap 5 minutes
Three questions from Week 6, before anything new.
2Goal 1 minute
I can describe a city, a home or a person with adjectives that match he, she, it or they.
3The lesson 20 minutes
In this lesson
- Какой? Какая? Какое? Какие?
- The four endings
- Opposites
Какой? Какая? Какое? Какие?
Two cities, four adjectives. Compare the endings on the left with the endings on the right before reading on.
| Russian | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Какой это город? — Большой. | What is this city like? Big. |
| Какая это улица? — Красивая. | What is this street like? Beautiful. |
| Какое это окно? — Большое. | What is this window like? Big. |
| Какие это дома? — Новые. | What are these houses like? New. |
The four endings
Four endings cover every adjective. The coloured part is all that changes.
| он | она | оно | они | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| new | новый | новая | новое | новые |
| big | большой | большая | большое | большие |
| Russian | русский | русская | русское | русские |
A stressed ending gives -ой: большой, молодой. After к, г or х write и: русский, русские.
Opposites
Learning adjectives as opposites halves the work: you get two words for the effort of one.
| Russian | Meaning |
|---|---|
| большой / маленький | big / small |
| новый / старый | new / old |
| молодой / старый | young / old (people) |
| красивый | beautiful |
| интересный / скучный | interesting / boring |
| хороший / плохой | good / bad |
| русский, канадский | Russian, Canadian |
Learn them in pairs; it halves the work.
4Listen and say 5 minutes
Sound of the lesson: Let endings fall
Put your weight on the stressed syllable and let the adjective ending fall away quietly.
- ру́сский [RUS-kiy] Hear it on Forvo (opens in a new tab)
- краси́вая [kra-SI-va-ya] Hear it on Forvo (opens in a new tab)
Listen to the textbook
The book's own recordings for this topic, free on the publisher's site. Listen once for the gist, then again with the book open.
5Phrases and words 5 minutes
Phrases to learn whole
Learn each one as a single unit, the way you would learn a word. They come back in your Daily 10.
- Како́й э́то го́род?What is this city like?
- О́чень краси́вый!Very beautiful!
- большо́й и интере́сныйbig and interesting
- Э́то ста́рый го́род.It's an old city.
Words to read aloud
Read each one aloud, then open it to check.
большо́й / ма́ленький
big / small
Hear it on Forvo (opens in a new tab)но́вый / ста́рый
молодо́й / ста́рый
young / old (people)
Hear it on Forvo (opens in a new tab)краси́вый
интере́сный / ску́чный
interesting / boring
Hear it on Forvo (opens in a new tab)хоро́ший / плохо́й
good / bad
Hear it on Forvo (opens in a new tab)ру́сский, кана́дский
Russian, Canadian
како́й
what kind, what is it like
Hear it on Forvo (opens in a new tab)у́лица
6Class exercises 15 minutes
Checked instantly. Get one wrong and you can try it again.
Role-play
Take one card each. Swap roles for a second round.
You
- Describe your city with four adjectives that match.
Ника
- Describe Moscow; you ask Какой …? and Какая …? questions.
7Your turn 5 minutes
Describe your city with three adjectives.
See a model answer
Торонто — большой, красивый и интересный город.
Saved as you type. It goes to Ника together with Homework 13.
8Mini questionnaire required, 80% to pass
9Feedback 5 minutes
10Check your goal 1 minute
I can describe a city, a home or a person with adjectives that match he, she, it or they.
Can you do this now? Be honest: the answer decides your next step.
11Homework
Homework 13 on Saturday: describe your city, your home and one person with adjectives.
I can describe a city, a home or a person with adjectives that match he, she, it or they.