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ESSENTIALS o f R u s s i a n READING ^ CONVERSATION GRAMMAR m m o EDITION A . Y. G R O N I C K A Columbia University H. B A T E S - Y A K O B S O N George Washington University PRENTICE-HALL, INC., Englewood Cliffs, N. J. © 19-18, 1950, 1958, by PREI^TICE HALL, INC. Englewood Cliffs, N. J. ALL RIGHTS HESEBVED. NO PAKT OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCEB IN ANY FORM, BY MIMEOGRAPH OR ANY OTHER ME.WS, WITHOUT PERMISSION IN WRITING FROM THE PTJBLISHERS. Library of Congress Catalog Card N o.: 58-9831 First printing........................June, 1958 Second printing..............October, 1959 Third printing.................March, 1959 Fourth printing January, 1960 PKINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 28792-C PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION The third edition of Essentials of Russian has developed from intensive use of the earlier editions for a whole decade by colleges and universities throughout the United States and abroad, as well as by the United States Armed Forces and by private study groups. The basic organization and approach of this book have proved their effectiveness and have been retained. Revisions have been limited to the clarification of certain rules of grammar; a considerable shortening of the Common Expressions and Idioms units, especially those in the more advanced lessons; and the rewriting of four of the less successful reading selections. The new reading units offer a survey of Russia’s geography, a biography of Anton Chekhov, an introduction to the development of the Russian language, and a brief essay on the Russian Academy of Sciences. These units, it is felt, are more timely and functional, as well as better attuned to an “ essentials’’ level, than were the units they replace. Further innovations in this edition are the expansion of the introductory lessons on pronunciation; amplification of the Aspect lesson, to provide a more gradual presentation of the basic features of this central phase of the Russian verb system and to introduce advanced materials that have proved essential for a well rounded presentation of the conjugation of the Russian verb; addition of numerous Review Reading and Vocabulary Building units; addition of a second section to the Translation into Russian units, to afford a more comprehensive review of vocabulary and a more intensive drill on grammatical features; inclusion of a completely new Ap pendix, which offers a selection of Russian poems, songs, proverbs, and riddles; incorporation of numerous new key tables in the original Grammar Appendix; and thorough revision and expansion of the Index and the Russian-English and English-Russian Vocabu laries at the end of the book. The revisions, and especially the additions and expansions, should hold the old and gain new friends for Essentials of Russian. The authors wish to take this occasion to thank their many col leagues for constructive contributions to the preparation of this new edition. They are especially grateful to Professors Rufus W. Mathew- son, Jr. of Columbia University and Edmund Zawacki, of the Univer sity of Wisconsin and his fine staff for numerous suggestions which have helped greatly to make Essentials of Russian a better book. Finally, the authors wish to take this opportunity to express their thanks to Hilde von G-ronicka for her capable and patient assistance in guiding three editions of the Essentials of Russian through the press. A. V. a. H. B. Y. PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION This text is designed for classroom and individual instruction but can also be used for self-teaching. It has grown, out of the authors’ experience gained in the Army Intensive Language Courses and in subsequent experimental classes at colleges and universities. Emphasis is placed throughout on conversation and reading. At the same time a concise and systematic analysis of the Essentials of Russian Grammar has been provided, in order to solidify and to lend permanence to the results achieved by the direct approach. The text is divided into thirty lessons preceded by two intro ductory units which set forth the Russian printed and cursive letters and give their approximate phonetic values. Each lesson is subdivided into seven closely interrelated parts : I : Common Expressions and Idioms II ; Eeading Exercise III; Vocabulary IV: Grammar V : Questions VI: Grammar Exercise VII : Translation into Eussian The Beading Exercises (II) are the core around which each lesson is organized. They contain all the new grammar and vocab ulary introduced in each lesson. A basic principle of the text is to introduce the student to all new material first in the context of the Beading Exercise and only then have him turn to the explanation and systematic treatment of the material given in the Grammar section and the Vocabulary. Common Expressions, idioms, and grammatical features introduced in the Reading Exercise for the first time are given in bold type beginning with Lesson 2. The Reading Exercises are carefully graded and lead the student from the simple dialogue of the first lesson to selections from the works of N. Nekrassov, L. Tolstoï, A. Pushkin, M. Gorkii, and N. Si monov. They present living, idiomatic Russian speech of inherent interest and functional value and develop in the student that feeling for the language which is indispensable for freedom in conversation and for reading enjoyment. vi PREFACE vii The Questions (V) are especially designed to develop and test the student’s detailed knowledge of the Reading Exercises. The student should strive to answer all questions in complete sentences, freely referring to the Reading on which the questions are based. The Common Expressions and Idioms (I) contribute that essent ial quality of the Russian language which cannot be caught up and studied in grammatical rules. They should be memorized and applied in short conversations developed by the student with the help of the teacher. The Vocabulary (III) of the first fifteen lessons is limited to between 20 and 30 words per lesson and in the subsequent lessons to between 30 and 40. Thus the text is built up on a total vocabulary not exceeding 1200 words.^ In spite of its rigid limitation in quantity, this basic vocabulary is representative of the literary Russian language, as well as of the everyday conversation idiom. The vocab ulary of any one lesson is repeated in subsequent ones. Attention is also called to the special treatment of the verb. Instead of burdening the student with classifications, the authors give those verbs which da not follow exactly the basiic pattern of the first or second conjugation (читать or говорйть) in four “ key” forms. Thus the student is at once equipped with functionally useful verb- forms and is enabled to derive other conjugational forms as the need for them arises.^ The Grammar Sections (IV ) introduce in concise, tabular form essential grammatical elements. Their discussion should develop out of the analysis of the Reading Exercise. They should never be treated as an unrelated, theoretical unit. The student’s active command of grammar is to be further developed and tested with the help of the Grammar Exercises (Y I). These are keyed to the grammar units and utilize the newest peda gogical devices to provide the student with the maximum of effective practice. The Translation Sentences (V II) serve as a final, overall review of the entire lesson. They are constructed to include all the features of the lesson from common expressions to grammatical detail. At the same time they aim to develop the student’s ability to render in Russian an organically connected compositional unit. The Vocabulary-Building sections are placed at convenient intervals to help the student acquire an adequate vocabulary. They 1 Verb aspects are counted as one vocabulary unit. 2 The aspects of the Russian verb are presented in accordance with the method used by Ooshakov in his authoritative^ work. A. П. Ушаков, Толковый Словарь Русского Языка, ОГИЗ, Москва, 1940. viii PREFACE indicate to the student some convenient means of attaining this important goal. They must not be confused with so-called word- building.” The two introductory lessons contain a brief analysis of the Russian sound system. Experience has shown that the beg-inner profits little and is often discouraged by a lengthy theoretical descrip tion and classification of Russian sounds. Competent guidance by an experienced teacher throughout the course, intelligent imitation of native speakers, frequent listening to recorded speech, in brief, concrete example rather than abstract analysis have proved to be the effective means of establishing good pronunciation habits. For this reason the authors have decided to encumber their text as little as possible with technical explanations of Russian sounds even at the risk of being criticized for inaccuracy and incompleteness. One basic departure from the formal method of exposition, dictated by peda gogical and functional considerations, must be pointed out. The authors have decided not to classify consonants into “ hard’' and “ soft.” The “ hardness” or “ softness” of a consonant is made to depend on the absence or presence of a “ soft” vowel directly after the consonant. Inadequate as this manner of presentation certainly is from the linguist’s point of view, it has proved altogether adequate to impart satisfactory pronunciation habits. Moreover, it has the great advantage of being concise and far less confusing and discour aging to the beginner. It was therefore adopted in keeping with the author’s central aim: to provide student and teacher with the simplest and most concise exposition of Russian sounds. Those interested in a thoroughgoing analysis of the Russian sound system are referred to the following texts: S. C. Boyanus, A Manual of Russian Pronunciation, London, 1935, S. C. Boyanus and N. B. Jopson, Spoken Russian, London, 1939. In conclusion the authors wish to express their gratitude to Professors Ernest J. Simmons and Roman Jakobson and Mr. Leon Stilman of Columbia University, as well as to Professor Francis J. Whitfield of the University of Chicago, for their encouragement and many valuable suggestions. A. V. G. II. B. Y. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION I .................................................................. 1 The Russian alphabet—System, of handwriting’—Capitaliza tion—Punctuation— Syllabification—Stress INTRODUCTION II ................................................... 11 Principal rules of pronunciation—Principal forms of address — Наш первый разговор “ Our first conversation” FIRST LESSON ....................................................................... 20 Present tense af “ to be"—Question form—Negative sen tence— Adverb— Conjunctions a and и SECOND LESSON .................................................................... 24 Gender of nouns—Nominative case; subject and predicate noujL—Article—Pronouns and pronoun-adj ectives он, этот, тот, мой REFERENCE TABLE I: 'Ca^es .......................................... 30 REFERENCE TABLE II: Vowel Mutation Rules................ 31 THIRD LESSON ..................................................................... 32 Accusative singular of masculines and neuters—Indeclinable neuters—Present tense of the first conjugation—Double nega tive—Use of что FOURTH LESSON .................................................................... 38 Prepositional singular of masculines and neuters—Preposi tions B, на, о— Verbs кушать, есть “ to eat”—Use of где and когда—Есть “ there is,” “ there are” FIFTH LESSON ....................................................................... M Prepositions B, на—Present tense of the “ irregular” verbs класть, жить, идти, ехать SIXTH LESSON ....................................................................... 51 Genitive singular of masculines and neuters—Negative ex pression with the genitive—сколько, мало, много with the genitive—Prepositions без, после, у — Translation of “ to have” —Verbs мочь, уметь “ to be able” SEVENTH LESSON ................................................................ 59 Dative singular of masculines and neuters; preposition к (ко)— ^Nominative and accusative singular of adjectives— Давать “ to give” ix X CONTENTS EIGHTH LESSON .................................................................._• 66 Instrumental singular of masculines and neuters—Preposi tions, мёжду, над, пёред, с (со)—Present tense of the second conjugation—The verbs ходить and ёздить— Review of the singular declension of masculines and neuters NINTH LESSON .............................................................._........ 74 Dative and prepositional of feminine nouns and adjectives— Хотёть “ to want to”— Omission of personal pronouns TENTH LESSON ................................................................. 80 Genitive singular of feminine nouns and adjectives—Хотёть ‘‘to want to,” ждать “ to wait (for)” — Prepositions для, из, около, от—Cardinal numerals 1-4 ELEVENTH LESSON ............................................................ 87 Accusative singular of feminine nouns and adjectives—Pre positions чёрез, за, под—Past tense ; translation of “ to have” (past) TWELFTH LESSON ............................................................... 94 Instrumental singular of feminine nouns and adjectives—Pre positions за, под, с (со)—Keview of feminine singular noun and adjective declensions and of prepositions THIRTEENTH LESSON ........................................................ 104 “ Hard” adjective singular declension—Imperative mood— Time expressions FOURTEENTH LESSON ........................................................ 113 “ Soft” adjective singular declension—Possessive pronoun- adjective singular declension—Future tense ; translation of “ to have’’ (future ; abstract) FIFTEENTH LESSON ............................................................ 121 Singular declension of masculines in -ok and -ец—Short form of the adjective—Declension of the interrogative pro noun—Reflexive verb SIXTEENTH LESSON ............................................................ 130 Part A: Basic characteristics of the aspects—Sample sen tences—Aspect-Tense Table—Perfectives with the prefix no Part B: Further functions of the perfective aspect—Forma tion of the perfective aspect—The verbs ходить and ёздить—The verbs говорйть and сказать—Imper- fective in the negative command SEVENTEENTH LESSON ..................................................... 147 Peculiarities in the singular masculine and neuter declensions ; prepositional in -у; neuters in -мя—Declension of personal pronouns—Impersonal expressions (with dative) CONTENTS si EIGHTEENTH LESSON ........................................................ 158 Plural declension of the masculine, neuter, and feminine nouns—Declensional peculiarities of the masculine noun: plural in -a; irregular genitive plural—Impersonal expressions (cont.)— Cardinals 5-12 and expressions of quantity (много, мало, сколько) NINETEENTH LESSON ........................................................ 169 Irregularities in the plural declension of masculine nouns (-анин, -ЯНИН; irregular plural)—Plural declension of ad jectives, hard and soft—Numerals (ordinals 1-12, fractions) and time expressions (clock) TW ENTIETH LESSON .......................................................... 181 Declensional peculiarities of the neuter noun in the plural: plurals in -a; in -и; genitive infix; plural of озеро—Plural of the possessive pronoun-adjective; pronoun-ad j ectives та кой, какой, который, чей—Date expressions TWENTY-FIRST LESSON ..................................................... 191 Plural of брат, стул, перо, дерево, лист, друг, сын, муж; плечо, деньги; neuters in -мя—Ргonoun-adjectives этот, тот—Verbs быть, бывать, становиться, стать (with instrumental)—Declension of одйн; adjectives with cardinal numerals TWENTY-SECOND LESSON ................................................. 203 Masculine nouns ending in -a or -я—The reflexive pronoun себя and the emphatic сам—Translation of “ let me, us, him, • them",* use of the infinitive in the imperative mood; infinitive with the dative rendering “ have to,” “ am to”—Declension of the feminine noun in the plural (Review) TWENTY-THIRD LESSON ................................................... 213 Genitive plural infix о or e in feminine nouns; declensions of мать and дочь—Adjectives used as nouns—Comparison of adjectives and adverbs: comparative TWENTY-FOURTH LESSON ............................................... 223 Comparison of adjectives and adverbs: superlative—Pronoun- adjective весь— Cardinals and ordinals 13-40; summary of case requirements after cardinals TW ENTY-FIFTH LESSON ..................................................... 236 Double imperfective verbs (indeterminate, determinate)—Re ciprocal pronoun, друг друга—Expressions of age— Cardinals and ordinals 50-100 TW ENTY-SIXTH LESSON ..................................................... 249 Declension of 66a, “ both”— Cardinals and ordinals 100-1 mil lion; declension of cardinals; approximation; addition, sub- Xll CONTENTS TWENTY-SIXTH LESSON {Gont.) traction, multiplication, division j collective numerals—Pre positions : review and supplement TWENTY-SEVENTH LESSON .............................................. 260 Suffixes -TO, -HHdyAb; prefix hh Subjunctive; unreal con dition ; tense seqúense—Date expressions TWENTY-EIGHTH LESSON ................................................. 271 Subjunctive: purpose, wish, obligation, generalization— Adverbial participle—Conjunctions TWENTY-NINTH LESSON ..................................................... 281 Relative pronouns—Present and past active participle THIRTIETH LESSON ............................................................ 293 Present and past passive participles—Passive voice APPENDIX I ........................................................................... 306 APPENDIX II ........................................................................... 320 RUSSIAN-ENGLISH VOCABULARY ................................... 355 ENGLISH-RUSSIAN VOCABULARY ................................... 374 INDEX ....................................................................................... 393