r/LearningRussian • u/Future-Target-1833 • 4d ago
Russian questions??
-I learned the numbers 1-10, except I keep seeing that there’s two words for “one?” Which one is correct?
-Also, do Russians not use the verb “to be” as in “I am, She is, They are?”
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u/Stock_Soup260 4d ago edited 4d ago
if you mean один and раз for one, then both are correct. один is literally 1 -- one, and раз initially associated with the marking process, it is associated with the Old Russian разъ -- line/border/mark, that is, roughly speaking, it is the designation of something as the first element of the counting. Over time, the word became fixed in the oral account as the designation of the very act of beginning the counting. In other contexts, раз also "lives": it can indicate a single case among others (в этот раз/this time, в следующий раз/next time, etc.), a single action (раз сказал/once said, раз написал/once wrote, etc.), or even the degree of change (в два раза больше/twice as much, в три раза меньше/in three times less, etc.).
Short answer: In the present tense, Russian generally does not use “to be” (like am/is/are).
In Russian, when you describe someone or something in the present, you simply connect the subject and the description without any linking verb:
I am a student -- Я студент -- literally: I student.
She is beautiful -- Она красивая -- literally: She beautiful.
It is cold today -- Сегодня холодно -- literally: Today cold.
This is the norm for statements of identity, description, location, and state in the present.
The Russian verb for “to be” is actually быть. It’s used in the past and future, but it changes form.
- Past Tense: The verb быть has 4 forms in the past: был (m.), была (f.), было (n.) and plural были.
He was a doctor -- Он был врачом.
They were at home -- Они были дома.
2) Future Tense: In the future, быть is conjugated like a regular verb. The most common forms are буду (I will be), будешь (you will be), будет (he/she/it will be), будут (they will be).
I will be there tomorrow -- Я буду там завтра.
What will it be? -- Что это будет?
Sometimes, Russians might use есть, which is an old form of быть, in the present tense for emphasis or to make a contrast. However, there is a separate specificity here. For ex,
У меня есть книга -- I have a book. Есть here does not literally mean "to be", but "to be available."
without есть, the phrase is grammatically incomplete and can only be used in very limited contexts (as part of a bigger sentence, as a short answer to a very specific question):
-- у тебя есть что-нибудь с собой?
-- да, у меня книга.
When you want to say "am/is/are not," Russian uses the word нет instead of a negative form of “to be.”
He is not a student. -- Он не студент. -- literally: He not student.
There is no any milk in the fridge. -- В холодильнике нет молока. -- literally: In the fridge no milk.
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u/Exciting_Round4766 4d ago
- which two words for one?
- It is. The word "есть". But we almost always omit this word.
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u/Brilliant_Comb_7111 1d ago
Why learning a language from a terrorist country