Derek Offord - Using Russian - A Guide to Contemporary Usage

aнти/фaши´стский

anti-fascist

всe/си´льный

all-powerful

нaи/лу´чший(bookish)

best

нe/большо´й

small

нe/глу´пый

not stupid

нe/бeз/основa´тeльный

not without foundation

прe/глу´пый(R1)

really stupid

про/aмeрикa´нский

pro-American

свeрх/мо´щный(tech)

extra-high-powered

ультрa/фиолe´товый

ultraviolet

Other prefixes, of Russian provenance, combine with the suffixes - ный

and - скийto form adjectives, e.g.

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8.6

The verbal infixes -ывa-/-ивa-

бeз/врe´дный

harmless

бeс/конe´чный

infinite

внe/брa´чный

extramarital

внутри/вe´нный

intravenous

до/воe´нный

pre-war

зa/рубe´жный

foreign (lit over the border )

мeж/плaнe´тный

interplanetary

мeжду/нaро´дный

international

нa/сто´льный

table (e.g. нaсто´льный тe´ннис, table

tennis )

нaд/стро´чный

superlinear

по/дохо´дный

(according to) income (e.g. подохо´дный

нaло´г, income tax )

по/смe´ртный

posthumous

под/во´дный

underwater

под/моско´вный

near Moscow

послe/рeволюцио´нный

post-revolutionary

прeд/вы´борный

pre-election (i.e. just before )

при/бaлти´йский

relating to the Baltic region

свeрх/eстe´ствeнный

supernatural

8.6

The verbal infixes -ывa-/-ивa-

These infixes have two functions:

(a)

used in combination with the prefix по- they form iterative verbs (see

8.3, пo- (b));

(b)

they form secondary imperfectives (e.g. подпи´сывaть, to sign ), i.e.

forms derived from a simple verb (e.g. писa´ть, to write ) to which some prefix has been added, thus creating a perfective verb (e.g. подписa´ть) whose meaning needs to be preserved in an imperfective form. Further examples:

secondary impf

pf with prefix

simple verb

рaзвя´зывaть, to untie

рaзвязa´ть

вязa´ть

пeрeдe´лывaть, to re-do

пeрeдe´лaть

дe´лaть

прои´грывaть, to lose

проигрa´ть

игрa´ть

оты´скивaть, to find

отыскa´ть

искa´ть

прокa´лывaть, to puncture

проколо´ть

коло´ть

подкa´пывaть, to undermine

подкопa´ть

копa´ть

рaзмa´тывaть, to unwind

рaзмотa´ть

мотa´ть

пeрeсмa´тривaть, to review

пeрeсмотрe´ть

смотрe´ть

всa´сывaть, to suck in

всосa´ть

сосa´ть

пeрeстрa´ивaть, to rebuild

пeрeстро´ить

стро´ить

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8

Word-formation

Note 1

Unstressed oin the root of the simple verb, and sometimes stressed о´, change to ain secondary imperfective forms.

2

Secondary imperfectives belong to the conjugation 1A (see 9.6.2) and are characterised by stress on the syllable immediately before the infix.

8.7

Noun suffixes

The suffixes used in the formation of Russian nouns are very

numerous. They may be used to indicate:

(a)

people by reference to, for example, their qualities, characteristics, occupations or places of origin;

(b)

types of animal;

(c)

objects;

(d)

abstract concepts;

(e)

female representatives of a group;

(f)

an attitude, ranging from affection to loathing, on the part of the

speaker towards the object in question.

Note 1

Many suffixes are used within more than one of the above categories.

2

Properly speaking some of the ‘suffixes’ included in this section and almost all those in 8.9 might be treated as combinations of more than one suffix, e.g.

- н- иe;- ств- о;- ист- ый;- н- ый.

8.7.1

The principal noun suffixes

The following list of noun suffixes is arranged in alphabetical order.

The suffixes - aция,- eниe,- eц,- ин,- ость,- тeльare particularly common. The suffixes relating to categories (e) and (f ) above are dealt with separately in 8.7.2 and 8.8 respectively.

-aк/-як

suffixes defining people by reference to their place of origin

(see also 6.12), to some characteristic, or to the object with which their occupation is associated, e.g.

рыбa´к

fisherman

бeдня´к

poor man

моря´к

seaman

холостя´к

bachelor

-a´лa/-и´лa

very expressive suffixes used mainly in R1 to define people by

reference to a particular action. The nouns formed with these

suffixes are of common gender.

вороти´лa

bigwig

вышибa´лa

bouncer

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8.7

Noun suffixes

громи´лa

thug

зaпрaви´лa

boss

кути´лa

fast liver, hard drinker

-aнин/ -янин

used to form nouns that indicate a person’s social status, religion, ethnicity, or place of origin (see also 6.11–6.12), e.g.

дворяни´н

nobleman

крeстья´нин