Svetlana Flemming - Colloquial Russian - The Next Step in Language Learning

intellectual work

upaśt;

to fall

N.B. po sravneńi[ s – in comparison with; i t.d. (i tak daĺee) – and so on;

– mistakes were made at a high level; ustano´vleno – it has been established; Centr statisti´heskogo upravleńiq – Centre for Statistical Management

Exercise 1

Answer the following questions in Russian.

1 Kakovy´ byĺi rezul;ta´ty demografi´heskoj revol[ćii v 20 ve´ke?

2 Kakova´ bylaśre´dnqq prodol'i´tel;nost; 'iźni v 60-x goda´x?

3 Kakovaŕaźnica me´'du prodol'i´tel;nost;[ 'iźni mu'hińy i

'eń]iny?

4 Kakié fa´ktory vliq´[t na prodol'i´tel;nost; 'iźni?

5 Pohemu´ mu'hińy vedu´t boĺee malopodvi´'nyj o´braz 'iźni?

6 Kto razraba´tyval demografi´heskie prognoźy v SSSR?

7 Kako´v byl prognoź rośta naseleńiq v SSSR k 2000 go´du?

8 Nu'naĺi Rossií demografi´heskaq poli´tika? Pohemu´?

Exercise 2

True or false?

1 Osnovnyé prihińy vyso´koj smeŕtnosti mu'hiń

(zloupotrebleńie alkogoĺem, upotrebleńie narko´tikov, tq'e¨lyj trud)?

2 Ro'daémost; zaviśit ot (\konomi´heskoj situaćii, sta´tusa

'eń]iny v o´b]estve, bra´hnogo sta´tusa)?

3 @ivu´t doĺgo te, kto (mno´go kuŕit, mno´go p;e¨t, zanimaétsq spoŕtom)?

4 Tipi´hnaq demografi´heskaq poli´tika napra´vlena na (povyweńie, sni'eńie, soxraneńie) ro'daémosti?

5 Smeŕtnost; sni'aétsq v rezul;ta´te (uluhweńiq o´braza 'iźni, vstupleńiq v brak, poluheńiq obrazovańiq)?

6 Demografi´heskij kriźis oznahaét (rost naseleńiq, padeńie ro'daémosti, sokra]eńie prodol'i´tel;nosti 'iźni)?

Demografiq

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Language points ♦

2

3

Numerals

4

When a written text, such as the one above on demography, contains 5

6

a lot of numerals it can be an aid to understanding. However, 7

producing correct Russian using numerals poses particular problems.

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First, there is the question of which case to put the noun into after 9

the numeral. Second, needed particularly when using numerals in 10

spoken Russian, there is the matter of which case the numeral itself 1

goes into.

2

3

Cases after cardinal numerals

4

5

By now you are probably familiar with the following:

6

odiń / odna´ / odno´ ‘one’ is an adjective and agrees in gender with 7

the following noun: odiń stol; odna´ kni´ga; odnoókno´. There is 8

even a plural for plural only nouns: odnińo´'nicy. Dva (masc.

9

and neut.) and dve (fem.) ‘two’; tri ‘three’; hetyŕe ‘four’ and o´ba 20111

(masc. and neut.) and o´be (fem.) ‘both’ are followed by the genitive 1

singular of the noun and genitive plural (masc. and neut.) or nomi-2

native plural (fem.) of the adjective: dva bol;wi´x stola´; tri 3

intereśnye kni´gi. Pqt; ‘five’ and above are followed by the geni-4

tive plural of both noun and adjective; pqt; bol;wi´x stolo´v. The 5

case following compound numerals is determined by the last element: 6

dva´dcat; dve intereśnye kni´gi.

7

However, these rules only apply if the numeral itself is in the nomi-8

native case, or the inanimate accusative. Numerals decline if the 9

structure of the sentence requires it, e.g., after prepositions. After a 30

numeral in a case other than the nom. / acc. the noun and adjective 1

will go into the plural of the same case: sem;qś pqt;[´ maĺen;kimi 2

det;mi´ ‘a family with five small children’. Only dva / dve, tri,

3

hety

ŕe, o´ba / o´be have an animate accusative, and this is not used in 4

compound numerals: q zna´[ dvux de´vuwek; q zna´[ dva´dcat; 5

dve de´vuwki. All elements of a compound number decline: s 6

pqti´desqti pqti´ do westi´desqti hetyre¨x ‘from fifty-five to 7

sixty-four’; v voźraste pqti´desqti vos;miĺet ‘at the age of fifty-8

eight’. Numerals used to tell the time similarly decline: v dva hasa´

9

‘at two’; s dvux haso´v ‘since / from two o’clock’. The complete 40

declension of cardinal numerals is in the grammar summary.

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Demography

Exercise 3

Write out the numerals putting the nouns and adjectives in the correct case.

1 @eń]iny sostavlq´[t 53 (proceńt), a mu'hińy 47 (proceńt) naseleńiq Rossií. 2