Introducing "Это": Basic Russian Sentences

1. The "Zero Copula": Making the Verb "to be" Disappear

First, let's formally understand this "missing" verb. In English, sentences like "She is an engineer" or "This is a book" require a linking verb from "to be." In Russian, when you are in the present tense, you simply drop it. The connection between the subject and its description is understood.

This might feel strange at first, but it makes forming basic statements incredibly straightforward. Let's get a clear explanation from a short article.

2. Identifying Anything with Э́то

The most versatile word for identifying something is э́то (pronounced EH-tah). It translates to "this is" or "these are."

The best thing about э́то is that it's indeclinable—it never changes, regardless of whether the noun that follows is masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural.

• Э́то стол. (This is a table.)
• Э́то кни́га. (This is a book.)
• Э́то окно́. (This is a window.)
• Э́то кни́ги. (These are books.)

This makes it a powerful and easy-to-use tool for beginners. The following video explains its practical use perfectly.

3. Identifying People and Their Roles

You can also use the zero copula with the personal pronouns you learned in the last lesson to state who someone is or what they do. The structure is the same: Pronoun + Noun.

This is where your knowledge from previous lessons comes together:

• You know the pronouns: я, ты, он, она́, мы, вы, они́.
• You know how to identify noun gender.
• You now know to omit the verb "to be."

Let's look at some examples, including one that relates to your field of study.

• Я студе́нт. (I am a student - if you are male)
• Я студе́нтка. (I am a student - if you are female)
• Он инжене́р. (He is an engineer.)
• Она́ врач. (She is a doctor.)
• Они́ студе́нты. (They are students.)

To expand your vocabulary, here is a list of common professions.

As you can see, you can now introduce yourself or describe others by their profession. For example, you can say: Я студе́нт и бу́дущий инжене́р (I am a student and a future engineer). We'll get to more complex sentences like that later!

4. Practice

Time to put this into practice. Remember the two simple patterns:

1. Э́то + [noun] -> This is a/an [noun].
2. [Pronoun] + [noun/profession] -> [Pronoun] is a/an [noun/profession].

Activity 1: Sentence Building

Translate the following simple sentences into Russian.

1. This is a house. (house = дом)
2. He is a doctor. (doctor = врач)
3. This is a car. (car = маши́на)
4. She is an artist. (artist = худо́жник (m.) / худо́жница (f.))
5. I am an engineer. (engineer = инжене́р)
6. This is a video game. (video game = видеоигра́)

Activity 2: Personalization

Write three simple Russian sentences based on your own life using the structures you learned today. For example:

• Я студе́нт. (I am a student.)
• You can identify an object near you: Э́то стол. (This is a table.)
• You can state what a friend is: Он(а́) студе́нт(ка). (He/She is a student.)

Try writing them down. This is excellent practice for both grammar and typing/writing.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've learned how to form the most basic, yet essential, types of sentences in Russian. This is a major milestone.

Key Takeaways:

• In present-tense Russian sentences, the verb "to be" (am, is, are) is omitted. This is called the zero copula.
• To identify any object or person, use the simple structure: Э́то + noun. The word э́то never changes.
• To state who someone is or their profession, use the structure: Pronoun + noun. For example: Я студе́нт, Она́ врач.

Preview of the next lesson:

Now that you can say "This is a book" (Э́то кни́га), the next logical step is to learn how to say "These are books." In our next lesson, we will learn how to form the nominative plural of nouns.