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Questions & Answers about Мой дом холодный.
Why is there no verb equivalent to “is” in the sentence “Мой дом холодный”?
In Russian, the present-tense form of the verb “to be” (есть) is typically omitted in simple descriptive sentences. Rather than saying “My house is cold,” Russian directly connects the subject with the adjective.
How does the gender of the noun “дом” affect the forms of “мой” and “холодный”?
The noun дом is masculine. Therefore, the possessive pronoun мой must be in the masculine singular form, and the adjective холодный must also take its masculine singular form. In Russian, adjectives and pronouns agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify.
Why is the adjective “холодный” positioned after “дом” in the sentence?
In this sentence, холодный functions as a predicate adjective that describes the subject дом. Russian often places the predicate adjective after the noun when no linking verb is used, following a natural subject–predicate structure.
What case are the words in “Мой дом холодный” and why is this significant?
All parts of the sentence are in the nominative case—the standard case for the subject. The noun дом (house), the possessive adjective мой, and the descriptive adjective холодный are all in the nominative masculine singular. Correct case usage is crucial for clear grammatical agreement in Russian.
Can the sentence be rearranged while keeping the same meaning?
Yes, Russian word order is quite flexible. For example, one might say “Дом мой холодный” to emphasize дом differently. However, regardless of the order, maintaining proper adjective-noun agreement and case is essential to preserve the sentence’s meaning.