Learn Hardcore Russian: Ответ понятный.

The sentence is a verbless predicative construction. Ответ is the subject in the nominative case, and понятный is a predicate adjective that agrees with the subject in gender, number, and case. In Russian, the present tense typically omits the linking verb (such as есть, meaning “is”), so the sentence means “The answer is understandable.”

Why is there no verb equivalent to “is” present in the sentence?

In Russian, especially in the present tense, the copula (linking verb) is normally dropped. This zero-copula feature is standard, meaning that even though English requires the verb “is,” Russian does not, leading to concise constructions like Ответ понятный.

How does adjective agreement work in this sentence?

The adjective понятный must match the noun it describes. Since Ответ is masculine singular, понятный appears in its masculine singular form. In Russian, adjectives always agree in gender, number, and case with the nouns they modify.

Does the word order (subject followed by predicate adjective) affect the meaning of the sentence?

Not really. Ответ понятный follows a typical subject-predicate structure in Russian. Although Russian allows some flexibility with word order to add emphasis or stylistic nuance, this standard order plainly conveys that the answer is understandable without any change in basic meaning.

Are there alternative ways to express “The answer is understandable” in Russian?

Yes, you might also say Ответ ясен to convey a similar meaning. Both понятный and ясный describe the quality of the answer, though subtle differences in nuance may exist. The key takeaway is that the sentence construction—with the noun and a predicate adjective and an omitted copula—is typical in Russian affirmative statements.