Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Я читаю иностранную книгу.
What is the subject of the sentence, and what does it indicate?
The subject is Я, which means I. It indicates who is performing the action of reading.
How is the verb читаю formed, and what does its form tell us about the speaker?
Читаю is the first-person singular form of the verb читать in the present tense. This form tells us that the speaker, Я (I), is performing the action, meaning I read or I am reading.
Why does the adjective иностранную take the ending -ую instead of -ая?
In Russian, adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case. Since книга is a feminine singular noun in the accusative case (because it is the direct object), the adjective иностранный takes the form иностранную.
What case are иностранную and книгу in, and why is this case used?
Both иностранную and книгу are in the accusative case. This case is used to mark the direct object of the action—in this sentence, it shows that the book is what is being read.
What aspect is used in читать in this sentence, and what does that indicate about the action?
The verb читать in this sentence is in the imperfective aspect. This indicates that the action of reading is ongoing, habitual, or not viewed as completed.
Is Russian word order flexible, and can this sentence be rearranged for emphasis?
Yes, Russian word order is quite flexible. While the standard order here is Subject-Verb-Object (Я читаю иностранную книгу), you can rearrange it—for example, Иностранную книгу я читаю—to emphasize the book without changing the sentence’s overall meaning.