Это самый интересный урок за весь курс.

This is the most interesting lesson in the entire course.

Breakdown of Это самый интересный урок за весь курс.

• это: this
• интересный: interesting
• курс: the course
• урок: the lesson
• самый: most
• весь: entire

Questions & Answers about Это самый интересный урок за весь курс.

Why is there no verb “to be” in the sentence? Where is “is” in Russian?

In Russian, the present‐tense form of быть (“to be”) is normally omitted. Instead, you join a demonstrative like Это (“this/that”) directly to a noun or adjective in the nominative case. So:

• Это самый интересный урок literally reads “This most interesting lesson…”
• The linking “is” is implied.
  If you need past or future, you would say Это был самый… or Это будет самый…, but for present‐time it drops out.

Why is урок in the nominative case? And why do самый and интересный have these endings?

Because Это + noun/adjective is a zero‐copula construction requiring the predicate to be in the nominative. Here’s what’s happening:

• урок is masculine, singular, nominative – it’s the “thing” you’re describing.
• самый and интересный agree with урок in gender (masculine), number (singular), and case (nominative).
  Adjectives in Russian always take endings that match the noun they modify.

What role does самый play? How do you form superlatives in Russian?

самый is the standard way to build a superlative (“the most …”) in Russian. You put самый before the adjective, and they both decline to match the noun. For example:

• Masculine nom. sing.: самый интересный урок (“the most interesting lesson”)
• Feminine nom. sing.: самая интересная тема (“the most interesting topic”)
• Neuter nom. sing.: самое важное слово (“the most important word”)
• Plural: самые сложные задачи (“the most difficult problems”)

What does за весь курс mean? Why is курс in the accusative case?

When you use за + accusative with time expressions, it means “over/during the span of.” So за весь курс = “over the entire course.”

• курс is in the accusative singular because за governing the object of a time period always takes the accusative.
• весь is the accusative form of весь (see next Q).

What’s the difference between весь and все? Why do we use весь курс and not все курсы?

• весь is the singular form meaning “whole” or “entire” and must agree with a singular noun.
• все is the plural form meaning “all.”
  Here, курс is singular, so you need весь курс (“the entire course”). If you meant multiple courses, you’d say все курсы.

Could I say в течение всего курса instead of за весь курс? What’s the nuance?

Yes, both mean “during the entire course,” but:

• в течение
  • genitive (в течение всего курса) is slightly more formal and emphasizes continuous duration.
• за
  • accusative (за весь курс) is more colloquial and can stress the span or achievement over that period.
    In everyday speech you’ll often hear за весь курс.