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Questions & Answers about Мои брюки длинные, а пальто тёплое.
Why is мои used here instead of мой, моя, or моё?
Possessive pronouns in Russian agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case. Брюки is a plural noun in the nominative case (you’re saying “My pants are …”), so you must use the nominative plural form мои.
- мой = masculine singular
- моя = feminine singular
- моё = neuter singular
- мои = plural (all genders)
Why is брюки always in the plural, and what case is it here?
Брюки is a pluralia tantum noun—it only exists in the plural form because trousers are (conceptually) a pair. In this sentence it’s in the nominative plural, since it’s the subject of the clause.
Why is there no verb like “are” in “Мои брюки длинные”?
In Russian, the present-tense copula быть (“to be”) is typically omitted. You simply say “Мои брюки длинные”, literally “My pants — long.” The linking verb is understood, so you don’t pronounce or write anything equivalent to “are.”
Why is the adjective длинные spelled that way, and what does its ending tell me?
Adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Here длинные has the ending -ые, which is the standard nominative plural ending for hard-stem adjectives. It matches брюки (nominative plural).
Why does the adjective come after the noun in this sentence?
Here длинные is used as a predicative adjective (it’s the complement of the subject, like “are long”). Predicative adjectives in Russian normally follow the noun. If it were an attributive adjective (simply describing “long pants”), it would precede the noun: мои длинные брюки.
What is the role of the conjunction а, and how is it different from и?
The conjunction а is a contrasting coordinating conjunction, often translated “while,” “whereas,” or a mild “but.” It signals a contrast between two clauses.
- и = simple “and” (adds one fact to another)
- а = “and/but” with contrast or shift of focus
Why is пальто neuter, and why does its adjective become тёплое?
Пальто is a borrowed, indeclinable noun ending in -o. It has fixed form in all cases and numbers and is treated as neuter. Adjectives modifying it must take the neuter singular ending -ое (hard-stem), giving тёплое.
Why is the adjective spelled тёплое with ё instead of е?
The letter ё indicates the “yo” sound. In everyday Russian, people often replace ё with е, but that can create ambiguity (for example, теплое could be read as tye-pló-ye or tyo-pló-ye). In formal writing, children’s books, and dictionaries, ё is used to remove doubt.
Why is there a comma before а in the sentence?
When а connects two independent clauses (each with its own subject and predicate), Russian punctuation requires a comma before it. Here you have two clauses:
1) Мои брюки длинные
2) пальто тёплое
so you write Мои брюки длинные, а пальто тёплое.
Can I say мои длинные брюки instead, and what’s the difference?
Yes, мои длинные брюки is grammatically correct—it’s an attributive phrase meaning “my long pants.” However, as part of a predicate (“My pants are long”), you must separate subject and predicative adjective, so the adjective follows the noun and the copula is omitted. If you say мои длинные брюки, you’re simply describing the pants (e.g., “I bought my long pants”), not stating “are long.”