Questions & Answers about Мой друг учится в университете.
Why doesn’t Russian use a separate word for is in this sentence?
In Russian, the verb быть (to be) is normally omitted in the present tense in simple sentences like this.
So instead of saying something like Мой друг есть студент, Russian just says:
- Мой друг студент. – My friend is a student.
- Мой друг учится в университете. – My friend is studying at university.
The verb быть appears in the past and future:
- Мой друг был студентом. – My friend was a student.
- Мой друг будет учиться в университете. – My friend will study at university.
In the present, you usually just put the words together: [subject] + [what they are / what they do].
Why is it мой друг and not моя друг or something else?