Это временный план.

This is a temporary plan.

Breakdown of Это временный план.

• это: this
• план: the plan
• временный: temporary

Questions & Answers about Это временный план.

Why is it это временный план, not этот временный план?

Russian uses это + noun to say this is a … / it is a … as a complete sentence.

• Это временный план. = This is a temporary plan. / It’s a temporary plan.

If you use этот, you’re directly modifying the noun план (like this plan), so you need a predicate after it:

• Этот временный план не идеален. = This temporary plan is not perfect.
• Этот план временный. = This plan is temporary.

So:

• Это временный план. → identifying what this/it is.
• Этот план временный. → talking about this plan and giving it a description.

What gender and case are временный and план, and why do they look like that?

• план is a masculine noun, in the nominative singular (the basic dictionary form).
• временный is an adjective describing план, so it must agree with it in gender, number, and case.

Masculine nominative singular hard-stem adjectives typically end in -ый / -ой, so:

• masculine, singular, nominative: временный план
• feminine, singular, nominative: временная идея
• neuter, singular, nominative: временное решение
• plural, nominative: временные планы

In the sentence, both временный and план are in the nominative, because we are simply saying X = Y (this = a temporary plan).

Where is the verb is? Why doesn’t Russian say something like Это есть временный план?

In Russian, the present tense of быть (to be) is normally omitted in simple sentences of the type X is Y.

• English: This is a temporary plan.
• Russian: Это временный план. (literally: This – temporary plan.)

The word есть can be used, but in modern Russian it is rare in this kind of sentence and sounds either:

• bookish/old-fashioned, or
• like you are emphasizing existence/availability: У нас есть план. – We have a plan.

So you should learn: In the present tense, “is/are” is usually just missing.

Why is there no a or the in Это временный план? How do I know if it’s a or the?

Russian has no articles (no a/an and the). The sentence Это временный план can correspond to:

• This is a temporary plan.
• This is the temporary plan.

English has to choose, but Russian doesn’t. Which English article is correct depends on context, not on any special word in Russian.

You infer a vs the from:

• what is already known in the conversation,
• word order,
• stress/intonation,
• sometimes additional words like этот, тот, этот самый, etc.

On its own, Это временный план is usually translated as This is a temporary plan unless the context clearly makes it the.

Can I change the word order? What about План временный or Временный это план?

Word order in Russian is more flexible than in English, but it affects emphasis.

• Это временный план. – neutral; a simple statement this is a temporary plan.
• План временный. – no это; sounds like “(The) plan is temporary”, often used when contrasting with something else:
  План временный, а договор постоянный. – The plan is temporary, but the contract is permanent.
• Временный это план. – possible but marked; it emphasizes временный very strongly, like:
  Temporary – that’s what this plan is. (almost corrective or emotional speech)

For a beginner, stick to Это временный план and План временный as the most natural patterns.

Can I just say Временный план. without это as a full sentence?

As normal, neutral spoken Russian, no: Временный план. by itself sounds like a fragment, not a complete sentence.

However, in some contexts, Russian does drop это and verbs, for example:

• headings in documents: Временный план – Temporary plan
• labels, notes, to-do lists
• telegraphic/elliptical style in informal writing

So:

• Full sentence: Это временный план.
• Title/heading: Временный план

How do you pronounce Это временный план? Where is the stress?

Stress and approximate pronunciation (stressed syllables in caps):

• Э́то → É-to → [ˈɛtə]
  • Stress on the first syllable: Э́.
• вре́менный → VRÉ-men-nyy → [ˈvrʲemʲɪnːɨj]
  • Stress on the first е: вре́-.
  • Double нн is pronounced as a long n.
• план → PLAN → [plan]
  • Monosyllabic, stress on план.

Together: Э́то ВРЕ́менный ПЛАН.
The main sentence stress in neutral speech usually falls on the most important word, often план or вре́менный, depending on what you want to highlight.

Is временный related to время (time)? Does it always just mean temporary?

Yes, временный is derived from время (time). It means temporary, for a limited time, not permanent.

Common uses:

• временный план – a temporary/provisional plan
• временная работа – temporary job
• временное жильё – temporary housing
• временный сотрудник – temp / temporary employee

Nuance:

• It often carries the idea “just for now, will change later”.
• In some contexts it is close to “acting” (in a position):
  временный директор – acting director.

Other words:

• временно – temporarily: Мы временно закрыты. – We are temporarily closed.

Why isn’t план in the instrumental case (планом) here?

Learners often see sentences like:

• Он был учителем. – He was a teacher.
• Она стала директором. – She became a director.

Here учителем, директором are instrumental and show a role/state.

But with это + noun in the present tense, Russian uses the nominative, not instrumental:

• Это план. – This is a plan.
• Это временный план. – This is a temporary plan.

Using instrumental here (Это временным планом) would be unusual and would imply something like It functioned as a temporary plan in a specific context, usually with a different verb or tense. For identifying what something is right now, with это, use nominative.

How would I say related things like “This plan is temporary” or “These are temporary plans”?

Some useful patterns:

1. This plan is temporary.

   • Этот план временный.
     Here этот modifies план, and временный is the predicate adjective.

2. These are temporary plans.

   • Это временные планы.
     • Это can also mean these.
     • временные – plural nominative adjective.
     • планы – plural nominative noun.

3. These plans are temporary.

   • Эти планы временные.
     • Эти = these (plural).
     • временные agrees with планы in plural nominative.

4. It’s only a temporary plan.

   • Это только временный план.
   • Это всего лишь временный план. (a bit more expressive: just / merely a temporary plan)

What’s the difference between Это временный план and Этот план временный in nuance?

Both can be translated as This is a temporary plan / This plan is temporary, but the focus shifts slightly.

• Это временный план.

  • Structure: это + noun phrase.
  • Feels like classification/identification: What is “this”? It is a temporary plan.
  • Often used when first introducing the idea: Это временный план, потом сделаем постоянный.

• Этот план временный.

  • Structure: [subject] + [predicate adjective].
  • Focuses on a specific plan already in view: As for this plan, it’s temporary (maybe in contrast to another one).
  • Often used in contrast: Этот план временный, а тот — окончательный.

In many contexts they are interchangeable, but Это временный план sounds more like introducing something as a category; Этот план временный sounds more like commenting on a known plan.