Мой друг осторожный водитель.

the friend

Breakdown of Мой друг осторожный водитель.

• мой: my
• водитель: the driver
• осторожный: careful

Questions & Answers about Мой друг осторожный водитель.

Why is there no word for “is” in this Russian sentence?

In Russian, in the present tense, the verb “to be” (быть) is usually omitted between a subject and a noun/adjective:

• Мой друг осторожный водитель.
  Literally: My friend careful driver.

Russian speakers understand “is” from the structure:

• [subject in nominative] + [predicate in nominative]

So you don’t say есть (is/are) here.
If you add a verb like является (is, constitutes), then you must change the case (see another question below).

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Why isn’t there a word for “a” before водитель?

Russian has no articles (a, an, the).

Whether English would use “a” or “the” is understood from context in Russian, not from a specific word. So:

• Мой друг осторожный водитель.
  can mean:
  • My friend is a careful driver.
    (most natural translation here)

There is simply no Russian equivalent of “a”.

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What cases are used in this sentence?