Мой внук гуляет в парке.

My grandson is walking in the park.

Breakdown of Мой внук гуляет в парке.

• мой: my
• парк: the park
• в: in
• гулять: to walk
• внук: the grandson

Questions & Answers about Мой внук гуляет в парке.

What exactly does внук mean? Is it grandson or grandchild?

Внук is grammatically masculine and most often means grandson.

• внук = grandson
• внучка = granddaughter
• внуки = grandchildren (can be mixed or all of one gender)

In everyday speech, внук is usually understood specifically as a male grandchild, unless the context clearly makes it generic.

Why is it мой внук and not моя внук?

In Russian, possessive words like мой (my) agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify.

Внук is masculine singular, so you must use the masculine singular form мой.

Basic nominative forms of my:

• мой – masculine (мой внук – my grandson, мой брат – my brother)
• моя – feminine (моя внучка – my granddaughter, моя мама – my mom)
• моё – neuter (моё письмо – my letter)
• мои – plural (мои внуки – my grandchildren)

So мой внук is correct because внук is masculine.

Why is there no word for is in Мой внук гуляет в парке?

Russian normally omits the verb “to be” in the present tense.

• English: My grandson is walking in the park.
• Russian: Мой внук гуляет в парке. (literally: My grandson walks in park.)

In the present tense, Russian just uses the subject + main verb. The verb быть (to be) appears in the past and future, but not in simple present statements like this.

What is the infinitive of гуляет, and how is this verb conjugated?

The infinitive is гулять – to walk, to go for a walk, to stroll, to spend time outside.

Present tense (imperfective, used for ongoing/habitual actions):

• я гуляю – I walk / I am walking
• ты гуляешь – you walk / you are walking (informal singular)
• он / она / оно гуляет – he / she / it walks / is walking
• мы гуляем – we walk / we are walking
• вы гуляете – you walk / you are walking (formal or plural)
• они гуляют – they walk / are walking

In the sentence, гуляет is 3rd person singular (he/she/it).

Does гуляет mean walks or is walking?

It can mean both. Russian has only one present tense for both:

• Мой внук гуляет в парке.
  
  • My grandson walks in the park. (habitually)
  • My grandson is walking in the park. (right now)

Context usually tells you which is meant.
If you want to emphasize “right now,” you might add an adverb like:

• сейчас – now: Мой внук сейчас гуляет в парке. – My grandson is walking in the park right now.

What’s the difference between гулять, идти, and ходить?

These all involve movement, but with different nuances:

• гулять – to stroll, to walk around, to hang out outside, often for pleasure or leisure.

  • Мой внук гуляет в парке. – He is spending time walking/playing in the park.

• идти – to go / to walk in one specific direction, at this moment (one-way motion).

  • Мой внук идёт в парк. – My grandson is going (on foot) to the park (right now).

• ходить – to go / to walk repeatedly, habitually, or in various directions.

  • Мой внук ходит в парк каждый день. – My grandson goes to the park every day.

In your sentence, гуляет focuses on being out walking/spending time in the park, not on the fact of going there.

What case is внук in, and why?

Внук is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence – the person who is doing the action.

• Мой внук – My grandson (subject)
• гуляет – is walking (verb)
• в парке – in the park (location)

Nominative is the “dictionary form” of nouns and is used for the subject.

Why is it в парке and not в парк?

The preposition в can take prepositional or accusative case, depending on meaning:

• в + prepositional = location (where?) → в парке – in the park
• в + accusative = direction (where to?) → в парк – to the park

Your sentence describes where he is walking, not where he is going:

• Мой внук гуляет в парке. – My grandson is walking in the park (location).
  Compare:
• Мой внук идёт в парк. – My grandson is going to the park (direction).

What case is парке, and why does it end in -е?

Парке is in the prepositional case singular of парк (park).

For many masculine nouns like парк, the prepositional singular ending is -е:

• парк → в парке – in the park
• город → в городе – in the city
• лес → в лесу (irregular, but same idea: location)

We use the prepositional case after в when we talk about location (in/at where something is).

Can the word order change, like В парке гуляет мой внук?

Yes. Russian word order is more flexible than English. All of these are grammatically possible:

• Мой внук гуляет в парке. (neutral: new information is what he is doing/where)
• В парке гуляет мой внук. (focus on in the park, or contrasting whose grandson it is)
• Гуляет в парке мой внук. (emphasis on it is my grandson who is walking in the park)

The basic, neutral, learner‑friendly order is the one you have: Subject – Verb – Place.

Could you drop мой внук or replace it with он?

Yes, depending on context:

• If it’s already clear you are talking about your grandson, you might say simply:

  • Он гуляет в парке. – He is walking in the park.

• In very clear context (for example, answering “Where is your grandson?”), a Russian speaker might even say:

  • В парке гуляет. – (He) is walking in the park.
    The subject is understood from context.

Russian often omits subject pronouns when the verb ending makes the subject clear.

How do you pronounce внук and the phrase Мой внук?

Pronunciation (rough guide):

• внук – [vno͞ok], one syllable, like v-nook but shorter:
  • в
    • н are both pronounced; there is no vowel between them.
• Мой внук – мой rhymes roughly with boy, but shorter.
  • The йв sequence in fast speech often sounds close together, like [moyv-].

Stress:

• мОй – only one syllable, naturally stressed
• внУк – stress on the only syllable
• пАрке – пАр- is stressed: ПАР-ке

Getting used to consonant clusters like вн in внук is a common challenge for English speakers.