Я ем тост с мёдом.

I am eating toast with honey.

Breakdown of Я ем тост с мёдом.

• я: I
• есть: to eat
• с: with
• мёд: the honey
• тост: the toast

Questions & Answers about Я ем тост с мёдом.

Does Я ем тост с мёдом mean I eat toast with honey or I am eating toast with honey?

It can mean both.
Russian has only one present tense for есть (ем), and it covers both the simple present (I eat) and the present continuous (I am eating).
Context will tell you whether it’s a general habit or something happening right now.

Why is тост in this form? Why not тоста or тосту?

Тост here is a direct object, so it is in the accusative case.
For masculine inanimate nouns like тост, the accusative form is identical to the nominative:

• Nominative: тост (the toast)
• Accusative: тост (I eat toast)

Forms like тоста, тосту belong to other cases (genitive, dative, etc.), which are not needed after есть / ем with a direct object.

Why is it с мёдом, not just с мёд?

The preposition с meaning with (together with) requires the instrumental case.
Мёд (honey) in the instrumental singular becomes мёдом:

• Nominative: мёд
• Instrumental: мёдом (with honey)

So с мёдом literally means with (by means of / accompanied by) honey. Using с мёд would be ungrammatical.

What is the infinitive of ем, and how do you conjugate this verb?

The infinitive is есть (to eat). It is irregular. Present tense:

• я ем – I eat / I am eating
• ты ешь – you eat (singular, informal)
• он / она / оно ест – he / she / it eats
• мы едим – we eat
• вы едите – you eat (plural or formal)
• они едят – they eat

Past: ел (m), ела (f), ело (n), ели (pl).
Imperative: ешь! (sing.), ешьте! (pl./formal).

Can I say Я кушаю тост с мёдом instead of Я ем тост с мёдом? What’s the difference?

You can say Я кушаю тост с мёдом, and it will be understood.
But:

• есть / ем is the neutral, most common verb for to eat.
• кушать / кушаю is more polite / soft / child‑directed; in everyday adult speech it can sometimes sound over‑polite or childish, depending on context.

So Я ем тост с мёдом is the safest, most natural choice in neutral conversation.

How would I say I will eat toast with honey and I ate toast with honey?

Past:

• Я ел тост с мёдом – I ate toast with honey (speaker male)
• Я ела тост с мёдом – I ate toast with honey (speaker female)

Future: you can use either imperfective or perfective:

1. Imperfective future (process / plan / open‑ended):

   • Я буду есть тост с мёдом – I will be eating / I will eat toast with honey.

2. Perfective future (single, completed action):

   • Я съем тост с мёдом – I will eat (and finish) a toast with honey.

Both are correct; choose based on whether you emphasize the process (буду есть) or the completed result (съем).

Can I drop я and just say Ем тост с мёдом?

Yes, you can. The verb ending -м in ем already shows 1st person singular, so the subject is clear.

• Я ем тост с мёдом – neutral, explicit I.
• Ем тост с мёдом – also correct; feels a bit more like an answer, a note, or something said when the subject is obvious from context.

For learners, it’s safer to keep я until you feel comfortable with context and verb endings.

Since Russian has no articles, how do I know if this means a toast, the toast, or some toast?

Russian does not mark definiteness with words like a / the.
Я ем тост с мёдом can be understood as:

• I am eating a toast with honey
• I am eating the toast with honey
• I eat toast with honey (habit)

Context decides whether it’s definite or indefinite. If you must be explicit, you use other words:

• этот тост – this toast / the toast
• какой‑то тост – some toast (some kind of toast)
• немного тоста – some toast (a bit of toast)

Is there any difference between мёд and мед in writing, and how should I pronounce мёдом?

The sound is always /myod/, with ё pronounced like yo in york.

• Correct, fully marked spelling: мёд, мёдом.
• In many printed texts, ё is written as е: мед, медом. You still pronounce it myod, myodom.

So мёдом is pronounced roughly [MYO-dom], with stress on мё‑.

Is the word order fixed? Can I say Я с мёдом ем тост or Тост с мёдом я ем?

Russian word order is more flexible than English, but Я ем тост с мёдом is the most neutral and natural order.

Other orders are possible, but they add emphasis or may sound unusual in isolation:

• Тост с мёдом я ем – emphasizes toast with honey (as opposed to something else).
• Я тост с мёдом ем – also possible, with a slight focus shift, but less neutral.
• Я с мёдом ем тост – grammatically possible, but sounds less natural here.

For everyday speech, stick to Я ем тост с мёдом.

How would I say I eat toast and honey (as two separate things, not honey on the toast)?

Then you would not use с (with), you would use и (and):

• Я ем тост и мёд. – I eat toast and honey.

Here both тост and мёд are direct objects in the accusative (and for masculine inanimate nouns, accusative = nominative).

How do I make it plural, like I eat toasts with honey?

The plural of тост is тосты (nominative plural). For inanimate nouns, the accusative plural is the same as the nominative plural:

• Nominative plural: тосты
• Accusative plural: тосты

So you say:

• Я ем тосты с мёдом. – I eat toasts with honey.

In practice, Russians often specify number instead:

• Я ем два тоста с мёдом. – I’m eating two toasts with honey.