Breakdown of Маленькая рыбка плавает в аквариуме.
маленький
small
в
in
плавать
to swim
аквариум
the aquarium
Questions & Answers about Маленькая рыбка плавает в аквариуме.
Why is it маленькая рыбка and not маленький рыбка?
Because рыбка is grammatically feminine, and the adjective has to agree with it.
- The noun рыба (fish) is feminine.
- рыбка is a diminutive of рыба, and it keeps the same gender: also feminine.
- Feminine singular adjectives in the nominative case usually end in -ая / -яя.
So:
- маленьк
- ая → маленькая (feminine, singular, nominative)
- If the noun were masculine, you’d use маленький (masc. singular nominative), e.g. маленький кот (a small cat).
Because рыбка is feminine, маленькая is the correct form.
What is the difference between рыба and рыбка? Can I always use рыбка for “fish”?