Я выбрал синюю ленту, а сестра — красный бантик для подарка.

I chose a blue ribbon, and my sister chose a red bow for the gift.

Breakdown of Я выбрал синюю ленту, а сестра — красный бантик для подарка.

• я: I
• красный: red
• сестра: the sister
• синий: blue

Questions & Answers about Я выбрал синюю ленту, а сестра — красный бантик для подарка.

Why is it выбрал and not выбрала?

Выбрал is the past tense masculine singular form of выбрать (to choose).

In Russian past tense, the verb agrees with the subject in gender and number:

• я выбрал = I chose (said by a male speaker)
• я выбрала = I chose (said by a female speaker)
• мы выбрали = we chose

So this sentence suggests that the speaker is male. If the speaker were female, it would be:

Я выбрала синюю ленту, а сестра — красный бантик для подарка.

Why is синюю used here?

Синюю is the accusative singular feminine form of синий (blue).

The noun лента is feminine, and here it is the direct object of выбрал (chose what?), so it goes into the accusative case:

• nominative: синяя лента
• accusative: синюю ленту

The adjective must match the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

• синяя → синюю
• лента → ленту

Why is it and not ?