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When you encounter an abbreviation like **США** (USA) or **ООН** (UN), how do you know which gender to use for past-tense verbs and adjectives? Since most of these are indeclinable (their endings don't change), you can't just look at the last letter.

### The Rule of the Core Noun

The trick is to identify the **core noun** in the full, unabbreviated phrase. The abbreviation automatically inherits the gender and number of that main word.

### Plural Acronyms

**США** stands for Соединённые **Штаты** Америки (United States of America). Because the core noun **штаты** (states) is plural, **США** takes plural verbs and adjectives.

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Similarly, **СМИ** stands for **Средства** массовой информации (Mass media). The core noun **средства** (means) is plural.

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### Feminine Acronyms

If the core noun is feminine, the abbreviation takes feminine modifiers and past-tense verbs (ending in **-ла**).

- **ООН** = **Организация** Объединённых Наций (UN). Core noun: **организация** (organization).
- **РФ** = Российская **Федерация** (RF). Core noun: **федерация** (federation).
- **ФСБ** = Федеральная **служба** безопасности (FSB). Core noun: **служба** (service).

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### Masculine Acronyms

Masculine core nouns make the abbreviation masculine, meaning past-tense verbs end in **-л**.

- **ЕС** = Европейский **Союз** (EU). Core noun: **союз** (union).
- **МГУ** = Московский государственный **университет** (MSU). Core noun: **университет** (university).

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### Neuter Acronyms

If the core noun is neuter, the abbreviation is neuter, and past-tense verbs end in **-ло**.

- **ДТП** = Дорожно-транспортное **происшествие** (traffic accident). Core noun: **происшествие** (incident).
- **СНГ** = **Содружество** Независимых Государств (CIS). Core noun: **содружество** (commonwealth).
- **МЧС** = **Министерство** чрезвычайных ситуаций (Ministry of Emergency Situations). Core noun: **министерство** (ministry).

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Gender of acronyms and initialisms

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

predicative

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Presentative (это)

Noun gender

Soft-sign nouns (-ь)

Subject pronouns (я, ты, он...)

Yes/no questions (да / нет)

Basic interrogatives (кто / что)

Basic negation (не)

Coordinating conjunctions (и / а)

Possessive pronouns (мой, твой, наш, ваш)

Demonstrative pronouns (этот, эта, это)

Adjective agreement

Which and whose (какой, чей)

First conjugation verbs, singular (-ать)

First conjugation verbs, plural (-ать)

Second conjugation verbs (-ить)

Irregular present tense verbs

Adverbs of manner (как, очень)

Locations in prepositional case (в / на)

Prepositional case modifiers (-ом, -ой)

Topics of speech (о, об)

Direct objects (-у, -ю)

Direct object pronouns (меня, тебя)

Verbs of motion (идти, ехать)

Destination (куда, в, на)

Plural nouns (-ы, -и, -а, -я)

Irregular plural nouns (друзья, дети)

Plural adjectives and pronouns (-ые, -ие)

Numbers 1 to 10 (один, два, три)

Possession with pronouns (у меня есть)

Possession with nouns (-а, -я, -ы, -и)

Genitive of negation (нет)

Numbers 2, 3, and 4

Quantities with mass nouns (сколько, много, мало)

Animate direct objects

The past tense of to be (был, была, было, были)

Regular past tense verbs

Time sequence expressions (вчера, завтра, раньше, потом)

Verb aspect in the past tense

Dative personal pronouns (мне, тебе, ему)

Expressing likes (нравится, нравятся)

Absence (нет)

Expressing age (год, года, лет)

Indirect objects (-у, -ю, -е)

Modal verbs (хотеть, мочь)

Reason and contrast (поэтому, но)

Double negation (ничего, никогда)

Reflexive verbs (-ся, -сь)

Polite requests and instructions (-ите, -йте)

Days of the week (в + Accusative)

Compound future tense (буду...)

Simple future tense

Accompaniment (с)

Multidirectional verbs of motion (ходить, ездить)

Greetings and goodbyes (здравствуйте, привет)

Thank you and sorry (спасибо, извините)

Countries and languages (русский, английский)

Meeting people (меня зовут, как дела)

Public transport (трамвай, остановка)

Left, right and the compass (слева, справа)

Places in the city (цирк, зоопарк)

Fruit and vegetables (помидор, огурец)

Post and travel (открытка, чемодан)

Family and relatives (внук, родственник)

Jobs and professions (инженер, продавец)

Sport and games (футбол, теннис)

Describing people (умный, сильный)

Health and the body (болен, здоровье)

The months of the year (январь, февраль)

Accusative feminine and inanimate adjectives (-ую, -юю)

Accusative animate masculine adjectives (-ого, -его)

Short-form adjectives (готов, занят)

Personal obligation (должен, должна)

Professions in the instrumental case

Genitive singular adjectives and possessives

Prepositions of absence and purpose (без, для)

Dative singular adjectives and possessives

Impersonal states (мне холодно)

Impersonal obligation (надо, нужно)

Impersonal permission (можно / нельзя)

Instrumental adjectives and pronouns

Reciprocal verbs (с + Instrumental)

Reflexive possessive pronouns (свой)

Reflexive pronouns (себя)

Specific indefinite pronouns (-то)

Non-specific indefinite pronouns (-нибудь)

Negative pronouns (никто / ничто)

Numbers 11 to 20

Question	Answer
USA	США
Yesterday the USA announced a new decision.	Вчера США объявили новое решение.
In my opinion, the USA did not agree.	По-моему, США не согласились.
UN	ООН
Earlier the UN helped us.	Раньше ООН помогала нам.
In your opinion, why was the UN silent?	По-вашему, почему ООН молчала?
RF	РФ
Yesterday the RF signed the contract.	Вчера РФ подписала договор.
Our president said that the RF is ready.	Наш президент сказал, что РФ готова.
EU	ЕС
The EU did not accept our plan.	ЕС не принял наш план.
Yesterday the EU closed the border.	Вчера ЕС закрыл границу.
mass media	СМИ
No mass media wrote about this.	Никакие СМИ не писали об этом.
The mass media noticed a strange detail.	СМИ заметили странную деталь.
MSU	МГУ
MSU opened a new faculty.	МГУ открыл новый факультет.
Earlier MSU was closed.	Раньше МГУ был закрыт.
FSB	ФСБ
The FSB started an inspection.	ФСБ начала проверку.
The FSB took your computer.	ФСБ забрала твой компьютер.
traffic accident	ДТП
A terrible traffic accident happened yesterday.	Вчера произошло страшное ДТП.
Nobody saw how the traffic accident happened.	Никто не видел, как произошло ДТП.
CIS	СНГ
The CIS solved this problem.	СНГ решило эту проблему.
The CIS did not make any choice.	СНГ не сделало никакого выбора.
Ministry of Emergency Situations	МЧС
The Ministry of Emergency Situations warned about the hurricane.	МЧС предупредило об урагане.
Yesterday the Ministry of Emergency Situations helped us.	Вчера МЧС помогло нам.