Learn Russian: Это дом.

In Russian, the verb "to be" is skipped in the present tense. You just put the two parts of the sentence next to each other. So instead of saying "This is a house," you simply say Это дом.

The word дом is masculine. Why do we use это, which usually acts as a neuter word?

Because here это is acting as a "presentative"—a fixed word used to introduce or point something out (like saying "This is..."). When used this way to equate "this" with a noun, это never changes its form, regardless of whether the noun that follows is masculine, feminine, or plural.

How do we know it translates to "a house" and not "the house"?

Russian doesn't have words for "a", "an", or "the" (articles). The word дом can mean "a house" or "the house" depending on the situation. When pointing something out for the first time with это, we usually use "a" in English.

Can это дом also mean "that is a house" or "it is a house"?

Yes! The word это is very flexible when introducing things. Depending on the context and how far away the object is, it can translate to "this is", "that is", or "it is".