Questions & Answers about Это мама и брат.
Does the word это change because there are two people, or because мама is feminine?
No, it doesn't! When you use это to introduce people or things (meaning "this is" or "these are"), it is a fixed "presentative" word. It stays exactly the same regardless of whether the nouns following it are masculine, feminine, singular, or plural.
Where is the verb "is" or "are" in this sentence?
Russian almost always drops the verb "to be" in the present tense. So instead of saying "This is mom and a brother," you literally just say "This mom and brother" (Это мама и брат).
The English translation says "a brother". Is there a Russian word for "a" or "the"?
No, Russian does not use articles like "a", "an", or "the". The single word брат can mean "brother", "a brother", or "the brother" depending entirely on the context of the conversation.
How can I tell if the nouns in this sentence are masculine or feminine?
You can usually guess a Russian noun's gender by looking at its last letter. The word мама ends in -а, which is the most common ending for feminine nouns. The word брат ends in a consonant (the letter т), which tells us it is masculine.