Breakdown of Где брат? Он здесь.
брат
brother
где
where / wherever
здесь
here
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
Questions & Answers about Где брат? Он здесь.
How do we know what gender the word брат is just by looking at it?
Look at the last letter! In the dictionary form (the nominative case), Russian nouns that end in a consonant, like the т in брат, are masculine.
Why is there no word for "is" in Где брат or Он здесь?
Russian skips the verb "to be" (am, is, are) in the present tense. You just put the subject and the location right next to each other, so the sentences literally translate to "Where brother?" and "He here."
Since брат means brother, it makes sense to use он (he). Would we still use он if the masculine word was a non-living object?
Yes! In Russian, pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. If a noun is masculine, you always refer to it as он, even if it is an inanimate object like a phone or a house.
What does the little ь at the end of здесь do?
That is called a "soft sign". It doesn't make a sound of its own, but it tells you to pronounce the consonant right before it (the с) softly. You do this by pressing the middle of your tongue up towards the roof of your mouth while making the "s" sound.
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