Questions & Answers about Где яблоко? Оно здесь.
How can I tell what gender яблоко is?
Look at the last letter! In Russian, you can usually guess a noun's gender by its ending. Because яблоко ends in -о, it is a neuter noun.
Why does the second sentence use Оно for "It"?
In English, we use "it" for almost all objects. In Russian, the word for "it" has to match the grammatical gender of the noun it replaces. Since яблоко is neuter, we must use the neuter pronoun оно.
Where is the word for "is" in these sentences?
Russian usually drops the "to be" verb (am, is, are) in the present tense. Instead of saying "Where is the apple?", Russian literally says "Где яблоко?" (Where apple?), and "Оно здесь" literally means "It here."
Why does the final letter in яблоко sound more like an "a" when spoken?
This happens because of a pronunciation rule called vowel reduction. When the letter о does not have the stress (the vocal emphasis) in a word, it is pronounced like a short "a" sound. In яблоко, the stress is on the first syllable, so the final о sounds like "a".
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