Breakdown of Где тетрадь? Она здесь.
где
where / wherever
здесь
here
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
тетрадь
notebook
Questions & Answers about Где тетрадь? Она здесь.
Why is the notebook referred to as Она (she) instead of Оно (it)?
In Russian, all nouns have a gender. тетрадь (notebook) is a feminine noun, so we use the feminine pronoun Она. When translating to English, we say 'it' because a notebook is an inanimate object, but Russian grammar still treats it as 'she'.
How can I tell that тетрадь is feminine if it ends in a soft sign (ь)?
Nouns ending in a soft sign (ь) can be either masculine or feminine. Unfortunately, there is no simple rule to tell them apart just by looking at the ending, so you have to memorize the gender of soft-sign nouns when you learn them. тетрадь is one of the common feminine ones!
Where is the word for 'is' in these sentences?
Russian does not use a present tense verb for 'to be' (am/is/are). So, Где тетрадь? literally means 'Where notebook?' and Она здесь literally means 'She here'.
The word здесь also ends in a soft sign. Is it also a feminine noun?
No, здесь is an adverb meaning 'here', so it does not have a gender at all. The soft sign at the end just tells you to pronounce the consonant с softly.
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