Questions & Answers about Это тетрадь и словарь.
Both тетрадь and словарь end in a soft sign (ь). Does this mean they are the same gender?
No. Nouns ending in a soft sign (ь) can be either masculine or feminine. Тетрадь (notebook) is feminine, while словарь (dictionary) is masculine. Since you can't tell the gender just by looking at this ending, you will need to memorize the gender of soft-sign nouns as you learn them.
How do I pronounce the soft sign at the end of тетрадь and словарь?
The soft sign (ь) doesn't make a sound by itself. Instead, it tells you to pronounce the consonant right before it "softly." In тетрадь, the д sounds a bit like it has a very faint "y" right after it. In словарь, the р gets a softer, slightly higher-pitched roll compared to a hard Russian р.
Тетрадь is feminine and словарь is masculine. Why doesn't Это change to match their gender?
As a refresher, why are there no words for "a" or "is" in this sentence?
Russian doesn't have articles like "a", "an", or "the". Furthermore, the verb "to be" (is/are) is almost always skipped in the present tense. Because of this, the sentence literally translates as "This notebook and dictionary," which is completely natural in Russian.