Questions & Answers about Это осень и дождь.
Both осень and дождь end in a soft sign (ь). Are they the same gender?
Does the soft sign (ь) at the end of these words make its own sound?
No, the soft sign itself is silent. Its job is to make the consonant right before it soft. For example, in осень, the н sounds a bit like the 'ny' in the English word 'canyon'.
I see Это for 'This', but where is the word for 'is'?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb 'to be' is almost always left out. The single word Это covers the entire phrase 'This is' when pointing something out.
The word дождь looks hard to say. Is it pronounced exactly as it is spelled?
Not quite! It is a famous pronunciation exception. The final consonants ждь usually blend together to sound like a long, soft 'sh' sound (like the Russian letter щ), or sometimes like 'sht' with a soft 't'. You will not hear a clear 'd' sound at the very end.
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