Questions & Answers about Где мама и брат? Они дома.
Why do we use Они in the second sentence?
Where is the verb "are" in these sentences?
In the present tense, Russian almost always leaves out the verb "to be" (am, is, are). So instead of saying "They are at home", you literally just say "They at home" (Они дома).
Why is the word for home дома instead of just дом?
The word дом means "house" or "home" when you are talking about the building itself. However, дома is a special form that means "at home" (showing location). Since we are answering the question Где (Where), we need to use the location word дома.
Why does the first letter in Они sound like an "A" when spoken?
In Russian, when the letter О does not have the stress (the emphasis) in a word, it is pronounced like an "A" (ah). In the word Они, the stress falls on the final letter (и), so the О at the beginning changes its sound.