Breakdown of Где брат? Он дома.
брат
brother
где
where / wherever
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
дома
at home
Questions & Answers about Где брат? Он дома.
Why do we use он in the second sentence?
он means "he". We use it here to refer back to брат (brother). Because брат is a masculine word, it must be replaced by the masculine pronoun он.
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
Russian drops the verb "to be" (am, is, are) in the present tense. So "Where is the brother?" becomes just "Where brother?" (Где брат?) and "He is at home" becomes "He at home" (Он дома).
If дом means "house", why does it say дома?
дом is the noun for a physical house. дома is a special form meaning the location "at home". Whenever you want to say someone is currently at their place, use дома.
How do we know it translates to "the" brother instead of "a" brother?
Russian does not have articles like "a", "an", or "the". You understand which one it is from the context. If someone is asking where he is, they are looking for a specific, known brother!
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