Question 1

Since this sentence starts with Да, what kind of question was likely asked to get this answer?

Accepted Answer

It is answering a simple yes/no question. In Russian, you can just ask Это словарь? (Is this a dictionary?) by using a rising voice on the word you are asking about. You don't need helping verbs like 'is' or 'do' to form the question.

Question 2

Why does the sentence use а for 'and' instead of и?

Accepted Answer

The word а is a special kind of 'and' used to show a slight contrast or to shift the topic. Here, the speaker identifies one object (the dictionary) and then shifts focus to a different object in a different place (the notebook over there). If you used и, it would sound more like lumping them together in a simple list.

Question 3

Where is the word for 'is' in 'this is a dictionary'?

Accepted Answer

In the present tense, Russian completely drops the verb 'to be'. So, это словарь literally translates to 'this [is a] dictionary', and там тетрадь means 'there [is a] notebook'.

Question 4

Both словарь and тетрадь end in a soft sign (-ь). How do I know what gender they are?

Accepted Answer

Nouns ending in a soft sign can be either masculine or feminine, and you usually just have to memorize which is which. For example, словарь (dictionary) is masculine, while тетрадь (notebook) is feminine.

Да, это словарь, а там тетрадь.

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