Questions & Answers about Это большое красное яблоко.
Why do большое and красное both end in -ое?
Adjectives in Russian change their endings to match the gender of the noun they describe. The word for apple, яблоко, is a neuter noun (you can tell because it ends in -о). The standard ending for an adjective describing a neuter noun in the dictionary form (the nominative case) is -ое.
Since яблоко is neuter, is that why we use Это at the beginning of the sentence?
Actually, no! In the phrase "This is a...", Это acts as a fixed starting word meaning "This is". It doesn't change form here, regardless of whether the noun that follows is masculine, feminine, or neuter.
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
As a quick refresher: in Russian, the present tense forms of the verb "to be" (am, is, are) are almost always left out. You simply put the subject (Это) right next to what it is (большое красное яблоко).
Does the order of the adjectives большое (big) and красное (red) matter?
Yes, just like in English, Russian has a natural, expected order for adjectives. Size usually comes before color. Therefore, большое красное яблоко (big red apple) sounds much more natural to a native speaker than putting the color first.
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