Question 1

Why does the adjective интересный end in -ый?

Accepted Answer

Интересный is an adjective describing the noun журнал (magazine). Because журнал is a masculine noun (it ends in a consonant), the adjective must also be masculine to match it. The standard ending for masculine adjectives in the dictionary form (the nominative case) is -ый.

Question 2

Why is there a dash (—) in the middle of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (am, is, are) is usually skipped. The dash is often used in writing to show exactly where "is" would be, separating the subject from what it equals: "This interesting magazine [is] mine."

Question 3

Why do we use Этот instead of Это for "this"?

Accepted Answer

Here, "this" is acting like an adjective pointing out a specific noun ("this magazine"), so it has to match the masculine gender of журнал. We use the masculine form Этот. You would use the generic Это if you were simply introducing something, like saying "This is a magazine" (Это журнал).

Question 4

The dictionary says мой means "my", but here it translates to "mine". How do I know which one it is?

Accepted Answer

Russian does not have separate words for "my" and "mine" like English does. The masculine pronoun Мой covers both! You can tell which one makes sense based on the context. Because it comes at the end of the sentence and does not have a noun right after it, "mine" is the correct English translation.

Этот интересный журнал — мой.

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