Learn Russian: Моя мама играет красиво, а папа — плохо. - My mom plays beautifully, but dad plays poorly.

Моя мама играет красиво, а папа — плохо.

My mom plays beautifully, but dad plays poorly.

Breakdown of Моя мама играет красиво, а папа — плохо.

my (мой, моя, моё) / mine

Questions & Answers about Моя мама играет красиво, а папа — плохо.

Why do красиво and плохо end in -о?

These are adverbs, which describe how an action is done. In Russian, adverbs of manner are usually made by taking an adjective and changing its ending to -о. So, the adjective for beautiful is красивый, but the adverb beautifully is красиво.

Why is there a dash after папа?

The dash replaces the verb играет (plays) so we do not have to repeat it. It acts like a shortcut, basically saying 'My mom plays beautifully, and dad poorly'. Dropping the repeated verb like this is very common in Russian.

Why use а for 'but' here, instead of но?

The word а is a comparing word used to show a simple contrast between two different things or situations. We use но for a stronger contradiction, like wanting to do something but being unable to. Since we are just contrasting how mom plays with how dad plays, а is the perfect fit.

I thought words ending in -а were feminine. Why does the masculine word папа end in -а?