Questions & Answers about Яйца здесь, а блюда там.
Why do яйца and блюда end in -а if they are plural? Don't plurals usually end in -ы or -и?
While masculine and feminine nouns usually take -ы or -и in the plural, neuter nouns are different. Both яйцо (egg) and блюдо (dish) are neuter nouns because they end in -о in the singular. To make a regular neuter noun plural, you change the -о to -а.
Why use а for "and" instead of и?
The word а is used to show a contrast between two things. Because you are contrasting the location of the eggs (здесь - here) with the location of the dishes (там - there), а is the natural choice. It often translates to "and" or "but" depending on how strong the contrast is in English.
Where is the Russian word for "are" in this sentence?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (am, is, are) is almost always left out. You are literally saying "Eggs here, and dishes there."
Does the pronunciation of the word for "egg" change when it becomes plural?
Yes, the stress shifts! The singular is яйцо with the stress on the final -о (yay-TSO). In the plural яйца, the stress jumps to the first syllable (YAY-tsuh). This kind of stress shift is very common when making Russian nouns plural.
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