Breakdown of Где телефон? Его тоже нет.
где
where / wherever
тоже
also
телефон
phone
его
him / it (acc)
нет
there is no / is not present
Questions & Answers about Где телефон? Его тоже нет.
Why does the second sentence use его instead of он?
The word нет doesn't just mean no; it is also used to say that something is absent or missing. When нет is used this way, the thing that is missing must be in the genitive case. Since телефон is masculine (он), it changes to its genitive form, его.
Does его mean him or it here?
In this sentence, it means it. Because телефон is a masculine noun, we use the masculine pronoun он to refer to it. The genitive form of он is его, which translates to either him or it depending on whether you are talking about a person or an object.
Why is его pronounced with a v sound?
In Russian, the genitive masculine and neuter endings -его and -ого are always pronounced with a v sound instead of a g. Therefore, его is pronounced as ye-VO.
How does тоже mean either in this sentence? I thought it meant also or too.
Тоже does mean also or too. In English, when we agree with a negative statement, we switch from too to either. Russian keeps things simple and just uses тоже for both positive and negative situations.
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