Learn Russian: Раньше эта улица была не очень красивая. - Earlier this street was not very beautiful.

Раньше эта улица была не очень красивая.

Earlier this street was not very beautiful.

Breakdown of Раньше эта улица была не очень красивая.

this [f: эта, n: это]

Questions & Answers about Раньше эта улица была не очень красивая.

Why do we use была here instead of был or было?

In the past tense, the verb for "to be" must match the gender of the subject. The subject here is улица (street). Because улица ends in -а, it is a feminine noun, so we must use the feminine past tense form была.

Why is the word for "this" эта instead of the usual это?

Это is the neuter form, which is often used as a general "this is" (like Это улица - This is a street). However, when "this" directly points to a specific noun ("this street"), it acts as an adjective and has to match that noun's gender. Since улица is feminine, we use the feminine form эта.

Does the adjective красивая end in -ая for the same reason?

Exactly! Adjectives also have to match the gender of the noun they describe. Since улица is feminine, the adjective takes the feminine ending -ая to become красивая. If we were talking about a masculine noun like дом (house), it would take a masculine ending and become красивый.

Why is не placed before очень instead of before была?