Breakdown of Телефон здесь, а связи нет.
здесь
here
а
and (contrastive)
телефон
phone
нет
there is no / is not present
Questions & Answers about Телефон здесь, а связи нет.
Why does the word связь change to связи?
This is because of the word нет (there is no). When you say something is not there, that thing has to be in the Genitive case. The dictionary word связь (connection) is a feminine noun ending in a soft sign, so its Genitive ending becomes -и.
Why is the conjunction а used here instead of но?
Both can mean 'but', but а is used to compare or contrast two different things or situations (the phone is here, whereas the connection is not). You use но when there is a direct contradiction or an unexpected catch, like 'The phone is here, but it is broken'.
Where is the verb 'is' in Телефон здесь?
In the present tense, Russian almost never uses the verb 'to be' (is, am, are). You just put the subject and the location next to each other, so 'The telephone is here' simply becomes Телефон здесь.
How can I tell what gender связь is if it ends in a soft sign?
Nouns ending in a soft sign (-ь) can be either masculine or feminine, so you usually have to memorize their gender. However, seeing the Genitive ending here (-и) proves that связь is feminine. If it were a masculine noun, the Genitive ending would be -я.