Breakdown of Это наш следующий проект.
это
this / it is
наш
our (наш, наша, наше)
следующий
next
проект
the project
Questions & Answers about Это наш следующий проект.
Why is it Это and not Этот, since проект is a masculine noun?
Here, Это acts as a fixed phrase meaning "This is". When you point something out and say "This is [something]", you always use the neutral это, regardless of the noun's gender. You would only use Этот if you were saying "This project" directly, like in Этот проект наш (This project is ours).
Where is the verb "is" in this sentence?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" is almost always skipped. So you just say "This our next project". However, as you are seeing in this lesson's future tense exercises, the verb "to be" (быть) comes back when you talk about the future! If you wanted to say "This will be our next project", you would use the future form: Это будет наш следующий проект.
Why does проект sound like it has an "э" in the middle instead of the "е" it is spelled with?
That is a special pronunciation exception! Even though it is spelled with the letter е, it is pronounced as if it were written with э (sounding like "pra-EKT"). This is a common quirk with certain words Russian borrowed from other languages.
How do I know what ending to put on следующий?
Следующий (next) behaves like a standard adjective, so its ending must match the gender of the noun it describes. Because проект is a masculine noun, the adjective takes the masculine ending -ий. If you were talking about a feminine noun like неделя (week), it would change to следующая.
Learn Это наш следующий проект and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free