Questions & Answers about Детские вещи дешёвые.
Why do детские and дешёвые have different plural endings (-ие vs. -ые)?
Both are adjectives in the nominative plural, but they follow different spelling rules. The standard plural ending for adjectives is -ые, which we see in дешёвые. However, Russian has a spelling rule that says you can never write the letter ы after к (as well as г, х, ш, щ, ж, or ч). Because the stem of детские ends in к, we have to use и instead, making the ending -ие.
Why is the plural of вещь spelled вещи with an и?
The singular form is вещь (thing), which is a feminine noun ending in a soft sign (ь). Feminine nouns ending in a soft sign always take -и in the plural. Additionally, the letter щ is part of the 7-letter spelling rule mentioned above, meaning it must be followed by и, never ы.
Where is the verb 'are' in this sentence?
In Russian, the present tense forms of the verb 'to be' (like 'am', 'is', and 'are') are simply skipped. The sentence literally translates as 'Children's things cheap.' You only need to add a verb if you are talking about the past ('were') or future ('will be').
Does вещи specifically mean clothes here, or just 'things'?
The word вещь literally means 'thing' or 'item.' However, in everyday Russian, the plural вещи is very commonly used to mean 'clothes' or 'belongings.' So детские вещи is the natural way to say 'children's clothes' or 'kids' stuff.'
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