Questions & Answers about Автобус, метро и трамвай — это транспорт.
Why is there a long dash (—) instead of a word for "are"?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (am, is, are) is usually skipped. When defining what something is, like connecting a list of vehicles to the word "transport", Russian often uses a dash in place of the missing verb.
Doesn't это mean "this is"? Why use it here for multiple things?
Yes, это means "this is" or "it is". In definition sentences like this one, это is used as a fixed linking word to mean "these are" or "is defined as". It stays as это and doesn't change to a plural form, even though we are talking about a bus, metro, and tram.
Автобус and трамвай are masculine nouns. Is метро masculine too?
No, метро is a neuter noun because it ends in -о. It is also a special borrowed foreign word, which means it is "indeclinable." Unlike most Russian nouns, метро will never change its ending no matter how it is used in a sentence.
Why is the word транспорт singular if we are talking about three vehicles?
Just like in the English translation, транспорт is being used here as a broad category rather than individual countable items. The three vehicles together fall under the single concept of transport.