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Questions & Answers about Огурец зелёный.
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
In the present tense, Russian doesn't use a linking verb like "is" or "are". You simply place the subject (Огурец) right next to the adjective (зелёный) to say "The cucumber is green."
Why does зелёный end in -ый?
Adjectives in Russian must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because Огурец is a masculine noun (it ends in a consonant, ц), the adjective takes the standard masculine ending -ый.
How do we know this means "The cucumber" and not "A cucumber"?
Russian does not have articles like "the" or "a". Depending on the context of the conversation, Огурец зелёный could mean "The cucumber is green" (a specific one you are looking at) or "A cucumber is green" (stating a general fact).
How do I pronounce the ё in зелёный?
The letter ё makes a "yo" sound, so the word sounds roughly like "ze-LYO-nyy". A helpful rule for beginner Russian learners is that whenever a word has the letter ё, that syllable always gets the spoken stress.