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Questions & Answers about Картофель — это овощ.
Why is there a dash and the word это between the nouns?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb 'to be' (am, is, are) is usually skipped. When you say 'A is B' using two nouns, you replace the missing 'is' with a long dash. Adding это after the dash is optional but very common. It acts a bit like an equal sign to help the sentence flow smoothly.
I usually hear the word картошка for potato. Why does this sentence use картофель?
Both words mean 'potato' or 'potatoes'. Картошка is the everyday, conversational word you will use most of the time. Картофель is the formal or scientific term for the vegetable. Since this sentence sounds like a formal definition from a book, картофель is used.
The English translation says 'The potato', but doesn't this mean potatoes in general? Why is it singular?
Exactly, it refers to potatoes in general. In Russian, many crops and vegetables (like картофель, or морковь for carrots) are treated as singular 'mass' nouns when talking about the food category. It is similar to how we treat the word 'rice' or 'corn' in English.