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Questions & Answers about Это внук бабушки.
Why is there no word for "is" in this sentence?
In Russian, the verb "to be" is almost always skipped in the present tense. So, Это внук simply translates as "This [is] grandson".
Why does the word for grandmother end in -и (бабушки) instead of -а (бабушка)?
To show possession (like adding "'s" in English or saying "of the grandmother"), Russian changes the ending of the noun. This is called the Genitive case. It tells us whose grandson we are talking about.
Wait, doesn't -а usually change to -ы to show possession? Why is it -и here?
Great catch! Usually, a feminine word ending in -а changes to -ы (like мама becoming мамы). However, Russian has a strict spelling rule: you can never write the letter ы after certain consonants, including к. Because бабушка has a к right before the ending, we are forced to use -и instead.
Why does бабушки come after внук? Can I say Это бабушки внук?
While English puts the owner first ("the grandmother's grandson"), Russian puts the owner second. The sentence structure works exactly like saying "the grandson of the grandmother". Changing the order to Это бабушки внук sounds unnatural in standard Russian.