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Questions & Answers about Мой брат — инженер.
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
In Russian, the verb "to be" is almost always dropped in the present tense. Instead of saying "is," you just pause slightly when speaking. In writing, this is usually marked with a long dash (—) when linking two nouns like брат (brother) and инженер (engineer).
Why do we use Мой here instead of Моя?
In Russian, the word for "my" has to match the gender of the noun it describes. Because брат is a masculine noun (it ends in a consonant), you must use the masculine form, Мой. If you were talking about a sister (сестра), you would use the feminine form, Моя.
Where is the word for "an" in this sentence?
Russian doesn't have articles like "a," "an," or "the". You simply say the noun by itself. Depending on the context, инженер can translate to "engineer," "an engineer," or "the engineer".
Do I always have to write the dash (—) when saying someone is something?
The dash is the official punctuation rule when both the subject (брат) and the thing they are (инженер) are nouns. You wouldn't use it with adjectives (like "My brother is tall"). In very casual texting, people sometimes skip the dash, but it's best practice to use it!