Breakdown of Преподаватель читает лекцию.
читать
to read
лекция
lecture
преподаватель
teacher (university)
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Questions & Answers about Преподаватель читает лекцию.
Why does the sentence use читает (reads) if the English translation says gives?
In English, a teacher gives a lecture, but in Russian, the natural phrase is to read a lecture (читать лекцию). This is the standard verb used when talking about delivering academic lectures or seminars.
Why does лекцию end in -ю instead of -я?
The dictionary form of the word is лекция, which is a feminine noun ending in -я. Because the lecture is the direct object receiving the action (it is the thing being given or read), it takes the accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in -я, the accusative ending changes to -ю.
How do I know if преподаватель is masculine or feminine since it ends in a soft sign (-ь)?
Nouns ending in a soft sign (-ь) can be either masculine or feminine in Russian, so you often just have to memorize their gender. However, преподаватель is masculine. A helpful trick for A1 learners is that words for professions ending in -тель (like учитель for school teacher or писатель for writer) are almost always masculine.
What is the difference between учитель and преподаватель?