Question 1

Why is there no word for "is" in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" is usually skipped. So instead of saying "Our teacher is very attentive", you simply put the words together: "Our teacher very attentive" (Наш преподаватель очень внимательный).

Question 2

The word for teacher (преподаватель) ends in a soft sign (-ь). How can I tell if it's masculine or feminine?

Accepted Answer

You can look at the words describing it! Both the word for "our" (наш) and "attentive" (внимательный) are in their masculine forms. If the noun were feminine, you would see наша and внимательная. (Note that преподаватель generally refers to a male teacher; a female teacher is преподавательница).

Question 3

What is the difference between преподаватель and учитель?

Accepted Answer

Учитель is typically a school teacher who teaches children, while преподаватель is used for university professors, college instructors, or teachers of adult courses (like a language tutor).

Question 4

How would this sentence change if we were talking about a female teacher?

Accepted Answer

You would change the noun to its feminine form (преподавательница), and the describing words must match its gender. "Our" becomes наша and "attentive" becomes внимательная. The full sentence would be: Наша преподавательница очень внимательная.

Наш преподаватель очень внимательный.

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