Breakdown of Мой брат очень умный.
брат
brother
мой
my (мой, моя, моё) / mine
очень
very
умный
clever, intelligent
Questions & Answers about Мой брат очень умный.
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (like "am", "is", or "are") is skipped. You literally just say "My brother very clever".
Why do we use Мой instead of Моя?
Мой is the masculine form of "my". Because брат (brother) is a masculine noun, the words that belong to it must match its gender. If you were talking about a sister (сестра), you would use the feminine form Моя.
Why does умный end with -ый?
Adjectives in Russian change their endings to match the gender of the noun they describe. The ending -ый is the standard ending for masculine adjectives. Since it describes the masculine noun брат, it takes this ending.
What does the soft sign (ь) do at the end of очень?
The soft sign (ь) does not make a sound of its own. Instead, it softens the consonant right before it. Here, it makes the н soft, meaning you press the middle of your tongue against the roof of your mouth, sounding a bit like the "ny" in "canyon".