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Questions & Answers about Этот клиент богатый.
Where is the word for 'is' in this sentence?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb 'to be' is almost always left out. To say 'is rich', you simply place the subject (клиент) directly next to the adjective (богатый).
Why do we use Этот here instead of Это?
Этот is the masculine form of 'this', and we use it here because клиент is a masculine noun since it ends in a consonant. You would use Это for neuter nouns or for general 'This is...' statements, but here it acts as a pointer attached directly to a masculine noun.
Why does the adjective богатый end in -ый?
The -ый ending is the standard ending for masculine adjectives in their base form. Because клиент is masculine, the adjective describing it must also be masculine. If the client were a woman, the adjective would take the feminine ending -ая and become богатая.
Is клиент related to the English word 'client'?
Yes! Клиент is a loanword. Russian shares many of these similar-sounding words with English, which gives you a helpful head start when building your vocabulary.