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Questions & Answers about Декабрь — холодный месяц.
Why is there a dash (—) instead of a word for 'is'?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb 'to be' (like 'am', 'is', or 'are') is almost always skipped. When a sentence defines one noun as another noun (like saying 'December is a month'), Russian writers often use a dash to show where the 'is' would normally go.
Are months like Декабрь always capitalized in Russian?
No. Unlike in English, months and days of the week are usually written in lowercase letters. Декабрь is only capitalized here because it is the very first word in the sentence.
Why does the adjective холодный end in -ый?
The ending -ый is a standard ending for masculine adjectives. It is masculine here because it describes the noun месяц (month), which is a masculine word because it ends in a consonant (ц).