Questions & Answers about Я слушаю лекцию известного писателя.
Why are the words for famous writer (известного писателя) in the genitive case here?
In Russian, the genitive case is used to show possession or origin, similar to the word 'of' in English. While the natural English translation says a lecture 'by' a famous writer, the Russian sentence literally says a lecture 'of' a famous writer.
How do you pronounce the ending of the adjective известного?
Even though it is spelled with the Russian letter г (g), the -ого and -его endings for masculine and neuter genitive adjectives are always pronounced with a 'v' sound. You should pronounce the ending as if it were written '-ово'.
Why is the word for lecture spelled лекцию instead of its dictionary form лекция?
The feminine noun лекция is the direct object of the verb слушаю (I am listening), so it must be in the accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in -я or -ия, the ending changes to -ю or -ию in the accusative case.
In English we say 'listen TO a lecture'. Why is there no preposition like 'к' or 'в' after слушаю?
Unlike English, the Russian verb слушать (to listen) does not use a preposition. It takes a direct object in the accusative case right after the verb, so you are literally saying 'I am listening the lecture'.