Learn Russian: Это урок номер девятнадцать.

Это урок номер девятнадцать.

This is lesson number nineteen.

Breakdown of Это урок номер девятнадцать.

Questions & Answers about Это урок номер девятнадцать.

Why do we use the cardinal number девятнадцать (nineteen) instead of the ordinal number (nineteenth) here?

In Russian, when you use the word номер (number), you follow it with a standard cardinal number (one, two, nineteen), just like in English. If you wanted to say 'the nineteenth lesson' without the word 'number', you would drop номер and use the ordinal number: девятнадцатый урок.

Is there a soft sign in the middle of девятнадцать?

No. Even though the root number девять (nine) ends with a soft sign (ь), that soft sign disappears when we add the -надцать ending to make it 'nineteen' (девятнадцать). There is only one soft sign, located at the very end of the word.

Why is it Это урок and not Этот урок?

Это is used here as a standalone pronoun meaning 'This is' for the whole sentence. If you used Этот, it would act as a pointing word attaching directly to the masculine noun урок, meaning 'This lesson...'. You would then need to finish the thought, such as 'This lesson is hard' (Этот урок сложный).

How do I pronounce the -дцать ending in девятнадцать?

The letter combination -дц- blends together and is pronounced just like a single ц ('ts' sound). So, the ending sounds like 'tsat' with a soft 't' at the very end because of the soft sign.