Questions & Answers about Сегодня девятнадцатое января, да?
Why does the number девятнадцатое end in -ое?
To say the date in Russian, we use an ordinal number (words like first, second, nineteenth). This number acts like an adjective and must be in the neuter gender (ending in -ое) because the neuter word число (date or number) is implied. You can think of it as saying 'Today is the nineteenth (date) of January'.
Why is January written as января instead of its dictionary form январь?
The dictionary form is январь. We change it to the genitive case, января, because we are saying 'of January'. The genitive case is used here to link the date to the month it belongs to.
How do I pronounce the г in Сегодня?
The letter г in сегодня is pronounced like an English 'v', so the word sounds like 'se-VOD-nya'. This is a very common pronunciation exception that you will also see in certain adjective endings.
Can I use да? at the end of a sentence to mean 'right?' like in English?
Yes! Just like in English, adding да? (literally 'yes?') to the end of a statement with a questioning tone is a very natural way to ask for confirmation, meaning 'right?' or 'isn't it?'.