Question 1

Why is there a dash and это between Молодость and прошлое?

Accepted Answer

In Russian, when you are saying one noun is another noun (like "Youth is the past"), you drop the verb "to be" in the present tense. Instead, it is very common to use a dash and the word это to link the two concepts together.

Question 2

Прошлое (the past) and будущее (the future) look like neuter adjectives. Are they nouns or adjectives here?

Accepted Answer

They are nouns here, but they evolved from adjectives. Russian often uses adjectives as nouns. They act exactly like nouns in a sentence, but they keep their neuter adjective endings (-ое and -ее) and will change cases exactly like regular adjectives do.

Question 3

This lesson uses было and будет to talk about the past and future. Why don't we use them in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

The words было (was) and будет (will be) are verbs used to put an event, like someone's age, into the past or future tense. However, this sentence is entirely in the present tense ("Youth is..., we have..."). It uses прошлое and будущее because here, "the past" and "the future" are simply the names of things (nouns), not time markers for an action.

Question 4

What gender is the word молодость (youth)?

Accepted Answer

It is feminine. As a helpful rule for A2 learners, almost all Russian nouns ending in -ость (like молодость, старость for "old age", or новость for "news") are feminine words that end with a soft sign (ь).

Молодость — это прошлое, но у нас есть будущее.

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