Question 1

Why is geography written as географии instead of география?

Accepted Answer

It is in the genitive case. In Russian, to link two nouns like "geography instructor" (literally "instructor of geography"), the second noun takes the genitive case. Because география ends in -ия, its genitive ending is -ии.

Question 2

What is the difference between преподаватель and учитель?

Accepted Answer

Both mean "teacher," but they are used in different settings. Учитель is typically a school teacher, while преподаватель is usually an instructor or professor at a university, college, or specialized course.

Question 3

Преподаватель ends in a soft sign (-ь). Is it masculine or feminine?

Accepted Answer

It is masculine. Nouns ending in a soft sign can be either gender, so their gender usually needs to be memorized. While there is a specific feminine version (преподавательница), the masculine form is very often used as a standard professional title for both men and women.

Question 4

Why isn't there a word for "is" in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

In the present tense, Russian almost always drops the verb "to be" (быть). The sentence literally translates to "Where instructor of geography?". If this were in the past tense, you would need to add the verb back in: Где был преподаватель? (Where was the instructor?).

Где преподаватель географии?

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