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Questions & Answers about Западная страна далеко.
Why isn't there a word for "is" in this sentence?
In Russian, the verb "to be" (like "am", "is", or "are") is usually skipped in the present tense. You just put the subject (Западная страна) and its location (далеко) side by side.
Why does the word for "western" (Западная) end in -ая?
Russian adjectives change their endings to match the noun they describe. Because страна (country) is a feminine noun ending in -а, the adjective takes the standard feminine ending -ая.
Why does далеко end in -о instead of an adjective ending?
Далеко (far away) is an adverb, which tells us where the country is. Unlike adjectives, adverbs in Russian usually end in -о and never change their shape to match a noun's gender or plural form.
Are words like "western" always capitalized in Russian?
No, Западная is only capitalized here because it is the first word of the sentence. Unlike English, Russian does not capitalize compass directions, nationalities, or languages unless they start a sentence or form an official proper name.