Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Завтрак был вкусный.
Why do we use был here instead of another past tense form like была?
Был is the past tense form of the verb to be for masculine nouns. Because завтрак (breakfast) ends in a consonant, it is a masculine noun. If the noun were feminine, like еда (food), you would use была instead.
We learned that Russian often drops the verb to be. Why is it included here?
Russian usually drops the verb to be in the present tense. If you wanted to say Breakfast is tasty, you would just say Завтрак вкусный. But in the past tense, you must always include the verb, which is why был is required here.
Does the adjective вкусный also change because of the noun?
Yes! Adjectives in Russian must match the gender of the noun they describe. Since завтрак is masculine, вкусный (tasty) takes the standard masculine ending -ый.
There is no word for The in the Russian sentence. How do we know it means The breakfast and not A breakfast?
Russian does not have articles like the or a. The word Завтрак can mean either one, so you rely on context. Here, we are talking about a specific meal that was already eaten, so The breakfast makes the most sense in English.