Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Мой друг честный.
Why is there no word for "is" in this sentence?
In Russian, the verb "to be" is almost always skipped in the present tense. So instead of saying "My friend IS honest", you simply say "My friend honest" (Мой друг честный).
Is the "т" in честный silent?
Yes! When Russian has certain groups of consonants together, one is often dropped in speech to make the word easier to say. You pronounce it as if it were written чесный.
Why does честный end in -ый?
How would I change this to say "My female friend is honest"?
You would need to change all three words to their feminine forms! Мой becomes Моя, друг is replaced by the female friend word подруга, and честный gets the feminine ending to become честная. The new sentence is: Моя подруга честная.