Breakdown of Мой палец маленький и холодный.
и
and
маленький
small
мой
my (мой, моя, моё) / mine
холодный
cold
палец
finger, toe
Questions & Answers about Мой палец маленький и холодный.
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
In the present tense, Russian omits the verb "to be" (like "is" or "are"). You just put the subject (Мой палец) directly next to the adjectives describing it (маленький и холодный).
Both adjectives describe a masculine noun, so why does one end in -ий (маленький) and the other in -ый (холодный)?
The standard masculine nominative adjective ending is -ый. However, Russian has a 7-letter spelling rule which states you can never write the letter ы after к, г, х, ш, щ, ж, or ч. Because the stem of маленький ends in к, the ending must change to -ий.
Does палец specifically mean "finger", or can it mean "toe" as well?
Палец can mean either "finger" or "toe"! If you need to be specific because the context isn't clear, you can say палец на руке (finger on the hand) or палец на ноге (toe on the foot).
How would this sentence change if I wanted to say "My fingers are small and cold" in the plural?
It would become Мои пальцы маленькие и холодные. Notice that the noun палец loses its е when it becomes plural (this is called a fleeting vowel), and all the modifiers take their plural endings.
Learn Мой палец маленький и холодный and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free