Learn Russian: Врач слушает грудь. - The doctor listens to the chest.

Врач слушает грудь.

The doctor listens to the chest.

Breakdown of Врач слушает грудь.

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Questions & Answers about Врач слушает грудь.

The English translation says 'listens to', but there is no Russian word for 'to' here. Why?

In English, we say 'listen to', but the Russian verb слушать connects directly to its object without a preposition. It takes the accusative case right away, just like the English verb 'hear'.

What gender is the word грудь?

Грудь is a feminine noun. Nouns ending in a soft sign (-ь) can be either masculine or feminine, so you have to memorize them. As a helpful pattern, many body parts ending in -ь are feminine in Russian.

If грудь is the direct object being listened to, shouldn't it change its ending for the accusative case?

It actually is in the accusative case right now! For feminine nouns that end in a soft sign (-ь), their accusative form is completely identical to their dictionary form (nominative case). They don't take an -у ending like regular feminine words do.

Is врач used for both male and female doctors?

Yes. The word врач is grammatically masculine, but it is the standard word used for a doctor of any gender. If you need to make it obvious that the doctor is a woman, you would usually do it through context, like using a feminine past-tense verb if the sentence were in the past tense.