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Questions & Answers about Это печенье сладкое.
Why does the Russian sentence use the singular Это when the English translation says 'These' (plural)?
In Russian, the word печенье (biscuit or cookies) is usually treated as a singular, uncountable noun, similar to the word 'bread' or 'food' in English. Because it is a neuter singular noun, we use the neuter singular word for 'this' (Это), rather than the plural (Эти).
Why does the adjective сладкое end in -ое?
Adjectives in Russian must match the gender and number of the noun they describe. Since печенье is a neuter singular noun, the dictionary form of the adjective (сладкий) drops its ending and adds the neuter singular ending -ое to become сладкое.
Why is there no word for 'are' in the Russian sentence?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb 'to be' (am, is, are) is almost always left out. The sentence is literally structured as 'This biscuit sweet'.
How would I change this to say 'This is a sweet biscuit' instead?
You would change the word order to Это сладкое печенье. By putting the adjective right next to the noun, Это now acts as a standalone pronoun meaning 'This is', rather than pointing to a specific biscuit.