Breakdown of Тут наша школа, а там магазин.
а
and (contrastive)
там
there
школа
school
наш
our
магазин
store, shop
тут
here (colloquial)
Questions & Answers about Тут наша школа, а там магазин.
Why is there no word for "is" in this sentence?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (like "is", "am", or "are") is normally left out. You just state the subject and its location, like наша школа (our school) right next to тут (here).
Why use а instead of и for "and" in this sentence?
The word а is used to show a slight contrast, often translating to "whereas" or a contrasting "and" or "but". Because you are contrasting two different locations (the school is here, but the shop is there), а is the correct word to use. The word и is usually used when you are grouping similar things together without a contrast.
Is there a difference between тут and здесь?
Both words mean "here" and are completely interchangeable in this sentence. Тут is very common in everyday spoken Russian, while здесь is just slightly more standard or formal.
Why does the word for "our" end in -а (наша)?
Possessive words like "our" must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because школа (school) is a feminine noun (it ends in -а), you must use the feminine form наша instead of the masculine наш or neuter наше.
Learn Тут наша школа, а там магазин 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