Question 1

Why does леди take the feminine adjective настоящая if it doesn't have a standard Russian feminine ending?

Accepted Answer

Леди is an indeclinable borrowed word. While many indeclinable foreign nouns ending in a vowel (like пальто or меню) are neuter, those that specifically refer to female people (like леди, мадам, or мисс) are grammatically feminine. That is why it takes the feminine adjective настоящая.

Question 2

If I wanted to put this in a different case, like "to a real lady" (dative), how would леди change?

Accepted Answer

The word леди wouldn't change at all! Because it is an indeclinable foreign noun, its form stays exactly the same in all cases. Only the adjective changes to show the grammar, so you would say настоящей леди.

Question 3

Why use the adverb так here instead of an adjective like такая (such a)?

Accepted Answer

Because it modifies the verb говорит (talks/speaks). In English, we say "does not talk like that", but in Russian, you use the adverb так (so / in such a way). If you were modifying a noun directly, you would use the adjective, for example: такая леди (such a lady).

Question 4

Could I use реальная instead of настоящая to mean "real" here?

Accepted Answer

Not in this context. Настоящая is used for "genuine", "authentic", or "true to the ideal" (meaning a proper lady). Реальная is used for things that physically exist in reality as opposed to being imaginary, or in slang to mean "cool" or "tough".

Настоящая леди так не говорит.

Breakdown of Настоящая леди так не говорит.

Questions & Answers about Настоящая леди так не говорит.

Learn Настоящая леди так не говорит and more in Russian