Beginner’s Russian

The consonants м, п, т, к, д, н, ч, б, с, р and й

The vowels а, о, э, е, я, у, ы; the “soft sign” ь

What hard and soft consonants are

How to pronounce unstressed o and a

How to pronounce e in syllables before the stress

About Russian intonation

How to say “hello” and “good-bye”

How to say what someone is

About the Russian alphabet

A Day in Saint-Petersburg 

The consonants в, з, ц, г, л, ф, ш, х, ж, щ

The vowels и, ё, ю; the “hard sign” ъ

More about intonation

You: informal ты vs. formal вы

Plural endings for masculine and feminine nouns

The possessives (мой, твой)

The conjunction а

How to answer the question Где? Where?

The first and third person singular forms of verbs

Other ways to say “hello” and “good-bye”

How to ask for someone’s name and introduce yourself

Small talk: How are you?

Russian names and nicknames

Names of some Russian cities

Pronouncing e in syllables before the stress

Noun and adjective endings for the Accusative case singular

The Accusative singular form for the interrogative Какой? (Какая? Какое?)

Using the Accusative case with the names of the days of the week

Getting information about schedules

Small talk: What do you study?

Days of the Week: Земфира “Воскресенье”  

A Russian university

Survey: “Your favorite school subject.”

Voiced and voiceless consonants

Conjugating the verbs читать, делать, слушать, писать, любить, ходить, смотреть

Going places: answer the question Куда? Where to?

Nominative plural forms for nouns and modifiers

Accusative plural forms for inanimate nouns and modifiers

The demonstrative pronoun – Этот, эта, это, эти 

Small talk: How do you spend your free time?

Survey: “Exercise habits in Russia.”

Hard р and soft р

The Genitive case singular: negation

Answer the question Чей? (Чья? Чьё? Чьи?)

Counting things: 1-4

Asking for information about an apartment for rent

Apartments in Russia

Survey: “Where do you live now in Moscow?”

Hard л vs. soft л 

Indicating proximity (около, недалеко от)

Prepositional singular endings for adjectives, the demonstrative этот and possessives

Giving your home address

Renting an apartment

Patronymics

Survey: “How much does it cost to rent an apartment?”

The letter ц

Pronouncing сч

Assimilation exercise

Verb forms and tenses

Review of Adjective-Noun Agreement

Going places: walking vs. riding/driving

Ordering food in a restaurant

Inviting people to dinner

Writing a ‘thank you’ note

Russian food

Survey: “What do Russians like to eat most of all?”

The unstressed vowel я

Genitive singular endings for adjectives, possessives, and the demonstrative этот

Accusative singular endings for animate nouns, and their modifiers

Accusative case forms for personal pronouns

Small talk: chatting about your family

Survey: “What should a Russian woman be like today?”

Ералаш: Кто мой папа? 

Pronouncing unstressed e in syllables after the stress

Dative singular forms for nouns

Dative singular forms for adjectives, possessives, and the demonstrative этот

Asking for and giving information about someone’s appearance

Expressing likes and dislikes

Surveys:

“What kind of women do Russian men like?”

“What kind of men do Russian women like?”

Pronouncing ы at the end of words

Adverbs derived from adjectives

The Dative case and impersonal constructions

Expressing possibility, prohibition, and necessity

Discussing people

Expressing agreement and disagreement

Survey: “What do Russian women want?”

Intonation type 1: Declarative sentences

Где? Куда? Откуда? with inanimate nouns

Где? Куда? Откуда? with animate nouns

The prepositions до and после

Discussing everyday routine

Making plans to go out

Soviet Cartoon “Leopold’s visit to a clinic” 

Years in a Russian university (freshman, sophomore, etc.)

Intonation type 2: Intonation of questions with question words

-овать/-евать verbs

Instrumental case: uses and forms for pronouns, singular nouns, adjectives, possessives, and the demonstrative этот

The possessive modifier свой

Inviting someone out

Asking about free time and interests

Survey: “Where do Russians spend their free time?”

Practice with intonation type 3: Questions without a question word

Genitive plural endings for feminine and neuter nouns

Accusative plural forms for animate nouns and their modifiers

Giving and understanding simple directions

Riding the subway

About the Moscow subway

Survey: “About Moscow.”

Survey: “What’s the most popular type of transportation?”

The intonation of complex questions

More about verbs of motino

Using the prefixes по-, при- and у- with verbs of motion

Using the preposition по with the dative case

Buying train/plane tickets, booking a hotel, renting a car

Types of trains

Types of plane tickets

Types of hotel rooms

The Trans-Siberian railway

The Decembrists

Survey: “How do you like to travel?”

Syntagmas

Absence or lack of someone or something

Dative plural forms for nouns and their modifiers

Imperatives

Small talk: What is the weather like?

Asking and answering questions about packing for travel

The climate of Russia

Survey: “Your favorite season.”

More uses of intonation type 2

Months and dates

More about the Instrumental case. Instrumental plural forms for nouns and their modifiers

Complex sentences; ‘if’ and ‘when’ clauses with future tense

Overview of all cases in one tutorial

Wishing someone happy holidays

Writing greeting cards

Survey: “What’s your favorite holiday?”