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Adverbs, Adjectives, Prepositions and Conjunctions |  |
It is important to remember first and foremost that in Russian you must always distinguish prepositions, adverbs, conjunctions, and adjectives. Because English lacks a case system, prepositions, adverbs, conjunctions and sometimes adjectives are often used interchangeably, e.g. I'll see you before the dance (preposition), I'll see you before I see Jean (conjunction), I've never seen you before (adverb). In Russian such words only occasionally may be used interchangeably and prepositions can ONLY appear with objects in the appropriate case. Here is a table with the words to look out for, followed by a few examples to demonstrate what I mean.
| Adjective | Preposition | Adverb | Conjunction |
| передний front | перед+Тв in front of, before впереди+Род in front of, before |
впереди up front, forward | перед тем, как (just) before |
| задний back, rear | за+Тв behind сзади+Род in the rear |
сзади in back, behind | * |
| средний middle | среди+Род amid | * | * |
| верхний upper | над+Тв above | вверху up, on top | * |
| нижний lower | под+Тв below | внизу below, down | * |
| последний last | после+Род after | потом after(wards), later | после того, как after |
| * | до+Род before | раньше before, earlier | до того, как before |
1. Adjectives, not Adverbs
- передние ноги лошади front legs of a horse
- Он всегда держит бумажник в заднем кармане. He always keeps his wallet in his back pocket.
- Я сейчас без задних ног. Right now I am dead tired (without my hind legs)
| верхний этаж | upper (top) floor | нижнее место | lower berth |
| верхняя одежда | outer garments | нижнее бельё | underwear |
| Верхний Совет | Supreme Soviet | нижняя ступенька | bottom step |
2. Conjunctions, not Adverbs
- Они все сели на секунду перед тем, как Саша отъехал.
They all sat down for a second before Sasha departed. - Они приехали до того, как мы уехали.
They arrived before we left. - Они выпили всю водку после того, как мы ущли.
They drank all the vodka after we left.
- Они все прощались перед отъездом.
They all said their 'good-byes' before departure. - Они встретились до войны.
They met before the war. - После работы я всегда встречаюсь с ребятами в баре.
After work I always meet with the guys at a bar.
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Adverbs from Adjectives | |
Most adverbs are created from adjectives by one of two means. If the adjective ends on -ский, the adverb is formed by prefixing по- and reducing the suffix to -ски, for example, русский "Russian" по-русски "in the Russian way or manner". Remember this translation for that is precisely what по-русски means. One may, of course, speak по-русски, but you may also cook по-русски, dance по-русски, and dress по-русски. If the adjective does not end on -ский, the adverb is formed simply by replacing the adjective ending with -o (rarely -e), e.g. быстрый "quick" быстро "quickly". Here are some more examples.
| Adjective | Adverb | Adjective | Adverb | |
| грустный sad |
грустно sadly |
польский Polish |
по-польски in the Polish way |
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| сердечный cordial |
сердечно cordially |
княжеский princely |
по-княжески in a princely manner |
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| новый new |
ново newly |
королевский kingly |
по-королевски in a kingly manner |
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Adverbs of Position—Up and Down | |
These adverbs are self-explanatory. They are basic adverbs from which adjectives generally cannot be derived. Their meanings correspond to the three meaning patters of the verbs of position: (1) in the position, (2) to the position, and (3) from the position.
| Where? | Down | Up | Upstairs | To the side |
| Куда? | вниз | вверх | наверх | вбок, в сторону |
| Где? | внизу | вверху | наверху | сбоку, в стороне |
| Откуда? | снизу | сверху | сверху | сбоку, со стороны |
- Читайте, начиная с первого абзаца сверху.
Read, beginning with the first paragraph from the top. - Читайте, начиная с первого абзаца снизу.
Read, beginning with the first paragraph from the bottom. - Отступйте вбок, пожалуйста! Берегитесь!
Step to the side, please. Look out! - Он идёт наверх.
He is going upstairs. - Он идёт вверх по лестнице.
He is going up the stairs. - Он идёт вниз по лестнице.
He is coming down the stairs. - Он спускается вниз.
He is coming downstairs. - Миша теперь наверху.
Mike is now upstairs. - Миша теперь внизу.
Mike is now downstairs. - Маша наверху на дереве, а Янко ждёт её внизу.
Mary is up the tree, and Yanko is waiting for her down below. - Таня любит ехать верхом по парку.
Tanya loves to go horseback riding in the park.
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Adverbs of Position—Front, Back, Sideways | |
These adverbs behave the same as the preceding ones; they just refer to different positions and directions.
| Where? | Front | Back | Left | Right | |
| Куда? | вперёд | назад | налево | направо | |
| Где? | впереди | сзади, позади | налево | направо | |
| Откуда? | спереди | сзади, позади | слева | справа |
- Поезд стал ехать (идти) назад.
The train began to go backward. - Поезд стал ехать (идти) вперёд.
The train began to move forward. - Идите прямо по этой улице до угла, потом повернитесь налево.
Go straight down this street to the corner, then turn left. - Он второй слева на этой фотографии.
He is the second from the left in this photograph. - Они всегда ездят на поезде впереди.
They always ride in the front of the train. - Они всегда ездят на поезде сзади.
They always ride in the rear on the train.
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Why Don't You Try a Few? | |
The following examples call for adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions with approximately the same meanings. See if you can figure out which one is needed. As in the previous examples, the first is a freeby. Pretend you typed in the suffix you see there, push the button with your cursor, and see what happens. Then you are on your own.
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