Russian grammar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Russian grammar encompasses:

• a highly synthetic morphology

• a syntax that, for the literary language, is the conscious fusion of three elements:

• a Church Slavonic inheritance;

• a Western European style;

• a polished vernacular foundation.

The Russian language has preserved an Indo-European synthetic-inflexional structure,

although considerable levelling has taken place.
The spoken language has been influenced by the literary, but continues to preserve
characteristic forms. The dialects show various non-standard grammatical features, some
of which are archaisms or descendants of old forms since discarded by the literary
language.
NOTE: In the discussion below, various terms are used in the meaning they have in the
standard Russian discussions of historical grammar. In particular, aorist, imperfect, etc.
are considered verbal tenses rather than aspects, because ancient examples of them are
attested for both perfective and imperfective verbs.
Contents
[hide]

• 1 Nouns

• 1.1 First declension - masculine nouns

• 1.2 Φιρστ δεχλενσιον − νευτερ νουνσ

• 1.3 Σεχονδ δεχλενσιον − φεµινινε νουνσ (πριµαριλψ)

• 1.4 Τηιρδ δεχλενσιον

• 2 Adjectives

• 2.1 Declension

• 3 Pronouns

• 3.1 Personal pronouns

• 3.2 ∆εµονστρατιϖε προνουνσ

• 3.3 Ποσσεσσιϖε προνουνσ

• 3.4 Ιντερρογατιϖε προνουνσ

• 4 Numbers

• 5 ςερβσ

• 5.1 Present-future tense

• 5.2 Παστ τενσε

• 5.3 Εξαµπλεσ

• 5.3.1 First conjugation

• 5.3.2 Σεχονδ χονϕυγατιον

• 5.3.3 Ιρρεγυλαρ ϖερβσ

• 6 Word formation

• 7 Σψνταξ

• 7.1 Negation

• 7.2 Χοορδινατιον
[edit] Nouns
Nominal declension is subject to six cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative,
prepositional, and instrumental), in two numbers (singular and plural), and obeying
absolutely grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, and neuter). Up to ten additional
cases are identified in linguistics textbooks,[1]HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_grammar" \l "cite_note-1"[2]HYPERLINK
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_grammar" \l "cite_note-2"[3] although all of them
are either incomplete (do not apply to all nouns) or degenerate (appear identical to one of
the six simple cases). The most well-recognized additional cases are locative (в лесу, в
крови, в слезах), partitive (сапог, чулок, вольт), and several forms of vocative
(господи, деда, батянь). The adjectives, pronouns, and the first two cardinal numbers
further vary by gender. Old Russian also had a third number, the dual, but except for its
use in the nominative and accusative cases with the numbers two, three and four, eg. (два
стула [dvɐ ˈstulə], "two chairs", recategorized today as a genitive singular), it has been
lost.
There are no definite or indefinite articles in the Russian language. The sense of a noun is
determined from the context in which it appears. That said, there are some means of
expressing whether a noun is definite or indefinite. They are:
The use of a direct object in the genitive instead of the accusative in negation
signifies that the noun is indefinite, compare: "Я не вижу книги" ("I don't see a
book" or "I don't see any book") and "Я не вижу книгу" ("I don't see the book").
The use of the numeral one sometimes signifies that the noun is indefinite, e.g.:
"Почему ты так долго?" - "Да так, встретил одного друга, пришлось
поговорить" ("Why did it take you so long?" - "You see, I met a friend and had
to talk").
Word order may also be used for this purpose, compare "В комнату вбежал
мальчик" ("A boy rushed into the room") and "Мальчик вбежал в комнату"
("The boy rushed into the room").
The category of animacy is relevant in Russian nominal and adjectival declension.
Specifically, the accusative form in many paradigms has two possible forms depending
on the animacy of the referent. For animate referents (people and animals), the accusative
form is identical to the genitive form. For inanimate referents, the accusative form is
identical to the nominative form. This principle is relevant for masculine singular nouns
of the first declension (see below) and adjectives, and for all plural paradigms (with no
gender distinction). In the tables below, this behavior is indicated by the abbreviation "N
or G" in the row corresponding to the accusative case.
In Russian there are three declension types, named simply first, second, and third
declensions. The first declension (the second in Russian school grammars) is used for
masculine and most neuter nouns. The second declension (the first in school grammars) is
used for most feminine nouns. The third declension is used for feminine nouns ending in
ь and for neuter nouns ending in мя.

[edit] First declension - masculine nouns

Nouns ending in a consonant are marked in the following table with - (thus no ending).
Sing
Plural
ular
Nominative - -ь -й -ий -ы1 -и -и -ии
N or
Accusative N or G
G
Genitive -а -я -я -ия -ов2 -ей -ев3 -иев
Dative -у -ю -ю -ию -ам -ям -ям -иям
Prepositional -е -е -е -ии -ах -ях -ях -иях
Instrumental -ом -ем3 -ем3 -ием -ами -ями -ями -иями
Notes:
After a sibilant (ж, ч, ш, or щ) or a velar (г, к, or х) consonant, и is written.
After a sibilant, ей is written.
After a soft consonant, ё is written when stressed; е when unstressed.

[edit] First declension - neuter nouns

Singul
Plural
ar
Nominative -о1 -е2 -а -я
Accusative -о1 -е2 N or G
Genitive -а -я - -й / -ь4
Dative -у -ю -ам -ям
Prepositional -е -е3 -ах -ях
Instrumental -ом1 -ем2 -ами -ями
After a sibilant, о is written when stressed; е when unstressed.
 After a soft consonant, ё is written when stressed; е when unstressed.
For nouns ending in ие in the nominative singular, и is written.
After a consonant use ь otherwise use й.

[edit] Second declension - feminine nouns (primarily)

Singul
Plural
ar
Nominative -а -я -ия -ы1 -и -ии
N1 or
Accusative -у -ю -ию
G
Genitive -ы1 -и -ии - -ь -ий
Dative -е -е -ии -ам -ям -иям
Prepositional -е -е -ии -ах -ях -иях
Instrumental -ой2 -ей3 -ией -ами -ями -иями
After a sibilant or a velar (г, к, or х) consonant, и is written.
After a sibilant, о is written when stressed; е when unstressed.
After a soft consonant, ё is written when stressed; е when unstressed.

[edit] Third declension

Singular Plural
Feminine Neuter Feminine Neuter
Nominative -ь -мя -и -мена
Accusative -ь -мя N or G -мена
Genitive -и -мени -ей -мён
Dative -и -мени -ям -менам
Prepositional -и -мени -ях -менах
Instrumental -ью -менем -ями -менами
[edit] Adjectives
Russian adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and case.

[edit] Declension
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative -ый -ая -ое -ые
Accusative N or G -ую -ое N or G
Genitive -ого -ой -ого -ых
Dative -ому -ой -ому -ым
Prepositional -ом -ой -ом -ых
Instrumental -ым -ой -ым -ыми
After a sibilant or velar consonant, и, instead of ы, is written.
When a masculine adjectives ends in -ой, the -ой is stressed
Russian differentiates between hard-stem (as above) and soft-stem adjectives. Note the
following:

• Masculine adjectives ending in the nominative in ий and neuters in ее are

declined as follows: его, ему, им, and ем.

• Feminine adjectives in яя are declined ей and юю.

• Plural adjectives in ие are declined их, им, ими and их.

[edit] Pronouns

[edit] Personal pronouns

Plura
Singular
l
1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd
 Masc. Fem. Neut.
(English) I you (singular) he she it we you (plural) they
Nominative я ты он она́ оно́ мы вы они́
Accusative меня́ тебя́ его́ её его́ нас вас их
Genitive меня́ тебя́ его́ её его́ нас вас их
Dative мне тебе́ ему́ ей ему́ нам вам им
Prepositional обо мне о тебе́ о нём о ней о нём о наc о вас о них
Instrumental мной тобой́ им ей им на́ми ва́ми и́ми

• Russian is subject to T-V distinction. The respectful form of the singular you is
the same as the plural form, but beginning with a capital letter: Вы, Вас, Вам etc.
Compare the distinction between du, sie and Sie in German.

• When a preposition is used directly before a 3rd-person pronoun, н- is prefixed: у

него, с неё, etc. Because the prepositional case always occurs after a preposition,
the third person prepositional always starts with an н-.

[edit] Demonstrative pronouns

этот "this" and тот "that"
masculine neuter feminine plural masculine neuter feminine plural
Nominative э́тот это э́та э́ти тот то та те
Accusative N or G э́то э́ту N or G N or G то ту N or G
Genitive э́того э́того э́той э́тих того́ того́ той тех
Dative э́тому э́тому э́той э́тим тому́ тому́ той тем
Prepositional об э́том об э́том об э́той об э́тих о том о том о той о тех
Instrumental э́тим э́тим э́той э́тими тем тем той те́ми

[edit] Possessive pronouns

мой "my" and твой "your (sing.)"
masculine neuter feminine plural masculine neuter feminine plural
Nominative мой моё моя мои твой твоё твоя твои
Accusative N or G моё мою N or G N or G твоё твою N or G
Genitive моего моего моей моих твоего твоего твоей твоих
Dative моему моему моей моим твоему твоему твоей твоим
Prepositional о моём о моём о моей о моих о твоём о твоём о твоей о твоих
Instrumental моим моим моей моими твоим твоим твоей твоими
наш "our" and ваш "your (plur.)"
masculine neuter feminine plural masculine neuter feminine plural
Nominative наш наше наша наши ваш ваше ваша ваши
Accusative N or G наше нашу N or G N or G ваше вашу N or G
Genitive нашего нашего нашей наших вашего вашего вашей ваших
Dative нашему нашему нашей нашим вашему вашему вашей вашим
о о о о
Prepositional о нашем о нашей о вашем о вашей
нашем наших вашем ваших
нашим
Instrumental нашим нашим нашей вашим вашим вашей вашими
и

• The third person possessive pronouns его (masc./neut. sing.), её (fem. sing.) and
их (plural) are invariant genitive forms.

[edit] Interrogative pronouns

кто "who" and что "what"
кто что
Nominative кто что
Accusative кого что
Genitive кого чего
Dative кому чему
Prepositional о ком о чём
Instrumental кем чем
чей "whose"
masculine neuter feminine plural
Nominative чей чьё чья чьи
Accusative N or G чьё чью N or G
Genitive чьего чьего чьей чьих
Dative чьему чьему чьей чьим
Prepositional о чьём о чьём о чьей о чьих
Instrumental чьим чьим чьей чьими

[edit] Numbers
Cardinal Numbers

• 0 ноль or нуль

• 1 один одна одно (раз is used when counting)

• 2 два (m., n.), две (f.)

• 3 три

• 4 четыре

• 5 пять

• 6 шесть

• 7 семь

• 8 восемь

• 9 девять

• 10 десять

Ordinal Numbers Nominative case, masculine.

• 1st первый

• 2nd второй

• 3rd третий
 • 4th четвëртый

• 5th пятый

• 6th шестой

• 7th седьмой

• 8th восьмой

• 9th девятый

• 10th десятый

[edit] Verbs
Grammatical conjugation is subject to three persons in two numbers and two simple
tenses (present/future and past), with periphrastic forms for the future and subjunctive, as
well as imperative forms and present/past participles, distinguished by adjectival and
adverbial usage (see adjectival participle and adverbial participle). There are two voices,
active and middle/passive, which is constructed by the addition of a reflexive suffix -ся
/сь/- to the active form. An interesting feature is that the past tense is actually made to
agree in gender with the subject, for it is the participle in an originally periphrastic perfect
tense formed with the present of быть [bɨtʲ] (like the perfect passive tense in Latin), "to
be", which is now omitted except for rare archaic effect, usually in set phrases (откуда
есть пошла русская земля [ɐˈtkudə jesʲtʲ pɐˈʂla ˈruskəjə zʲɪˈmlʲa], "whence is come the
Russian land", the opening of the Primary Chronicle in modern spelling). Verbal
inflection today is considerably simpler than in Old Russian. The ancient aorist,
imperfect, and (periphrastic) pluperfect tenses have been lost, though the aorist
sporadically occurs in secular literature as late as the second half of the eighteenth
century, and survives as an odd form in direct narration (а он пойди да скажи [ɐ on pɐj
ˈdʲi də skɐˈʐɨ], etc., exactly equivalent to the English colloquial "so he goes and says"),
recategorized as a usage of the imperative. The loss of three of the former six tenses has
been offset by the development, as in other Slavic languages, of verbal aspect. Most
verbs come in pairs, one with imperfective or continuous connotation, the other with
perfective or completed, usually formed with a (prepositional) prefix, but occasionally
using a different root. E.g., спать [spatʲ] (to sleep) is imperfective; поспать [pɐˈspatʲ](to
take a nap) is perfective.
The present tense of the verb быть is today normally used only in the third-person
singular form, which is often used for all the persons and numbers. As late as the
nineteenth century, the full conjugation, which today is never used, was somewhat more
natural: forms occur in the Synodal Bible, in Dostoevsky and in the bylinas (былины [bɨ
ˈlʲinɨ]) or oral folk-epics, which were transcribed at that time. The paradigm shows as
well as anything else the Indo-European affinity of Russian:
 English Russian IPA Latin Classical Greek
"I am" (есмь) [jesʲmʲ] sum eimi
"you are" (sing.) (еси) [ˈjesʲɪ] es ei
"he, she, it is" есть [jesʲtʲ] est esti
"we are" (есмы) [ˈjɛsmɨ] sumus esmen
"you are" (plur.) (есте) [jesʲtʲe] estis este
"they are" суть [sutʲ] sunt eisi

[edit] Present-future tense

There are two forms used to conjugate the present tense of imperfective verbs and the
future tense of perfective verbs.
The first conjugation (I) is used in verb stems ending in a consonant, -у, or -о, or in -а
when not preceded by a sibilant:

• -у/-ю, -ешь, -ет, -ем, -ете, -ут/-ют

• -у/-ут is used after a hard consonant, a vowel or ш, щ or ч; otherwise -ю/-

ют is used.

• A mutating ultimate consonant may cause ending change.

• е becomes ё when stressed.

The second conjugation (II) is used in verb stems ending in -и or -е, or in -а when
preceded by a sibilant:

• -у/-ю, -ишь, -ит, -им, -ите, -ат/ят

• -у/-ат is used after a hard consonant, a vowel or ш, щ or ч; otherwise -ю/-

ят is used.

• Similar to the conjugation I, a mutating ultimate consonant may change an

ending.
Example: попро-сить — попро-шу, попро-сят [pəprɐˈsʲitʲ, pəprɐˈʂu, pɐ
ˈprosʲɪt] (to have solicited — [I, they] will have solicited).

[edit] Past tense

The Russian past tense is gender specific: –л for masculine singular subjects, –ла for
 feminine singular subjects, –ло for neuter singular subjects, and –ли for plural subjects.
This gender specificity applies to all persons; thus, to say "I slept", a male speaker would
say я спал, while a female speaker would say я спала.

[edit] Examples

[edit] First conjugation

вернуть — to return [something] (stem: верн–)
я верну I will return
ты вернёшь you will return
он, она, оно вернёт he, she, it will return
мы вернём we will return
вы вернёте you will return
они вернут they will return
читать — to read (stem: чита–)
я читаю I read (am reading, do read)
ты читаешь you read (are reading, do read)
он, она, оно читает he, she, it reads (is reading, does read)
мы читаем we read (are reading, do read)
вы читаете you (plural/formal) read (are reading, do read)
они читают they read (are reading, do read)

[edit] Second conjugation

говорить — to speak (stem: говор–)
я говорю I speak (am speaking, do speak)
ты говоришь you speak (are speaking, do speak)
он, она, оно говорит he, she, it speaks (is speaking, does speak)
мы говорим we speak (are speaking, do speak)
вы говорите you (plural/formal) speak (are speaking, do speak)
они говорят they speak (are speaking, do speak)

[edit] Irregular verbs

The following verbs have a stem change. The stem part of the verb is in the parentheses.
The endings are regular.
брать (бер–) — to take
беру, берёшь, берёт, берём ,берёте, берут
вести (вед–) — to lead
веду, ведёшь, ведёт, ведём, ведёте, ведут
жить (жив–) — to live
живу, живёшь, живёт, живём, живёте, живут
звать (зов–) — to call
зову, зовёшь, зовёт, зовём, зовёте, зовут
давать (да–) — to give
даю, даёшь, даёт, даём, даёте, дают
идти (ид–) — to go
иду, идёшь, идёт, идём, идёте, идут
писать (пиш-) — to write (notice the с becomes a ш)
пишу, пишешь, пишет, пишем, пишете, пишут
The following verbs endings do not conform to the first or second conjugations.
дать — to give
дам, дашь, даст, дадим, дадите, дадут
есть — to eat
ем, ешь, ест, едим, едите, едят
The following verbs are irregular in the first person. Notice the д becomes ж in the first
person. This is a common irregularity on stems ending with д.
ходить (ход–) — to walk
 хожу, ходишь, ходит, ходим, ходите, ходят
ездить (езд–) — to travel
езжу, ездишь, ездит, ездим, ездите, ездят
видеть (вид–) — to see
вижу, видишь, видит, видим, видите, видят

[edit] Word formation

Russian has on hand a set of prefixes, prepositional and adverbial in nature, as well as
diminutive, augmentative, and frequentative suffixes and infixes. All of these can be
stacked one upon the other, to produce multiple derivatives of a given word. Participles
and other inflexional forms may also have a special connotation. For example:
мысль [mɨsʲlʲ] "thought"
мыслишка [mɨˈsʲlʲiʂkə] "a petty, cute or a silly thought"
мыслища [mɨˈsʲlʲiɕːə] "a thought of fundamental import"
мышление [mɨˈʂlʲenʲɪjɪ] "thought; abstract thinking, ratiocination"
мыслить [ˈmɨsʲlʲɪtʲ] "to think (as to cogitate)"
смысл [smɨsl] "meaning"
осмыслить [ɐˈsmɨsʲlʲɪtʲ] "to comprehend; to rationalize"
переосмысли
[pʲɪrʲɪɐˈsmɨsʲlʲɪtʲ] "to reassess"
ть
переосмысли
[pʲɪrʲɪɐˈsmɨsʲlʲɪvətʲ] "to be in the process of reassessing (something)"
вать
переосмысли [pʲɪrʲɪɐ "(something) in the process of being considered in a
ваемый ˈsmɨsʲlʲɪvəjɪmɨj] new light"
бессмыслица [bʲɪˈsmɨsʲlʲɪtsə] "nonsense"
обессмыслит
[əbʲɪˈsmɨsʲlʲɪtʲ] "to render meaningless"
ь
бессмысленн
[bʲɪˈsmɨsʲlʲɪnːɨj] "meaningless"
ый
обессмыслен
[əbʲɪˈsmɨsʲlʲɪnːɨj] "rendered meaningless"
ный
необессмысл
[nʲɪəbʲɪˈsmɨsʲlʲɪnːɨj] "not rendered meaningless"
енный
Russian has also proved friendly to agglutinative compounds. As an extreme case:
металлоломообеспечен
[mʲɪtəlɐˌlomɐɐbʲɪˈsʲpʲeʨɪnʲjɪ] "provision of scrap iron"
ие
металлоломообеспечен
[mʲɪtəlɐˌlomɐɐbʲɪˈsʲpʲeʨɪnːɨj] "well supplied with scrap iron"
ный
Purists (as Dmitry Ushakov in the preface to his dictionary) frown on such words. But
here is the name of a street in St. Petersburg:
Каменноостровский
[ˌkamʲɪnːɐˈɐstrəvskʲɪj prɐˈsʲpʲɛkt] "Stone Island Avenue"
проспект
Some linguists have suggested that Russian agglutination stems from Church Slavonic. In
the twentieth century, abbreviated components appeared in the compound:
управдо [uprɐˈvdom]=управляющий
[uprɐˈvlʲajuɕːɪj ˈdoməm] "residence manager"
м домом

[edit] Syntax
The basic word order, both in conversation and the written language, is Subject Verb
Object in transitive clauses, and free word order in intransitive clauses. However,
because the relations are marked by inflection, considerable latitude in word order is
allowed even in transitive clauses, and all the permutations can be used. For example, the
words in the phrase "я пошёл в магазин" (I went to the shop) can be arranged

• Я пошёл в магазин.

• Я в магазин пошёл.

• Пошёл я в магазин.

• Пошёл в магазин я.

• В магазин я пошёл.

• В магазин пошёл я.

while maintaining grammatical correctness.

The word order expresses the logical stress, and the degree of definiteness. Primary
emphasis tends to be initial, with a slightly weaker emphasis at the end.

[edit] Negation
Like most other languages but unlike English, multiple negatives are compulsory in
Russian, as in никто никогда никому ничего не прощает [nʲɪˈkto nʲɪkɐˈgda nʲɪkɐˈmu
nʲɪʨɪˈvo nʲɪ prɐˈɕːajɪt] "No-one ever forgives anyone for anything" (literally, "no-one
never to no-one nothing does not forgive").

[edit] Coordination
The most common types of coordination expressed by compound sentences in Russian
are conjoining (Соединительные отношения), oppositional (Противительные
отношения), and separative (Разделительные отношения). Additionally, the Russian
grammar considers comparative (сопоставительные), complemental
(присоединительные), and clarifying (пояснительные). Other flavors of the meanings
may also be distinguished.
Conjoining coordinations are formed with the help of the conjunctions "и", "да",
"ни...ни" (simultaneous negation), также, тоже (the latter two have complemental
flavor). Most commonly the conjoining coordination expresses enumeration, simultaneity
or immediate sequence. They may also have a cause-effect flavor.
Oppositional coordinations are formed with the help of the oppositional conjunctions а,
но, да, однако, зато, же, etc. They express the semantic relations of opposition,
comparison, incompatibility, restriction, or compensation.
Separative coordinations are formed with the help of the separative conjunctions или,
либо, ли...ли, то...то, etc., and are used to express alternation or incompatibility of things
expressed in the coordinated sentences.
Complemental and clarifying coordination expresses additional, but not subordinated,
information related to the first sentence.
Comparative coordination is a semantical flavor of the oppositional one.
Common coordinating conjunctions include:

• и [i] "and", enumerative, complemental;

• а [a] "and", comparative, tending to "but";

• но [no] "but", oppositional;

• ибо [ˈibə] "for", clarifying.

 The distinction between и and а is important. И implies a following complemental state
that does not oppose the antecedent. А implies a following state that acts in opposition to
the antecedent, but more weakly than но "but".
The Catherine manuscript of the Song of Igor, 1790s
они уехали, [ɐˈnʲi uˈjɛxəlʲɪ] they have departed
и мы уезжаем [ɪ ˈmɨ ujɪˈʑːajɪm] and we are departing
они уехали, [ɐˈnʲi uˈjɛxəlʲɪ] they have departed,
а мы уезжаем [ɐ ˈmɨ ujɪˈʑːajɪm] while (but) we are (still) departing
они уехали, [ɐˈnʲi uˈjɛxəlʲɪ] they have departed,
но мы приезжаем [nɐ ˈmɨ prʲɪjɪˈʑːajɪm] but we are arriving
The distinction between и and а developed after the medieval period; originally, и and а
were closer in meaning. The unpunctuated ending of the Song of Igor illustrates the
potential confusion. The final five words in modern spelling, князьям слава а дружине
аминь [knʲɐˈzʲjam ˈslavə ə druˈʐɨnʲɪ ɐˈmʲinʲ] can be understood either as "Glory to the
princes and to their host! Amen." or "Glory to the princes, and amen (R.I.P.) to their
troops". Although majority opinion is definitely with the first interpretation, there is no
full consensus. The psychological difference between the two is quite obvious.

[edit] Subordination
Complementizers (subordinating conjunctions, adverbs, or adverbial phrases) include:

• если [ˈjesʲlʲɪ] if;

• потому что [pətɐˈmu ʂtə], так как [tak kak] because

• чтобы [ˈʂtobɨ] in order to

• после того, как [ˈposʲlʲɪ tɐˈvo kək] after

• хотя [xɐˈtʲa] although

In general, there are fewer subordinate clauses than in English, because the participles
(причастие [prʲɪˈʨasʲtʲɪjɪ]) and adverbial participles (деепричастие [dʲɪjɪprʲɪˈʨasʲtʲɪjɪ])
often take the place of a relative pronoun/verb combination. For example:
Here (is) a man
Вот человек, [vot ʨɪlɐˈvʲɛk]
who has lost (all) hope.
потерявший надежду. [pətʲɪˈrʲavʂɨj nɐˈdʲɛʐdu]
[lit. having lost hope]
Гуляя по городу, всегда [guˈlʲajɪ pɐ ˈgorədu vsʲɪgˈda] When I go for a walk in the city,
останавливаюсь у [əstɐˈnavlʲɪvəjusʲ u rɐˈstralʲnɨx I always
Ростральных колонн. [kɐˈlon] pause by the Rostral Columns.
 [lit. Walking in the city, I...]

[edit] Absolute construction

Despite the inflexional nature of Russian there is no equivalent in the modern language to
the English nominative absolute or the Latin ablative absolute construction. The old
language had an absolute construction, with the noun put into the dative. Like so many
other archaisms, it is retained in Church Slavonic. Among the last known examples in
literary Russian occurs in Radishchev's Journey from Petersburg to Moscow
(Путешествие из Петербурга в Москву [putʲɪˈʂɛstvʲɪjɪ ɪs pʲɪtʲɪrˈburgə v mɐˈskvu]),
1790:

• Едущу мне из Едрова, Анюта из мысли моей не выходила. [ˈjeduɕːu mnʲe ɪzʲ
jɪˈdrovə, ɐˈnʲutə ɪz ˈmɨsʲlʲɪ mɐˈjej nʲɪ vɨxɐˈdʲilə] "As I was leaving Yedrovo
village, I could not stop thinking about Aniuta."