Level: Beginner's Russian
Materials: Textbook Beginner's Russian p. 272
Learning Outcomes:
1. Identify verb patterns in descriptive texts about the knowledge of Russian
2. Use these patterns when talking about your own linguistic experiences
1. Look at the verbs to the left of the highlighted words, and see if you can notice a difference in verb use in the two concordance boxes below. To help you notice the pattern, in your notebook, write down the verbs to the left of the highlighted words from each concordance box.
Hint: Remember that in Russian the verb 'to be' in the present tense is only implied.
2. These texts come from students of Russian like you! Do all the examples follow the standard Russian use? If not, what would be the standard use?
Your textbook Beginner's Russian provides the following explanations on p. 272:
Use the adverb по-русски (or по-английски etc.) after verbs that denote the ability to speak, read, write, or understand a language.
Я пишу по-русски. I write in Russian.
Use the adjective-noun combination русский язык after the verbs знать, изучать and учить.
Они знают русский язык? Do they know Russian?
Now using what you have discovered from the concordance lines together with the textbook rules, try to complete the sentences below.
1. Я хорошо понимаю __________________________ (по-русски/русский язык).
2. Мои родители дома говорят __________________________ (по-испански/испанский язык).
3. Я знаю, как говорить __________________________ (по-китайски/китайский язык).
4. Моя подруга изучает __________________________ (по-арабски/арабский язык) в университете.
5. Мой брат хочет изучать __________________________ (по-португальски/португальский язык), потому что он красивый.
Now answer the following questions in Russian:
What languages do you study/know?
What languages do you understand/speak?