In English, when you want to say, "My major is math" and "I study math", the word "math" does not change because English does not have a case system for nouns. However, in Russian, the forms of the noun "математика" will be different in the two expressions.
Take a look at the examples provided below. What do you notice about the differences in the cases used for school subjects in constructions "Моя специальность" and "Я изучаю"?
Now take another look at the concordance lines above and create a table of useful forms for the two expressions, "Моя специальность - ..." and "Я изучаю ..." by copying them down from the concordance lines. Use the layout provided below to organize your table.
Моя специальность... Я изучаю...
физиология физиологию
... ...
Now let's take a look at two more expressions!
In English, when you want to say "My favorite subject is chemistry" vs. "I love chemistry," the word "chemistry" does not change. Would it change in Russian? Look at the examples below to answer this question.
The constructions so far should be familiar to you from first-year Russian. But what if you wanted to say which courses you signed up for this semester?
Take a look at the examples below. The highlighted phrase means "To sign up for a course." Take a look at school subjects that follow this phrase: what case are they in?
Using the examples above, write out your answers to these questions:
Какая у вас специальность?
Что вы изучаете?
Какой у вас любимый предмет?
На какие предметы вы записались в этом семестре?