Russian Phrases for Dummies

Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 3 Where to Go from Here 4 Chapter 1: I Say It How? Speaking Russian 5 Looking at the Russian Alphabet 5 From A to Ya: Making sense of Cyrillic 5 I know you! Familiar-looking, same-sounding letters 10 Playing tricks: Familiar-looking, different-sounding letters 10 How bizarre: Weird-looking letters 11 Sounding Like a Real Russian with Proper Pronunciation 12 Understanding the one-letter/one-sound principle 12 Giving voice to vowels 12 Enunciating consonants correctly 15 Surveying sticky sounds 17 Chapter 2: Grammar on a Diet: Just the Basics 21 Making the Russian Cases 22 Nominative case 22 Genitive case 22 Accusative case 22 Dative case 23 Instrumental case 23 Prepositional case 23 Building Your Grammar Base with Nouns and Pronouns 24 Getting the lowdown on the gender of nouns 24 Checking out cases for nouns 24 Putting plurals into their cases 27 Picking out pronouns 34 Decorating Your Speech with Adjectives 39 Always consenting: Adjective-noun agreement 39 A lot in common: Putting adjectives into other cases 41 Nowhere to be found: The lack of articles in Russian 43 Adding Action with Verbs 43 Spotting infinitives 43 Living in the present tense 43 Keep it simple: Forming the past tense 44 Past again: Perfective or imperfective? 45 Planning for the future tense 46 Using the unusual verb byt’ (to be) 47 Chapter 3: Numerical Gumbo: Counting of All Kinds 49 Counting in Russian 49 Numbers 0 through 9 50 Numbers 10 through 19 51 First, Second: Ordinal Numbers 51 The Clock’s Ticking: Telling Time 52 Counting the hours 52 Marking the minutes 54 Asking for the time 56 Knowing the times of the day 56 Monday, Tuesday: Weekdays 57 Talking about time relative to the present 58 Checking Your Calendar 59 Recognizing the names of the months 59 Saying the year 60 Surveying the seasons 61 Money, Money, Money 62 Changing money 62 Heading to the ATM 62 Spending money 63 Paying with credit cards 64 Chapter 4: Making New Friends and Enjoying Small Talk 65 To Whom Am I Speaking? Being Informal or Formal 65 Comings and Goings: Saying Hello and Goodbye 66 Saying hello to different people 66 Handling “How are you?” 67 Taking your leave 68 Break the Ice: Making Introductions 68 Getting acquainted 68 Asking for people’s names and introducing yourself 69 Introducing your friends and family 70 Let Me Tell You Something: Talking about Yourself 71 Stating where you’re from 71 Telling your age 72 Talking about Family 73 Beginning with basic terms for family members 73 Talking about family members with the verb “to have” 74 Where Do You Work? 75 Let’s Get Together: Giving and Receiving Contact Information 78 I’m Sorry! I Don’t Understand 79 Chapter 5: Enjoying a Drink and a Snack (or a Meal!) 81 Focusing on Food Basics 81 Eating up 81 Drinking up 83 Using utensils and tableware 85 Enjoying Different Meals 86 What’s for breakfast? Almost anything! 86 Let’s do dinner (not lunch) 87 A simple supper 90 Going Out for Groceries 90 Picking out produce 90 Surveying other grocery items 92 Eating Out with Ease 93 Deciding on a place to eat 94 The art of ordering a meal 95 Receiving and paying the bill 96 Chapter 6: Shop ’Til You Drop 97 Where and How to Buy Things the Russian Way 97 You Wear It Well: Shopping for Clothes 99 Seeking specific items of clothing 99 Describing items in color 102 Finding the right size 103 Trying on clothing 103 This or That? Deciding What You Want 104 Expressing likes and dislikes 105 Comparing two items 106 Talking about what you like most (or least) 107 You Gotta Pay to Play 108 Chapter 7: Making Leisure a Top Priority 109 Together Wherever We Go: Making Plans to Go Out 109 Going Out on the Town 111 On the big screen: Going to the movies 111 It’s classic: Taking in the Russian ballet and theater 112 Culture club: Visiting a museum 114 Shootin’ the Breeze about Hobbies 115 Reading All About It 116 Have you read it? 117 What do you like to read? 117 Rejoicing in the Lap of Nature 119 Enjoying the country house 119 Skiing in the Caucasus 120 Lying around at Lake Baikal 120 Doing Things with Your Hands 121 Being crafty 121 Playing music 122 Scoring with Sports 123 Chapter 8: When You Gotta Work 125 Searching for a Job 125 Discovering where to look 125 Contacting employers 126 Clarifying job responsibilities 127 Communicating in the Workplace 128 Making an appointment 128 Sticking to workplace etiquette 129 Ringing Up Telephone Basics 130 Brushing up on phone vocabulary 130 Basic telephone etiquette 132 Anticipating different responses 133 Leaving a message with a person 134 Talking to an answering machine 135 Sending a Letter, a Fax, or an E-Mail 136 Chapter 9: I Get Around: Transportation 139 Understanding Verbs of Motion 139 Going by foot or vehicle habitually 140 Going by foot or vehicle at the present time 142 Explaining where you’re going 143 Navigating the Airport 144 Checking in and boarding your flight 144 Handling passport control and Customs 145 Conquering Public Transportation 146 Taking a taxi 146 Using minivans 147 Catching buses, trolley buses, and trams 148 Hopping onto the subway 148 Hopping on a train 149 Asking “Where” and “How” Questions 150 Where is it? 150 How do I get there? 151 Understanding Specific Directions 151 Recognizing prepositions 152 Keeping “right” and “left” straight 153 Making sense of commands 154 Describing Distances 156 Chapter 10: Laying Down Your Weary Head: House or Hotel 157 Hunting for an Apartment or a House 157 Talking about an apartment or a house 158 Asking the right questions 160 Sealing the deal 161 Settling Into Your New Digs 161 Knowing the names of different rooms 161 Buying furniture 162 Booking the Hotel That’s Right for You 163 Making a reservation 164 Checking In and Out 166 Enduring the registration process 166 Taking a tour of your room 167 Familiarizing yourself with the facilities 168 Meeting the staff 169 Reporting a broken item 169 Requesting missing items 170 Asking to change rooms 171 Checking out and paying your bill 171 Chapter 11: Dealing with Emergencies 173 Finding Help in Case of Accidents 173 Asking for help 174 Calling the right number 175 Reporting a problem 175 Requesting English-speaking help 176 Receiving Medical Care 176 Knowing your own anatomy 177 Describing your symptoms to a doctor 178 Announcing allergies or special conditions 180 Undergoing an examination and getting a diagnosis 181 Visiting a pharmacy 182 Calling the Police When You’re the Victim of a Crime 183 Chapter 12: Ten Favorite Russian Expressions 185 Oj! 185 Davaj 185 Pryedstav’tye Syebye 186 Poslushajtye! 186 Pir Goroj 186 Ya Tryebuyu Prodolzhyeniya Bankyeta 187 Slovo — Syeryebro, A Molchaniye — Zoloto 187 Odna Golova Khorosho, A Dvye — Luchshye 187 Drug Poznayotsya V Byedye 188 Staryj Drug Luchshye Novykh Dvukh 188 Chapter 13: Ten Phrases That Make You Sound Russian 189 Tol’ko Poslye Vas! 189 Vy Syegodnya Pryekrasno Vyglyaditye! 189 Zakhoditye Na Chaj! 190 Ugosh’ajtyes’! 190 Priyatnogo Appetita! 191 Syadyem Na Dorozhku! 191 Sadis’, V Nogakh Pravdy Nyet 191 Ni Pukha, Ni Pyera! 192 Tseluyu 192 S Lyogkim Parom! 192 Index 193