How to Learn Russian Grammar, One Layer at a Time
You looking, are to improve your Russian skills grammar?
Don’t be confused if you opened this article with the hopes of finding tips on improving your Russian grammar, but are now thinking that the writer doesn’t know basic English.
The sentence above is simply used to illustrate the importance of proper grammar.
Grammar is a set of rules that explain how words need to be structured in a certain language.
Simply learning Russian words without the ability to form proper sentences is similar to trying to build a house with all the necessary supplies but no blueprints: Either one is a disaster waiting to happen.
To learn how to write and speak in real Russian, you need to take the time to learn and play by the rules…the grammatical rules, that is! If you do, you may find teaching yourself Russian is actually easier than you think!
- Proper grammar improves your credibility. While it’s adorable to hear a toddler figure out how to place words together to explain what they want, adults don’t have as much patience with other adults. In fact, incorrect grammar may lead others to see you as unintelligent and uneducated. If you’re learning Russian in order to pass a Russian language class or for business reasons, learning correct grammar usage is imperative to making you seem like a credible professional.
- Proper grammar improves your communication skills. If you want to be able to express yourself to Russian speakers, you need to learn proper grammar. Grammar not only enhances communication skills, it also helps individuals think more clearly and logically.
- Proper grammar helps you write well. Knowing proper grammar is crucial for learning to write well in Russian. To be able to connect the oral language with the written language, grammar skills are a must! Whether you plan to write a letter to a Russian friend, pen a greeting card for a birthday, write a term paper in Russian or compile a business plan, you need to know the rules for punctuation, sentence structure, verb tenses and all the other elements you need for your writing to be legible and coherent.
How to Learn Russian Grammar, One Layer at a Time
Since you’re hopefully convinced that learning grammar is important, it’s time to get to work!
You can use the following handy resources to help you improve your Russian grammar skills. We’ve divided them into four categories that you should focus on: websites, books, videos and blogs.
Learn Russian Grammar with Websites
Learn Russian
This website is a good place to start out since it’s welcoming for beginners, without getting into as much intimidating detail as some other sites. For example, on the home page it explains that Russian follows the same word order pattern as English, which is subject-verb-object.
Indeed, in some ways, Russian grammar may even be easier to learn than English grammar (yes, you read that correctly), as the Russian language does not use articles.
That means you don’t have to worry about learning the difference between definite and indefinite articles, and don’t have to figure out when to use Russian equivalents of a, an and the.
This site provides more instructions on learning Russian grammar, and offers the chance to practice your knowledge through their extensive collection of Russian lessons. Have a question? The site administrators are available to help you along the way.
Cornell’s Russian Grammar Site
This site from Cornell University is basically an extensive and complete directory with links to pages about all the different areas of Russian grammar.
Start with the alphabet to learn how to write and pronounce the Cyrillic letters and understand what their English equivalents are. Move on to learning about vowels and consonants, including the difference between palatalized and unpalatalized consonants, as well as spelling rules for case endings.
Read the discussion on roots of Russian words and then read the sections about parts of speech (such as nouns, verbs and so on), which take up the bulk of the site. Finally, finish up with instructions on how to form proper Russian sentences.
Russian for Free
This grammar resource teaches you how to add correct endings to Russian words, and how to organize them in a sentence to speak proper Russian. Use the handy grammar tables compiled on this site when you want to read a Russian text or write in Russian.
The grammar tables include the six Russian noun cases, different endings for Russian adjectives, possessive and personal Russian pronouns as well as gender endings.
Russian for Free provides different ways for you to utilize your Russian grammar skills after honing them, such as reading Russian comics, playing games and writing in a Russian forum.
Russian Language Lessons
This is a wonderful resource for anyone looking to learn Russian grammar. The authors admit that many foreign language learners don’t even remember the rules of English grammar, so they keep that in mind when creating materials for their Russian lessons. Their grammar basics are not very technical, and consist of simple rules and clearly-explained concepts to help you communicate in Russian in no time.
Use the quick reference guide on the left of the site to choose between the 16 Russian grammar lessons, which focus on spelling rules, nouns, pronouns, verbs and adjectives.
Learn Russian Grammar with Books
“A Comprehensive Russian Grammar”
The third edition of this text, written by Terence Wade, a Scottish scholar of the Russian language, focuses on teaching the rules of current Russian grammar, with updates as to how the Russian language has changed since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
This book covers one part of speech in every chapter, including a full English translation of every example used throughout the text. The author also notes exceptions for each grammar construction, which is helpful for advanced Russian learners.
“A Russian Grammar Workbook”
Also by Terence Wade, this this workbook is an accompaniment to “A Comprehensive Russian Grammar,” which can also be used as a stand-alone Russian grammar resource for students of all levels. The exercises in this large-format workbook include quizzes, translation exercises, multiple-choice questions and substitution drills.
The workbook includes an answer key for the exercises, as well as recommendations for learning the more complex aspects of grammar.
Learn Russian Grammar with YouTube Videos
Instead of looking up the latest music videos or searching for a DIY tutorial, use YouTube to help you learn Russian Grammar! There’s a multitude of YouTube videos dedicated to doing just that, including:
- The Russian Grammar Channel: Access quick video lessons that focus on the more difficult parts of Russian grammar, explained by a professional Russian teacher in a non-stressful and friendly way.
- Learn Russian – Introduction to Russian Grammar: A five-minute video explaining the basics of Russian grammar.
- Russian Grammar: A video that focuses on the six Russian cases.
- How to Learn Russian Grammar Effectively?: A co-founder of Learning to Know Russian provides his tips on learning Russian grammar for American learners.
Learn Russian Grammar with Blogs
Russian blogs are another important tool for improving your Russian grammar. Their articles can provide a wealth of information in an easy-to-digest format that will not only help you with Russian grammar skills, but also point you in the right direction of other helpful resources for improving your Russian.
Some of our favorite Russian blogs include:
FluentU’s Russian Language and Culture Blog
If you like this post, there are plenty more waiting for you on our Russian Language and Culture Blog. Our articles are full of tips, resources and all kinds of other useful information to help students of Russian in their learning pursuit.
Whether you’re a beginner or a near-native Russian speaker, there’s something for you here!
Therussianblog
Although this blog hasn’t been updated recently, its archives still include many different Russian lessons, including a grammar page. Learn about nouns, pronouns, verbs, numbers and conjunctions, as well as how to group them together to sound coherent in Russian.
Lingualift
While not exactly a blog, Lingualift offers an online Russian course that’s heavy on clear and thorough written explanations of the language, including grammar concepts. Here, you can feel assured that you’re getting all the right information in the right order, with the added bonus of interactive elements to test your understanding.
Lingualift is great for beginners who are struggling with Russian’s mysterious and unfamiliar grammar because it gives you a gentle walkthrough of the Russian language that takes you through to the advanced level.
Мы любим грамматику! (We Love Grammar!)
Shout it out: “I love grammar! You love grammar! We all love grammar!”
The creators of this blog, the title of which means “We Love Grammar!” surely feel very strongly about this area of Russian studies.
In addition to fun and helpful posts, they provide suggestions for other ways to help you learn the language, such as vocabulary lists and a chance to connect to native Russia speakers via their pen pal program! Follow up with this site on social media, by clicking on their Facebook profile.
If you use these resources to work on each of these four layers of Russian grammar, you’re sure to pick up how to learn Russian grammar in no time.
So don’t delay, improve your Russian grammar today!
And One More Thing…
FluentU has more than a blog for your grammar learning needs: Put what you learn into practice with movie trailers, music videos, news, inspiring talks and more.
FluentU takes all kinds of real-world videos and turns them into language learning experiences, as you can see here:
Didn’t catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? FluentU makes native Russian videos approachable through interactive captions. Tap or click on any word to see a definition, in-context usage examples, audio pronunciation, helpful images and more.
Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab. Easily review words and phrases with audio under Vocab.
Don’t stop there, though. Use FluentU’s quizzes to actively practice all the vocabulary in any video. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.
And FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.
Renata Ilitsky is a professional content writer with over 10 years of experience. She specializes in creating unique and engaging content for any industry. To read some of Renata’s other work, please view her writing portfolio.
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