Serafima Gettys, PhD, earned her doctorate degree in Foreign Language Education from Gertzen State Pedagogical University, Leningrad, USSR. She is currently a Coordinator of the Foreign Language Program at Lewis University, where she also teaches Russian. Prior to coming to Lewis University, she taught Russian at Stanford University. Gettys is also a member of a number of professional language associations.

Nina Wieda is a doctoral student in Slavic Languages and Literatures at Northwestern University in Chicago. A trained linguist with an MA in Social Sciences, Nina also has a book of poetry published in Russian, and a number of scholarly articles on Chekhov and contemporary drama published in English.

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