Lesson 010

Russian demonstrative pronouns

In this lesson, we will learn the Russian demonstrative pronouns.

A demonstrative pronoun is a pronoun that is used to point to something specific. These pronouns can indicate items in space or time.

In Russian, the demonstrative pronouns depend on the gender and number of the subject. Here they are:

This/these:

э́тот [é-tat]masculine
э́та [é-ta]feminine
э́то [é-ta]neuter
э́ти [é-tee]plural

That/those:

тот [tot]masculine
та [ta]feminine
то [to]neuter
те [tye]plural

Russian Pod 101

Let’s look at some examples:

э́тот деньthis day (masculine)
[é-tat dyen’]

э́та кни́гаthis book (feminine)
[é-ta knée-ga]

э́то письмо́this letter (neuter)
[é-ta pees’-mó]

э́ти слова́these words (plural)
[é-tee sla-vá]

тот магази́нthat shop (masculine)
[tot ma-ga-zéen]

та су́мкаthat bag (feminine)
[ta súm-ka]

то у́троthat morning (neuter)
[to út-ra]

те дома́those houses (plural)
[tye da-má]

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How to say “this is something/someone” in Russian

When you introduce a subject for the first time (i.e. when in English you would normally use This is a… or These are …), you need to use the neuter pronoun э́то regardless of the gender and number of the subject.

Э́то кни́га.
[é-ta knée-ga]
This (It) is a book.

Э́то пи́сьма.
[é-ta pées’-ma]
These are letters.

Practice the examples of this lesson with the audio recording.

The offline version of this lesson is available here

Start the quiz
  • Question # 1
    Say it in Russian:
    this night
    • эта ночь
    • это - ночь
    • это ночь
    • этот ночь
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 2
    Say it in Russian:
    This is water.
    • Это вода.
    • Эти вода.
    • Эта вода.
    • Этот вода.
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 3
    Say it in Russian:
    these houses
    • эти дома
    • это дома
    • этот дом
    • это дом
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 4
    Say it in Russian:
    those children
    • те ребёнки
    • эти ребёнки
    • те дети
    • эти дети
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 5
    Say it in Russian:
    this week
    • э́та неде́ля
    • э́та ночь
    • э́тот день
    • э́то у́тро
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 6
    Say it in Russian:
    This is a student.
    • Э́тот стиде́нт.
    • Э́тот студе́нт.
    • Э́то стиде́нт.
    • Э́то студе́нт.
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 7
    Translate what you hear
    • that tree
    • this tree
    • this is a tree
    • that is a tree
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 8
    Say it in Russian:
    that book (book is feminine)
    • э́та кни́га
    • та кни́га
    • э́то кни́га
    • то кни́га
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 9
    Say it in Russian:
    This is a cup.
    • Э́та ча́шка.
    • Э́тот ча́шка.
    • Э́то ча́шка.
    • То ча́шка.
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
    Next
  • Question # 10
    Translate what you hear
    • that morning
    • this evening
    • this morning
    • that evening
    Answered: 0 out of 10
    Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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4 comments on “010 – Russian demonstrative pronouns”

  1. Sachin says:

    э́та and э́то are pronounced the same irrespective of the gender, whats the difference?

    how do we judge Day as masculine,
    book as feminine,
    letter as neuter,
    shop as masculine,
    bag as feminine,
    morning as neuter,

    Thanks in advance.

    1. Learn Russian Step by Step says:

      Hello Sachin,

      Yes, there is practically no difference in pronouncing это and эта. You can learn more about the pronunciation of the letter О here.

      You can judge if the noun is masculine, feminine of neuter but its ending. There is a lesson about it a bit further. Here we give you the gender of every noun in the examples so you can focus on the demostrative pronouns.

  2. syed salimuddin says:

    its indeed great source of learning russian language

    1. Learn Russian Step by Step says:

      We are glad to hear that. Thank you.

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