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
Let’s look at some examples:
э́тот день – this day (masculine)
[é-tat dyen’]
э́та кни́га – this book (feminine)
[é-ta knée-ga]
э́то письмо́ – this letter (neuter)
[é-ta pees’-mó]
э́ти слова́ – these words (plural)
[é-tee sla-vá]
тот магази́н – that shop (masculine)
[tot ma-ga-zéen]
та су́мка – that bag (feminine)
[ta súm-ka]
то у́тро – that morning (neuter)
[to út-ra]
те дома́ – those houses (plural)
[tye da-má]
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 # 1Say it in Russian:this night
- эта ночь
- это - ночь
- это ночь
- этот ночь
Answered: 0 out of 10Next
Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 2Say it in Russian:This is water.
- Это вода.
- Эти вода.
- Эта вода.
- Этот вода.
Answered: 0 out of 10Next
Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 3Say it in Russian:these houses
- эти дома
- это дома
- этот дом
- это дом
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Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 4Say it in Russian:those children
- те ребёнки
- эти ребёнки
- те дети
- эти дети
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Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 5Say it in Russian:this week
- э́та неде́ля
- э́та ночь
- э́тот день
- э́то у́тро
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Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 6Say it in Russian:This is a student.
- Э́тот стиде́нт.
- Э́тот студе́нт.
- Э́то стиде́нт.
- Э́то студе́нт.
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Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 7Translate what you hear
- that tree
- this tree
- this is a tree
- that is a tree
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Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 8Say it in Russian:that book (book is feminine)
- э́та кни́га
- та кни́га
- э́то кни́га
- то кни́га
Answered: 0 out of 10Next
Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 9Say it in Russian:This is a cup.
- Э́та ча́шка.
- Э́тот ча́шка.
- Э́то ча́шка.
- То ча́шка.
Answered: 0 out of 10Next
Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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Question # 10Translate what you hear
- that morning
- this evening
- this morning
- that evening
Answered: 0 out of 10
Correct answers: 0 (0%)
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.
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.
its indeed great source of learning russian language
We are glad to hear that. Thank you.