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1500 questions
9
votes
7 answers
Proper translation of "terrible"
Today I wanted to tell a Russian friend that a certain person was a terrible woman (in the sense that she is a very unpleasant person). I said, "Она страшная женщина". But my friend told me that I used the word "страшная" erroneously.
I wasn't able…
oz1cz
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9
votes
5 answers
О конях и лошадях
I know the difference between "лошадь" and "конь" - лошадь is a female horse and конь is a male horse. I also know that we should treat "конный спорт" as a set expression. Thus, "лошадиный спорт" would be wrong. Another horse collocation is…
Enguroo
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9
votes
1 answer
Как называются слова, меняющие значение в зависимости от рода: как "машинист" и "машинистка"?
Некоторые слова в зависимости от рода имеют разный смысл, например, "машинист" и "машинистка" — это совершенно разные профессии. Есть ли название у такого языкового феномена?
Andrey Breslav
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9
votes
2 answers
"Public address system" in Russian
How do they refer in Russian to a public address system in the department store?
I looked up some possible terms in a dictionary and found these two: "система оповещения" and "трансляция", but I am not sure.
"Система оповещения" seems to me to be…
brilliant
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9
votes
1 answer
Measurement units after numbers - genitive plural or nominative singular?
If a number ends with 0,5,6,7,8, or 9, the following noun is used in genitive plural. Do measurement units make an exception or not?
Compare:
В стаде триста девяносто коров. (В стаде тристо девяносто корова.)
Файл весит триста девяносто…
Armen Tsirunyan
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9
votes
4 answers
Why do you say <Я пошёл> when should be present tense
The expression <я пошёл к себе> is in the past tense but it means "I'm off home" which is the present tense. Why is this?
Bob Daley
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9
votes
4 answers
What part of speech is "было" in this sentence?
Can anyone, please, parse this sentence for me and tell me what part of speech is "было" here?
Хорошо, что хоть он пришёл, а то я было подумал, что и его
похитили.
brilliant
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9
votes
5 answers
"With more than..."
How can I say "A book with more than 1000 pages"?
As far as I know, "с более" or "с больше" does not make sense. Someone told me that there's not such a straightforward way to use "более/больше" preceded by a preposition requiring a case other than…
swrutra
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9
votes
2 answers
Difference between царь and король?
The only sites answering this question are in Russian text, so I wanted to ask it here.
Zed
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9
votes
2 answers
How do these two carry nuances of meaning: "Давай узнаем, не ... ли ..." vs. "Давай узнаем, ... ли ..."?
Давай узнаем, не вернулись ли остальные.
{vs}: Давай узнаем, вернулись ли остальные.
I wonder if the first version with "не" is working on the assumption that they're probably already back, whereas the second suggests a slim chance of their…
Con-gras-tue-les-chiens
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9
votes
3 answers
Genitive plural of "мечта"
Even though the word мечта officially has no genitive plural, is it possible to say мечт colloquially, or use мечтаний as an alternative?
Like, "That's one of my dreams". "Это одна из моих мечт" or "Это одно из моих мечтаний"
swrutra
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9
votes
2 answers
Запятая после «также»
Нужна ли запятая после «также» в этих случаях:
Также ? в сегодняшнем выпуске мы обсудим следующие темы: <...>
Мы обсудим все ? что касается политики, а также ? следующие темы: <...>
user1306322
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9
votes
3 answers
Russian equivalent of the idiom "crown jewel"
I'm looking for a Russian idiom which would be the closest analog of "crown jewel" as in, for instance, "the crown jewel of my collection". I'm not satisfied with "главное украшение" since that's hardly an idiom.
imakhlin
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9
votes
2 answers
What is the equivalent of 'whole wheat flour' in Russian?
In American English the standard term seems to be 'whole wheat flour', while in British English it seems that whole meal and whole wheat are used interchangeably (or perhaps whole meal refers to coarse whole wheat flour).
How would 'whole wheat…
user56416
- 91
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9
votes
2 answers
Pronunciation of конечно
So recently I came across this word and I noticed that it's actually pronounced конешно. I thought I was missing something but the "voiced consonants rule", does not mention the letter ч being pronounced as ш. Does this always happen when ш comes…
Trey
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