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Russian Syntax Foundations 1
Practice neutral word order, basic questions, and sentence negation
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Browse Sentence Construction practiceQuestion 1
Choose the usual neutral, out-of-the-blue statement: the cat is chasing the mouse.
English context
There is no contrastive emphasis; use the usual subject–verb–object order.
Options
- Кошка ловит мышь.
- Мышь ловит кошку.
- Ловит кошка мышь.
- Мышь кошка ловит.
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- Кошка ловит мышь.
Correct feedback
Correct. In a neutral statement, subject–verb–object is the usual order here.
Grammar rule
Russian word order is flexible, but subject–verb–object is a common neutral order. Other orders can be grammatical with different emphasis or context.
Question 2
In a neutral answer to «Что делает Олег?», choose the usual word order: «Олег ___».
English context
The complete answer is an ordinary statement: Oleg reads a newspaper.
Options
- читает газету
- газету читает
- газету Олег
- читает Олег
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- читает газету
Correct feedback
That's right. The neutral answer puts the subject before its verb and object.
Grammar rule
A neutral Russian clause commonly uses subject–verb–object order, though word order can shift to mark information structure.
Question 3
___ ты живёшь?
English context
Ask where someone lives.
Options
- Где
- Кто
- Что
- Когда
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- Где
Correct feedback
Correct. «Где» asks about a place.
Grammar rule
Где asks where; кто asks who; что asks what; когда asks when.
Question 4
___ читает газету?
English context
Ask which person is reading the newspaper.
Options
- Кто
- Что
- Где
- Куда
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- Кто
Correct feedback
Exactly. «Кто» asks which person is doing the action.
Grammar rule
Кто is the interrogative pronoun for a person and functions as the subject in this question.
Question 5
Что ___ Маша?
English context
Ask what Masha is reading; use the present-tense verb читать.
Options
- читает
- читают
- читаешь
- читаем
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- читает
Correct feedback
Correct. «Что» asks about the object, and «Маша» is the third-person singular subject.
Grammar rule
In «Что читает Маша?», the interrogative object can precede the verb; the verb agrees with the subject Маша.
Question 6
___ работаешь сегодня?
English context
Ask whether the person is working today; make a simple yes/no question without ли.
Options
- Ты
- Я
- Мы
- Они
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- Ты
Correct feedback
Right. «Ты работаешь сегодня?» is a yes/no question, usually distinguished by intonation and a question mark.
Grammar rule
A yes/no question in Russian can have the same word order as a statement; intonation and punctuation mark it as a question.
Question 7
Ты ___ говоришь по-русски.
English context
Ask whether you, rather than someone else, speak Russian; place ли immediately after ты, the focused word.
Options
- ли
- не
- ни
- нет
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- ли
Correct feedback
Correct. The particle «ли» follows the focused word: «Ты ли говоришь по-русски?» asks whether it is you who speaks Russian.
Grammar rule
Ли forms an alternative/yes-no question and normally follows the word or phrase in focus; its placement can affect what is being questioned.
Question 8
Я ___ понимаю вопрос.
English context
Make an ordinary negative statement: «I don't understand the question.»
Options
- не
- ни
- нет
- без
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- не
Correct feedback
That's right. «Не» normally stands immediately before the verb it negates.
Grammar rule
Не is the ordinary particle used to negate a verb: я не понимаю.
Question 9
У меня нет ___ сегодня.
English context
Say «I have no time today» using the standard construction with нет.
Options
- времени
- время
- временем
- времена
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- времени
Correct feedback
Correct. Нет in an expression of non-existence is followed by the genitive: нет времени.
Grammar rule
In existential negation, нет governs the genitive: у меня нет времени.
Question 10
Choose the standard ordinary negation: «Я ___ знаю, где он живёт».
English context
Negate the verb «знаю»; this is not an emphatic ни-construction.
Options
- не
- ни
- нет
- без
Accepted answers and explanation
Accepted answers
- не
Correct feedback
Exactly. Ordinary negation uses не before the finite verb: не знаю.
Grammar rule
Не precedes a finite verb in ordinary negation; ни is used in other negative or emphatic patterns.