Forming Russian question words and short questions
How it works
In this topic, you learn how to form simple questions in Russian with question words such as ‹кто› (who), ‹что› (what), ‹где› (where), ‹когда› (when), ‹почему› (why), ‹как› (how), ‹сколько› (how many), and the possessive forms ‹чей›, ‹чья›, ‹чьё›, ‹чьи› (whose). Question words often stand at the beginning of the sentence, but word order in Russian is generally quite flexible. In short questions in the present tense, there is often no verb at all, because ‹быть› is usually omitted. For example: ‹Где мама?› (Where is мама?), ‹Что это?› (What is this?). Short questions can also consist only of a question word and a very short sentence if the context is clear. The correct choice of question word depends on what you want to know.
Put the appropriate Russian question word at the beginning of the sentence and form a complete, natural question. Usually the question begins with the question word; after that, however, word order in Russian is flexible. In the present tense, the verb may be missing in short questions, for example in ‹Где мама?›. Question words must match the question: ‹кто› for people, ‹что› for things or actions in the appropriate context, ‹где› for places, ‹когда› for time, ‹почему› for reasons, ‹как› for the manner, ‹сколько› for quantity. With the possessive question word, the form must match the noun: ‹чей› with masculine nouns, ‹чья› with feminine nouns, ‹чьё› with neuter nouns, and ‹чьи› in the plural.
An example
Which Russian question word fits: ‹___ это?› (What is this?)
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50 Exercises
To the learning unit →Own explanation and own practice exercises by AmyMath. Subject reference framework: Russian. The topic assignment may vary by federal state.