CLASS 9 · LEARNING KNOWLEDGE
Word formation and word families in Russian: recognizing and understanding in context
How it works
In Russian, many words are formed by derivation from a base word. Above all, prefixes and suffixes change the meaning or sometimes the part of speech; endings usually indicate grammatical forms. For example, ‹писать› is the base word; from it, words such as ‹подписать›, ‹переписка› and ‹писатель› are formed by prefixes and suffixes. Recognizing such word families helps when understanding unfamiliar words in a text. Often, the context makes it possible to infer how the derived word relates to the base word.
Note
Pay attention to familiar word parts such as the stem, prefix and suffix, and compare them with the context. Words in a word family usually have a similar basic meaning that is changed by prefixes or suffixes.
Pay attention to familiar word parts such as the stem, prefix and suffix, and compare them with the context. Words in a word family usually have a similar basic meaning that is changed by prefixes or suffixes.
An example
Which word belongs to the word family of ‹читать›?
‹читатель› belongs to the word family of ‹читать›, because it is formed with the stem ‹чит-› and refers to someone who reads.
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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.