Duo Russian Grammar

39) Short and Long

Practical Short Adjectives

Adjectives in Russian have a long form and a short one. A long one is used before nouns and as a part of a predicate. A short "predicative" form can ONLY be used as a predicate (with a "to be" verb). Usually it looks the same as an adverb.

To be more exact, that typically refers to adjectives that mean qualities that exist on a sliding scale (good, short, soft etc.) rather than yes/no characteristics (wooden, American).

Their usage depends on the meaning and style and isn't all that easy. It is especially frustrating for a learner when a short and a long form are interchangeable but modify the overall tone.

Now, from a practical point of view, a number of adjectives are used in a short form very often (or always) and/or have a distinct meaning then. It is safe to say that the majority of adjectives in the language aren't much used in short form, so better learn those that are.

That's what we are going to do. And you get adverbs for free.

Other predicative adjectives/adverbs uses

  • feeling/state: It is cold/I feel cold: «Мне холодно. Тут холодно. Дома всегда хорошо». Is not even considered an adjective in most descriptions. Usually linguists define them as a "category of state"
  • general judgement of the form "You are wrong"/"It is perfect/bad" → Это просто отлично. Ты неправ.
  • «Превосходно!» — short sentences like "Good!" or "Magnificent!". Actually, that's where a huge variety of adjectives with a meaning of "terrific"/"awful" are used in the short form, even if hardly anywhere else.
  • when an adjective like "glad" or "similar" has details on what you are glad about or similar to, it is normally short.

Levels

  1. 1) Alphabet 1
  2. 2) Basics 1
  3. 3) Phrases 1
  4. 4) Единственное число
  5. 5) Name and polite "You"
  6. 6) Plurals
  7. 7) Where is it?
  8. 8) Animals 1
  9. 9) Genitive Case - 1
  10. 10) Possessive Modifiers 1
  11. 11) Partitive
  12. 12) Accusative Case: the direct object
  13. 13) Verbs Present 1
  14. 14) Infinitive, Likes and Dislikes
  15. 15) Food
  16. 16) Adjectives Introduction
  17. 17) Conjunctions
  18. 18) There is
  19. 19) Questions
  20. 20) People 1
  21. 21) Around you
  22. 22) Prepositions and Places
  23. 23) Verbs Present 2
  24. 24) Time and Numbers
  25. 25) Family
  26. 26) People 1
  27. 27) Weather and Nature
  28. 28) Sport
  29. 29) Adjectives 1
  30. 30) Past & Infinitive
  31. 31) VLAD
  32. 32) Dative and Plurals
  33. 33) Reported speech
  34. 34) Perfective Verbs
  35. 35) I
  36. 36) Body and Health
  37. 37) Genitive Plural
  38. 38) Adjectives 2
  39. 39) Short and Long
  40. 40) Perfective verbs
  41. 41) Countries and Places
  42. 42) House
  43. 43) Reflexive
  44. 44) Time expressions 2
  45. 45) Imperative and Adverbs
  46. 46) Образовние
  47. 47) City and People
  48. 48) Imperative2
  49. 49) That Which
  50. 50) Technics
  51. 51) Future Simple
  52. 52) Being Instrumental
  53. 53) Placing Objects
  54. 54) Kitchen and Food
  55. 55) Speaking
  56. 56) Subjunctive
  57. 57) Compound Future
  58. 58) Prefixed Verbs of Motion
  59. 59) Arts & Entertainment
  60. 60) Together
  61. 61) Numbers 2
  62. 62) Adjectives 3
  63. 63) Plans
  64. 64) Prepositions 2
  65. 65) The Same
  66. 66) Fleeting Vowels
  67. 67) Measure
  68. 68) Business
  69. 69) Morphology
  70. 70) History & Fantasy
  71. 71) Participles
  72. 72) Computers & Internet
  73. 73) Adverbial Participles
  74. 74) Science
  75. 75) Politics
  76. 76) Spiritual
  77. 77) Some Spoken Patterns
  78. 78) Nothing Left
  79. 79) Crime and Justice