How not to do Russian. Independent study of the Russian language

A truly literate person knows the rules of the language and knows how to apply them, and does not simply rely on intuition. This skill comes through focused study of grammar. shares a detailed guide on how to remember and apply the rules of the Russian language.

How to learn a rule and learn to apply it

Read carefully

Things won't progress if you study while listening to music or with the TV on. Sit in a comfortable place and concentrate on your textbook. Read the rule carefully, paying attention to the highlighted words, examples and diagrams. If the essence of what was written did not fit into your head right away, read the text again.

Think about it

Don’t cram, but try to understand the essence of the rule. Say each point to yourself. Unclear words and formulations can be found in the dictionary. It is also worth retelling the rule in your own words. Look carefully at the examples. They show the effect of the rule in practice.

Remember

When you think about the rule, you run . All that remains is to keep the information in your head. Retelling it out loud will help with this. Memorization is hard - . Learn to reproduce the theme at home, and you can easily repeat it at the board or to yourself when you encounter a spelling problem in the text or a problem with punctuation.

Put it into practice

The ability to write correctly can only be brought to automaticity through practice.After thoughtfully completing the exercises, you will no longer have to pronounce the rule every time. To keep it from fading, periodically return to theory and assignments on this topic.

What else will help you better understand and remember the rules?

Mnemonics

Places in the rules where you need to remember a lot of exception words are quickly stored in memory using mnemonic phrases (a way of remembering information using associations). One of these: “I healed the wound and climbed a tree.” This line helps to distinguish between words that sound the same in spoken speech. You will find ready-made associations in the book. E. A. Lisovskaya "".

Charts and tables

To collect a large rule into one picture, use diagrams or tables. Also look for infographics inAdukar's public page on the Russian language.

It’s also good to learn a language from videos. You will find videos according to all the rules that will be useful on the CT in our service.

Understanding word structure

To apply the rules correctly, you need to see the structure of the word.It is important to understand that the root or suffix contains the spelling. The easiest way to parse a lexeme into morphemes is to select words with the same root.

Definition of part of speech

The spelling often depends on the part of speech to which the word belongs. Learn to clearly distinguish an adverb from a noun with a preposition or an infinitive fromverb in the imperative mood.

Syntactic skills

To use punctuation marks correctly, learn to understand the composition of a sentence and highlight its parts. A correctly constructed scheme of a non-union sentence will save you from punctuation errors.

If a student is able to parse a sentence completely, this will help him when putting punctuation marks. The diagram will be useful for proposals with different types of communication. You also need to pay attention to the presence of phrases (participial, adverbial), interjections, and addresses.

Svetlana Pashukevich, Russian language teacher

Reading books

Reading directly. The more times you see a word, the more likely you are to spell it correctly. Even commas will fall into place intuitively if you have seen similar constructions in the text more than once.

By following these tips each time, it will become easier for you to remember the rules. The effort is worth it. In return, you get a high score on the CT, time saved on correcting errors in important texts, respect from others and self-esteem.

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The Russian language, as well as speech culture, are one of the main subjects in school curricula. However, knowledge is not always acquired by students properly, and even more often it is simply lost over the subsequent years of life. Meanwhile, knowing the Russian language and being able to not only express yourself correctly, but also write correctly is very important. It’s funny and sad when you hear TV presenters or politicians talking about some kind of nonsense, pronouncing words completely incorrectly, or when you read seemingly serious and useful articles in newspapers, magazines or the Internet, but you see that the words in them are written haphazardly , for example, instead of “obvious” they write “on the face”, instead of “to mom” they write “to mom”, instead of “bad weather” they write “bad weather”, etc. But, in fact, it doesn’t matter what goals and objectives you set for yourself, you need to know the Russian language, if only for the simple reason that by doing so you express respect for your native speech and culture, show respect for yourself and the people around you .

And today we will talk about how an adult can do this. But before describing the ten ways we have prepared for you to close knowledge gaps, we would like to point out one extremely important point.

In fact, improving your literacy is quite simple, but you should understand that you won’t be able to do this in a week or two. At best, this process can take you several months, or even years. Therefore, having decided that you really want to properly master your native language, make sure that books such as a grammar reference book and a dictionary of the Russian language become your faithful companions. It is not necessary, of course, to always have them with you (although you can download them to your tablet, laptop or smartphone), but you should definitely make them your desktop aids.

And if suddenly in some situation you experience difficulty, for example, you are not sure exactly how to spell a word or what it means, do not neglect to use a dictionary. Likewise, when you learn a new term, take a moment to find out its exact definition. By doing this, you will always improve your literacy and expand your vocabulary.

So, if you're ready, here are ways to close your Russian language literacy gaps.

10 Ways to Close Literacy Gaps

Each of the presented methods is interesting in its own way. You can use them either individually or in combination. By the way, if you give preference to the second option, your successes will be more impressive, and the process itself will go much faster.

Method one - read

Reading is perhaps the best and surest way to improve literacy in the Russian language. But taking into account the fact that many people are accustomed to being intellectually lazy, they receive most of their information by listening to the radio, watching news, topical programs, movies, etc. This, of course, is good, but unfortunately, it does not make it more intelligent (in the literal sense of the word). Reading will help you increase your knowledge of your native language and improve your spelling.

The fact is that books contain an incredible number of words. And while reading, a person receives several advantages at once: firstly, his vocabulary expands, secondly, the skill of combining and combining lexical units develops, and thirdly, when reading, the brain visually records the correct spelling of various terms and concepts, thanks to which reduces the number of spelling errors in a letter (by the way, if you read ours, you can pass a short spelling test). And another significant advantage of reading is broadening your horizons.

The second way is to write

Although reading lessons (sessions) are extremely useful, spelling specifically can be improved by writing more. Spend at least 30 minutes every day on this, and very soon you will notice that you have gained confidence when writing various words. In addition, this allows you to study all sorts of subtleties of punctuation. But, of course, this method will only work if you always check what you write (the correct spelling of words and punctuation marks).

If you are concerned about the question of what exactly to write, then absolutely everything will do here. You can write a short story from your life, describe your day, or briefly summarize the content of your favorite movie. Keeping a journal is also helpful. By the way, if for some reason you don’t want to write with a pen on paper, use a text editor on your computer. If you wish, you can even set the goal of starting your own blog on the Internet on an interesting topic (and if you like it, over time you can make this one of your sources of income, or even your main one).

Method three - check and eliminate doubts

Good ways to learn Russian are not only reading and writing, but also constantly testing yourself and clearing your doubts. You are probably familiar with the situation when you write something or even just talk about something, and you have doubts that you wrote or pronounced it correctly (this also includes the question of the semantic correctness of the use of terms and concepts).

So: such situations should not be considered something out of the ordinary; everyone faces them. But the question is what will you do about it. We recommend that you spare no time and devote it to finding answers and eliminating doubts. Look online or open a dictionary to make sure you haven't made a mistake. By the way, it is precisely such cases that allow you to remember information best, because even a slight uncertainty about something is always microstress, accompanied by an emotional reaction. And, as you know, what evokes emotions in a person is remembered for a long time. Thus, by eliminating doubts, you will internalize the lessons learned for life.

Method four - use online services

Today, almost every person has access to the Internet, and if ten years ago it could be called a curiosity, now having a tablet, smartphone or laptop at hand has become as natural as brushing your teeth in the morning. In addition, access points to the World Wide Web are now available in many public places and institutions.

Firstly, you can find specialized Russian language courses on the Internet. These include 4brain, as well as materials from such platforms as “Universarium”, “Intuit”, “Lectorium”, “PostNauka”, “Lectorium” and others (you can read more about them). And secondly, there are many “lightweight” services where it is possible, for example, to simply enter a word and find out its spelling or meaning. Also, such resources often offer checking for grammar, punctuation, etc.

Therefore, when any difficulties arise, feel free to contact sites such as gramota.ru, therules.ru, online.orfo.ru, text.ru, languagetool.org and others. These, of course, are not Russian language lessons, but they are still good ways to study.

Method five – install the “Word of the Day” application

The Word of the Day application is a very simple and at the same time effective tool for expanding your vocabulary. By the way, Igor Mann wrote about him very well in his book “”. The application is completely easy to install on your computer or gadget - here it is.

Once you install it, your vocabulary will increase by one word every day. Some might say that there is nothing special about this, but that would be wrong. The fact is that every day we all communicate, using for the most part only words we know, and we learn new ones only by accident. Therefore, “Word of the Day” will be a good alternative to these “accidents”.

And if you carry out simple mathematical calculations, then in a year you will learn 365 new words, in two years - 730, in five years - 1825, etc. Agree, not a bad result? Thus, after even one month you will notice that your speech has become richer and your writing style has become more perfect. Plus, looking at a word that appears on the screen, even one you know well, you will remember its spelling.

Method six - learn the rules

If Russian language lessons are a stage you have already completed, and, for example, a tutor is irrelevant for some reason, but you need to improve your literacy, learn the rules yourself. Ideally, this method involves learning one rule every day. But if you take into account the fact that, most likely, you have a job, hobbies, family matters and everything else, and the rules need to be not only memorized, but also learned, you can devote two or three days to studying one thing.

You can, for example, learn today, practice a little, and tomorrow repeat the rule and practice again. And the day after tomorrow - perform several exercises without repeating the rule.

If such methods of learning the rules of the Russian language become an integral part of your life, over time you will master this subject to perfection. And if you have nowhere to rush, do it calmly, because even a slow walker will reach his goal while crowds of onlookers stand and watch. And you can learn and study these same rules using the same textbooks, collections of rules and online services.

Method seven – reread and edit

This method is very suitable for those who for some reason are forced or simply like to communicate with friends, family, colleagues or partners through special programs like Skype, ICQ, QIP, Viber, WhatsUp or even on social networks like VKontakte and Odnoklassniki " It sounds somewhat unusual, but even from such communication you can benefit from improving your literacy.

While most people prefer to express themselves using “pasibka”, “mne lira”, “sps”, “priva” and “dosvidos”, we advise you to approach the process of online communication consciously. Just write competent and correct messages. As soon as you have written something, do not rush to press Enter, but re-read what you have written, correct errors, add the appropriate punctuation marks and only then send.

It may take you a little more time, but you will learn to write correctly. And if you dig a little deeper, the newfangled abbreviations so beloved by many simply worsen the culture of speech, reduce brain activity, and have a detrimental effect on attentiveness, concentration and the development of thinking in general.

Method eight – study with a tutor

Tutoring is one of the best ways to improve literacy in any subject, including the Russian language. A competent tutor always uses an individual approach to teaching, taking into account the characteristics of his student and his existing knowledge and skills. If something is not clear, he will explain it clearly, help eliminate gaps and deal with difficulties. Among other things, a professional specialist can significantly speed up the educational process.

Note that you can hire a tutor at any age, and there is nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, if a tutor helps you, it means that you are interested in receiving new information, correcting mistakes, and, ultimately, your education. For this reason, if you do not want to engage in self-study, feel free to hire a personal teacher and study with him.

But still, we note that such classes can hit your pocket, because the services of qualified teachers are not cheap. And if you work with unqualified specialists, it may end up wasting money. However, if the issue of costs does not bother you much, finding a professional will not be difficult.

Method nine – Russian language course from 4BRAIN

Separately about our Russian language course. If we consider different ways of studying the subject, it ranks far from the last or even ninth (as in this article) place among them. It was compiled professionally - the best teaching materials and the experience of our colleagues were used in its creation. And we approached its preparation with all seriousness and the desire to create truly useful, concentrated material.

The course includes trial testing, which allows you to identify problem areas in your knowledge of the Russian language, an individual training schedule that allows you to optimally distribute time and workload, many daily short lessons and various methods of intermediate control of mastering the material. In total, the program allows you to improve your Russian language quite well in just three weeks.

The Russian language course from 4BRAIN is designed for people aged 10-12 years old who are familiar with the basic rules, but are experiencing certain difficulties. To learn more about the course and get more information, go to. We will be happy to offer you a comprehensive and adaptive training program.

Method ten - other options

In conclusion, let's say a few words about other options for eliminating problems with the Russian language. Among them are such ways of studying and testing knowledge as solving crosswords and scanwords - this allows you not only to learn new words, but also to remember their spelling. This also includes all kinds of tests, rebuses, puzzles and anagrams that develop cognitive and intellectual abilities.

And if you want to combine business with pleasure, you need to watch more documentaries, speeches by speakers and public people. This way you can learn to speak correctly, learn new words and notice the mistakes that others make.

Remember that it doesn’t matter which ways of learning Russian you like best: a tutor and private lessons, online classes, reading or anything else, the most important thing is to work on yourself and strive to improve your results. We wish you success and unwavering motivation in this endeavor!

An important part of your image is competent speech. It makes up a quarter of the overall impression of a person. The first thing that immediately catches your eye is the correctness and beauty of your speech, then your voice and diction are etched in your memory.

Even if your circle of friends is very limited, knowledge of how to make your speech correct will save you in any situation. You will attract more attention, be remembered faster, and your opinion will be listened to. You will become popular in the work team; competent speech will help you win the attention of your superiors and the team, and move up the career ladder. This will be a wonderful help at any performances and just in your personal life. You will become a wonderful conversationalist with whom it is pleasant to spend time.

Correct, proper speech will give you the image of an intelligent and educated person. Learn to master your speech, everything is in your hands!

Video lessons

One day I was talking with the mother of one of our graduates. She said: “Yes, of course, he began to read to himself faster. But he continues to read aloud just as poorly as before the training.” I was surprised, “why is reading aloud so important for a 13-year-old guy?” And then it turned out that he had problems with the Russian language, and his mother asked him to read aloud in order to expand his vocabulary and gain the skill of correct Russian.
Then everything went like a snowball: I learned that many of our students have problems with the Russian language. Moreover, a mother and son come to us from another city to take our training on a daily basis. Because the boy has a C in Russian, and before he lost interest in studying, his mother decided to help him.

Indeed, parents bring children to speed reading school who read poorly, little or inattentively. Adults think that when children start reading, their vocabulary will increase, this will allow the child to learn Russian better.
Is it so?

Imagine that you are putting together puzzles and you don’t have a common picture.
Can you put them together into a single system correctly?
I think you can.
It will just take a lot of time. And it will require enormous work.
Because, most likely, you will have to redo some fragments many times before they come together in the correct order.

So children, when they learn Russian, work according to the same scheme.
Vocabulary, these are the same puzzles.
They have puzzles (words)/
They have a scheme of small fragments (rules that they go through sequentially in each lesson) /
But there is no general picture, no general structure of rules that they must use in order to write correctly, to express their thoughts correctly.

Let's break down into components what a child should know and be able to use when he writes.

Firstly, the child really must know the words that serve as the “building blocks” of his work. Have a so-called “vocabulary”.
“William Shakespeare’s vocabulary, according to researchers, is 12,000 words. The vocabulary of a black man from the cannibal tribe “Mumbo-Yumbo” is 300 words. Ellochka Shchukina easily and freely made do with thirty...”

Secondly, the child must understand that words consist of sounds, letters, and syllables. He must be able to place stress correctly and use correct intonation.
The child must also know that the word itself, as the basic unit of language, has a LEXICAL MEANING. This means that it can, for example, be used both literally and figuratively...

Third, the child must know the rules of formation and spelling of the word itself - the rules of ORPHOGRAPHY (rules of writing) and MORPHEMICS (rules of composing a word) in order to correctly use words in different variations in his work and write words without errors.

Fourthly, the child must understand that there are different versions of the same word, so-called LEXICAL UNITS (synonyms, homonyms,...). He must be able to use all this in order to more accurately convey his thoughts and make his work understandable and interesting.

Fifthly, the child must know what parts of speech are, understand the principles of combining parts of speech. Those. know the rules of MORPHOLOGY in order to construct correct sentences in which the words are consistent with each other.

At sixth, the child must understand the rules for constructing SYNTACTIC UNITS (phrases and sentences). Sentences can be simple, complex, complex, sentences can convey someone else's speech. Each type of sentence must be written according to the rules of SYNTAX.

Seventh, The child must be able to correctly place punctuation marks in his work. Know the rules of PUNCTUATION.

Remember the phrase “execution cannot be pardoned”?
How just one punctuation mark changes the outcome of what is happening!

Eighth, the child must understand that there are different forms of language, for example LITERARY LANGUAGE, NON-LITERARY FORMS, LANGUAGE OF FICTION and be able to use exactly the vocabulary that matches the style in which he creates his work.

For example, a literary language contains styles:

• Official business
• Journalistic
• Scientific
• Colloquial speech

• Common speech
• Obscene words and expressions
• Territorial dialects
• Social dialects

But there are a lot of guys who "porridge" in the head from the rules that they learned, and they just can’t understand how to use all this in practice to get good grades in the Russian language.

How can you help these children?

The most obvious answer is to contact a tutor.

The problem is that not every tutor knows how to structure information and convey this structure to the child.
Most often, they simply go into a little more detail about the material that children study at school and help them do their homework.
In this article I will not discuss what harm such tutors cause to a child.
I plan to write a separate article on the topic “How not to waste money on repeaters”
The point is that there are tutors who can help a child identify the basic system of knowledge in a subject, learn to independently replenish this system of knowledge and test himself.
But these are very expensive specialists and, most importantly, it is very difficult to get to them.

Russian is one of the most difficult languages. Those who learn it as a foreign language are looking for clues: what words you can fall in love with in Russian, what cannot be found in analogues in your native language, the meaning of which words are easy to guess. They navigate as best they can in the wonderful world of the Cyrillic alphabet, conjugations and cases. We unearthed the strangest and most interesting life hacks of those for whom Russian is not their native language.

Just add "-ova"

When you're tired and have forgotten all your vocabulary, just add "-ova" to the end of any English verb "and pray to the gods of cross-cultural communication," as he writes 29 Things You Will Only Understand If You Studied BuzzFeed journalist Susie Armytage, who studied Russian.

If “start” is a real word, then the possibilities are endless.

Susie Armytage, BuzzFeed journalist

"Y" is like the sound of a blow to the stomach

Some sounds are especially difficult for foreigners. The French, for example, learn to pronounce “x” from scratch. There is no such sound in their language, and instead of the familiar words we get “kleb”, “cow breeder” and “kalva”. Everyone has a hard time with “s”. “Imagine that you have just been kicked in the stomach, then you will get the perfect Russian ‘y’,” the professor taught the American Armytage.

“Y! Y! Y! Y! Y! Y! Y! Y! Y! Y!” - you howl like a bunch of drunken sea lions.

Susie Armytage

Three friends that will drive you crazy: "ch", "sh" and "sh"

"For what?" and “For what?” - These are the questions asked by people who are getting acquainted with Russian consonants for the first time. It's easy to confuse "sh", "sch" and "ch" when the sounds are new to you, and as a result, native speakers do not understand you at all. You need the Shukhovskaya tower, I asked for directions, as best I could, I arrived at the Shchukinskaya station. This is the norm.

What do you mean? Open the box? Ah, "box".

Susie Armytage

Cases teach humility

Everyone who learns Russian goes through levels of humility. It looks like this: first you teach, then you teach some more, then you learn a little more, you start to feel confident, and then you make mistakes in the cases. The only way to stay calm and carry on is to learn humility.

Six synonyms for to go

A challenging challenge for an international student is to write a short story about a walk around the city. In order to tell it, you will have to use six different verbs instead of the native one to go: “go”, “go”, “go out”, “go around”, “cross” and “enter”. To indicate the scale of the tragedy, let us recall that in Russian the glass is on the table, but the fork is lying.

Armytage says that written texts in Russian have a special status for a foreigner. Firstly, no matter how hard you try to write beautifully, it will turn out like a third grader. Secondly, you still won’t be able to read texts handwritten by native speakers for quite some time. Third, you will likely become much worse at handwriting in your native language. A vicious circle.

Polite phrases seem rude to Russians

It seems strange to native English speakers that their usual way of asking for something is, for example, to place an order in a cafe ( I would like a cup of coffee, please. - “I would like a cup of coffee, please.”), seems rude to native Russian speakers, as if the person is putting on airs.

Instead of “Could you pass me the salt, please,” foreigners learn to say with imperative moods: “Please pass me the salt.” Russians learning English suffer from being considered rude by native speakers.

The harmless “Please pass me the salt” in English sounds like an ultimatum: “Pass me the salt, please.”

“Piss” and “write” - a trap for a beginner

The sphere of the Russian language for a foreigner is a breeding ground for awkward situations. Due to the consonance of the words “circumcision” and “education”, the bizarre change of emphasis in the word “write” depending on the meaning, many newcomers find themselves smiling when talking with Russians. Of course, you can understand what is meant, but it’s difficult to resist laughing.

If you want to be understood, pronounce English words with an accent

Western brands, penetrating the Russian market, begin a new linguistic life. The most striking example is Nike. For decades we bought Nike sneakers, while everyone in the US, UK and other countries called the company Nike. It is curious that in Russian-dubbed films, translators still leaned towards the folk version.

To order Sprite or Long Island in a Russian bar, Armytage writes, you must name the drinks with a harsh Russian accent, otherwise they won’t understand. Well, or just point your finger, it often makes life much easier. It is also difficult for many English speakers to realize that all their lives they have been incorrectly calling the main one from Russia and saying “vadka”.

Take care of others - call yourself in Russian

“If you say your name the way you are used to doing it, people in Russia will not understand you or will still say it incorrectly,” complains Susie Armytage. It's especially hard, she notes, for people with names like Seth or Ruth. Ruth? Rude? What?! Which is correct?!

“Yacht Club”, “copier” and “body shaming” as a big greeting from home

In the Russian language there are many borrowings from English and simply similar words: we really start, finish, flirt and invest. There are especially many such words that have come into use recently: “post”, “google”, do “research”. Therefore, when a student studying Russian, after cramming cases and stresses, comes across this, his soul becomes a little calmer.

“White Hand” and “lawlessness”: words and their unique meanings

Many concepts familiar to us seem strange to foreigners, although accurate. They cannot find synonyms for them in their own language. Business Insider leads 9 Incredibly Useful Russian Words With No English Equivalent a few of these words: “melancholy”, “vulgarity”, “being”, “lawlessness”, “why”, “sushnyak”, “white hand”.

“Slippers” as a reason to fall in love with the Russian language

Many people find new words touching when they start learning Russian. Some people find the “front garden” charming instead garden, for some - the “pillow” that is under the ear, and the “eye gauge”. Katherine Sperling for the foreign language magazine Babbel told 8 Russian Words We Should Be Using In English about which of them sank into her soul.

In first place are “slippers.” Against the background of the English version house slippers our word contains something more.

The very sound “top-top-top” that is heard when you walk is even in their name and refers to the verb “to stomp”. That's why the word "slippers" has crept into my speech when I speak English or German.

Katherine Sperling, studying Russian

Following the “slippers” is the “hedgehog”. In English these animals are strictly called: “hedgehogs” ( hedgehogs). There is no diminutive form for them; the word is often added for this purpose little, and it turns out cuter: “little hedgehog.” But, says Sperling, the affectionate “hedgehog” perfectly reflects the appearance of the animal.

The multifaceted word "so"

“So” has a special magic - an adverb, conjunction, particle and introductory word rolled into one. Sperling notes that the short “so” contains many tones. If you need a minute to think, say “so.” If you want to seem formidable, say “so.” Do you want to draw attention to the problem? "So"!

“So” I learned from my husband’s grandmother. I still don’t speak Russian fluently enough, so our communication often goes downhill. When we both decide to give up, she says “so,” which means: “Everything is fine, at least we both agree that there is no use in trying to explain further.” When we understand each other, she also says “that way,” that is, “Yeah, great.” A word for all occasions, that's why I like it.

Katherine Sperling

No, probably not

Besides the fact that the passage itself from “no, probably” can drive a meticulous person crazy, a foreigner needs to cope with it. But those who, studying Russian, take its tricks into their arsenal and begin to use them themselves, get special pleasure. A foreigner who has learned to say “no, I guess” appropriately is already almost a native speaker.

What surprises you about the Russian language? Share in the comments.

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