section, but also in the comparative and superlative degrees.
1. The comparative degree of the adjective may be expressed in two ways.
a. Suffixation. The suffix -ее (and -е in certain adjectives) is added to the adjectival stem. This form is invariable. For the adjective сложный, 'complex,' the comparative form is сложнее, 'more complex,' while the comparative of большой, 'large,' is больше, 'larger.'
b. Use of the words более, 'more,' and менее, 'less.' These words are used in conjunction with the positive adjective in either its long or short form, depending upon its use in the sentence. Более and менее are not inflected, but the long-form adjective used is declined.
более ранняя теорема Белинского > an earlier theorem of Belinskii
в более узком смысле > in a narrower sense
2. The comparative conjunction (English 'than') in Russian is the word чем. However, a comparison may be expressed without the word чем by declining the second item into the genitive case.
Неравенство (11) слабее чем неравенство (12). > The inequality (11) is weaker than the inequality (12).
3. The superlative degree may be expressed in several ways, some used more frequently than others.
a. Use of the word самый followed by the adjective. Both the adjective and the word самый, which is also an adjective, are declined,
самый сложный > most complex
самой интересной теоремы > of the most interesting theorem
b. Suffixation. The suffix -ейш, -айш is added to the adjectival stem, and the adjectival endings are added to the resultant form.
новый, новейший > new, newest
важный, важнейший > important, most important
высокий, высочайший > high, highest 4
While a common translation of this form is 'the most complex theorem,' the use of this form generally indicates a high, although not superlative, degree of the adjective, such as 'a most complex theorem.'
c. Use of the prefix наи-. This occurs infrequently.
наисильнейший > strongest
d. Use of the word наиболее instead of самый. Although far less common in usage than самый, наиболее may precede the adjective and is indeclinable.
наиболее интересный > most interesting
e. Use of the word всех in the predicate. The comparative form (that form of the adjective ending in -ее) plus the genitive plural of весь (all) may be used to express the superlative degree of an adjective.
сложнее всех > (the) most complex one (of all)
| C. Formation of Adjectives from Proper Names |
Adjectives may be formed from proper names by adding the following suffixes: -овский, -овый, or -овой. For instance, the adjective corresponding to the name Эйнштейн is either Эйнштейновский or Эйнштейновый (Einsteinian). However, as adjectives these words may also appear in a short form; the adjective Евклидовый (Euclidean) may be rendered as Евклидов. Such adjectives are usually listed in the dictionary in the more modern short form. Unlike other short-form adjectives, this type does decline and is used nonpredicatively. The declension is given in the Appendix.
Footnotes
| 1. | Notice the absence of the verb 'to be' in the present tense. In the past and the future tenses of the verb 'to be,' the long-form predicate adjective may appear in either the instrumental or the nominative case: лекция были интересной, лекция была интересна. ^ |
| 2. | As in the nominal case endings, a masculine short-form adjective which apparently ends in a consonant, such as нов, actually expresses the vocalic zero-ending (- Ш). ^ |
| 3. | Note that in the masculine adjective declension, those adjectives which have stress on the stem have the ending -ый in the nominative singular, while those which have ending stress have the ending -ой. ^ |
| 4. | Note the consonant changes in the stem; this is consistent with the following common consonant alternations: г, д — ж; x — ш; ст — щ; т, к — ч. ^ |
| The Pronoun |
The various pronouns in Russian, like the nouns and adjectives, are declined. The use of each type of pronoun is described below, while complete paradigms of the pronouns are found in the Appendix.
| A. The Personal Pronoun |
The Russian personal pronouns correspond to the English 'I,' 'you,' 'he,' 'she,' 'it,' etc. However, unlike English, and like French, Russian expresses the difference between the 'formal you' and the 'informal you.' That is, the second-person singular form ты is used in familiar circumstances, while
