Reference book on the Russian language. Genus of indeclinable nouns, indeclinable geographical names. Genus of abbreviations Ges what kind

Grammatical difficulties are associated with the definition of the gender of initial abbreviations.

The gender of the letter initial abbreviation (read by the names of the letters) depends on the key word in the decoding of the abbreviation: Moscow State University (university) accepted new students; ECtHR (court) has spoken; CIS (commonwealth) took the initiative; The ROC (church) called for an end to the bloodshed.

The gender of a sound initial abbreviation (read “by syllables”) depends not only on the gender of the reference word, but also on the external phonetic appearance of the abbreviation, more precisely, on its ending. So, if the abbreviation ends in a consonant, then it can agree on the masculine gender, despite the fact that the reference word belongs to the feminine or neuter gender. Moreover, in some cases, agreement on the masculine gender is the only possible one. For example, only the masculine gender of the word university (although an institution), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (although the ministry), the registry office (although a record). In some cases, fluctuations are observed: for example, MKAD is masculine in colloquial speech, feminine in stylistically neutral contexts. In some cases, agreement on the masculine gender is impossible: HPP, CHP are only feminine nouns. The generic affiliation of such abbreviations should be consulted in dictionaries.

The genus of a foreign language abbreviation is determined by the key word in Russian decoding: FIFA (federation) has made a decision; CERN (center) conducted research. However, in some cases, the external phonetic appearance of the word can influence the generic affiliation. For example, the abbreviation NATO is used as a masculine noun (as a result of the combination with the words alliance, bloc, treaty), feminine (according to the key word organization) and neuter (according to phonetic appearance, compare with other words on -O: coat, subway, cinema). The abbreviation UNESCO experiences fluctuations in gender (the phonetic appearance suggests the neuter gender, and the reference word organization is feminine).

indeclinable names Nouns are classified by gender as follows:

The masculine gender includes: 1) the names of males (dandy, maestro, porter); 2) names of animals and birds (chimpanzee, cockatoo, hummingbird, kangaroo, pony, flamingo); 3) the words coffee, penalties, etc.

The feminine gender includes the names of females (Miss, Frau, Lady).

The middle gender includes the names of inanimate objects (coats, mufflers, necklines, depots, metro).

Indeclinable nouns of foreign origin denoting animals and birds are usually masculine (flamingos, kangaroos, cockatoos, chimpanzees, ponies).

If, according to the conditions of the context, it is required to indicate the female of the animal, the agreement is carried out according to the feminine gender. The nouns kangaroo, chimpanzee, pony are combined with the past tense verb in the feminine form. For example: Kangaroo carried a kangaroo in a bag. The chimpanzee, apparently a female, was feeding the cub a banana. The mother pony was standing in a stall with a small foal.

The noun tsetse is an exception. Its gender is determined by the gender of the word fly (feminine). For example: Tsetse bit a tourist.

If it is difficult to determine the gender of an indeclinable noun, it is advisable to refer to a spelling dictionary. For example: haiku (Japanese three-line) - cf., takku (Japanese five-line) - f.r., su (coin) - cf., flamenco (dance) - cf., taboo (prohibition) - cf. .R. Some indeclinable nouns are fixed only in dictionaries of new words. For example: sushi (Japanese dish) - cf., taro (cards) - pl. (genus not defined).

The gender of indeclinable foreign place names, as well as the names of newspapers and magazines, is determined by the generic common word, for example: Po (river), Bordeaux (city), Mississippi (river), Erie (lake), Congo (river), Ontario (lake), "Humanite" (newspaper).

Many nouns in Russian denoting a profession or position, are used only in the masculine form, even when referring to a woman. For example, we say: Ivan Petrovich is a talented doctor. Anna Petrovna is a talented doctor.

This is due to the fact that for a long time many professions and positions were "male": doctor, surgeon, architect, director, engineer, dean, professor, etc. Such words are used with masculine adjectives and feminine verbs (past tense).

For example:

1. My mother is a good engineer. We use the adjective "good" in the masculine form.

2. Professor Rodionova spoke at the conference. We use the verb "acted" in the feminine form.

3. Vera Ivanovna became a famous architect. We use the feminine form of the verb "became". We use the adjective "famous" and the noun "architect" in the masculine form (active case).

To denote some professions, special suffixes are used that indicate that we are talking about a woman:

writer - writer

teacher - teacher

student - student

artist - artist

Such words can be used in colloquial speech. But in an official setting and in documents, a woman's profession is always indicated in the masculine gender: a teacher, not a teacher.

Sometimes the suffixes -sh- and -ih- are used to indicate the profession of a woman, for example: director - director, doctor - doctor. They give the word a connotation of disdain.

There are professions where only the feminine form is used, for example: nanny, ballerina. Historically, these professions were only for women. Descriptive expressions should be used to refer to male specialists: a person who cares for small children or the sick; ballet dancer.

Number category. Nouns singularia tantum, pluralia tantum. The use of the singular form of specific nouns (generalized, collective, distributive). Using the plural form of specific nouns. Using the plural form of nouns singularia tantum.

The category of the number of a noun is an expression of the opposition of one object or phenomenon to a separate set of the same objects or phenomena: house - houses, song - songs, window - windows. All nouns are either singular (one item) or plural (several of the same items). Most nouns in modern Russian change by number. Nouns that have singular and plural forms, as a rule, name real objects (events, facts) that are subject to counting, and belong to the lexical and grammatical category of specific nouns. Nouns denoting objects, concepts and phenomena that do not have the opposition one - several, do not change in numbers, but have the form of only one number - singular or plural. Words that have the form of only one number include collective, real, abstract nouns and a small group of concrete nouns. The paradigm of such nouns is incomplete.

The main way of expressing the grammatical meaning of a number is the ending. In addition, the value of a number can be expressed:

a) using the suffix -ј- (brother - brother-ј-a, ear - ear-ј-a),

b) replacement of the suffix (kitten - kittens),

c) a change in the place of stress (hand - hands, century - century),

d) alternation of sounds (friend - friends),

e) in a suppletive way (child - children).

In modern language, plural forms of the nominative case may have the endings -ы (-и) (more productive way) or -а (я) (less productive way). Ending options are fixed by the norm.

Some homonymous words have different endings in the nominative plural depending on the meaning: tones (musical) - tones (color), flowers (plants) - colors (colors), orders (knightly, monastic) - orders (awards, insignia ).

Nouns used in the form of only one number

(singularia tantum and pluralia tantum)

Nouns that are used only in the singular form -singulariatantum (s.t.), denote objects, concepts that cannot be counted, they include:

1. Real nouns: aspirin, iron, skin, milk, mercury.

2. Collective: nouns youth, midges, periodicals, raw materials.

3. Abstract (abstract) nouns: lack of spirituality, volleyball, grief, yellowness.

4. Proper names: geographical names: Yenisei, Grodno, Mont Blanc; astronomical names: Werner, Mars, etc.

5. Names of works of art: "Overcoat", "War and Peace".

Nouns that are used only in the plural form - pluraliatantum (pl.t.) are represented by the following groups of words:

1. Real nouns: yeast, sawdust, cream.

2. Collective nouns: money, jungle, manufactured goods.

3. Abstract (abstract) nouns denoting complex or multiple actions, processes in which several people take part: running, elections, negotiations; states of nature: frosts, twilight.

4. Proper names: Alps, Vasyuki, Zhiguli.

Specific nouns (small group), words, such as: sleigh, trousers, hide and seek, etc.

Nouns that change in numbers in the singular form, in addition to their main meaning - an indication of a given separate object, a separate phenomenon, - can also have other meanings: 1) generalized; 2) collective; 3) distribution.

1. Generalized value. In this case, the noun does not refer to a single object, but denotes a whole range of objects that have common characteristic properties, i.e. denotes a class of homogeneous objects: "To err is human", "Man is above satiety" (M.G.); "The competence of a publicist is not only knowledge of certain areas of the economy, but also the ability to consider things broadly, to evaluate them from a national standpoint"*. The word here appears in its generalizing or conceptual function. This meaning appears in singular nouns in those contexts where there is no indication of the place, time, specific circumstances of the existence of this phenomenon.

Most often, singular nouns with the meaning of generalization are used in scientific and popular science styles of speech, in such contexts where the general properties characteristic of a whole class of objects are determined: a language that can express all kinds of, sometimes quite subtle shades of good and bad moods. The language of an elephant is made up of movements of the head, trunk, ears ... "*; "The characteristics of an oral presentation are primarily due to the volume and structure of sentences in sounding speech. It is believed that short and uncomplicated sentences are preferable for oral presentation, which are most easily perceived by ear"

In the examples given, the nouns elephant, performance do not denote a single object, but all objects of a given class. And the statement itself is a characteristic of each of the objects included in this class.

The use of nouns in a generalized sense is also widespread in the newspaper-journalistic style of speech: "A bureaucrat is such an individual of performers who, being "on duty", do not perform elementary things" (Lit. Gaz. 1984. Nov. 28); "The gardener knows when to spray the trees with pesticides, when to loosen the root soil, when to harvest. He just does not know anything about the future fate of the fruits that he has grown with such difficulty" (Lit. Gaz. 1984. Nov. 21).

2. Collective meaning. Nouns in the singular form can replace the plural form, used to refer to a variety of objects, persons, phenomena associated with specific situations: "Stores are waiting for a buyer", "Mass newspaper reader". In this case, the singular form acquires a collective meaning. Compared with the synonymous form of the plural, the "collective" singular emphasizes that a given set of objects is presented as a single whole, as a collection.

In the collective meaning, there are nouns that name a person in the names that have become stable: Teacher's Day, Geologist's Day, Fisherman's House, Mother and Child Room.

The nouns of some other thematic groups can also act in a collective sense: "Our factory has been producing hand sewing needles and fishhooks for more than fifty years" *; "Products of the workshop - polyvinyl chloride tiles for flooring"; soft toy section; "Toy House" Such cases are typical mainly for professional speech, therefore, in a newspaper, their use is natural, first of all, in those contexts that are related to the professional sphere or reflect the professional characteristics of the speech of the characters.

Often different meanings of the singular form of a noun (an indication of a separate object, a generalized or collective meaning) are expressed simultaneously in a word. This phenomenon is most widespread in agitation and propaganda texts. Very often he used the singular form in a similar way, while working in the "Windows of GROWTH", V. Mayakovsky. For example: "Proletarian of the countryside, stretch out your hand to the proletarian of the city! Give the city everything that the villages are rich in, and the city will carry everything that is rich with it to the village huts!"; "And you do not be long in work, fulfill, miner, your duty to the workers!"; "Peasant, to work out seeders and plows for you, factories need coal, but workers need it!" Here the forms of the proletarian of the countryside, the proletarian of the city, the miner, the peasant, "collectively denoting this or that social group ... at the same time indicate any individual representative of this group. In other words, they act as two-dimensional. This makes them especially expressive: they are effective, effective"*.

3. Distributive(or distributive) value. The singular noun is sometimes used instead of the plural to refer to several objects, each of which belongs to one of the many persons: "The old people put glasses on their noses", "The attendees turned their heads towards the door." The use of nouns in a distributive sense is important for distinguishing meaning in the case when it is necessary to emphasize that we are talking about only one object, a property inherent in each of a given group of persons (cf. At the coach's command, everyone leaned to the side" - "At the coach's command, everyone leaned to the side").

Changing words by case is called declension.

There are three declensions for nouns.

First decline.

The first declension includes feminine nouns with the ending -а (-я) in the nominative singular (country, land), as well as masculine nouns denoting people with the same endings (young man, uncle).

Second decline.

The second declension includes masculine nouns with a zero ending (shore, day), as well as endings -o, -e (house, house) and neuter with endings -o, -e in the nominative singular (word, building ).

Third declension.

The third declension includes feminine nouns with a zero ending in the nominative singular.

1. Independent parts of speech:

nouns (see morphological norms of nouns);
Verbs:
- sacraments;
- gerunds;
adjectives;
numerals;
pronouns;
adverbs;

2. Service parts of speech:

prepositions;
unions;
particles;

3. Interjections.

None of the classifications (according to the morphological system) of the Russian language fall into:

the words yes and no, if they act as an independent sentence.
introductory words: so, by the way, total, as a separate sentence, as well as a number of other words.

Morphological analysis of a noun

the initial form in the nominative case, singular (with the exception of nouns used only in the plural: scissors, etc.);
own or common noun;
animate or inanimate;
gender (m, f, cf.);
number (unit, plural);
declination;
case;
syntactic role in a sentence.

Plan of morphological analysis of a noun

"The baby is drinking milk."

Kid (answers the question who?) - noun;

initial form - baby;
permanent morphological features: animate, common noun, concrete, masculine, 1st declension;
inconstant morphological features: nominative case, singular;
in the syntactic analysis of the sentence, it plays the role of the subject.

Morphological analysis of the word "milk" (answers the question of whom? What?).

initial form - milk;
constant morphological characteristic of the word: neuter, inanimate, real, common noun, 2nd declension;
variable morphological features: accusative, singular;
in a sentence with a direct object.

Here is another example of how to make a morphological analysis of a noun, based on a literary source:

"Two ladies ran up to Luzhin and helped him get up. He began to knock the dust off his coat with his palm. (Example from: Luzhin's Defense, Vladimir Nabokov)."

Ladies (who?) - noun;

the initial form is a lady;
permanent morphological features: common noun, animate, specific, feminine, 1st declension;
fickle morphological noun characteristic: singular, genitive;
syntactic role: part of the subject.

Luzhin (to whom?) - noun;

initial form - Luzhin;
faithful morphological characteristic of the word: proper name, animated, concrete, masculine, mixed declension;
non-permanent morphological features of a noun: singular, dative case;

Palm (what?) - noun;

initial form - palm;
constant morphological features: feminine, inanimate, common noun, concrete, I declension;
unstable morphos. signs: singular, instrumental;
syntactic role in context: complement.

Dust (what?) - noun;

initial form - dust;
main morphological features: common noun, real, feminine, singular, animate not characterized, III declension (noun with zero ending);
fickle morphological word characteristic: accusative;
syntactic role: complement.

the initial form is a coat;
constant correct morphological characteristic of the word: inanimate, common noun, concrete, neuter, indeclinable;
morphological features are unstable: the number cannot be determined from the context, the genitive case;
syntactic role as a member of a sentence: addition.

Morphological analysis of the adjective

The adjective is a significant part of speech. Answers questions What? Which? Which? Which? and characterizes the features or qualities of an object. Table of morphological features of the adjective name:

initial form in the nominative case, singular, masculine;
constant morphological features of adjectives:
- rank, according to the value:
- - - quality (warm, silent);
  - - relative (yesterday, reading);
  - - possessive (hare, mother's);
- degree of comparison (for qualitative, in which this feature is constant);
- full / short form (for quality, in which this feature is permanent);
non-permanent morphological features of the adjective:
- quality adjectives change according to the degree of comparison (in comparative degrees, a simple form, in superlatives - complex): beautiful-beautiful-most beautiful;
- full or short form (only qualitative adjectives);
- genus sign (only in the singular);
- number (consistent with the noun);
- case (consistent with the noun);
syntactic role in the sentence: the adjective is a definition or part of a compound nominal predicate.

Plan of morphological analysis of the adjective

Suggestion example:

The full moon rose over the city.

Full (what?) - adjective;

initial form - complete;
permanent morphological features of the adjective: qualitative, full form;
inconstant morphological characteristic: in a positive (zero) degree of comparison, feminine (consistent with the noun), nominative case;
according to syntactic analysis - a minor member of the sentence, performs the role of a definition.

Here is another whole literary passage and a morphological analysis of the adjective, using examples:

The girl was beautiful: slender, thin, blue eyes, like two amazing sapphires, looked into your soul.

Beautiful (what?) - adjective;

the initial form is beautiful (in this sense);
constant morphological norms: qualitative, short;
non-permanent signs: positive degree of comparison, singular, feminine;

Slender (what?) - adjective;

initial form - slender;
permanent morphological features: qualitative, complete;
inconstant morphological characteristics of the word: full, positive degree of comparison, singular, feminine, nominative;
syntactic role in the sentence: part of the predicate.

Thin (what?) - adjective;

the initial form is thin;
morphological permanent features: qualitative, complete;
inconstant morphological characteristic of the adjective: positive degree of comparison, singular, feminine, nominative;
syntactic role: part of the predicate.

Blue (what?) - adjective;

initial form - blue;
table of constant morphological features of the adjective: qualitative;
inconstant morphological characteristics: full, positive degree of comparison, plural, nominative case;
syntactic role: definition.

Amazing (what?) - adjective;

initial form - amazing;
permanent signs in morphology: relative, expressive;
inconsistent morphological features: plural, genitive;
syntactic role in the sentence: part of the circumstance.

Morphological features of the verb

According to the morphology of the Russian language, the verb is an independent part of speech. It can denote an action (to walk), a property (to limp), an attitude (to equal), a state (to rejoice), a sign (to turn white, show off) of an object. Verbs answer the question what to do? what to do? what is he doing? what have you been doing? or what will it do? Different groups of verbal word forms are characterized by heterogeneous morphological characteristics and grammatical features.

Morphological forms of verbs:

the initial form of the verb is the infinitive. It is also called the indefinite or invariable form of the verb. Variable morphological features are absent;
conjugated (personal and impersonal) forms;
non-conjugated forms: participles and participles.

Morphological analysis of the verb

the initial form is the infinitive;
constant morphological features of the verb:
- transitivity:
- - transitive (used with accusative nouns without a preposition);
  - intransitive (not used with a noun in the accusative case without a preposition);
- returnability:
- - returnable (there are -sya, -sya);
  - irrevocable (no -sya, -sya);
- - imperfect (what to do?);
  - perfect (what to do?);
- conjugation:
- - I conjugation (do-eat, do-et, do-eat, do-et, do-yut / ut);
  - II conjugation (sto-ish, sto-it, sto-im, sto-ite, sto-yat / at);
  - conjugated verbs (want, run);
non-permanent morphological features of the verb:
- mood:
- - indicative: what did you do? What did you do? what is he doing? what will he do?;
  - conditional: what would you do? what would you do?;
  - imperative: do it!;
- time (in the indicative mood: past / present / future);
- person (in the present/future tense, indicative and imperative: 1st person: I/we, 2nd person: you/you, 3rd person: he/they);
- gender (in the past tense, singular, indicative and conditional);
- number;
syntactic role in a sentence. The infinitive can be any part of the sentence:
- predicate: To be a holiday today;
- Subject: Learning is always useful;
- addition: All the guests asked her to dance;
- definition: He has an overwhelming desire to eat;
- circumstance: I went out for a walk.

Morphological analysis of the verb example

To understand the scheme, we will conduct a written analysis of the morphology of the verb using the example of a sentence:

Crow somehow God sent a piece of cheese ... (fable, I. Krylov)

Sent (what did you do?) - part of speech verb;

initial form - send;
permanent morphological features: perfective, transitional, 1st conjugation;
inconstant morphological characteristic of the verb: indicative mood, past tense, masculine, singular;

The following online example of the morphological parsing of a verb in a sentence:

What silence, listen.

Listen (what to do?) - verb;

the initial form is to listen;
morphological constant features: perfect form, intransitive, reflexive, 1st conjugation;
inconstant morphological characteristics of the word: imperative, plural, 2nd person;
syntactic role in the sentence: predicate.

Plan for the morphological analysis of the verb online for free, based on an example from a whole paragraph:

He needs to be warned.

No need, let him know another time how to break the rules.

What are the rules?

Wait, I'll tell you later. Has entered! (“The Golden Calf”, I. Ilf)

Warn (what to do?) - verb;

initial form - warn;
morphological features of the verb are constant: perfective, transitive, irrevocable, 1st conjugation;
non-permanent morphology of the part of speech: infinitive;
syntactic function in a sentence: an integral part of the predicate.

Let him know (what is he doing?) - part of speech verb;

the initial form is to know;
inconstant morphology of the verb: imperative, singular, 3rd person;
syntactic role in the sentence: predicate.

Violate (what to do?) - the word is a verb;

the initial form is to violate;
permanent morphological features: imperfective, irrevocable, transitional, 1st conjugation;
non-permanent signs of the verb: infinitive (initial form);
syntactic role in the context: part of the predicate.

Wait (what to do?) - part of speech verb;

initial form - wait;
permanent morphological features: perfect form, irrevocable, transitional, 1st conjugation;
inconstant morphological characteristic of the verb: imperative, plural, 2nd person;
syntactic role in the sentence: predicate.

Entered (what did?) - verb;

initial form - enter;
permanent morphological features: perfective, irrevocable, intransitive, 1st conjugation;
inconstant morphological characteristic of the verb: past tense, indicative mood, singular, masculine;
syntactic role in the sentence: predicate.

Table 1

Declined nouns


male	female	average
	sideburn a	towels e
	parcel post b	jam about
	floppy disks a	stuffed about
	corn b	tentacles e
	sheet I
	sneaker a
comment	shoe I
team	rate a




dispensary
sanatorium


Bigeneric forms
banknotes - banknotes a
aviary - aviary a
dahlia - dahlia a
keys - keys a
cuff - cuff a
spasm - spasm a

Table 2

Indeclinable nouns

Noun type
Noun type	male		female	average
Inanimate names (objects)	penalty*		kohlrabi*	meringue, etc.
Animated names (faces)	entertainer
	digeneric
	protege - protégé
	incognito - incognito
Animal names	flamingos	kangaroo (female)

Attention! An asterisk (*) marks exception words .

Table 3

Nouns denoting professions, positions of women

Attention! Remember about the existence of parallel (bigeneral) forms: student - student, student - student, graduate student - graduate student, athlete - athlete, artist - artist, singer - singer, poet - poetess, writer - writer, head - head.

Table 4

Abbreviations


	male	female	average
Abbreviations following the rule (gender by main word)	Moscow State University (university) IMF (fund) KAMAZ (factory) Youth theater (theater) TsDRI (house) Research Institute (Institute)	FA (academy) United Nations (organization) HPP (station) traffic police (inspection) TSB (encyclopedia)	ORT (television) Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministry) MIA (ministry) APN (agency) CIA (management)
	Moscow State University accepted students	The UN decided a	ORT about news
Abbreviations that do not follow the rule
	The university held a conference. VAK approved the candidacy.
Bigeneric (variant) abbreviations			TASS (agency)
		UNESCO (organization
	TASS reported		TASS reported about

Attention! Abbreviations with the main word in the plural have no gender. The predicate with them also receives the plural form: USA spokeand with a statement; media publishedand article.

Table 5

Media names (media)

Typetitles	Type of name			Number of titles
Typetitles	male	female	average	plural .
Declining media	"Kommersant" "Moscow's comsomolets", "Caravan of stories" "Center Plus" "Bulletin of Europe"	"Russian newspaper"	"Health", "Literary Heritage" "October field"	"News", "Moscow news", "Arguments and Facts",
a) without a generic word
b) with a generic word			but: Magazine"Health" printed	but: Magazine"Money" printed
Inflexible (foreign) media	"Figaro Letterer" (magazine)	"Daily Express" (newspaper), "Giorno" (newspaper), "Moscow News" (newspaper)
a) without a generic word	Figaro Letterer is out
b) with a generic word	Magazine Figaro Letterer is out

Questions and tasks

1. What groups of indeclinable names do you know? How to determine the gender of indeclinable names?

2. What gender are the words pony, kangaroo, cockatoo?

3. What gender are the names denoting women's professions: lawyer, engineer, financier?

4. How to say correctly: our esteemed rector Gryaznova or our esteemed rector Gryaznova?

5. How to determine the type of abbreviations (FA, MSU, UN)?

6. How to determine the gender of indeclinable foreign media names ("Moscow News")?

The correct definition of the gender of nouns allows you to avoid mistakes in their agreement with verbs in the past tense ( the coffee is cold or cooled down) and adjectives ( delicious coffee or delicious).

Since most often the grammatical gender of nouns does not directly correlate with the lexical meaning of the word, the belonging of a noun to the masculine, neuter or feminine gender has to be memorized (memorized). This is most difficult for those who study Russian as a foreign language.

For native speakers of Russian as a native language, difficulties with determining the grammatical gender arise with the following types of words:

the most extensive group is indeclinable borrowed nouns: coffee, cocoa, Bordeaux, whiskey, brandy, boa, brie, slang, euro, Esperanto;

foreign geographical names: Monaco, Limpopo, Tokyo, Helsinki, Tartu, Capri, Chile, Yellow River;

abbreviations: UN, UNESCO, NATO, CIS, PRO, VAK, TASS, GLONASS.

some nouns ending in -Л in the form im. n. (doubts arise whether to refer these words to the second or third declension): tulle, callus, polish, roofing felt, valve.

nouns, plural form h. which usually denotes a pair of shoes: shoes, boots, slippers, sandals etc.

compound nouns.

Let's take a closer look at each of these types of words.

Gender of indeclinable borrowed nouns

Most inflected nouns that look like inflected neuter nouns (such as sea and window), belong to the middle gender: fragrant cocoa, aged Bordeaux, heady chardonnay, hot cappuccino, locomotive depot, new coat, wicker planter.

Word coffee strict literary norm prescribes to use as a masculine noun: strong coffee is already cold. However, in relaxed oral speech, neuter agreement is acceptable: the coffee is cold.

It should be noted that there are many exceptions to this rule related to the influence of various analogies (such as the presence of a commonly used inflected Russian synonym; the possibility of substituting an inflected word denoting a generic concept, etc.). So, the words are masculine Euro(because most of the names of monetary units are masculine, cf.: dollar, ruble, pound, franc, tugrik...), brie, suluguni(influence of the generic concept cheese), sirocco(word influence wind), penalty(influence of the Russian synonym penalty kick). The words are feminine avenue(cf. the street), kohlrabi(cabbage), salami(sausage), etc.

Some words can be used in the form of two genders. Such words include, for example, nouns that outwardly resemble inflected nouns in the plural form. hours: aged whiskey and aged whiskey; armenian brandy and armenian brandy. Therefore, in all doubtful cases, to determine the generic affiliation of a word, one should refer to the dictionaries of the Russian language.

Genus of foreign geographical names

Most often, the gender of such names is determined by the generic word: distant (principality) Monaco, wide (river) Limpopo, densely populated (city) Tokyo. If two different generic words can be used, then agreement options are possible: independent (state) Haiti, independent (country) Haiti, distant (island) Haiti, beautiful (city) Brescia and beautiful (province) Brescia.

In some cases, the gender of a noun is established by tradition, so a dictionary check is required.

Gender of compound words (abbreviations)

The genus of abbreviations is usually determined by the key word in the decoding of the abbreviation or by the generic word: NATO (alliance) decided, Moscow State University (university) accepted new students, CIS (commonwealth) took the initiative, UNESCO (organization) declared 2009 the Year of Gogol.

Gender of nouns ending in -Л

The second declension and the masculine gender include, in particular, the words: aerosol, polish, lampoon, vaudeville, quantile, quartile, endgame, tulle, tar paper, flat.

The third declension and feminine gender include words such as mezzanine, corn, rosin, vacuole, triol.

Generic affiliation and belonging to the second or third declension is checked in such cases in dictionary order.

Names of shoes and paired items

It should be remembered:

And also: gaiters - one gaiter, leggings - one gaiter, sideburns - one sideburn, leggings - one leggings.

BUT: golfs - one golf, rails - one rail, adjustments - one adjustment.

In addition, there is a two-gender noun high fur boots. If in many h. the stress falls on the end of the word (high fur boots, -ov), then the singular form is one oz. If in many h. the stress falls on the stem ( high fur boots), form them. p. units h. - atnta.

Compound nouns

If the noun has only one part that changes in cases, the gender is determined by the part being changed: personal web page. If both parts of the word change in the noun, then the gender is determined by the part that is more significant in meaning.

How to decline abbreviations

What are the abbreviations?

Abbreviation It is customary to call any abbreviated word or phrase. There are the following types of abbreviations:

initial type abbreviations (formed from the initial letters of each word in the phrase: USE - unified state exam; ACS - automated control system);

syllabic abbreviations (formed from a combination of the initial parts of words, for example: state farm, collective farm);

abbreviations of a mixed type, consisting of both initial parts of words and initial sounds: social security, KamAZ;

abbreviations consisting of a combination of the initial part of the word with the whole word: spare parts, savings bank, organizational work;

abbreviations consisting of a combination of the initial part of the word with the form of the indirect case of the noun: head of the department, platoon commander, manager;

abbreviations consisting of a combination of the beginning of the first word with the beginning and end of the second, or only from the ends of the second: moped(motorcycle-bike), destroyer(destroyer);

graphic abbreviations ( i.e. - that is, because - since).

Let's get back to initial abbreviations. In terms of pronunciation, they are divided into three types: letters, sounds and alpha-sound(mixed).

Letter abbreviations are read by the name of the letters, for example: the USSR[es-es-es-er], computer[uh-uh] Moscow State University[em-ge-woo], NTV[en-te-ve].

Sound abbreviations consist of the initial sounds of the words of the original phrase, for example: MFA[mid], university[university], GUM[hum]. As a rule, sound abbreviations are formed when there are vowel sounds inside the abbreviation (this allows you to read the abbreviation by syllables): university(1 syllable), Moscow Art Theater(1 syllable), MGIMO(2 syllables).

Alphabetic abbreviations consist of both the names of the initial letters and the initial sounds of the words included in the original phrase: CSKA[tse-es-ka].

Abbreviations that have the sound [f] in their composition have interesting features: Germany and FSB. Originally an abbreviation Germany it was pronounced like a letter (that is, it was read by the name of the letters: [ef-er-ge]). But since the letter F in colloquial speech it is pronounced as [fe], which is explained by the economy of speech means, in particular, articulation laws (and our “linguistic laziness”, as K. S. Gorbachevich believes), today the pronunciation of the Federal Republic of Germany is fixed as [fe-er-ge] - alpha-sound abbreviation, cf.: FSB [fe-es-be] and [ef-es-be].

Behind the abbreviation USA according to tradition, the pronunciation [se-she-a] was fixed, i.e. it is a special abbreviation: it is read by letters, but not as it is customary in the literary language, but as letters With[es] and W[sha] is called colloquially.

How to decline abbreviations?

In modern Russian, all initial (consisting of the first letters of words) abbreviations ending in a vowel are not declined, for example: Moscow State University, OJSC.

Usually, abbreviations of a sound character with a masculine reference word are declined: Moscow Art Theater, Bolshoi Theater, GOST.

Non-declining abbreviations include:

initial letter abbreviations: CIS, GUVD, FSB and etc.;

abbreviations with a reference word of the middle and feminine gender: TASS, MAPRYAL, gas stations, hydroelectric power stations(but MFA- it is permissible to incline and not incline);

borrowed abbreviations ending in a solid consonant (for example, MAN - an automobile company);

words like Head of Department, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Education and Science, Deputy Minister, Deputy Director, Head of Warehouse etc.

In addition, abbreviations of a sound nature with a masculine reference word are often not declined in written and official business speech.

§ 1 Indeclinable nouns

In this lesson, we will remember indeclinable nouns and learn how to determine their gender.

Recall that indeclinable nouns are a group of invariable borrowed words. It includes both proper names (Dumas, Peru, Tbilisi) and common nouns (frau, pony, menu).

And how to say: a varied menu or a varied menu? Beautiful pony or beautiful pony? Ancient Tbilisi or ancient Tbilisi?

Why is it difficult for us to answer this question? This is because these nouns do not change. So, we must remember the gender of such words.

§ 2 Gender of borrowed indeclinable nouns

Most borrowed indeclinable nouns are predominantly of the neuter gender. Indeclinable nouns are masculine if they denote males, and feminine if they denote females.

If an indeclinable noun of a foreign language origin denotes animals or birds, it also refers to the masculine gender: PITTED COCKADU, GRAY KANGAROO, FUNNY CHIMPANZE.

The exception is the word TSECE. This word refers to the feminine gender, since we are talking about a fly.

§ 3 Gender of indeclinable proper nouns

The gender of indeclinable proper nouns - geographical names, names of newspapers and magazines is determined by the gender of those common nouns with which these names can be replaced.

We have an offer:

What should be the ending of the adjective? Since Sochi is a city, it means that the indeclinable proper noun will also be in the masculine form: HOSPITAL SOCHI. Let's look at another example:

In the context, there is an indication that Ontario is a lake, which means that the proper name will be a neuter noun: FRESHWATER ONTARIO.

§ 4 Gender of words-abbreviations

Indeclinable nouns also include abbreviations. For example, the CIS, Moscow State University, research institutes. The gender of such nouns is determined by the gender of the main word. At the heart of the combination UNION OF INDEPENDENT STATES, the main word is UNION, it refers to the masculine gender, therefore, the abbreviation CIS is also masculine. And at the heart of the combination MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY, the main word is UNIVERSITY, which means that Moscow State University is also masculine.

§ 5 Let's practice determining the gender of indeclinable nouns

Let's determine the gender of some indeclinable nouns together.

The word COFFEE refers to the masculine gender, which means that the adjectives AROMATIC, BLACK must be in the masculine form.

combinations Moscow Art Academic Theatre) the main word is THEATER, which means that the verb must be in the masculine form.

At the heart of the combination of the abbreviation HPP (Hydroelectric Power Plant) is the main word STATION, which means that the whole word belongs to the feminine gender.

· Most non-declensible nouns are neuter: HIGHWAY, METRO, CINEMA, ESKIMO, ALIBI.

If a noun denotes a female person, then it will also be feminine: MADAM, MISS, PANI.

· If a noun denotes a male animal or bird, then it refers to the masculine gender: ATTACHE, MAESTRO, KOALA, PONY, FLAMINGO.

Indeclinable proper nouns are of the same gender as the words with which they can be substituted.

In complex abbreviated words, the gender of the abbreviation word is determined by the gender of the main word in the phrase. DPS is a road patrol service. The main word is SERVICE, which means that DPS is feminine. In case of difficulty in determining the gender of indeclinable foreign nouns, it is necessary to use the "Dictionaries of new words".

List of used literature: