What an adjective contributes
A long adjective describes or classifies a referent while copying the grammatical profile of its head noun.
- Russian adjective endings are cumulative: one ending can express gender, number, case, and sometimes animacy at once. The nominative singular is the clearest place to see gender.
| Layer | Question | Example |
|---|---|---|
| meaning | What kind or which one? | но́вый дом |
| head | Which noun controls it? | дом controls но́вый |
| agreement | Which features are copied? | masc., sg., nom. |
| family | Which form pattern? | но́вый vs. си́ний |
| sound | Where is stress? | большо́й |
Read the model
3.01 · What an adjective contributes · table 1
meaning · What kind or which one? · но́вый домhead · Which noun controls it? · дом controls но́выйMini-check
Which word controls agreement in но́вое зда́ние? Does an adjective independently choose nominative case?
Apply this next
- Say the Russian examples aloud, cover the model, and retrieve the pattern once before continuing.