The genuinely soft family
си́ний supplies the productive soft model: -ий, -яя, -ее.
- Soft-family endings preserve a /j/-like transition in feminine and neuter forms. The spelling encodes a real paradigm contrast, not decorative variation.
| Gender | Form | Pronunciation cue |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | си́ний | soft stem + -ий |
| feminine | си́няя | hear the /j/-like transition |
| neuter | си́нее | two written е letters |
| parallel | ле́тний / ле́тняя / ле́тнее | same broad soft family |
Read the model
3.01 · The genuinely soft family · table 1
masculine · си́ний · soft stem + -ийfeminine · си́няя · hear the /j/-like transitionMini-check
Form three genders of ле́тний. Which form best distinguishes си́ний from ру́сский: masculine or feminine?
Apply this next
- Say the Russian examples aloud, cover the model, and retrieve the pattern once before continuing.