Stress is grammatical vocabulary
Short-form stress may remain fixed, move to the feminine ending, or follow a mixed lexical pattern.
- No single stress rule covers the vocabulary. Learn at least masculine, feminine, and plural forms with audio; infer only after confirming the pattern.
- Pronunciation checkpoint: Stress errors can obscure familiar words. Use acute marks during learning, but remember ordinary Russian print normally omits them except ё and disambiguation.
| Long form | Short contrast | Learning cue |
|---|---|---|
| гото́вый | гото́в — готова́ — гото́вы | feminine moves |
| у́мный | умён — умна́ — умны́ | mobile stress |
| пра́вый | прав — права́ — пра́вы | meaning-sensitive lexeme |
| заня́тый | за́нят — занята́ — за́няты | short participial/adjectival pattern |
| до́лжный | до́лжен — должна́ — должны́ | predicate lexeme |
Read the model
3.13 · Stress is grammatical vocabulary · table 1
гото́вый · гото́в — готова́ — гото́вы · feminine movesу́мный · умён — умна́ — умны́ · mobile stressMini-check
Where is stress: умна, должны? Say the contrast гото́вый → ... feminine.
Apply this next
- Say the Russian examples aloud, cover the model, and retrieve the pattern once before continuing.