Capital letters and lexicalisation
Individual possessives in -ов/-ев/-ин from proper names are normally capitalised; relational -ск- adjectives are generally lowercase unless part of an official name.
- Idioms, terms, and lexicalised expressions may lose the capital, so the distinction is semantic and conventional.
| Type | Example | Capital logic |
|---|---|---|
| individual possessive | Са́шина тетра́дь | specific Sasha |
| author possessive | Да́лев слова́рь | associated with Dal as individual |
| relational | пу́шкинские стихи́ | style/work relation; lowercase |
| official name | Пу́шкинская пло́щадь | registered/geographic name |
| lexicalised idiom | ахилле́сова пята́ | common-name idiom; lowercase |
Read the model
3.18 · Capital letters and lexicalisation · table 1
individual possessive · Са́шина тетра́дь · specific Sashaauthor possessive · Да́лев слова́рь · associated with Dal as individualMini-check
Choose: Машина/машина кни́га for Masha's book. Choose: пушкинские/Пушкинские стихи in a general description.
Apply this next
- Say the Russian examples aloud, cover the model, and retrieve the pattern once before continuing.