When an adjective heads the phrase
Russian can omit or lexicalise the noun while an adjectival form carries the phrase's grammatical features.
- The head-like adjective still declines by the long paradigm and participates in gender, number, case, and accusative animacy.
| Full phrase | Adjective-headed form | Profile |
|---|---|---|
| больно́й челове́к | больно́й | masculine person |
| больна́я же́нщина | больна́я | feminine person |
| де́журный сотру́дник | де́журный | role/person |
| гла́вное де́ло | гла́вное | neuter abstract |
| ро́дные лю́ди | ро́дные | plural people |
Read the model
3.19 · When an adjective heads the phrase · table 1
больно́й челове́к · больно́й · masculine personбольна́я же́нщина · больна́я · feminine personMini-check
What controls gender in больна́я? Does substantivisation stop declension?
Apply this next
- Say the Russian examples aloud, cover the model, and retrieve the pattern once before continuing.