We should admit: without the strong knowledge of Russian grammar, you will not be able to speak Russian confidently. The Russian language doesn’t have the strict word order, and the words are connected with the case endings. They sometimes define the sense of the whole sentence! If you are not confident in using them you are very likely to get your interlocutor confused.
Let’s take a simple example: Анна нравится Антону.
What do you think, who likes whom? The translation will be: Anton likes Anna.This total mess in the word order is explained by the usage of the Dative case with the verb “нравиться”. If their feeling is mutual, we’ll read: Анне нравится Антон.
Again, the word order can confuse you if you’re not familiar with the case flexions. So who likes whom? The thing or the person you like will be a grammar subject in this construction, being in the form of the Nominative case. Whereas the person speaking about her tastes will be the indirect object, put into the form of Dative case.
Let’s switch to tourism preferences. “Мне нравится этот город” or “Этот город мне нравится”. Both sentences mean the same – “I like this city.”
“Нам очень нравятся эти картины” or “Эти картины нам очень нравятся”? This may seem like juggling but both sentences mean “We like these pictures very much.”
As you can see the strong knowledge of the cases system and the endings of nouns is extremely important for understanding the language. The prefixes of the verbs of motion can also be confusing, not to mention the verb aspects, the prepositions like “что” and “чтобы”, “а” and “но” and many other. One should be familiar with the rules not just to sound correct and “comme il faut”, it’s necessary to avoid confusion and to be able to express the very thought one’s got.
In the process of studying the Russian grammar, many students face the complicated rules, get stuck at some stage and lose the motivation to continue. But our experience shows that as soon as these inconveniences are eliminated and the student stops stumbling at the same grammar rule, she continues her studying the Russian language with even more enthusiasm. The Russian grammar system is very logical (irrespective of the exceptions) and sometimes it only takes an explanation of a qualified teacher to help you complete the jigsaw puzzle – suddenly it becomes all evident and clear.
During our Grammar correction course, you will have an opportunity to focus on the things that challenge you the most. It will be your personally tailored Russian grammar course, which is why we’ll only work with the grammar aspects you feel unconfident about. Having taken this class you will notice the significant progress in Russian grammar and thus in your general knowledge of Russian. You will finally love the Russian grammar.
It is adorable to hear the foreigner speak your native language faultlessly. It makes you admire and respect him or her immediately. In any case, speaking Russian is a useful skill today, and speaking Russian correctly is even more valuable, so taking our Russian grammar course is a justified investment of your time.
