Working_on_it

 Putting together a set-up for learning a spot of Russian...

                                                                           

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я живу и работаю в Москве

I live and work in Moscow. What is interesting here is that we are given

three one-letter expressions...

я  pronounced 'ya' is a vowel, and a pronoun: I

и  pronounced 'ee' is a vowel, and a simple connector9ie a conjunction); there are 

no cases involved: and

в pronounced 'v' is a consonnant unaccompanied by a vowel, and it is a preposition, 

inviting the use of the prepositional case. In this instance, Москвa(feminine) turns

to an e ending in the prepositional case. Interestingly, the M, o, k, and a letters are

true friends ie remain the same in Russian and English. The Russian c is pronounced s,

and b is pronounced v...

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Copilot is extremely helpful:

Absolutely, Louise! The Russian translation of “I live and work in Moscow” is:

Let’s dive into the two verbs: живу (I live) and работаю (I work). They’re both in the present tense, first person singular, and they’re great examples of how Russian verbs reflect aspect and conjugation patterns.

🏠 жить — to live

• Infinitive: жить

• Aspect: Imperfective — describes ongoing or habitual action

• Conjugation (1st person singular):

• я живу — I live

This verb is irregular in stress and vowel changes:

• Present tense: живу, живёшь, живёт...

• Past tense: жил (m), жила (f), жило (n), жили (pl)

• Future: буду жить (I will live)

💼 работать — to work

• Infinitive: работать

• Aspect: Imperfective — again, for ongoing or repeated action

• Conjugation (1st person singular):

• я работаю — I work

This one’s more regular:

• Present tense: работаю, работаешь, работает...

• Past tense: работал (m), работала (f), работало (n), работали (pl)

• Future: буду работать (I will work)

🧠 Why Aspect Matters

Russian verbs come in pairs:

• Imperfective: ongoing, habitual, or incomplete actions

• Perfective: completed or one-time actions

So:

• жить (to live) → пожить (to live for a while)

• работать (to work) → поработать (to work for a bit)

аботаю, работаешь, работает...Translate...

Absolutely! These are forms of the Russian verb работать — “to work.” Here's how they break down:

Russian	Pronunciation	English Translation
работаю	ra-BO-ta-yu	I work / I am working
работаешь	ra-BO-ta-yesh	You work (informal)
работает	ra-BO-ta-yet	He/She/It works

🧠 Grammar Note

These are present tense conjugations:

• работаю — 1st person singular

• работаешь — 2nd person singular (informal)

• работает — 3rd person singular

Are verbs in the present tense affected by gender?

Nope—Russian verbs in the present tense are not affected by gender. Unlike the past tense, where verb endings change based on whether the subject is masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural, the present tense is all about person and number, not gender.

🧠 Here's How It Works:

Russian present tense verbs conjugate based on who is doing the action, not their gender. For example, the verb работать (to work):

                                                                                     

Notice how “он” (he) and “она” (she) both use работает—same verb form, regardless of gender.

🕰️ Contrast with Past Tense

In the past tense, gender does matter:

• Я работал — I worked (male speaker)

• Я работала — I worked (female speaker)

So gender kicks in only when the verb reflects a completed action in the past.

If you’re curious, I can show you how this plays out with irregular verbs or how gender affects adjectives and participles. Russian grammar loves its patterns—and its exceptions.