Conjunctions “и”, “а”, “но”, “тоже”

Lesson 4

Part 1. Conjunction “и”

Conjunctions in the Russian language are used to connect words in a sentence. The conjunction и connects the components of a sentence.

Я читаю книгу и думаю.

Он хорошо говорит по-английски и по-русски.

Это мама и папа.

I am reading a book and thinking.

He speaks English and Russian well.

It’s mom and dad.

The conjunction но contrasts actions, objects and their characteristics.

Он плохо читает, но хорошо говорит по-немецки.

Это маленький, но интересный город.

Я плохо говорю по-русски, но хорошо понимаю.

He reads German poorly, but he can speak it well.

This is a small, but interesting town.

I speak Russian badly, but I understand it well.

The conjunction а is used to give a more accurate description of an object or action, rather than to contrast them.

Москва — не маленький, а большой город.

Меня зовут не Мария, а Марина.

Я не из Америки, а из Австралии.

Moscow is not a small, but a big city.

My name is not Maria, but Marina.

I’m not from America, but Australia.

The conjunction тоже is used to emphasize that two objects have something in common in their characteristics or actions.

Мой папа – программист, я тоже программист.

Марк работает, его директор тоже работает.

Утром бабушка смотрит телевизор, вечером она тоже смотрит телевизор.

My dad is a programmer, and I am a programmer, too.

Mark is working, his director is also working.

Grandma watches TV in the morning, and she also watches TV in the evening.