Transcript Russian Declension and Conjugation

Russian Declension and
Conjugation
Chapter 6: Conjugation
The basic structure of
Russian words
• prefix + root + suffix ++ ending
• All parts preceding the ending are the
stem
• Root shapes:
– Most common is CVC, where final C is a hard
consonant, a velar, or j (or rarely a palatal or
c, which are secondary)
– Other shapes: CC, VC, CVCVC (TORT)
The shapes of prefixes
• Possible shapes are: C, CC, CVC, CV, V, VC,
CVCV
• What part of the prefix is most important?
– The last segment, since it interacts with the beginning
of the root
– We can group prefixes into those that end in V and
those that end in C
– In some instances we will treat those ending in C as –
C/ (fill vowel)
– Note that the z>s assimilation is spelled at the end of
a prefix
What about -ся?
• Where does –ся fit into the basic structure
of the Russian word?
What about -ся?
• Where does –ся fit into the basic structure
of the Russian word?
• Well, actually it goes beyond the structure
of one word: -ся is an enclitic and gets
added AFTER the ending
Why?
• Why do we use the term “non-past”?
Why?
• Why do we use the term “non-past”?
• Because Russian has only two tenses:
past and not. The non-past conjugation is
interpreted as present or future (and a few
other things) depending upon the aspect
of the verb and the construction it is in.
Finding the base form
• Basically, you want to look for the
LONGEST stem, the one with the most
information
– Unsuffixed verbs and those suffixed in –
aj+ and –ej+ use the non-past stem
– Suffixed verbs use the infinitive stem
Verb types and conjugations
I Conjugation
II Conjugation
All unsuffixed
verbs and most
suffixed verbs
I, E, h-A, OJ-A only
Combinations of stem + ending
V+C
C+V
Yield
addition
V+V
C+C
Yield
truncation of
first element
V+V
• If the second V is u or o, the preceding C
mutates, except:
– ns-A, NU, (NU)
– žažd-a+, or-a+, sos-a+, ston-a+
– OVA & OV-A, where ov > uj
– Velar stems only before o (includes lg -a+)
• Consonant mutations are:
– Dentals & velars > palatals, labials > labial +
l’, others (n, l, r) just get soft
Notes on stress
• Unless otherwise noted, all primary (nonsuffixed)
verbs have fixed stress in non-past. Placement
of fixed stress depends on stem type. (All are
ending stress except N, J, and gn’ij+ is an
exception). Symbols indicate past stress.
• Unless otherwise noted (n/s-A) all secondary
(suffixed) verbs have fixed stress in the past.
Symbols indicate non-past stress.
Let’s go over these together…
• Let’s grind through all the verb types one
after another…