Possessives and Demonstratives

🏠 My House, Your House: Russian Possessive & Demonstrative Pronouns

The Story: A Magical Family Photo Album

Imagine you have a magical photo album. When you point to people and things in the photos, you need special words to say “This belongs to ME” or “THAT thing over there.”

In Russian, these special pointing words change their costume depending on WHO or WHAT they’re describing!

🎭 Part 1: Possessive Pronouns — “Whose Is It?”

The Big Idea

Possessive pronouns answer one simple question: “Whose is it?”

Think of them like name tags on a backpack:

• MY backpack (мой рюкзак)
• YOUR backpack (твой рюкзак)
• HIS/HER backpack (его/её рюкзак)

🧑 First Person: MY and OUR

When YOU own something, use these words:

Examples:

• Мой кот спит. = My cat is sleeping. (cat = masculine)
• Моя мама красивая. = My mom is beautiful. (mom = feminine)
• Моё яблоко вкусное. = My apple is tasty. (apple = neuter)
• Мои друзья здесь. = My friends are here. (plural)

👤 Second Person: YOUR (informal & formal)

Informal “YOUR” (talking to a friend):

Formal “YOUR” (talking to teacher/stranger):

Examples:

• Твой брат умный. = Your brother is smart. (informal)
• Ваша собака большая. = Your dog is big. (formal)

👤👤 Third Person: HIS, HER, THEIR

Here’s a magical shortcut! 🪄

His, Her, Its, Their — these NEVER change!

Examples:

• Его машина новая. = His car is new.
• Её книга интересная. = Her book is interesting.
• Их дом красивый. = Their house is beautiful.

🎉 Good news! No matter if the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural — его, её, их stay the same!

🔑 The Golden Rule: Match the NOUN, Not the Owner!

This is the #1 mistake learners make:

❌ Wrong thinking: “She is a girl, so I use feminine…” ✅ Right thinking: “What THING am I describing?”

Example:

• Анна и её брат (Anna and her brother)

  • Брат (brother) is masculine, but we still use её because Anna owns him!
  • её never changes!

• Иван и его сестра (Ivan and his sister)

  • Сестра (sister) is feminine, but we use его because Ivan is the owner!

👆 Part 2: Demonstrative Pronouns — “Which One?”

The Big Idea

Demonstrative pronouns are like pointing fingers:

• THIS = pointing at something close 👆
• THAT = pointing at something far 👉

📍 THIS / THESE (close to you)

Examples:

• Этот мальчик — мой друг. = This boy is my friend.
• Эта девочка красивая. = This girl is beautiful.
• Это окно большое. = This window is big.
• Эти дети играют. = These children are playing.

📍 THAT / THOSE (far from you)

Examples:

• Тот дом старый. = That house is old.
• Та машина красная. = That car is red.
• То здание высокое. = That building is tall.
• Те люди — туристы. = Those people are tourists.

🎪 The Magic Word: ЭТО

Это has a superpower! It can mean:

1. “This is…” (pointing at anything)
2. “It is…” (explaining something)

Examples:

• Это книга. = This is a book.
• Это мой папа. = This is my dad.
• Это интересно! = It’s interesting!

💡 When это stands alone (not before a noun), it works for EVERYTHING — masculine, feminine, neuter, even plural!

🎯 Quick Comparison Chart

graph TD
    A["👆 POINTING WORDS"] --> B["POSSESSIVE<br>Whose is it?"]
    A --> C["DEMONSTRATIVE<br>Which one?"]
    B --> D["мой/твой/наш/ваш<br>CHANGE by gender"]
    B --> E["его/её/их<br>NEVER change"]
    C --> F["этот/эта/это/эти<br>THIS - close"]
    C --> G["тот/та/то/те<br>THAT - far"]

🧩 Putting It All Together

Let’s describe a family photo:

Это моя семья. Этот мужчина — мой папа. Эта женщина — моя мама. Тот мальчик — мой брат. Его кот сидит рядом. Та девочка — моя сестра. Её собака белая.

Translation:

This is my family. This man is my dad. This woman is my mom. That boy is my brother. His cat is sitting nearby. That girl is my sister. Her dog is white.

✨ Remember These 3 Rules

1. Possessives match the THING, not the owner

   • Except его/её/их — they never change!

2. Demonstratives point to distance

   • Этот/эта/это = THIS (near)
   • Тот/та/то = THAT (far)

3. Gender matters!

   • Always check: Is the noun masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural?

🚀 You Did It!

Now you can:

• Say what belongs to you, me, him, her, and them
• Point to things near and far
• Sound like a real Russian speaker!

Next time you see a cat, try saying: “Это мой кот!” (This is my cat!)