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Russian
Pronunciation
Determiner
э́то • (éto) n sg (demonstrative)
- neuter nominative/accusative singular of э́тот (étot)
- э́то предложе́ние ― éto predložénije ― this sentence
Pronoun
э́то • (éto) n sg (demonstrative)
- neuter nominative/accusative singular of э́тот (étot)
- Я хоте́л отве́тить на твоё сообще́ние, но не на э́то. ― Ja xotél otvétitʹ na tvojó soobščénije, no ne na éto. ― I meant to reply to your message, but not this one.
Pronoun
э́то • (éto) n inan sg (demonstrative)
- Generic demonstrative pronoun. Translated as "this" or "that" (or their plural forms, "these" or "those"), depending on the context.
Э́то Вене́ра, а вот э́то самолёт.- Éto Venéra, a vot éto samoljót.
- That's Venus, and that's a plane.
- Used as a personal pronoun when not referring to a particular noun. Translated as "it".
- (nominative only) used as a personal pronoun to indicate that something at the centre of a matter at hand is a certain thing; can be translated as "it" or "he", "she", "they", as appropriate
- Optionally used after a noun to introduce its definition or explanation. In the most formal texts, separated from the noun by an em dash, or (дли́нное) тире́ ((dlínnoje) tirɛ́). In more informal texts, may be separated by a hyphen (дефи́с (defís)), due to typological constraints, or only a space. Often omitted, though usually not when the dash/hyphen is also omitted, to avoid introducing ambiguity.
Usage notes
- Regarding sense 1:
- Although in theory proximal, use of э́то (éto) overlaps with that of the English distal demonstrative pronoun, that (and its plural counterpart, those). The theoretically distal Russian demonstrative pronoun, то (to), is restricted to a few mostly grammatically supportive roles.
- Regarding sense 2:
- When a speaker is referring to a particular noun, the gender- or number-appropriate third-person personal pronoun is typically used: он (on, masc.), она́ (oná, fem.), оно́ (onó, neut.), они́ (oní, plu.), and their case forms. For example, Я попыта́лся включи́ть свой телефо́н, но он не рабо́тает (Ja popytálsja vključítʹ svoj telefón, no on ne rabótajet, “I tried to turn on my phone, but it's not working”).
- Э́то (Éto) is generally not used as a dummy pronoun, unlike English it, e.g., Сло́жно объясни́ть, почему́ она́ мне нра́вится (Slóžno obʺjasnítʹ, počemú oná mne nrávitsja, “It's hard to explain why I like her”).
Declension
Declension of э́то
|
singular
|
nominative
|
э́то éto
|
genitive
|
э́того étovo
|
dative
|
э́тому étomu
|
accusative
|
э́то éto
|
instrumental
|
э́тим étim
|
prepositional
|
э́том étom
|
Derived terms
Particle
э́то • (éto)
- Used to emphasise identity, analogously to English "it's me who" etc.
- Synonym: и́менно (ímenno)
- Э́то я должна́ проси́ть у вас проще́ния. ― Éto ja dolžná prosítʹ u vas proščénija. ― It's me who should ask you for forgiveness.
- Э́то мой оте́ц основа́л компа́нию. ― Éto moj otéc osnovál kompániju. ― It's my father who founded the company.
- Used to intensify a question concerning an observation.
- Synonym: же (že)
- Да куда́ э́то вы так спеши́те? ― Da kudá éto vy tak spešíte? ― Where are you in such a hurry to?
Interjection
э́то • (éto)
- uh, er, erm, umm (used in hesitant speech)
- Synonym: э́то са́мое (éto sámoje)
- Я, э́то, не купи́л ничего́. ― Ja, éto, ne kupíl ničevó. ― I, er, I haven't bought anything.