How to use Russian demonstrative pronouns and adjectives?

Demonstratives are words like “this” or “that,” which are used to point to specific things, people, ideas, or places. Demonstrative adjectives are used before nouns, while demonstrative pronouns stand alone. Let’s demonstrate! (pun intended).

• demonstrative adjectivenoun

  Они живут в этом доме, а мы живём в том доме через дорогу.

  Transcription: anEE zheevOOt v Etam dOmye a my zheevYOm v tom dOmye chYEryes darOgoo

  Translation: We live in this house, and they live in that house across the street.
• demonstrative pronoun

  Мне нравится это больше, чем то.

  Transcription: mnye nrAveetsa Eta bOlshye chem to

  Translation: I like this more than that.

In this post, we’ll cover the forms of the Russian demonstrative pronouns and adjectives and how to use them. Ready to get started? Let’s go!

Demonstrative words typically “point to” things, people, or places, while expressing something about how far away they are from the speaker.

Like English, Russian has two types of demonstrative words:

• Nearer to the speaker (physically or metaphorically)

  • Мне нравятся эти туфли.

    Transcription: mnYE nrAvyatsa Etee tOOflee

    Translation: I like these shoes.
  • Я поеду в Россию в этом году.

    Transcription: ya paYEdoo v rasEEyu v Etam gadOO

    Translation: I’m going to Russia this year.

• Further away from the speaker (physically or metaphorically)

  • Мне понравились те туфли больше, чем эти.

    Transcription: mnye panrAveelees te tOOflee bOlshye chyem Etee

    Translation: I liked those shoes better than these.
  • Обучение в том году было сто сорок тысяч в год.

    Transcription: aboochYEneeye v Etam gadOO bYla sto sOrak tYseech v got

    Translation: Tuition was one hundred forty thousand last year.

    Literally: lit. in that year

However, unlike “this” and “that” in English, many Russian demonstrative words agree with nouns in gender, number, and case.

The Russian demonstrative pronouns and adjectives are provided in the table below.

The forms in the table above are in the nominative case. However, demonstrative words in Russian often change their forms, depending on their case, gender, and number. To see more forms in other cases, refer to the declension chart at the bottom of this post.

In addition to the classic uses of demonstrative words which we have seen above, there are a few other contexts where you will use demonstrative words in Russian.

1. When you introduce a person or object for the first time:

   Это Марк

   Transcription: Eta mark

   Translation: This is Mark.

   Это марки

   Transcription: Eta mArkee

   Translation: These are stamps.

2. In expressions such as “That’s great!” or “This is awesome!”

   While in English you often use “that” in these expressions, in Russian we only use это (transcribed Eta, meaning “this”):

   Это круто!

   Transcription: Eta krOOta

   Translation: This is cool!

   Это офигительно!

   Transcription: Eta afeegEEteelna

   Translation: That’s dope!

3. In some contexts in which you would use “it” in English, in Russian you will usually use это (transcribed Eta, meaning “this”):

   Мы знали это.

   Transcription: my znAlee Eta

   Translation: We knew it.

4. For coherence, to avoid repetition, or to refer to what’s already been mentioned or will be mentioned:

   Он прожил в России 20 лет и очень любит эту страну.

   Transcription: on prazhEEL v rasEEi dvAtsat lyet ee Ochyen lYUbeet Etoo stranOO

   Translation: He has lived in Russia for 20 years and loves this country a lot.

Demonstrative words are often used with particles for emphasis.

• The demonstrative word это (transcribed Eta, meaning “this”) is often used with the particle вот (transcribed vot, meaning “here”).

  Смотри, вот эта девочка с нами учится.

  Transcription: SmatrEE vot Eta dYEvachka s nAmee OOcheetsa

  Translation: Look, this girl is in class with us.

• The demonstrative word то (transcribed to, meaning “that”) is often used with the particle вон (transcribed von, meaning “there”).

  Можно вон тот столик?

  Transcription: mOzhna von tot stOleek

  Translation: Can we have that table over there?

There are some demonstrative words in Russian that are old-fashioned, such as сей (transcribed syey, meaning “this”) or оный (transcribed Onyi, meaning “that”). These are not used in everyday speech, but are still used in certain contexts, especially religious. For example, the following is an example from Exodus (a book in the Hebrew Bible).

Сей (transcribed syey, meaning “this”) is also used in some expressions that are commonly used today:

In this post, we talked about how demonstrative words (both pronouns and adjectives) are formed and used. Here’s a summary of what we talked about:

• As in English, these words are used to point to people, objects, and places in space and time.

• While in English these words agree with nouns only in number (this/that vs these/those), in Russian, they agree with nouns in number, gender, and case except for when used in constructions such as “this is … / these are …”

• Demonstrative words are often used with particles вот (transcribed vot) and вон (transcribed von) for emphasis, which roughly translate to “here” and “there.”

• Old-fashioned demonstratives сей (transcribed syey, meaning “this”) and оный (transcribed Onyi, meaning “that”) are still used in religious contexts and some set expressions.

Now, it’s finally time to practice what we have discussed, by downloading these exercises on Russian demonstrative pronouns!