RussianPod101.com Blog

Pack your beach bag with the essentials this summer - bathing suit, sunblock and RussianPod101.com! The summer is officially here and what better time than now to become a RussianPod101 Premium Member! To make things even easier for you, instantly knock $50 OFF 1 or 2 Year Premium subscriptions! Save $50 today with the Summer Special coupon! Use coupon code SUMMER2010! At RussianPod101.com, you can choose to study in 1 of 3 ways: a Free Lifetime Membership (everyone automatically gets one), a Basic Membership (another good option) and our most popular choice, the Premium Membership. Here are just a few excellent learning resources you instantly gain access to with a Premium Membership: Quick Pronunciation & Accent Review - Review Audio Tracks are quick reviews specifically dedicated to correct pronunciation and pitch accent. Vocabulary Retention Builder - The Premium Video Vocabulary combines visual cues with the voices of native speakers to provide you with the most effective method of learning and retaining thousands of vocabulary words. One-Click and Customized Premium Downloads - Once subscribed to the Premium Podcast Feed via iTunes, FREE, Basic, and Premium media files will be automatically downloaded for each new lesson as they become available.My Feed allows you to take control of your studies and decide exactly what lesson levels and materials you want delivered on your podcast feed for automatic download. Fun Review Quizzes - There’s nothing like a little competition (even against yourself!) to really heighten your abilities. Test yourself over the lesson material with audio-enabled content quizzes, grammar quizzes, and vocabulary quizzes. And much much more! - Click here to see the list! I want access to the Premium Learning Resources! Take me to the sign up page now! The Summer Special ends July 2nd, so take advantage of the care-free summer days to soak in a little sun and some Russian too with a $50 discount! You could be on your way to Russian fluency for as little as  $10 a month!  Use coupon code SUMMER2010 at check out! Have a great summer! The RussianPod101.com Team P.S. Save $50 on a 1 or 2-Year Premium subscription to RussianPod101.com during our Summer Special! P.P.S. Simply click this link before July 2nd to save an automatic $50 OFF your Premium purchase!

In this month’s newsletter:

Study Tips from Peter - THINK in another language

Hey Listeners, Peter here.
Starting this month I’ll be sharing tips on learning languages to help keep you motivated and progressing. This month I’ll teach you how to THINK in another language. It’s not nearly as difficult as it sounds so don’t give up right away; try out …  Read More >>

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Ultimate Getting Started with Russian Sale!

If you’ve been waiting for the ULTIMATE way to learn Russian, you must click here to get 50% OFF our secret weapon. Read More >>

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Day of the Adoption of the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation

Say that 3 times fast! The name is long for a reason so click on through and find out why!
Read More >>

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Get a Lifetime 50% Discount!

Never pay more than half the price of a regular subscription to any one of our new language sites! Join as a Founding Father and get this and so much more!  Read More >>

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BONUS Russian Lesson - World Cup Vocabulary!

We’re back with another free audio lesson just for you! This month, we’re going Cup Crazy with a World Cup themed bonus lesson!  Read More >>

The Focus of This Lesson is Tips to Help Russian Students Overcome Common Errors

Tip 1: Learn Your Cases

• There are no cases in English. That means that nouns and adjectives always stay the same no matter what their function and position in the sentence is. It’s different in Russian. The endings of nouns and adjectives change depending on their function.

• Of course, it’s possible for a native speaker to understand someone who speaks like this but…
  • It can be irritating because you are slaughtering their language
  • It can be totally confusing!

Tip 2: Watch Your Word Stress!

• Like in English, word stress is extremely important. In Russian, you don’t say all the syllables of the word with the same strength, but accentuate one syllable.
• If you don’t stress the right syllable, it can lead to confusion, and native speakers will have difficulty understanding you.
• Unfortunately, unlike in Italian or French, there are no rules to help you stress a word correctly. It’s just something you have to learn for each word.

Tip 3: Don’t Repeat the Verb in the Question

• In Russian, you use a different verb ending for “I” and “you” in the present. It is very common for English speakers to forget about it, as in English the verb doesn’t change. Also, they hear the ending -ешь in the question and tend to reply using ешь.

Tip 4: Watch Your Gender

• In Russian, the ending of the verb in the past tense changes depending on the gender and the plurality.

• If the subject is я or ты, use the ending -л if the pronoun refers to a man, and -ла if it refers to a woman.

Tip 5: Don’t Try to Translate “It”

• In Russian, the pronoun “it” doesn’t exist. We replace “it” with “he” or “she,” depending on their gender. That means, for example, that when you speak, you have to remember that книга (”a book̶ is feminine, and that you should refer to it as она (”she”).

Moms, Dads and Grads
15% Off Basic & Premium Subscriptions
Coupon Code: MAY2JUNE | Redeem Now!

May 2010

In this month’s newsletter:

1. 5 New Innovative Language Sites are coming! What new languages will we be adding to the 101.com family?Click here to find out…

2. V-I-C-T-O-R-Y! Why does Russia celebrate Victory Day a day later than their WWII Allies? Click here to read on… 

3. BONUS Russian Audio Lesson!  We’re back with another free audio lesson just for you! Click here to download and listen…

Welcome to the RussianPod101.com newsletter. We’ve been really busy gearing up for summer and Innovative Language Learning has a lot of news to share! Stay posted throughout the summer! These periodic newsletters will deliver to you all the exciting developments that are going on at RussianPod101.com. Read and Enjoy! And as always, if you have any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us atcontactus@RussianPod101.com.
The RussianPod101.com Team

P.S. Hop on Facebook and tell us which new language you’re most excited about!

P.P.S. Click Here and claim your 15% OFF any Premium or Basic subscription!

This blogpost is a brief overview of different tenses and articles found in Russian language.

Tenses

• The Present
  • In English, you use a different tense in the present depending on whether it’s an action that happens regularly or it’s happening now. In Russian, you use just one tense in the present, no matter whether the action happens regularly or is happening now.

• The Past
  • The past form of regular verbs in English end in -ed. You have to learn irregular verbs individually. In English, there are many irregular verbs. Guess what? In Russian, there are hardly any irregular verbs in the past tense!

• • • If the subject is masculine, the ending is -л:
      Он видел фильм.
      “He saw the film.”
    • If the subject is feminine, the ending is -лa:
      Она видела фильм.
      “She saw the film.”
    • If the subject is neuter, the ending is -ло:
      Письмо было на столе.
      “The letter was on the table.”
    • If the subject is plural, the ending is -ли:
      Они видели фильм.
      “They saw the film.”

Articles

• An article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun.
• The articles in the English language are “the,” “a,” and “an.” In short, it is what you’re referring to (e.g., “the cat”). In Russian, there are no articles!

The Verb “To Be”

• In English, you have three forms of this verb,”am,” “is,” and “are.” In Russian, you should not use the verb “to be” in the present tense, so you don’t have to worry about it at all.

Making Questions

• In English, you need a different auxiliary depending on the tense, and you change the word order. In Russian, you just change your intonation. Nothing else changes.

Gender

• You can tell the gender just by looking at the ending of the word. Masculine nouns usually end in a consonant. Feminine nouns usually end in -а or -я. Neuter nouns usually end in -о or -е.

This Lesson Focuses on the history of the Russian languages and the top 5 reasons to study!

• Russia is the largest country in the world with a population of over 140 million people. It spans eleven time zones and contains the largest forest reserves in the
  world as well as a quarter of the earth’s fresh water within its lakes.

• The Russianlanguage has recieved numerous influences throughout history, including influences from Polish, German, and even Slavic.

• A lot of academic and intellectual vocabulary was used from languages such as Dutch, French, German, and even Latin. So by learning Russian, you get a sense
  of history, and the better you know it, the more familiarities you’ll pick up from other languages too.

Other than the amazing history of the Russian language and its huge geographical size we have composed a list of the top 5 reasons you should study Russian!

• Romance: Lots of people learn Russian because they either have or want a Russian partner.

• Business: Since the former Soviet Union opened its borders to foreigners, many businessmen travel to Russia and particularly the Ukraine.

• Travel and tourism: Russia has always attracted tourists by its historical past and culture. Russian theatre, and in particular, ballet, are famous all over the world.

• “Exotic”: Even though it’s considered challenging because it has a different alphabet, the Russian writing system makes it perhaps easier to learn than some other languages such as Arabic and Japanese.

• Extremely popular: According to estimations, between 144 and 160 million people speak Russian as their first language. It’s the eighth most spoken language in the world, before Japanese, German, French, and Italian. Still, people speak Russian natively in all former Soviet republics, some of which are part of the EU now such as Latvia. In Eastern Ukraine, for example, people speak Russian rather than Ukrainian.

1. 101 Million Downloads Reached!  On April 12th, RussianPod101.com and Innovative Language Learning reached 101 million lesson downloads! Thanks to all the listeners for supporting us! The winners from our 101 Million Download contest have been picked and posted. Click here to see if you’re a winner!

2. Easter Feasts! Forget about roast lamb. Russians take a more simple approach to Easter Sunday. Click here to learn about Easter in Russia…

3. BONUS Russian Audio Lesson!  We’re back with another free audio lesson just for you! We’re going green with this month’s theme. Click here to download and listen…

Welcome to the RussianPod101.com newsletter. Spring is here and the warm weather has been inspiring us with fun new lesson ideas! These periodic newsletters will deliver exciting developments that are going on at RussianPod101.com. Read and Enjoy! And as always, if you have any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at contactus@Russianpod101.com.
P.S. Have a website or blog? Make some cash with our RussianPod101.com Affiliate Program!

A BIG Thank you to all our listeners.

101 Lifetime Premium Subscriptions winners have been selected. Did you win? If you entered to win on our site, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube, please check the winners lists here.

Second Prize - EVERYONE GETS a second prize - Double Your Subscription for ONLY 101 pennies! This is a Very limited offer though. Please click here to see if it is still available for you.

Every month, we are giving away great RussianPod101.com prizes to 4 lucky listeners. Sign up to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or RussianPod101.com to be eligible to win. Increase your chances of winning by following us on all four sites!

Here are March’s winners:

Facebook: Jen Wagner
Youtube: Zombiegrin
Twitter: iuriplopes
RussianPod101: akogan

See your name here? Email us at contactus@russianpod101.com to claim your prize. Check back next month for April`s winners!

In this month’s newsletter:

1. Knocking on 101 MILLION! RussianPod101.com and our sister sites at Innovative Language Learning are fast approaching a big milestone - 101 MILLION lesson downloads! You could win a Premium LIFETIME Subscription! Best of all, you’re already entered to win! Click here to find out more…

2. I Am Woman! March 8th was International Women’s Day and is an official public holiday in Russia. Click here to read about the Russian celebrations!

3. Best Lessons and Blog Entries for March! Find out what’s popular this month! The blog has great content for you to see.

Welcome to the RussianPod101.com newsletter. Spring is coming and we are ready to welcome in the new season with fun and exciting lessons! These periodic newsletters will deliver exciting developments that are going on at RussianPod101.com. With each issue, you will receive the latest announcements, promotional offers, blog news, and forum news, while getting a rare glimpse of the behind-the-scenes life at the RussianPod101.com office!

Read and Enjoy! And as always, if you have any comments or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at contactus@Russianpod101.com.

The RussianPod101.com Team

P.S. Have a website or blog? Make some easy cash with our RussianPod101.com Affiliate Program!