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How to say
"Pretty, handsome" in Russian
Russian word of the day | Mar 06, 2018 (see all)
Examples of "Pretty, handsome" in Russian
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Anita says:
In the example ‘У неё бы́ло симпати́чное лицо́ и больши́е голубы́е глаза́’, is бы́ло used because лицо́ is neutral? So even though there is more than one thing linked up by the use of и, бы́ли is not used? If I switch the order of the words, would it be ‘У неё бы́ли больши́е голубы́е глаза́ и симпати́чное лицо́’? Thanks.
Learn Russian Words says:
Hello Anita,
You always do interesting observations. Yes, было is used because лицо is neuter and your example is correct.
But such principal does not apply all the time. For example:
– Там были мой папа и моя мама.
My dad and my mom were there.
– На ней были юбка и блузка.
She was wearing a skirt and a blouse.
As you can see, here the word были is used in plural taking into account the fact that there are a few things listed after it.
It would be also grammatically correct to say “у нее были симпатичное лицо и большие голубые глаза”. However, in this particular case, it feels a bit weird to use plural были when it is followed by neuter лицо. It is hard to find the explanation for this.
Anita says:
Could it be something to do with the structure у нее/него…? Just guessing…
Learn Russian Words says:
I thought about it too, but I don’t think so, because you can also say:
У него были кошка и собака.
He had a cat and a dog.
I think it is more about the intention and what you are desribing. If you mean to list a few things from the beginning, you use plural. But if you describe somebody, you don’t just list features, you describe each of them separately. So you can stop your sentence right after лицо, or continue desribing after глаза. You give more attention to each of the things you mention.