GrammarLong vs short forms

Most Russian adjectives have two forms: a long form and a short form.

The long form is the ordinary dictionary word, for example краси́вый, краси́вая, краси́вое, краси́вые. It stands before a noun and adjusts in gender, number and case (see adjective agreement).

The short form looks like краси́в, краси́ва, краси́во, краси́вы and is a stripped-down version and comes after the noun.

Example:

• краси́вая де́вушка (a beautiful girl) — long form, before the noun
• Де́вушка краси́ва. (The girl is beautiful.) — short form, as the predicate

What the short form looks like

The short form has just four endings — one per gender and one for the plural. Take the long form, drop its ending, and add:

The plural is the same for all three genders, just like in the long form.

The masculine often gains a vowel

Dropping the ending can make the masculine short form a bit awkward, for example у́мный → умн. To smooth it out, often add a “fleeting” vowel о or е / ё gets inserted:

• у́мный (smart) → умён, умна́, умно́, умны́
• интере́сный (interesting) → интере́сен, интере́сна, интере́сно, интере́сны
• свобо́дный (free) → свобо́ден, свобо́дна, свобо́дно, свобо́дны

Only the masculine does this; the feminine, neuter and plural add their vowel ending as normal.

Stress tip: the short forms often shift the stress, especially the feminine, which frequently jumps to the ending: умна́, больна́, занята́, права́. It is worth learning short forms together with their stress.

When to use the short form

1. Short forms are predicates only

This is the most important point. A short form can only be the predicate — the “is / are” part of the sentence. It can never stand in front of a noun.

• Э́та де́вушка краси́ва. (This girl is beautiful.) — correct, predicate
• краси́вая де́вушка (a beautiful girl) — before a noun you must use the long form

Since Russian has no word for “is” in the present tense, the short form simply follows the noun. It still agrees in gender and number:

• Дом нов. (The house is new.)
• Кни́га нова́. (The book is new.)
• Окно́ но́во. (The window is new.)
• Дома́ но́вы. (The houses are new.)

Notice the short form has no case endings at all — it only ever appears in these four shapes. Even in a sentence with a prepositional phrase, the short form stays fixed; the case falls on the noun after the preposition, not on the adjective:

• Он силён в матема́тике. (He is good at maths.) — силён stays fixed, only матема́тике takes the prepositional case

2. Long or short as the predicate?

Both forms can be the predicate, so Де́вушка краси́вая and Де́вушка краси́ва are both possible. In everyday speech the long form is used most of the time; the short form sounds more formal or bookish, and often points to a more specific or temporary state.

With some adjectives this difference is clear and important:

• Он больно́й. (He is sickly / a sick person.) — long: a lasting characteristic
• Он бо́лен. (He is ill.) — short: a temporary state right now

The same contrast appears with злой (angry):

• Он злой. (He is bad-tempered.) — his character
• Он зол. (He is angry.) — how he feels now

3. Short forms and the result of an action

Because the short form describes how something is right now, it is the natural way to state the result of an action — that something has been done and is now in that state:

• Окно́ закры́то. (The window is closed.)
• Письмо́ напи́сано. (The letter is written.)
• Дверь откры́та. (The door is open.)

These particular words are the short forms of passive participles (from закры́тый, напи́санный, откры́тый), and they behave just like the short adjectives here — agreeing in gender and number, never in case. You can read more in the participles and passive articles.

4. The short form for “too …”

With adjectives of size and fit, the short form is the normal way to say something is too big or small for someone:

• Э́ти ту́фли малы́. (These shoes are too small.)
• Пла́тье велико́. (The dress is too big.)
• Ку́ртка узка́. (The jacket is too tight.)

Here the long forms (ма́ленький, большо́й) would just mean “small” or “big”, without the sense of “too … to fit”.

5. Adjectives used mostly in the short form

A handful of very common words appear as predicates almost only in their short form. These are worth learning as vocabulary:

• рад, ра́да, ра́ды (glad) — Я рад. (I am glad.)
• до́лжен, должна́, должны́ (must, have to) — Я до́лжен идти́. (I must go.)
• гото́в, гото́ва, гото́вы (ready) — Мы гото́вы. (We are ready.)
• ну́жен, нужна́, ну́жно, нужны́ (needed) — Мне нужна́ по́мощь. (I need help.)
• согла́сен, согла́сна, согла́сны (in agreement) — Я согла́сен. (I agree.)
• прав, права́, пра́вы (right, correct) — Ты прав. (You are right.)

They combine with negation just as naturally: Я не гото́в. (I am not ready.), Ты не прав. (You are wrong.)

Common mistakes

• Putting a short form before a noun. Only the long form can do that.
  краси́в дом (wrong) → краси́вый дом (correct)
• Making the short form agree in case. It has no case endings — only four forms.
  Я живу́ в но́вом до́ме uses the long form; there is no short form here.
• Forgetting the masculine vowel. A bare cluster is usually wrong.
  Он умн (wrong) → Он умён (correct)
• Forgetting that the feminine stress often moves.
  Она́ у́мна (wrong) → Она́ умна́ (correct)

Summary

• Most adjectives have a long form (краси́вый) and a short form (краси́в).
• The short form has only four endings: masculine (nothing), feminine -а, neuter -о, plural -ы.
• The short form is only a predicate that comes after the noun.
• Before a noun, and usually in everyday speech, use the long form.
• The short form is more formal and can mark a temporary state (бо́лен vs больно́й) or “too …” (ту́фли малы́).
• The masculine often adds a vowel (у́мный → умён), and the feminine stress often moves to the ending (умна́).