connective conjunctions

Russian Coordinating Conjunctions

In Russian, coordinating conjunctions link words, phrases, or clauses that have the same grammatical status. These are generally divided into two main categories: connective (joining ideas) and disjunctive (offering alternatives).

1. Connective Conjunctions

These conjunctions are used to join similar parts of speech or compatible ideas.

• и (i): The most common word for "and."
  • брат и сестра (brat i sestra) — "brother and sister"
  • она поёт и играет (ona poyot i igrayet) — "she sings and plays"
  • светило солнце, и было жарко (svetilo solntse, i bylo zharko) — "the sun was shining, and it was hot"
• и … и (i … i): A strengthened form meaning "both … and," used for emphasis.
  • он и способный, и трудолюбивый (on i sposobnyy, i trudolyubivyy) — "he is both capable and industrious"
• как … так и (kak … tak i): Also means "both … and," but is used in more formal or official contexts.
  • такие вопросы интересуют многих специалистов как в России, так и в зарубежных странах (takie voprosy interesuyut mnogikh spetsialistov kak v Rossii, tak i v zarubezhnykh stranakh) — "such questions interest many specialists both in Russia and abroad"
• не только … но и (ne tol’ko … no i): "not only … but also."
  • он говорит не только по-китайски, но и по-японски (on govorit ne tol’ko po-kitayski, no i po-yaponski) — "he speaks not only Chinese but also Japanese"
• ни … ни (ni … ni): The negative correlative meaning "neither … nor." Note that the second ни is typically preceded by a comma.
  • у людей не было ни отчаяния, ни страха (u lyudey ne bylo ni otchayaniya, ni strakha) — "people had neither despair nor fear"
  • ни он, ни она не знают (ni on, ni ona ne znayut) — "neither he nor she knows" (Note: when subjects are joined this way, the predicate usually takes the plural form).

2. Disjunctive Conjunctions

These conjunctions are used to express alternatives or choices.

• или (ili): The standard word for "or."
  • это собака или волк? (eto sobaka ili volk?) — "is that a dog or a wolf?"
  • Note: In negative contexts, Russian prefers ни … ни over или. For example: он не любит ни футбола, ни тенниса (on ne lyubit ni futbola, ni tennisa) — "he likes neither football nor tennis."
• а (не) то (a (ne) to) / иначе (inache): These mean "or else" or "otherwise."
  • на остановках не выходите, а (не) то заблудитесь (na ostanovkakh ne vykhodite, a (ne) to zabludites’) — "don’t get out at the stops or you’ll get lost"
• или … или (ili … ili) / либо … либо (libo … libo): "either … or."
  • или я пойду к нему, или он придёт ко мне (ili ya poydu k nemu, ili on pridyot ko mne) — "either I will go to him or he will come to me"
• не то … не то (ne to … ne to): "either … or," but used when there is uncertainty or difficulty in identifying something.
  • её фамилия не то Кукушкина, не то Христианкина (yeyo familiya ne to Kukushkina, ne to Khristiankina) — "her surname is either Kukushkina or Khristiankina"
• то … то (to … to): "now … now," used to describe alternating states or actions.
  • он то краснеет, то бледнеет (on to krasneyet, to bledneyet) — "now he blushes, now he grows pale"
• то ли … то ли (to li … to li): Expresses conjecture, similar to "maybe … maybe."
  • то ли под тридцать, то ли за сорок (to li pod tridtsat’, to li za sorok) — "maybe around thirty, maybe in his forties"