Russian Made Easy — Learning Path

In Episode 1 of Russian Made Easy, the host introduces learners to the course’s modern, science-based approach for mastering Russian. Through real examples, students learn their first words — доктор, инженер, бизнесмен, музыкант, студент, and more — discovering how many Russian and English words are cognates. The episode also teaches the essential pronouns я, он, and она, showing how Russians naturally say phrases like, “I am a doctor," or "She is a business woman," — without a verb. He explains, "Languages are NOT translations of each other. They are each a unique way of using sound to convey information about the world."
Learners practice correct pronunciation, especially the rolled R, and understand masculine and feminine forms such as студент / студентка. In the “Tip of the Day” Mark explains how to memorize vocabulary through short, spaced recall. By the end, listeners can introduce themselves and others by profession, while gaining insight into how Russian structures ideas differently from English.

In Episode 2 of Russian Made Easy, you review the key words from Episode 1 and introduces several new high-frequency structures. Learners discover the word это (“this is”) and practice using it with familiar nouns—мама, папа, водка, борщ, and кола—to make simple statements and yes/no questions. The lesson adds two new possessive pairs, мой / моя (“my”) and твой / твоя (“your”), guiding students to notice natural sound patterns that signal masculine and feminine forms.
Through contextual examples, learners see how Russian grammar is based on rhyming endings rather than abstract case charts. In the "Tip of the Day", Mark explains why it is essential for students to learn the literal meaning of every phrase. By the end, listeners can confidently point out people and objects, say who owns what, and ask or answer questions such as Это мой суп? and Она твоя мама?

In Episode 3 of Russian Made Easy, students learn how to describe where people are from. Learners practice new masculine and feminine nationalities such as американец / американка (American), австралиец / австралийка (Australian), англичанин / англичанка (English), and канадец / канадка (Canadian), while reviewing how gender endings guide pronunciation and meaning.
The lesson also adds the words друг and подруга (“male friend” / “female friend”) and shows how to combine them with possessives like мой and моя to introduce others: Это мой друг Лэйтон. Он — австралиец. (This is my friend Layton. He's Australian.) During the "Tip of the Day" segment, Mark debunks the myth that students must sound native-perfect; learners discover that clear, understandable speech matters far more than accent. By the end, listeners can identify and introduce friends by nationality and gender in simple Russian sentences.

In Episode 4 of Russian Made Easy, students learn how to greet and introduce people in Russian using the key phrase Здравствуйте (“be healthy!” — the formal way to say hello). Students also learn the question–answer pair Как Вас зовут? / Меня зовут [имя] (“What’s your name?” / “My name is …”), gaining insight into literal meaning and sentence rhythm. The lesson reviews nationalities and possessives from earlier episodes while expanding into natural conversation: Это мой друг Робби. Он — музыкант.
A major focus is pronunciation and comprehension rather than perfection. In his Tip of the Day, Mark explains the power of hand-written flashcards for long-term memory through kinesthetic learning-- a fact supported by numerous scientific studies on the efficacy of handwriting. By the end of the episode, listeners can greet politely, ask and state names, and carry out a short self-introduction in Russian with confidence.

In Episode 5 of Russian Made Easy, Mark introduces two essential Russian question words — Кто (“who”) and Что (“what”) — and shows how they appear in natural conversation: Кто это? (“Who is this?”) and Что это? (“What is this?”). Learners also add the new noun адвокат (“lawyer”) and review how to form questions with the Russian word "а" for contrast (А кто это? “And who is this?”). Vocabulary expands with икра (“caviar”), лимонад, да, and нет, reinforcing daily-life situations like identifying people and objects.
In his Tip of the Day, Mark teaches a powerful mnemonic strategy called a PowerPhrase, using sound associations (like “Eek, raw!” → икра) to strengthen memory through humor and vivid imagery. By the end, learners can comfortably ask and answer who and what questions in Russian and apply creative memory tools to lock in new vocabulary.

In Episode 6 of Russian Made Easy, students learn the phrase Я буду (“I will / I’ll have”), one of the most practical constructions for ordering food and drinks in Russian. Through café dialogues, learners discover how feminine nouns like пицца, водка, икра change their ending from “-a” to “-u” when they become the object of an action (Я буду пиццу, водку, икру), while masculine nouns (суп, борщ, салат) stay the same. This episode also teaches essential polite expressions — Спасибо (“thank you”), Пожалуйста (“please / you’re welcome”), and И (“and”) — and demonstrates how to combine them naturally in restaurant exchanges.
In his Tip of the Day, Mark explains the concept of “constructions” (fill-in-the-blank sentence patterns like Я буду ___), showing how mastering these patterns leads to fluency faster than memorizing individual words. By the end, learners can confidently order food and drinks in Russian, use polite forms, and recognize one of the most important grammar shifts in the language: how nouns change when you do something to them.

In Episode 7 of Russian Made Easy, are taught two of the most common Russian words: есть (“there is / is there”) and хорошо (“good,” “okay,” or “alright”). Learners practice using есть to ask and answer questions about available items in cafés — Есть суп? Есть кофе? — and use хорошо to agree naturally in conversation. The lesson builds on earlier restaurant exchanges, reinforcing how feminine nouns change their ending from “-a” to “-u” when they become the object of an action (Я буду пасту, солянку), while masculine words remain unchanged (Я буду борщ, йогурт).
Mark also teaches key café vocabulary like йогурт, маффин, салат, and блины, and expands cultural fluency with real-world dialogue patterns including greetings (Здравствуйте, Добрый день) and polite responses (Спасибо, Пожалуйста). In his Tip of the Day, he advises students to occasionally ask questions they already know the answers to when speaking with natives — a clever way to focus on listening and pronunciation without stress. By the end, learners can navigate a café, order confidently, and respond naturally in simple Russian conversations.

In Episode 8 of Russian Made Easy, you learn the high-frequency verb хочешь (“want”) and explains how to use it in natural, conversational contexts — Хочешь пиццу? Хочешь кофе? Learners also discover when to include the pronoun ты (“you”) before it: required in statements (Ты хочешь пиццу), optional in neutral questions (Хочешь кофе?), and essential when expressing surprise (Ты хочешь водку?!). Through these examples, students deepen their grasp of formal vs. informal speech, contrasting casual хочешь with the polite хотите.
The lesson expands earlier grammar concepts by showing how feminine nouns like пицца, кола, икра change from -a to -у when acted upon (Хочешь мою пиццу?), and how possessive words adapt accordingly (мою, мой, моя). Mark’s Tip of the Day stresses the importance of blending old and new material — recycling earlier constructions (Это мой кофе, Я буду пиццу и салат) with new vocabulary to build fluency through pattern recognition. By the end, learners can ask and answer questions about what people want, correctly adjust noun endings, and use conversational Russian naturally with friends and family.

In Episode 9 of Russian Made Easy, students are introduced to the verb хочу (“I want”) and builds on Episode 8’s хочешь (“you want”). Students practice both forms through everyday café and home scenarios — Я хочу чай, Ты хочешь пиццу? — and learn to extend these patterns with кушать (“to eat”), creating full expressions like Я хочу кушать and Ты хочешь кушать? The episode also reviews how feminine nouns change to -у when acted upon (пиццу, пасту), while masculine and neuter nouns remain unchanged (чай, суп, кофе). New food vocabulary includes блины (thin Russian pancakes), суши (sushi), and чай (tea), all taught using memorable PowerPhrases and real-life dialogue.
Mark then introduces the negation particle не, showing how it naturally forms phrases like Я не хочу кушать (“I don’t want to eat”) and Не хочу (“Don’t want”). The Tip of the Day explains verb conjugations — encouraging learners to focus only on one or two forms at a time rather than memorizing all six endings. The episode closes with the adverb только (“only”) — as in Ты только хочешь суп! — reinforcing Russian word order and rhythm. By the end, learners can express what they want and don’t want, add verbs after хочу, and use negation confidently in natural speech.

In Episode 10 of Russian Made Easy, the lesson becomes a practical interpretation exercise, giving learners full bilingual dialogues to translate between English and Russian. Through these mini-scenes, students review and consolidate nearly everything from Episodes 1–9 — greetings (Здравствуйте, Меня зовут...), introductions (Это мой друг...), nationalities (Он — американец, Она — австралийка), occupations (адвокат, доктор, бизнесмен), and food vocabulary (пицца, борщ, паста, йогурт, маффин). They also practice conversational patterns like Хочешь кушать?, Что есть?, and polite exchanges with пожалуйста and спасибо, building confidence through realistic social settings.
A new word, или (“or”), expands question range — Хочешь чай или кофе? — and students apply all prior grammar: noun endings (пиццу, водку), negation with не (Я не хочу кушать), and casual vs. formal “want” forms (хочешь / хотите). The Tip of the Day teaches learners how to pause and treat each phrase as a construction, swapping in new vocabulary to reinforce fluency: Я не хочу пиццу, Я не хочу суши, and so on. By the end, listeners can understand and interpret full beginner-level conversations naturally — the first milestone in Russian Made Easy series.

In Episode 11 of Russian Made Easy, students learn the essential Russian construction мне нравится (“I like,” literally “to me is pleasing”) and its counterpart тебе нравится (“you like,” literally “to you is pleasing”). Learners explore how Russian frames liking from the object’s perspective — Мне нравится пицца (pizza pleases me) — contrasting it with active constructions like Я хочу икру (“I want caviar”). The episode introduces the plural form нравятся for multiple liked items (Мне нравятся блины), alongside the new pronouns мне (“to me”) and тебе (“to you”). Students review key cognates — рок, джаз, блюз — and learn to form natural sentences like Тебе нравится рок? / Мне нравится джаз.
Mark reinforces pronunciation of tricky consonant clusters (нр) and the difference between singular and plural verb endings, explaining that precision matters less than natural rhythm in speech. The Tip of the Day expands the flashcard method: keep a small “trouble card” in your wallet for daily review and sometimes quiz yourself Russian side first to strengthen recall. The lesson ends with the new verb танцевать (“to dance”) and related questions — Тебе нравится танцевать? / Хочешь танцевать? — giving learners their first taste of infinitive verbs after “like” and “want.” By the close, students can express personal preferences and dislikes, both for things and actions, using natural, native-style phrasing.

Episode 12 introduces я люблю (“I love”) and contrasts it with мне нравится (“I like,” lit. “to me is pleasing”). Learners see how люблю makes you the actor, so feminine nouns and many place names shift to the -у form when they’re the object: Я люблю пиццу / икру / Москву / Одессу, while in the "I like" construction, мне нравится пицца / икра / Москва the thing being liked is doing the action. Thus, it stays in the base form. (Because the thing “pleases” you.) The episode also reinforces нравится / нравятся (singular vs. plural), adds the conjunction но (“but”) for contrast, and introduces the object pronoun тебя in Я люблю тебя (“I love you”).
By the end, learners can state likes vs. loves with clear grammar, apply the -а → -у shift after люблю, and talk about cities and foods naturally: Мне нравится Москва, но я люблю Санкт-Петербург; (I like Moscow but I love St. Petersburg.) A quick practice set covers music genres (рок, джаз, блюз), the verb танцевать, and word order variants (Я люблю тебя / Я тебя люблю).

In Episode 13, students learn two powerful everyday words — Пошли! (“Let’s go!” / “Let’s head out!”) and Куда? (“Where to?” or “To where?”). Through natural dialogues, learners practice using them with city-location vocabulary: в парк (to the park), в центр (to the center/downtown), в кафе (to a café), and в магазин (to a store). The episode also explains how the preposition в (“to/in”) is pronounced as “v” before voiced consonants (в магазин sounds like v-magazin). Students learn how to answer Куда? using these short destination phrases and see how Пошли! can also describe people already leaving — e.g., Джеймс и Наташа пошли в парк (“James and Natasha went to the park”).
Earlier in the episode, learners meet four new location cognates — парк, центр, кафе, магазин — and discover that магазин is a false cognate, meaning “store,” not “magazine.” A brief review reinforces the difference between мне нравится (“I like”) and я люблю (“I love”), and students practice в + location phrases for moving toward places. The Tip of the Day reflects on the limits of audio-only learning and explains why visual input (as in the Russian Accelerator video course) better matches how humans naturally acquire language. By the end, students can direct and respond naturally in simple Russian exchanges: Пошли! — Куда? — В кафе. — Хорошо, пошли!

In Episode 14, the host teaches how to express current location in Russian using где (“where,” in what place) and сейчас (“now”). Learners contrast где with куда (“to where,” movement) and begin building full sentences such as Ты где сейчас? (“Where are you now?”) and Я сейчас в магазине (“I’m now in the store”). Mark highlights the importance of the final -e sound (в магазине, в парке, в центре) because it signals that the speaker is inside or at the place—without it, the phrase means movement (в магазин = “to the store”). Learners also discover that some loanwords, like кафе, never change form.
A second key phrase is на работе (“at work”), introducing the preposition на (“at/on”) and reinforcing that short Russian words like в and на can have multiple meanings depending on context. Through examples and phone-call dialogues, students practice asking and answering location questions:
Где Даша? Она сейчас в магазине.
А ты где? Я сейчас в центре / на работе / в Москве.
The Tip of the Day explains that short, frequent words in any language carry many meanings—so instead of memorizing single-word translations, learners should master whole constructions (e.g., в магазине, на работе) that reveal each sense naturally. By the end, listeners can describe where they are right now and understand the difference between being in a place versus going to one.

In Episode 15, you learn how to talk about where you live using the new verb “жить.” Learners focus on its two main forms: “я живу” (I live) and “ты живёшь” (you live), practicing them in natural exchanges like “Я живу в Нью-Йорке” and “А где ты живёшь?” The episode reviews how place names change after the preposition “в,” adding endings such as “-е” or “-ии” to show location: “в Москве,” “в Лондоне,” “в Калифорнии.” If a place ends in “-а” or “-я,” the ending changes, while names ending in a consonant or “-о” stay the same. Through these examples, learners see how to combine new vocabulary with earlier constructions, such as “Ты живёшь в Одессе?” and “Да, я люблю Одессу.”
Mark then emphasizes recognizing patterns in verb endings instead of memorizing grammar rules. When a verb starts with “я,” it nearly always ends in an “у” or “ю” sound—“я живу,” “я хочу,” “я буду.” When it starts with “ты,” it ends in a “ш” sound—“ты живёшь,” “ты хочешь,” “ты будешь.” He explains that this is how native speakers naturally absorb grammar, by noticing recurring sound patterns rather than studying charts. By the end of the episode, learners can introduce themselves, ask others where they live, and talk about cities they like, while strengthening their understanding of Russian verb forms and noun endings.

In Episode 16, students learn how to talk about where they work using the verb “работать.” Learners begin with phrases they already know, like “Я сейчас на работе” (I’m now at work), and expand them into full sentences such as “Я работаю в Москве” and “Я работаю в компании Майкрософт.” The episode introduces “компания” as a cognate for “company” and shows how words change their endings after prepositions like “в,” for example “в банке,” “в офисе,” and “в центре.” These endings signal that the speaker is located in that place. The episode also reinforces that “моя” must rhyme with “работа,” as in “моя работа,” and that “моя компания” follows the same pattern.
A key part of the lesson focuses on noticing verb-ending patterns instead of memorizing charts. When a verb starts with “я,” it usually ends in an “у” or “ю” sound, as in “я живу,” “я хочу,” and “я работаю.” When a verb starts with “ты,” it ends with a “ш” sound, as in “ты живёшь,” “ты хочешь,” and “ты работаешь.” Mark explains how word order in Russian can shift emphasis—“Ты сейчас работаешь?” highlights the action, while “Ты работаешь сейчас?” highlights the time. The tip of the day reminds listeners to find personal motivation for studying Russian, whether for travel, relationships, or career goals. By the end of the episode, learners can confidently ask and answer questions about where they work and use workplace vocabulary in natural conversation.

In Episode 17, you'll learn how to talk about which languages you speak using the verb “говорить.” Learners start with “Я говорю по-русски” (I speak Russian) and “Ты говоришь по-русски?” (Do you speak Russian?), then build on the pattern with “Я говорю по-английски” and “Я говорю по-испански.” They also review previous material on “работать,” “жить,” and “хотеть,” comparing how the endings change for each subject: “я говорю / ты говоришь / он говорит,” “я живу / ты живёшь / он живёт,” and “я хочу / ты хочешь / она хочет.” Mark explains that these are three of the six main Russian verb conjugations, and that recognizing patterns—rather than memorizing charts—is the key to mastering them. The lesson includes country and language names such as Испания, Англия, and Барселона, helping learners connect geography with grammar.
The Tip of the Day focuses on speaking speed: Think slowly but speak quickly, since native speakers find it easier to understand natural rhythm and flow than slow, word-by-word delivery. Learners practice applying all three verb endings in realistic contexts, like “Он работает в Минске,” “Она живёт в Торонто,” and “Он говорит по-испански.” They also revisit restaurant dialogues using multiple verbs: “Я хочу пиццу, а она хочет салат,” and “Он хочет стейк и салат, пожалуйста.” By the end, students can confidently discuss where people live, work, and what languages they speak, using smooth, natural-sounding Russian with proper verb endings and sentence rhythm.

Episode 18 focuses on mastering the Russian construction for expressing “I need” — a key grammar pattern built around the phrase мне нужен (“to me is needed”). He explains that, just like мне нравится (“to me is pleasing”), this structure literally describes something being needed to you. Learners first use it with masculine nouns — мне нужен банк, сувенир, компьютер, телефон, интернет — then switch to its feminine form нужна for feminine nouns: мне нужна машина, квартира, икра, работа. Mark highlights how нужен and нужна must always “rhyme” with the gender of the noun, giving learners a natural feel for agreement instead of forcing grammatical memorization. Along the way, students expand vocabulary with useful cognates like сувенир, компьютер, телефон, интернет, and машина, as well as the non-cognate квартира (“apartment”).
The Tip of the Day answers a listener’s question about whether it’s necessary to learn the Cyrillic alphabet early. Mark explains that beginners can get by speaking and listening alone but that learning to read eventually deepens mastery—especially because writing helps solidify memory. He recommends his short course Russian Alphabet Mastery: 3 Hour Cyrillic for anyone intimidated by the alphabet. The episode closes with practice linking previous constructions—Мне нравится твоя машина (I like your car), Где мой телефон? (Where is my phone?)—to today’s new grammar. By the end, learners can confidently talk about what they need, distinguish between masculine and feminine forms, and use authentic Russian patterns that sound natural in real conversations.

In Episode 19, students learn the possession construction У меня есть — “I have,” literally “at me there exists.” You hear how it contrasts with the dative forms from earlier: мне нужен телефон (“to me is needed a phone”) vs. у меня есть телефон (“I have a phone”). The same switch appears in the 2nd person: тебе нужен… (“you need…”) vs. у тебя есть…? (“do you have…?”). You practice asking and answering with real items: у меня есть машина / компьютер / телефон / сувениры; у тебя есть кошка? да, у меня есть кошка. Crucially, nouns after есть don’t change (we’re not “doing” anything to them), unlike after verbs like хочу: я хочу кошку.
You also learn how у works with people’s names: у Джона есть машина, у Марка есть телефон, and with feminine names а→и: у Ольги / у Светланы есть…—a showcase of how tiny words (like у, в, на) trigger ending shifts (в банке, на работе). New vocabulary folds in smoothly: сувенир, машина, компьютер, телефон, интернет, квартира, кошка, ручка—plus natural mini-dialogs offering or stating what someone has. By the end, you can talk about what you and others have, ask about possessions, and handle the у + Genitive pattern with both pronouns and names confidently.

In Episode 20 — the second mid-term of Russian Made Easy — learners take part in a full dialogue that tests everything learned so far. Through a natural story set in a Kiev café, you practice switching between English and Russian, using familiar patterns such as У меня есть… (“I have…”), Мне нравится… (“I like…”), Я живу / ты работаешь / она хочет, and ordering phrases like Я буду борщ, пожалуйста. Five new expressions appear naturally in conversation: давай на ты (“let’s speak informally”), здесь (“here”), кстати (“by the way”), and the relationship words парень (boyfriend) and девушка (girlfriend, but literally "young woman"). You also review how to ask about places, order food, and describe what people have, want, or like.
In the Tip of the Day, Mark encourages listeners not to worry when they hear unfamiliar Russian words, since context often reveals their meaning. He explains that each episode is a team effort, created with input from several Russian speakers and staff. By the end, you can hold an extended real-life conversation: greeting new people, introducing friends, talking about work and relationships, ordering in cafés, and responding naturally with phrases like Пошли! and Давай! — all while reinforcing smooth back-and-forth fluency in Russian.

Episode 21 of Russian Made Easy reviews key vocabulary from the previous mid-term—давай на ты (“let’s speak informally”), здесь (“here”), кстати (“by the way”), девушка and парень (“girlfriend” / “boyfriend”), пиво (“beer”), and the mild exclamation блин! (“darn!”). Through quick dialogues, learners revisit these in natural sentences: Кстати, моя девушка работает здесь (“By the way, my girlfriend works here”) and Блин! Где мой телефон? (“Darn! Where’s my phone?”). This review reinforces conversational fluency and prepares listeners for today’s main topic — switching from informal to formal speech.
The new focus is the formal “you” (Вы) and its related forms: Вам, Вас, and their matching verb endings. Learners practice respectful speech for addressing elders, strangers, or groups, contrasting it with familiar ты-forms: Ты говоришь по-русски? → Вы говорите по-русски?; Ты живёшь? → Вы живёте?; Ты хочешь? → Вы хотите? The Tip of the Day explains cultural expectations around using formal vs. casual speech in Russia, stressing the importance of showing respect. By the end, students can comfortably adjust register—asking Вы работаете здесь?, Квартира Вам нравится?, and У Вас есть машина?—and are ready to expand their descriptive power with adjectives in the next episode.

Episode 22 of Russian Made Easy begins by reviewing the formal possessive adjectives Ваш / Ваша (“your”), reinforcing polite forms in context: Это Ваша квартира? (“Is this your apartment?”), Я люблю Вашу пиццу (“I love your pizza”). Learners also revisit formal verbs and pronouns like Вы живёте, Вам нравится, and У Вас есть, strengthening confidence in respectful communication. The main grammar focus introduces adjectives — first the common ones красивый (“beautiful”) and вкусный (“tasty”) — and the adverb очень (“very”). Through examples such as Это очень вкусная пицца and Твоя мама очень красивая, learners see how adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe.
The Tip of the Day explores how meaning is a continuum: you can partially understand a word from context long before mastering its dictionary definition. Two new words illustrate this — молоко (“milk”) and галстук (“tie”). From there, Mark introduces neuter nouns ending in –o, such as пиво, молоко, and сало (a traditional Slavic delicacy of cured pig fat), showing how their adjectives take the –ое ending: вкусное пиво, вкусное сало. By the end, students can describe people and food as beautiful or delicious, understand gender agreement for adjectives, and grasp one of the most important insights in language learning — that real comprehension develops gradually through exposure and context.

Episode 23 of Russian Made Easy focuses on mastering formal vs. informal speech—a crucial distinction in Russian that English lacks. Through examples like Таня, хочешь чай? versus Чай хотите?, learners practice switching tone depending on the relationship: casual with friends (ты, твой, тебе) and polite with elders or strangers (Вы, Ваш, Вам). The episode also expands the possessive forms for gender and number, showing how “your” changes across masculine (твой чай), feminine (твоя икра), neuter (твоё молоко), and plural (твои блины), along with their formal equivalents (Ваш, Ваша, Ваше, Ваши). This practical contrast builds awareness of how deeply Russian reflects respect and social context in everyday speech.
The Tip of the Day warns against the “Gigantor Vocabulary” trap—trying to learn too many words without mastering how to use them. Instead, Mark stresses building a strong core vocabulary with flexible grammar patterns. Learners then apply this principle while combining new and old material: describing food (вкусный, вкусная, вкусные), asking opinions with Как…? (“How is…?”), and linking politeness with precision—Как ваше сало? Вкусное? or Как твоя пицца? Вкусная? By the end, students can naturally shift between formal and informal speech, handle gender and plural agreement for adjectives and possessives, and confidently interact in real-life dining and hosting situations.

In Episode 24 of Russian Made Easy, Mark expands on greetings and small talk, teaching how Russians greet friends with Привет—a friendly “hi” used only with people you already know. He contrasts it with formal greetings like Здравствуйте, explaining how social familiarity, not grammar, determines which one fits. Learners then add a key conversational phrase: Как дела? (“How are things?”) and practice natural responses like Нормально (“Fine, okay”) and Всё хорошо (“Everything’s good”). These core exchanges—Привет, Полина! Как дела? … Нормально. А у тебя?—anchor the episode’s goal of helping students handle everyday interactions smoothly and confidently.
The Tip of the Day introduces diminutives, showing how Russians make words sound affectionate or cute by adding endings like -ик or -ка: привет → приветик, Андрей → Андрюшка, салат → салатик, блины → блинчики. Mark explains that such forms express warmth or smallness and appear often in informal speech. The episode also revisits всё (“everything, all”) in phrases like Всё хорошо and Да, это всё, tying it to real-world contexts like restaurant and travel scenarios. By the end, learners can greet friends and groups naturally, use polite small talk, understand Russian diminutives when they hear them, and respond appropriately in casual conversation.

Episode 25 of Russian Made Easy introduces past tense verbs and how they change depending on gender and formality. Learners practice the verb говорить (“to speak, to talk”) in the past: говорил for males, говорила for females, and говорили for plural or formal “you.” Through natural examples like Он говорил с Джоном (“He was talking with John”) and Мама говорила с Брэдом (“Mom was talking with Brad”), students see how Russian past tense verbs reflect the sex of the speaker—a unique feature compared to English. The episode also builds awareness of how the small preposition с (“with”) changes the form of the word that follows: с Марком, с Ольгой, с Наташей, and even с молоком (“with milk”).
The Tip of the Day tackles Russian numbers, explaining why they are so complex and why context determines the correct form of even a simple word like “one”: один, одна, одно, одну, etc. Mark reassures listeners not to be intimidated—just as with other Russian grammar, mastery comes gradually through context, not memorization. Learners finish the episode combining old and new material: Я хочу кофе с молоком, Ты говорил с Толиком?, Мама работала с Марком. By the end, students can talk about who was speaking or working with whom, apply gender endings correctly, and start recognizing how prepositions subtly transform nearby words in everyday Russian speech.

In Episode 26 of Russian Made Easy, students learn the past-tense form of the verb “сказать” (to say, to tell), contrasting it with говорить (to talk, to speak). Learners master the masculine and feminine past tense forms — сказал and сказала — through examples like Он сказал нет (“He said no”) and Она сказала да (“She said yes”), again noting the clear rhyme-based grammar of the language. The episode also reviews how past-tense verbs change based on gender and formality, and how the small word с (“with”) affects what follows (с Марком, с Кариной). Students then combine new material with old to build one of the most common Russian patterns: Я сказал, что… (“I said that…”). Examples include Она сказала, что не хочет пиццу and Ты сказал, что тебе нравятся блины, giving learners a natural way to report what others said.
The Tip of the Day explains the crucial Russian concept of verb aspect—the difference between describing an ongoing process versus a single, completed action. Mark compares English forms like “I was talking” versus “I said,” and shows how Russian handles this with two distinct verbs: ловил (was catching/fishing) versus поймал (caught). He emphasizes that understanding this “process vs. result” distinction is key to long-term fluency. By the end, learners can express what they or others said, wanted, or meant, form questions like Что ты сказал? and Что он хотел?, and grasp one of the most fundamental ideas behind how Russian verbs work.

In Episode 27 of Russian Made Easy, Mark introduces the past tense verb “купить” (to buy) and the plural past form of “to be” — мы были (“we were”). Learners practice new examples like Что ты купил? (“What did you buy?”), Я купила сувенир (“I bought a souvenir”), and Мы были в центре (“We were downtown”). The episode also expands the “we” (мы) forms of verbs, showing a consistent “-m” ending pattern: мы живём (we live), мы работаем (we work), мы хотим (we want), мы говорим (we speak), мы купили (we bought). Through realistic scenarios—ordering in cafés, describing travels, and talking about daily routines—students see how easily these forms fit into conversation.
The Tip of the Day focuses on building fluency through mini-conversations. Mark encourages learners to create imaginary dialogues that alternate between я, ты, мы, and вы forms—like Я хочу кофе, а ты хочешь чай? or Мы живём в Севастополе. А где Вы живёте?—as a way to train natural switching between pronouns and verb endings. The episode ends with another high-frequency verb: знать (“to know”). Learners master phrases such as Я не знаю (“I don’t know”), Ты не знаешь? (“You wouldn’t happen to know?”), and Вы не знаете, где метро? (“You don’t know where the subway is?”). By the end, students can confidently talk about where they were, what they bought, what they want, and what they know or don’t know—all with realistic, conversational fluency.

In Episode 28 of Russian Made Easy, students learn the past-tense forms of “to give” — дал (he gave) and дала (she gave) — and introduces how recipients change form in Russian. Through examples like Вадим дал Джону пиво (“Vadim gave John a beer”) and Светлана дала Стиву телефон (“Svetlana gave Steve a phone”), learners see that male recipients add an -у ending (Джону, Стиву), while female recipients add a -е ending (Ольге, Даше). This pattern also connects to familiar words like мне, тебе, and Вам — all literally meaning “to me,” “to you,” and “to you (formal).” Students practice real-life exchanges such as Павел дал тебе машину? (“Did Pavel give you a car?”) and Мама дала Ане сувенир (“Mom gave Anya a souvenir”).
The Tip of the Day steps back to celebrate how far listeners have come: by this point, they’ve learned all six grammatical cases and five of the six verb conjugations, with the final one coming next episode. Mark encourages students to keep practicing, noting that mastering case endings and verb forms is the foundation of true fluency. The lesson wraps up with the new word подарок (“gift, present”) in phrases like Я купил маме подарок (“I bought Mom a gift”) and Где мой подарок? (“Where’s my present?”). A final review ties everything together — using verbs like купить, сказать, говорить, and жить — reinforcing that learners can now express who gave, bought, said, or wanted something with confidence and precision.

Episode 29 of Russian Made Easy introduces the sixth and final verb conjugation in Russian — the “они” (they) form — completing the full set of verb endings. Learners discover that они rhymes naturally with other plural forms (вы, мы, они) and that in the past tense, verbs take -ли: они были (“they were”), они хотели (“they wanted”), они купили (“they bought”), они сказали (“they said”). In the present tense, the “they” form typically adds a -т sound to the я form:
Я живу → они живут
Я знаю → они знают
Я работаю → они работают.
Mark also introduces a new noun, мёд (“honey”), and uses it in real phrases like Они будут блины с мёдом (“They’ll have pancakes with honey”), showing how the instrumental case turns мёд into с мёдом (“with honey”).
The Tip of the Day gives a concise, practical overview of all six grammatical cases — nominative (doer of the action), accusative (receiver of the action), dative (recipient), prepositional (location), genitive (after “у” or possession), and instrumental (with/using something). Mark emphasizes that while learners don’t need to memorize the names, they should understand the concepts behind each case to build grammatical intuition. He encourages students to apply patterns confidently, even if unsure — native speakers will understand and help refine mistakes. By the end, learners can fluently express what people know, buy, want, or say, and have officially completed the entire foundation of Russian grammar, ready for real-world communication or Mark’s advanced Russian Accelerator course.

In Episode 30 — the Final Exam of Russian Made Easy — learners put everything together in one comprehensive review of the entire course. The episode opens with a short, natural Russian dialogue between friends Masha and Andrei, featuring familiar vocabulary and grammar: greetings (Привет! Как дела?), emotions (Очень хорошо!), past tense verbs (Папа купил мне машину!), and new but intuitive commands (Иди! Смотри!). Students translate each line, testing their listening comprehension and recognition of the grammatical cases, including the prepositional ending in в гараже (“in the garage”).
Mark then leads a series of rapid-fire translation challenges, covering every major structure taught across all thirty lessons:
– Polite vs. informal speech (Вам нужен телефон? / У тебя есть кошка?)
– The “said that…” construction (Вы сказали что Вы хотите пиво?)
– Expressing likes and wants (Вам нравится джаз? / Я люблю сало!)
– The dative and instrumental cases (Я купил маме подарок / с лимоном)
– Verb conjugations in all six forms (Я знаю, ты знаешь, он знает, мы знаем, они знают).
The Tip of the Day is more of a reflection and farewell: Mark congratulates listeners on mastering both all six verb conjugations and all six grammatical cases — the true foundation of Russian grammar. The episode ends with a realistic phone scenario where learners rephrase sentences from мы (“we”) to они (“they”), solidifying control over verb patterns and case endings in context. Mark closes with heartfelt thanks, encouraging students to continue their Russian journey through his Russian Accelerator course and to keep practicing daily. By the end, learners have proven they can understand, translate, and produce full Russian sentences naturally — a complete and confident foundation for conversational fluency.