"Это змея?"
Translation:Is it a snake?
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Isn't змея a specific snake species? In czech, we call like that - I think - viper.
Yes, since змея is a feminine noun, "this snake" would be эта змея. In this sentence, это is a demonstrative pronoun not a demonstrative adjective.
Here is a more thorough explanation: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/11536858
Спасибо! I couldn't figure out why, "Is this a snake?" was wrong, and it was making me crazy.
Thank you, mightypotatoe! This was my question. I couldn't figure why sometimes they wanted эта for "woman" or "bed" or "snake", and other times это. You rock!
Yes; "Это змея?" is asking if the object in question is a snake. "эта змея" states that the object in question is "this snake" and not another snake. If you were to ask which snake it is, it would be "Эта змея?"
Almost, but in "Это змея?" you would emphasize "змея," or 'snake'. In "Эта змея?" you would emphasize "Эта," or 'this.'
This is no longer confusing, when you put it that way! Good explanation. Thanks so much.
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I think this is because the stress is on the last syllable - the "я". Unstressed "е" sounds like "и".
Might require either это or switching word order (Змея это?) if you want to be specific.
I wrote "this snake" for "Это змея" and it was marked wrong. Since there are no articles in Russian, A) why is my answer wrong? and B) how would you say "this snake"?, maybe at a pet store for example??
"This snake" would be "эта змея", because "змея" is feminine and "this" (unlike "this is") has to agree with the noun in grammatical gender.
[Zme'ja]. [Z'meja] is not correct. И почему нет вопросительной интонации? Это предложение звучит как утверждение, а нужно как вопрос. То есть в конце предложения нужно повысить тон, тогда это будет звучать как вопрос.
If I was naming things I would have named this creature a Wiggler, but you know Fairy Tales rule in our make-believe world of capitalism by church.
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Нет, that's his name. He's been running around in the woods putting soviet soldiers to sleep with a tranquilizer, rumors says he hides inside a cardboard box... Anyways, just keep your eyes open, comrade.
Maybe it's just my old ears but shouldn't I be able to tell a question from a statement? To me the statement "It is a snake" was heard and it was NOT a question but the words are the same, no?
This is something a kid asks his father when they see a snake for the first time.