"Это рассказ про волшебников и драконов."
Translation:This is a story about wizards and dragons.
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It goes to show how clear and understandable these lessons are when, this far into the course, we are only just now learning the difference between the usage of Это and Этот. It takes us angrily thinking it should mean "this story" and not "this is a story" to come here and realize that the tiny amount of time spent in earlier lessons saying "This is a such-and-such" using Это is distinct from "this such-and-such" using Этот.
Maybe it'll finally sink in for me, having it pointed out all in one place, but I'm disappointed that I'm only now making the connection. That is, based on the number of complaints I see here, not entirely the fault of the students.
We're all here, entrenched in the fifth "grade" of the course, and it takes a nearly recreational lesson about wizards and dragons for us to learn "this" vs. "this is." It really makes me wonder what else should have sunk in by now that we don't comprehend yet.
I understand the frustration. In practice, it makes no difference if one says "this story" or "this is a story". However, they are grammatically different & DL needs to teach gramatically correct Russian. When you are in Russia, so long as you have the vocabulary you will get by with wrong pronunciation & incorrect grammar& endings. It fills me with admiration that so many people, eg refugees, learn to speak other languages so well.