In Russian adjectives agree in number and gender with the noun it defines. It means that they can have masculine, neuter, feminine or plural endings. The plural ending of adjectives is the same no matter if the adjective is masculine, neuter or feminine.

• Это маленький дом. (This is a small house.)
• Это новое здание. (This is a new building.)
• Это молодая девушка. (This is a young girl.)
• Это большие квартиры. (These are large apartments.)

Russian adjectives answer to the questions “Какой?“, “Какое?“, “Какая?” or “Какие?” (Which?).

• Какой это дом? – Это большой дом. (Which house is it? – It’s a big house.)
• Какая это книга? – Это новая книга. (Which book is it? – It’s a new book.)
• Какое это письмо? – Это старое письмо. (Which letter is it? – It’s an old letter.)
• Какие это люди? – Это молодые люди. (Which people are they? -They are young people.)

This is a list of the most common adjectives:

As you can see, adjectives can have different endings, according to their stems. They are divided in 4 types:

• Stem ending with an hard consonnant (ending -ый (-ой), -ое, -ая, -ые):
  • Новый (new), молодой (young), добрый (kind), etc.
• Stem ending with К, Г, Х (ending -ий (-ой), -ое, -ая, -ие):
  • Маленький (small), дорогой (expensive), плохой (bad), etc.
• Stem ending with Ж, Ч, Ш, Щ (ending -ий (-ой), -ее (-ое), -ая, -ие):
  • Свежий (fresh), горячий (hot), хороший (good), общий (common), etc.
• Stem ending with a soft consonnant (ending -ий, -ее, -яя, -ие):
  • Синий (blue), etc.

Exercises:

•  Adjectives: Exercise 1
•  Adjectives: Exercise 2