Short-form adjectives (рад, должен, готов)

Я рад вас видеть. Мы готовы. Он должен работать. Я занят.I am glad to see you. We are ready. He has to work. I am busy.

Most adjectives have a long form, the one in the dictionary (новый, готовый, свободный), which declines through all the cases. Many also have a short form: a shorter variant that has no case endings and does not decline, usually used after the verb "to be" or in its place. Short forms are very common with feelings, states and obligation (рад, болен, занят, должен), and a few words are used mainly in the short form (рад, должен, прав). The long forms are in Adjective agreement in the nominative (gender & number) and Adjectives and pronouns in the cases (хорошего врача, с новой учительницей, в большом городе).

Quick shortcut: the masculine short form is the stem with no ending (готов), the feminine adds -а (готова), the neuter -о (готово) and the plural -ы or -и (готовы). The short form is used as a predicate (Он готов), not in front of a noun, and it agrees with the subject in gender and number.

How the short form is made

Take the long form and remove the ending. The masculine is then the bare stem, and the other forms add a short ending:

When the stem ends in two consonants, a vowel (-е- or -о-, sometimes -ё-) often appears in the masculine form between them. The other forms keep the consonants together:

A few adjectives have their own special forms that are learned one by one, such as должен / должна / должно / должны (must, supposed to), рад / рада / рады (glad), прав / права / правы (right, correct) and похож / похожа / похоже / похожи (similar, alike). Many adjectives have no short form in everyday speech, such as most adjectives made from nouns (деревянный, русский) and the colours (красный).

The neuter short form looks like an adverb (Здесь свободно "It is free here", Мне больно "It hurts me"). Sentences with the neuter and a person in the dative (Мне нужно, Мне можно) are covered in Impersonal constructions (можно, нужно, нельзя + dative).

Where the short form is used

A short form is a predicate: it says what the subject is like, and it agrees with the subject in gender and number. The present tense normally has no verb (Zero copula and есть: 'to be' and 'there is' in Russian), so the short form follows the subject directly:

• Он занят. (He is busy.)
• Она рада. (She is glad.)
• Мы готовы. (We are ready.)
• Эти места свободны. (These seats are free.)

In the past and the future the form of быть is added, and the short form only changes for gender and number:

• Вчера она была больна. (She was ill yesterday.)
• Мы были рады вас видеть. (We were glad to see you.)
• Завтра я буду свободен. (I will be free tomorrow.)

The short form is not placed in front of a noun. For "a ready lunch" or "a busy person" the long form is used: готовый обед, занятой человек. A single person addressed as вы takes the plural short form: Вы правы (You are right), Вы очень добры (You are very kind).

Short form or long form?

In a predicate both forms are often possible, and the short form tends to say that someone or something is in a state at the moment or in a given situation. The long form often describes a lasting characteristic or just names the kind of person or thing:

• Он болен. (He is ill [now].) and Он больной человек. (He is a sick man.)
• Она занята. (She is busy [now].) and Она занятая женщина. (She is a busy woman.)

Some short forms add the idea of "too": Эти джинсы мне велики. (These jeans are too big for me.) Туфли мне малы. (The shoes are too small for me.) Here the short form says that the size does not suit the person in the dative, not just that the jeans are big.

Obligation and feelings: рад, должен, нужен

Three short forms are among the most useful at this level:

• должен + infinitive says that someone has to or is supposed to do something. It agrees with the subject: Я должен работать. Она должна позвонить. Мы должны идти. With не, it says that something is not supposed to happen: Вы не должны курить (You must not smoke).
• рад says "glad". It takes an infinitive, a что clause or a dative: Я рад вас видеть. Мы рады, что вы пришли. Они рады гостям.
• нужен says that someone needs something. The thing needed is the subject and the short form agrees with it, while the person is in the dative: Мне нужен словарь. Мне нужна книга. Нам нужны деньги.

What the short form goes with

Many short forms take a fixed case or preposition. These are worth learning together with the adjective:

The instrumental endings are in The Russian instrumental with заниматься and интересоваться (занимаюсь спортом, интересуюсь музыкой) and The Russian instrumental with с (с другом, со мной, чай с лимоном).

Common mistakes

• ❌ Я готов (said by a woman) → ✅ Я готова (The short form agrees with the speaker's gender)
• ❌ Она должен прийти → ✅ Она должна прийти (должен agrees with its subject)
• ❌ Мы радые → ✅ Мы рады (The plural short form is -ы, without a long ending)
• ❌ Я занят работа → ✅ Я занят работой (занят takes the instrumental)
• ❌ Я согласен вам → ✅ Я согласен с вами (согласен goes with с + instrumental)
• ❌ готов обед → ✅ готовый обед (Before a noun, the long form is used)

Quick check

Which short form fits each gap?

1. Моя сестра очень ____ . (рад)
2. Мы ____ идти. (готов)
3. Анна, ты ____ позвонить маме. (должен)
4. Эти места ____ . (свободен)
5. Вы ____ , Иван Петрович! (прав)
6. Он ____ работой. (занят)

Key takeaways

• The short form has no case ending: готов, готова, готово, готовы.
• It is a predicate and agrees with the subject in gender and number; in the past and the future, был / будет is added.
• A vowel often appears in the masculine when the stem ends in two consonants (свободен, болен).
• The short form is not used in front of a noun, where the long form is used.
• рад, должен, прав are used mainly in the short form.
• Many short forms take a fixed case (занят + instrumental) or preposition (согласен с, готов к).