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[Dmitriev, Victor]

Для нас всех время войны БЫЛО очень тяжелым временем.
День Победы для него всегда БЫЛ очень важным праздником.
Год обезьяны БЫЛ нелегким годом для меня.
День моего рождения ПРОШЕЛ очень весело.

На его дне рождения БЫЛО очень весело.

Впрочем, все смешалось в доме Облонских и день рождения Стива ПРОШЛО отвратительно, только и говорили, что о Путине и Медведеве. Б-РРР...




-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of John Hope
Sent: Wednesday, October 06, 2010 7:48 PM
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: [SEELANGS]

SEELANGTSY!

I appeal to your collective wisdom with a grammar question.  Today a young native speaker newly arrived from Moscow used the phrase день рождения было (den' rozhdeniia bylo).  She spelled the phrase день рождения correctly on the board, keeping the genitive, but used the neuter verb form.  When I suggested that this was grammatically incorrect, she told me that nobody now would say "den' rozhdeniia byl" or "moi den' rozhdeniia".

I'd just chalk this up to "kids today," but when I asked an older native speaker, this one a Ph.D.-holding professional teacher of Russian, I was told that, when using the possessive pronoun, моё день рожденье (moe den' rozhden'e) is preferable, i.e. using the neuter form and the uninflected rozhden'e (precisely that, not рождение / rozhdenie).  I confess, I am unable to understand how such a construction is possible grammatically.  I agree that it is widely encountered (as a Google search demonstrates), but correct?  

Another, older native speaker and professional linguist told me he'd never heard моё день рожденье before, and said that it звучит дико.  I'm inclined to agree, but not being a native speaker myself I hesitate.  Is anyone able to explain to me by what grammatical understanding the uninflected form and neuter modifier may be considered correct?

Many thanks,

John P. Hope
Colgate University


      

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