Not everyone knows how to spell - assistant or assistant. Moreover, not everyone knows how to pronounce the mentioned word correctly. In connection with the frequency of such issues, we decided to devote this article to this topic.
general information
Assistant or assistant? This question is asked by many people who need to correctly write a sentence using such a lexical unit or to pronounce it out loud. It should be noted that there are no separate rules in this regard in the Russian language. But still some information about what letter should be put in this word, we will present to your attention.
Basic rule (letters "w" and "h" before "t" and "n")
How to: assistant or assistant? The simple rule of the Russian language will help us answer this question. In words that are formed from the bases on -k, -ch and -ts, only the letter "h" is written before the suffixes -n-, -nits- and -nik-. It should be noted that in most cases the pronunciation of such expressions is fully consistent with their spelling. Here is a good example: the source is the source, the furnace is the stove, the bird is the house, the cleaning is the cleaning, the paint is colorful, the sand is the sandbox, the end is the end.
However, there are also cases when the pronunciation of the sound “sh” corresponds to in some words written in the letter “h”. As a rule, these include the following: bakery, mustard, bachelorette party, tray, milk jug, eyeglasses, pepper shakers, midnight, non-dishwashing, laundry, trifling, candlestick, cordial, birdhouse, boring, hat, fried eggs, quartet, quartet, triad, quintuple and other But what does this rule have to do with the question of how to write: assistant or assistant? The most immediate. After all, there are similar "laws."
How to: assistant or assistant? We find out together
If you ask this question to an experienced linguist, then he, of course, will say that only “assistant” should be spelled correctly. What is the reason for this? The fact is that this word came from the noun "help" due to the addition of the suffix -nik-. Accordingly, writing it is required only through the consonant "u" and nothing else. But why then in general the question arises as to how to write correctly: assistant or assistant? The fact is that such a lexical unit is pronounced somewhat differently than it is written. After all, we almost never say this: “I urgently need a [nickname] who will do all this work for me” or “A good [nickname] will come out of you.” You must admit that the word we are checking in these sentences cuts the ear somewhat. It is customary to say this: “Pom [w] nickname is good. Without him, we won’t do all the things on time ”or“ I could only dream of such a helper like you. ”
Word Testing Tips
As mentioned above, there is simply no separate rule regarding the writing and pronunciation of a given lexical unit in Russian. But to determine one letter or another in the text, experts recommend choosing a test word for the word "assistant". The meaning of the word is "a person who helps someone in something." In this case, this is "help" with the consonant letter "u" at the end.
Important to remember
Having figured out how to write this word, it is quite easy to formulate a note to the basic rule, which was presented to your attention at the very beginning of the article. It will look like this: in the word "assistant" you need to write only the letter "u". However, during the pronunciation, instead of her, it is required to say “sh,” that is, literally [memorial].
The same note can be attributed to such a word as “all-night”. This lexical unit is formed from the "night". This is the Church Slavonic form of the word "night." Thus, “all-night” is written with the letter “u”, however it is pronounced through “w”, that is, literally [all-night].
Other features of the basic rule
It should also be noted that in the Russian language there are quite a few words that are written through “h” and pronounced through “w”. But this is only if the given letter is before “n”. As a rule, such patronymic units include female middle names. Here is a good example:
- “Anna Savvichna, may I ask you to leave?”
- "Marina Nikitichna was a very strict woman."
- "Catherine Ilyinichna became the teacher of the year."
- "Maria Kuzminichna took everything into her own hands."
Also, the letter “sh” is pronounced instead of “h” before “t” in such words as “nothing” and “mail” (however, “h” should be pronounced in “insignificant” and “something”).
As it is heard, it is written
In several lexical units that are based on -k, before the suffix -n- not only the letter "w" is pronounced, but it is also written. We give a good example: stupid, gorodoshny, rashny and so on. The same thing in the words "double-handed", "rushnyk" and "meticulous".
As for the combination “pcs,” it is written in the particle “neschto” (in the meaning of “unless”), as well as in the adverb “nishto” (in the meaning of “pretty good”). By their origin, these lexical units are associated with the word “what”.