Soft sign and some rules for its use

The grammar of the Russian language is a rather complicated phenomenon. Many rules in it are based on logical concepts or historical traditions. This is how you can characterize the spelling associated with the use of a soft sign.

To mitigate consonants

One of the first rules that students get to know when they are still in elementary school is associated with the letter "soft sign." In words, she performs various functions. The first and foremost is to point to softened consonants. In this case, a soft sign is written, firstly, at the very end of the word: laziness, wattle , etc. An exception to this rule are words that end in the letters h, u , these consonants themselves are soft in Russian. For example: ball, key, cloak, stove-maker , etc.

The spelling is pretty easy to remember and put into practice. Basically, it does not cause difficulties and complaints in children. Secondly, the letter soft sign is written in the middle of many words, performing a dividing function. It is necessary to separate the soft consonant from the solid, standing next to it. Being between them, the sign is a kind of border, for example: Vanka, letter, eighth . Without it, a soft sound would assimilate with a neighboring solid one, and the words sounded with a clear "Caucasian" accent. Stupid, isn't it? But the soft sign of this assimilation does not allow, and the words have the usual “correct” appearance that corresponds to the norms of the Russian literary language. But that's not all! Thirdly, “b” is written in the middle of a word between two consonants to mitigate the first of them: a schoolgirl, a logger, a free-rider . If he were not there, the words would have lost their harmony. And finally, the fourth case, when a soft sign is written in words where two of the same (soft) consonants are joined. When a word is changed, the first one retains its softness, and the second hardens: take-take . Still more important are such spellings as “b” before iotated consonants and before the letter “O” in words of foreign origin: family, bindweed, champignons, medallion . In addition, we should not forget about the words in which it is mandatory after hissing: you see, you see, only others.

Verbs and "b"

It is important to teach schoolchildren to correctly write a soft sign in verbs. This applies to the indefinite form, as well as the forms of the second person and the imperative mood. We will analyze in more detail. So, at the end of the infinitive is written "b": write, read, listen . This spelling is also checked by the question: what to do? / What to do? etc. Another soft sign is written after hissing in the verbs: you write, you scorn, you play, you play, you spell, etc. What are they characteristic of? The form of the 2nd person in the present and future tense. Therefore, so that the students are not mistaken, they need to work out an algorithm for determining verb forms, the ability to understand the categories of faces and tenses. The characterization of this part of speech in terms of inclinations is also associated with spelling. "B" is written in the imperative mood and is one of the spelling indicators for many verbs in the singular and plural: eat, cut.

How to consolidate the learned

For the firm assimilation of the material and its successful use in written language practice, the teacher needs to regularly conduct dictionary dictations and interaction dictations, work with cards and punch cards, independent work and other types of control. It is imperative to check notebooks in a timely and thorough manner, keep track of errors and work through them on time.