☰ Contents · Russian language

A child’s right to education. Disjunctive conjunctions: «или, либо, то…, то…»

Lessons 4 · 1 lessons · O. Ya. Vech, M. Yu. Ivantsova, N. T. Yuldasheva; scientific editor E. A. Khamraeva. Russian as a Foreign Language, Grade 9 (textbook for schools with Uzbek and other languages of instruction). Republican Education Centre, Tashkent, 2022
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§ 4. A child’s right to education and to develop abilities: compound sentences with «или; то…, то…» and other conjunctions

Textbook: pp. 17–19
GoalBuild compound sentences with the disjunctive conjunctions «или, либо, то…, то…» and speak about a child’s right to education.
New words
образование · ta’limспособность · qobiliyatправо · huquqобязанность · majburiyat
Explanation

The disjunctive conjunctions «или, либо» show alternatives or that one thing excludes another: «Ты пойдёшь в театр или останешься дома?» «То…, то…» is a repeated conjunction showing alternation: «То шёл дождь, то светило солнце». A comma separates the parts of a compound sentence; before «или» a comma is not used between homogeneous members but is used between clauses. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted on 20 November 1989 and sets out every child’s right to education. A right comes with a duty: to study and to develop one’s abilities.

Worked examples
«Летом мы поедем в лагерь, или родители возьмут нас на море». Two independent clauses (different subjects), so a comma stands before «или».
«То ученик решал задачи, то читал учебник, то писал сочинение». «То» is repeated before each part, and commas separate them.
Class activity

“Alternation”. Pupils describe a daily routine with «То…, то…»: «То играем, то отдыхаем…».

Practice
1
Add the comma: «Мы пойдём в музей или у нас будет урок в парке».
2
Complete with «То…, то…»: «… лил дождь, … выглядывало солнце».
3
Is a comma needed between homogeneous members? «Ты изучаешь английский или русский язык».
4
Why is education both a right and a duty?