Prepositions

Please refer to online resources and dictionaries to ensure correct use of prepositions. Casual/colloquial use of prepositions must be avoided (говорить за что-то, скучать за кем-то), as well as “bureaucratic” usage (согласно приказа).

Pronouns

The use of pronouns in Russian can sometimes create ambiguity when the reader does not know to whom/what the pronoun refers. In this case, the wording needs to be changed to something more precise.

Do not use:
Моя сестра играет в группе, и, кстати, она довольно популярна.
Use instead:
Моя сестра играет в одной группе, кстати, довольно популярной.

To maintain a good, natural flow in the translation, possessive pronouns should be used sparingly, never without a good reason.
A typical mistake when translating from English into Russian is blindly copying the source structure:
I can move my legs. — Я могу двигать своими ногами.

Passive voice

Much like in English, passive voice has a slightly formal connotation and may overcomplicate the sentence structure. It should be avoided in more casual or even neutral contexts.

Do not use:
Я был приглашен на концерт.

Use instead:
Меня пригласили на концерт.

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