The first two of these studies are published together in one booklet; Foote's study is of those verbs of motion which have two distinct imperative forms. The distinction between these 'determinate' and 'indeterminate' forms is discussed and analysed at length. Davison deals with a problem of case choice which arises in the earliest stages of learning the language. He gives clear rules for making the choice. Both studies give numerous examples, in cyrillic type, from modern authors and refer the reader to other technical studies.

Arina Petrovna rules the Golovlev family with an iron hand. Around her swarm her family; her alcoholic sons, dissipated grandchildren and degenerate husband. But in his darkened study, her son Porfiry schemes for an overthrow of power. In this powerful novel, the great Russian satirist presents a stark portrait of the Russian gentry sapped by generations of idleness and social irrelevance.