In Russian, there's a special way to politely address someone you don't know well. First of all, you will want to use Вы (the plural "you") instead of ты (the singular "you"). Then, instead of using an address form like "Mr." and the person's surname, you need to combine their first name and their отчество (patronymic). Patronymic is a kind of a middle name that is based on the first name of the person's father. Just like the surname, it has the grammar of an adjective, and therefore needs to be adjusted depending on the person's gender. In this audio, you will hear two of the most common patronymics you'll encounter in their masculine and feminine versions.
