This is perhaps a use of где that I have yet to encounter; I simply can't work out the meaning of this sentence:
Где бы смолчать, а он сейчас в драку.
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Где бы = Вместо того чтобы– MattOct 17, 2015 at 20:19
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1Also "сейчас" in this sentence means rather "straight away" than "now".– MattOct 17, 2015 at 20:26
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2I'd suggest a translation of this into better Russian as "Ему бы смолчать, а он сразу в драку (полез)".– Alex_anderOct 17, 2015 at 21:40
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Still, I think it ought to be "а он сразу в драку (лезет)", and not "...(полез)". Although it seems that the past tense perfective verb might imply subjunctive mood.– Victor BazarovOct 18, 2015 at 19:38
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2 Answers
Here the words "где бы смолчать" is a subjunctive construct which actually means something like "anywhere it might be advisable to keep silent". Translated from "proverbal" Russian, the entire sentence might be
Смолчать бы где-то, а он тотчас же - в драку.
The order of words in Russian, as you probably know, is not predetermined, and here the particle бы is placed before the verb for giving the spoken phrase more fluency (compare to "смолчать бы", where you can hear a very hard pause between words).
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Thank you Victor. I'm curious: is this a statement of general validity, or does it refer to one situation in the past?– CocoPopOct 19, 2015 at 14:40
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It's general. Besides, from "где-то" we conclude that it's not any specific situation, since the -то particle makes that pronoun undefined. Oct 19, 2015 at 14:53
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1I was referring to the last sentence in my answer ("Смолчать бы где-то, а он тотчас же - в драку."), which I think is easier to understand. Oct 19, 2015 at 19:10
Where he could keep silence, he would eagerly brawl
(I imagine there is better-styled version of "keep silent" in English)
