Questions tagged [impersonal]

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Does genitive plural take neuter verbs with years?

мне/тебе/ему etc. [x]" constructions tend to use было in the past tense regardless of whether or not there is an agent of the verb someone told me this and i still quite understand it i was given ...
Almonds812's user avatar
  • 1,033
4 votes
1 answer
148 views

"Мне наплевать на ...". Why is it acceptable to use an infinitive verb?

Мне наплевать на тех, кто сейчас занимает мое место. This expression seems to bear all the hallmarks of an impersonal construction, so I wonder why the 3rd-person singular "наплюёт" is not used here....
Con-gras-tue-les-chiens's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
197 views

How to interpret the grammatical construction of "тебе и решать"?

Tебе и решать. === It's up to you (to decide). While I understand the meaning of the expression, its grammatical construction eludes me. Or more specifically, some elements seem to be lacking as is: ...
Con-gras-tue-les-chiens's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
108 views

Why say "Не найдется таких слов" in the singular instead of using the plural "найдутся"?

Наконец-то нашлась моя книга. In this sentence, the passive verb "нашлась" agrees with the feminine singular subject "книга". But then... Не найдется таких слов, чтобы оправдать ....
Con-gras-tue-les-chiens's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
395 views

Why does the verb "стать" need an omitted, impersonal subject here?

С памятью у тебя стало хуже. I assume this translates literally as: It (omitted, impersonal subject) has become worse with the memory of yours. I wonder why the noun "память" cannot be the ...
Con-gras-tue-les-chiens's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
198 views

How to parse the phrase "Третьего не дано", especially "дано"

... либо ..., либо ... Третьего не дано. I assume this is an equivalent of the English expression "it can only go one of two ways" оr "(there's) no in-between". I'm not sure how ...
Con-gras-tue-les-chiens's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
168 views

Word class of “хорошо” in “Как хорошо”

According to my Russian learning book, short adjectives are formed by taking the root of the adjective and adding: -ø for male (null ending) -a for female -o for neutral Thus, the adjective красивый,...
filaton's user avatar
  • 337
2 votes
4 answers
148 views

What is the case of the shortened adjective "понятно" in "Стало понятно, что ..."?

Стало понятно, что ... It seems that when the verb "стать" is used in the sense of "become ...", the instrumental case follows. According to Wiki, however, the instrumental case of the adjective "...
Con-gras-tue-les-chiens's user avatar