Recently Active Questions
4,821 questions
1
vote
1
answer
35
views
Usage of past tense for expressing intended immediate future action
I would be glad if someone could clarify the following:
Can one use verbs in past tense to express an intention to do something in the immediate future? If yes, do my examples make sense?
Example 1: ...
- 56k
1
vote
1
answer
27
views
как таковой (agreement)
From РОССІЯ И ЕВРЕИ 1924:
Тому и другому чуждо представленіе о трагическомъ въ жизни, какъ
таковой; оба съ одинаковой рѣшительностью отрекаются отъ стараго міра,
хотя міръ одного — не міръ другого; ...
- 16.7k
0
votes
0
answers
233
views
What is the geography of (now obsolete) usage of the word фамилия to mean 'wife'?
While Valentin Kiparsky claimed (in Omagiu lui Iordan) that this usage is a calque from Tatar and therefore found in the Russian varieties spoken in and near Kazan (the area of the Tatar-speaking ...
- 257
3
votes
2
answers
253
views
белая as a noun?
In the following verse of this poem by Anna Akhmatova:
А здесь уж белая дома крестами метит
is белая a noun? If it is an adjective, I do not see the noun it describes. If it is a noun, what does it ...
- 257
0
votes
1
answer
93
views
В чём разница между согласованием и управлением в подчинительном виде словосочетаний русского языка?
Как достоверно отличить одно от другого?
CommunityBot
- 1
59
votes
14
answers
43k
views
0
votes
1
answer
82
views
Cyrillic letter Tje with breve appears in 1951 engraving [duplicate]
I am reading an engraving published in 1951 by the Broude Brothers. It contains a weird thing shaped like the letter Tje with a breve (̆):
What exactly is it? And what is it called? The letter Tje ...
- 101
1
vote
2
answers
94
views
Use of plurals in mixed context
In a language app, I encountered a translation of "2 apples" as
Два яблоко
I would have thought it to be
Два яблоки (or Две яблоки)
Is that just my English bias showing?
Thanks.
2
votes
4
answers
214
views
"что" versus "того, что"
I have some issue with this excerpt of Анна Каренина by Tolstoy (часть 8, глава 8):
Он не мог признать, что он тогда знал правду, а теперь ошибается, потому что, как только он начинал думать спокойно ...
2
votes
2
answers
66
views
Use of genitive in negation
I'm having a hard time understanding what exactly the rule is on the use of the genitive case after negation.
One could say
"читаю эту книгу", and the negative would be "не читаю эту ...
- 56k
2
votes
2
answers
129
views
"это был" or "это было"?
In this poem by Boris Pasternak we have this verse:
Однако это был подлог,
Why is it correct? If это is the subject, shouldn't we have "это было подлог" (except that from a metric ...
- 1,300
0
votes
0
answers
35
views
The pocative case for adjectives and declensions [duplicate]
It's my understanding that for numbers, declensions follow the rules as such:
Single case:
1 of an item: nominative for both adjective and noun
Pocative case:
2-4 of an item for masculine and ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
64
views
если бы ещё так
This is from РОССІЯ И ЕВРЕИ (1924):
И если бы ещё такъ, если бы къ мѣсту тутъ былъ Самсонъ, хотя бы и
ослѣплённый!
Shouldn't this be если бы ещё так БЫЛО? Or does the был later in the sentence apply ...
- 56k
2
votes
2
answers
99
views
в ничто (indeclinable?)
This is from РОССІЯ И ЕВРЕИ (1924):
Пока духъ въ богатырѣ не угасъ, а рука его не ослабла, онъ не искалъ
равенства въ смерти, въ гибели, въ уничтоженіи, въ Ничто.
I think в ничто means "in ...
- 21.9k
2
votes
1
answer
221
views
Why do we have "моей" in "Тебе - моей"?
In this poem by Marina Tsvetaeva we have several times the verse "Тебе - моей.". For instance,
Здесь нету рученьки
Тебе — моей.
I don't understand in which case is моей. Genitive like ...
- 56k
3
votes
3
answers
212
views
Use of dative with быть
In this poem by Marina Tsvetaeva we have:
Не упразднившему — тренья
I don't understand the construction of this sentence. I believe that тренья is the subject. Is the meaning the same as Тренья не ...
- 179
13
votes
7
answers
4k
views
What is the Russian translation for "brogrammer"?
There is an article about this word in Urban Dictionary. But what is the Russian for this word? "говнокодер" and "быдлокодер" are not suitable here (it means good developer, not bad).
An example of ...
- 633
1
vote
1
answer
110
views
How is некому interpreted when used with a verb that takes a dative object?
My understanding is that when describing the absence of the subject of a verb, the dative form некому is used along with the verb infinitive. For example, Некому о ней заботиться means There is no one ...
- 16.7k
14
votes
1
answer
68k
views
"С волками жить - по-волчьи выть" - каков изначальный смысл пословицы?
Каков изначальный смысл пословицы "С волками жить - по-волчьи выть"? Я смотрю на разные источники в Интернете и замечаю, что они предлагают разные толкования заложенного в эту пословицу смысла.
Есть ...
1
vote
1
answer
89
views
теми же... что... syntax
This is from the book РОССІЯ И ЕВРЕИ 1924:
Средній обыватель-еврей живётъ въ данномъ случаѣ тѣми же чувствами и
представленіями, что русскій человѣкъ нисшихъ слоёвъ населенія:
прачка, дворникъ, ...
- 56k
7
votes
3
answers
14k
views
Слово "Бог": с прописной или со строчной
В классике русской литературы разных изданий встречается написание слова "бог" в сходном контексте как с прописной, так и со строчной буквы. Например,
Во главе тамошнего местного ...
- 672
0
votes
1
answer
83
views
Why in plural form I see "знака", and not "знаки"?
I cannot figure it out -- let's start from wiktionary: знак In plural form there is no "знака", yet I noticed it in real life, and quick search gives example right at the wikipedia page: ...
- 1,337
4
votes
1
answer
242
views
The expression "На крючок!"
In Подросток by Dostoevsky we have:
Сам давал по десяти и по двадцати пяти просителям. На крючок!
I don't understand the expression "На крючок!". My guess (with the context) is that the ...
- 188
3
votes
3
answers
180
views
What does the phrase "человек с большой буквы" mean?
I was just called a "человек с большой буквы" by a native Russian speaker in a text message and I was wondering, what the phrase actually means and where it originates from. I know that it ...
- 633
0
votes
0
answers
9
views
What is the point of asking questions here, if you cannot reply to people? [migrated]
I have used this site for year, but only recently got an account. Which should not be as hard as it was. I was very excited though. What with the world ending and Dead Internet.
But why can we not ...
- 1
6
votes
1
answer
197
views
"два светлые глаза"
In this poem by Anna Akhmatova we have:
Другая — два светлые глаза
И облачное крыло.
I don't understand why we have "два светлые глаза", I was expecting "два светлых гла́за" (...
- 56k
2
votes
2
answers
187
views
Stress at the end of verses
In Стихи к Пушкину by Marina Tsvetaeva we have:
Кого ж это так — точно воры вора́
Пристреленного — выносили?
Изменника? Нет. С проходного двора —
Умнейшего мужа России.
According to Викисловарь, we ...
- 56k
5
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What is the meaning of "мамонт" (translated "mammoth") when used in the context of phishing?
I saw some text in Russian recently which talked about phishing attacks. It described one as designed for "mammoths" (мамонтов).
I am interested to learn more about this term. I can guess it ...
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
30
views
Why is this use of a genitive correct in this sentence [duplicate]
Found this in a textbook and confirmed it using an AI translator:
"Мы были дома"
Why is the genitive form дома used here. I've looked in the few books I have and nothing explains this usage.
- 111
2
votes
2
answers
135
views
In "Знания русского языка", is знания nominative plural or genitive singular?
I guess it is nominative plural, but maybe it could be both?
If this is the title of an article, could I somehow read it as From knowledge of the Russian language (as in legal language) instead of ...
- 633
2
votes
1
answer
107
views
Precise meaning of "я прошла мимо этого дома"?
Does it mean I walked past this house or I missed this house?
- 914
1
vote
3
answers
215
views
теплоход: приплыть или прибыть
В (немецком) учебнике были примеры «Теплоход приплыл в порт вовремя» и «Теплоход приплывёт по расписанию». Однако наша преподавательница сказала что это необычно: она всегда говорила бы «Теплоход ...
- 633
1
vote
1
answer
78
views
"в какой точке"
I am unsure about the meaning of "в какой точке" (absolutely, I mean: when it is not followed by a substantive in the genitive). In Викисловарь we have this meaning for точка:
место ...
- 2,348
1
vote
1
answer
126
views
The construction "Что за это случилось"
In Поздний ответ by Anna Akhmatova we have:
Полюбуйтесь, родимые пашни,
Что за это случилось со мной.
It is unclear to me.
My guess is that мной after Полюбуйтесь is implicit ("admire me"),...
- 56k
2
votes
2
answers
145
views
Adverbs, before or after the verb?
First year student here, so this may be a trivial question:
Does an adverb come normally before or after the verb?
My textbook says that when making a statement, place it before the verb. For example: ...
- 56k
1
vote
2
answers
130
views
Why does «приходиться» mean "to have to"?
So, «приходить» means "to come", which etymologically makes sense to me. Why does making this word reflexive, «приходиться», suddenly make it mean "to have to"?
- 633
0
votes
1
answer
82
views
How to ask whether a store has trousers of a particular size? [closed]
For example, how to ask, "Do you have trousers of size 52-4?"
- 168
4
votes
1
answer
84
views
бежать + genitive
In Бюст Тиберия by Brodsky we have:
Я тоже опрометью бежал всего
со мной случившегося и превратился в остров
с развалинами, с цаплями.
I don't know the construction бежать + génitive. I know the ...
- 56k
0
votes
2
answers
182
views
How will I know when to choose Е and when Э after the Russian letter Ж?
женщина — Е (stressed);
железо — Е (unstressed);
же (частица) — Е;
же (индейский народ в Бразилии) — Е;
жэ (название русской буквы) — Э;
межэтнический — Э;
ЖЭК — Э;
чжурчжэни — Э.
Seems not too easy ...
1
vote
2
answers
90
views
бывало + present tense
This is from РОССІЯ И ЕВРЕИ 1924:
Когда мы, бывало, говоримъ русскому правительству, что то или
другое ограниченіе ведётъ только къ отчужденію евреевъ или
опредѣлённыхъ еврейскихъ группъ, напримѣръ, ...
- 1,562
2
votes
1
answer
115
views
Семеновский полк in Петербург
In Подросток, Глава первая (VIII) by Dostoyevski I read:
Но тут все жили вместе, в одном деревянном флигеле, в переулке, в Семеновском полку.
The context: we are in Saint Petersburg. How should I ...
- 56k
5
votes
5
answers
639
views
How do I say "API (application programming interface)" in Russian?
How do I say "API (application programming interface)" in Russian? Is there maybe some acronym (aside from АПИ) that makes it easy to read in translation from English to Russian?
- 1,673
0
votes
1
answer
92
views
How to translate this missing verb in Tolstoi's original text
I'm reading Hadji Murat, chapter XIII (13).
In the original text, we have:
«один негодяй на...л на меня»
I have the feeling Tolstoi was being very 'realistic' when it comes to dialogue and character ...
2
votes
2
answers
126
views
не в себе BUT как не в себя?
According to Wiktionary, the standard forms are:
не в себе
как не в себя
There's an inconsistency in the endings. Is it correct that one uses себе and the other uses себя?
Google Books Ngrams shows ...
- 914
0
votes
3
answers
90
views
Can I translate the word "abbreviate" as "ужимать"?
I have read several articles of the word meaning. I think that the translation is adjustable for all of them, isn't it?
- 168
0
votes
2
answers
104
views
Could I translate any meaning of "abandon" as "утратить"?
I have looked the word up in several key English dictionaries, and it seems that all the translations effectively regard утратить as an equivalent of the English word "abandon".
Is this ...
- 168
7
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What's the origin of the idiom "Глаз на жопу натянуть"?
I'm curious as to the etymology of the idiom "глаз на жопу натянуть", which literally means "to pull an eye onto someone's ass". Surfing the net, I found that it was used in the ...
- 1
2
votes
1
answer
55
views
Сделать/делать when talking about ability to do something
I wanted to say, "I can do that (make coffee)" in Russian, and so I said "Это я могу делать." A Russian language speaker corrected me and said that I should instead use сделать. I ...
- 56k
2
votes
2
answers
90
views
стартануть always = начать?
Is стартануть always possible as a replacement for начать or is it only found in some contexts? And is it only found in colloquial speech?
I found in at 07:35 in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...
- 56k
3
votes
1
answer
108
views
The word "чайный" as a substantive
In Детство Люверс by Boris Pasternak I read:
Ходили на блоках двери чайных
If I am not wrong, here "чайный" is a субстантивированное прилагательное. I could not find in any dictionary the ...
- 56k