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"Вещь" and "штука" - is there a difference
What's the difference between these words? It seems to me that вещь is more abstract than штука, except when we talk about furniture or clothing. Is this correct. The old meaning of штука is часть so maybe it retains the meaning of a whole thing,…
VCH250
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What verb form is "будь" (or any other verb) in constructions similar to "Будь он дома, открыл бы нам дверь."?
It looks like imperative singular, but its meaning is obviously not imperative. Maybe it's actually some other verb form mostly absent in modern Russian? What is the origin of usage of imperative (or what is it?) to express conditional mood?
Thanks…
Lara
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What's the correct punctuation for что in "Ты что с ума сошел?"?
What's the correct punctuation in the following usage of что:
Ты что с ума сошел?
Он что сам не может справиться?
Я что дура?
Should there be a comma, a dash or something else?
Also, as additional bonus questions
What part of speech is что…
Armen Tsirunyan
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9
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4 answers
"Borrow" and "lend" in Russian
How do you say "borrow" or "lend" in Russian? My dictionary gives a number of different expressions, but I'm not sure if they are equivalent.
What is the difference between
одолжить
дать/брать взаймы
дать/брать в долг
дать/брать на…
oz1cz
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со днём vs. с днём
I'm aware that о is added to some prepositions for historical reasons in some combinations (со дня, ко мне, во сне, etc.). A student recently asked why we usually say с днём рождения instead of со днём рождения and I didn't have an answer.
Quick…
Curt
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9
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5 answers
Why does the word "мужчина" decline like a feminine noun?
In all languages with genders I know the word for man is masculine, and the word for women is feminine. While this is still technically true for the word мужчина, it is the only Russian masculine word I know that declines like a feminine word ending…
Adrian Clough
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9
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6 answers
Question about spelling "чьё/чья/чьи"
As far as I understand, "ч" is always soft. The letter "ь" usually denotes that the preceding letter is soft.
These two facts together seem to imply that the combination "чь" (just like "щь") would/should always be redundant, and thus never used or…
Chill2Macht
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9
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2 answers
when to use the short form of an adjective?
I've noticed in more than an occasion that the short form of adjective is used in places where I would use the normal (long) form typically for example:
I was listening to a song in Russian is which the singer says:
"Моя душа полна тобой" and my…
Ziad
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1 answer
What is the difference between the perfective forms скушать and покушать
I see both forms being mentioned as perfective forms of кушать
Dilareti P
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2 answers
The case of the Russian American flag
As I'm sure you all know, prior to its sale to the United States in 1867, Alaska was Russian territory. As such, it had a flag. Here is an image of that flag's design:
It appears to read Россійской Америк. Кампа. From this I have three questions:…
Ginés de Pasamonte
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4 answers
"Одинокая свеча, горевшая на столе" - why not горящая?
In "Дама с собачкой", часть 2, Чехов writes: "Анна Сергеевна была трогательна, от нее веяло чистотой порядочной, наивной, мало жившей женщины; одинокая свеча, горевшая на столе, едва освещала ее лицо, но было видно, что у нее нехорошо на душе."
I…
Rien
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6 answers
What does "От горшка два вершка" mean?
I have watched a children's cartoon called "Умная дочка" made by "Гора Самоцветов". At one point a phrase "от горшка два вершка" is used. What does it mean? Is вершок a special Russian metric unit, or something? Which горшок is meant, the one in…
L_Pav
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9
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3 answers
9
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1 answer
Гречка or Гречиха
Reading a few Wikipedia articles I come across different ways to spell buckwheat. One is Гречка (which is what I use when talking about buckwheat) and Гречиха (which I have never heard of before). What is the difference between the two words?
GenuinePlaceholder
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9
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4 answers
What's the difference between низ and дно?
I understand both низ and дно mean bottom, but what is the difference between them in terms of usage? Is it simply that дно additionally or exclusively carries the meaning of bottom surface?
ycele
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