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2 answers
What is the difference between разве and неужели?
I know that разве has some additional meanings, for instance the expression разве что/лишь/только. However in their principal meaning, разве and неужели are somewhat synonymous.
What are the nuances of difference between the two words? Are there…
ghostarbeiter
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4 answers
When does "по" in front of comparative mean "a little"?
According to The New Penguin Russian Course (page 216):
In informal Russian по- "a little" is often added to the
comparative:
побыстрее "a bit faster"
поменьше "a little less"
Now take this sentence: Тебе следует есть побольше фруктов и…
ycele
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9
votes
3 answers
Strange Genitive Plural of просьба: why просьб and not просеб?
Typically, when forming the genitive plural of some word which in the nominative ends in -CCа (where C represents a consonant, such that this represents a consonant cluster followed by "а") the ending vowel is removed and an insert vowel like е, ё,…
студент001
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9
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6 answers
A category of jokes based exclusively on puns and wordplay?
In English, there are "classic" knock-knock jokes (1) based on puns, and two-line question-answer jokes (2) with witty punchlines:
1.
xxx: Knock knock!
yyy: Who's there?
xxx: Lego!
yyy: Lego who?
xxx: Lego to the movies!
2.
Q: Where do astronauts…
H. Zeta
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9
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4 answers
How to say something is easy?
How do you say something like That's child's play! or That's a piece of cake in Russian?
MKII
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9
votes
5 answers
"Fun" in Russian
My question about the translation of "Did you have a fun night?" made me wonder about the best correspondence for the word fun in Russian.
Based on the answers there, my guess is that весёлый best corresponds to fun as an adjective. However, on…
ycele
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9
votes
4 answers
Difference between "какой" and "который"
As of writing this question, there are two questions here on the difference of those two words. The first one has a quite extensive answer and the second one, unfortunately, just a short answer that addresses only the example given there.
I'm quite…
Em1
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9
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2 answers
Смысл поговорки "не по чину нос"
Что имеется в виду в старой русской поговорке "Не по чину нос"?
Матвей Дёмин
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9
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2 answers
How are the short forms of Russian patronymics formed?
I stumbled upon Nikolaych, which I assume is a short form of Nikolayevich.
Do all Russian patronymics have such forms?
Is there a simple rule to form them? Please give examples.
How are they used in real life? Only when addressing someone or also…
PixelPower
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9 answers
Чем отличается "сырой" от "мокрый"?
Кажется, что это совершенно взаимозаменяемые слова. Однако, очевидно, они имеют разные корни и, видимо, разные оттенки значений. Может быть, они передают разную степень влажности предмета? Или о вещи говорят "мокрая", если её поверхность влажная,…
krokoziabla
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8
votes
1 answer
Why 2nd person verb form is used for 3rd person here?
I wonder how this usage of 2nd person verbs for 3rd person is called? Are these words still remain verbs or become inflective interjections?
А он возьми да и прыгни.
Отвязав мешок, уронил его на землю, а он как завопи.
Григорян, вот он, засуетился,…
Anixx
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4 answers
What's the difference between "дети бегают по магазину" and "дети бегают в магазине"?
What's the difference between "дети бегают по магазину" and "дети бегают в магазине"?
EDIT:
If you are about to provide some examples in your answers, please, observe the following requests:
consider only those examples that contain a motion verb…
brilliant
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8
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1 answer
Для чего некоторые слова в тексте заключают в квадратные скобки?
Вот, например, цитата из книги Дао Дэ Цзин:
Дао — глубокая [основа] всех вещей.
Я встречал подобное обозначение и в Библии, и, кажется, в художественной литературе, но, к сожалению, не могу сейчас найти дополнительные примеры.
krokoziabla
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8
votes
8 answers
Why is "взять"/"брать" used to mean "купить"/"покупать"?
I encounter this very often - брать or взять (take, grab) is used to actually mean купить or покупать (buy), for example А твой ноутбук за сколько брали? when the intended meaning is А твой ноутбук за сколько покупали?.
Obviously taking something…
sharptooth
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5 answers
How to say "a don'ter" in Russian?
There is a word "исполнитель" for "a doer" in Russian.
We say "a don'ter" if the person moans about what he wants but never actually does anything to achieve it.
Is an expression "не исполнитель" for "a don'ter" correct to say? Or is there a regular…
Folant
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