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1500 questions
7
votes
2 answers
"Я тоже" vs "мне тоже"
Sorry if this is a simple question but I'm struggling with when I should use these two and if they are interchangeable.
Luke Xu
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7
votes
2 answers
"Добавить в друзья" - why nominative?
As far as I can tell, the Russian equivalent of the English phrase "to add smb" with regards to social media accounts like Facebook, VKontakte, etc. is "добавлять/добавить в друзья." My question is: why is друзья in the nominative case? Why not в…
Гамлет Бененгели
- 175
- 4
7
votes
3 answers
Больше vs. более
Sometimes I am not sure and a little confused when to use больше and when to use более, can somebody explain it to me? For example which sentence is grammatically right?:
Надо больше пить.
or
Надо более пить.
wair92
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7
votes
2 answers
Why "чьи это книги" and not "чьи эти книги"?
When one should chooser "чьи это книги?" and when "чьи эти книги?". Or are these forms completely interchangeable?
Yassin Rany
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7
votes
2 answers
Origin of "что-то/кто-то решает" construction
Here's the insignia of the 339th Infantry Regiment of of the United States Army. For historical reason the motto is in Russian. The thing is that as for me the phrase "штык решает" sounds quite anachronic since I've been thinking that construction…
shabunc
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7
votes
3 answers
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 movie, Shirli-Myrli [Ширли-мырли], but I'm more interested in the…
Michael Freimann
- 173
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7
votes
2 answers
Does anyone understand the sense (смысл) of this Soviet-era poster?
I forgot how I found this poster on the internet, but it looked strange so I thought I would translate it so it would make sense:
However, it seems even more bizarre and non-sensical after translating it. Specifically, my translation is the…
Chill2Macht
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7
votes
2 answers
Origin of particle "ли"
Does anyone have a theory, or knowledge about the origin of the particle ли?
Why does it act as a question particle? Where did it come from, etc?
VCH250
- 3,497
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7
votes
2 answers
Use of нужно with the dative
What affects how the ending of нужно should be changed? A corrected sentence I wrote reads
Ксения говорила, Мне нужно его общество как собаке нужны блохи.
Why are нужно and нужны used? (And I realize now that Russians say как собаке пятая нога…
Michael Millar
- 71
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7
votes
3 answers
Translation for "When I was young"
I need to say "when I was young" in reference to a male. I always forget whether the correct translation is "Когда я был молодой" or "Когда я был молодым".
Can you please explain why I need to use the first/second form?
I learned that in these cases…
AltGei
- 466
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7
votes
3 answers
Meaning of "вот прям"
I interpreted вот прям to mean right now, but I came across this sentence, where this wouldn't really make sense:
Я тебя вот прям уважаю, но...
What is the meaning here?
CocoPop
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7
votes
3 answers
What'd be a formal way to say "морочить голову"?
As in:
приношу извинения что морочил голову
Context: made a booking but plans were cancelled.
Checked ru.wiktionary.org and frazbook.ru but none of the suggested options sound natural.
WhatHiFi
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7
votes
3 answers
Vowel in "раст\рос" stem: how did it happen that they are different?
The following words have the same stem:
рост
росток
рослый
растение
расти
возрасти
возросший
возраст
I think that they have the same stem because their meaning is related and they sound similar or are even formed one from another in…
Olga
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7
votes
2 answers
"Was going to" translation
How do you express the phrase "was going to" as in "I forget what I was going to say"?
casey
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7
votes
4 answers
Наречие или краткая форма
Вопрос для самых педантичных:
"Это хорошо. Это плохо."
Хорошо и плохо здесь неречия, да?
"Какая из машин тебе нравится? - Эта хороша."
Здесь хороша - краткая форма прилагательного.
Как можно с уверенностью сказать, что в первом случае мы имеем дело…
Pasha Syrnikov
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