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6
votes
3 answers
Use of prepositions "от" and "из" for indicating a cause in Genitive case
As far as I know, you use Genitive case when indicating the cause of something and that can be with either "от", "из" or "из-за".
You use "от" when the cause is a physical or psychological change
от страха, от радости
You use "из" for feelings,…
mathgenius
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3 answers
"Nothing" in Russian
What are the various ways to express nothing in Russian, and the rules that govern usage?
For example, I came across this sentence: Жена умерла, и ему больше нечем жить.
Why нечем here and not ничего?
Also, when is it appropriate to use ничто over…
ycele
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6
votes
3 answers
Why чаю, not чая, in "мы предлагаем гостям чашку чаю"?
I understand the translation of Мы предлагаем гостям чашку чаю to be "We offer a cup of tea to guests".
But if this is so, shouldn't чай be in the genitive case (чая)? Why is it чаю?
Perhaps I'm interpreting the sentence incorrectly, or there is a…
ycele
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6
votes
5 answers
How to translate "Doing what makes you feel fulfilled"?
How can be translated the phrase "Doing what makes you feel fulfilled"?
I'm having trouble with the "feel fulfilled" part. According to Google Translator, it would be чувствовать себя выполнены, but I'm not sure.
Doing what makes you feel fulfilled…
asd
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6
votes
4 answers
"Жратва" и "жертва", "жрать" и "жрец"
Мой первый здесь вопрос. Заголовок я постарался сделать забавным, но вопрос вполне серьёзен.
Друг спросил сегодня, нет ли общего происхождения у вышеозначенных слов.
У меня под рукой нет словарей, сам ничего об этом не знаю, прошу помощи…
tum_
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3 answers
Why "мамы здесь нет", not "мама здесь нет"
I have encountered the sentence "Mom is not here anymore" translated as "Мамы здесь больше нет".
Why "мамы" and not just "мама"? Is it in genitive case?
idanrm
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6
votes
3 answers
Раз, два и обчёлся
I was just wondering what would be the origin of the verb обчёлся? Does it have something to do with закончил считать? I don't think we use other forms of this verb, but in this idiom. How old is this expression?
UVV
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6
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1 answer
What does "Куда им до" mean?
What means "Куда им до" in phrase:
Мне доводилось встречать много необычных вещей, но куда им до
кроссовка, одержимого демонами
Younes Tazi
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votes
1 answer
The etimology of the "-дцать" postfix?
For numbers between 10 and 40 Russians use дцать. What is дцать? A very Russian way to say десять? A word made of multiple parts, each of which do have a meaning, like дца and ть, as in еха-ть? (I would hope not!). I just cannot understand, where it…
L_Pav
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6
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3 answers
What is the difference between "во рту" and "в рту"?
A friend of mine mentioned to me a while back from now that it should be "Во" instead of "В", but he does not know of the definite rule for the difference.
user5898
6
votes
6 answers
What's the logic behind "походить"?
Why does походить mean to be similar in appearance to"? When would you use the verb and when would you use the adjective "похожий"? I don'y quite get the logic being why a motion verb means to be similar in appearance.
Is it possible to say "Он…
VCH250
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6
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3 answers
Pronunciation of Spelling Rule "е" vs "о" vs "ё"?
"Never write unstressed 'o' after the letters, ж, ч, ш, щ, ц, instead use 'e'"
So are we supposed to still pronounce it like an "o"?
I know that the answer is yes when the vowel is stressed, for example:
нашЁл
but what about when it is unstressed?…
Chill2Macht
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6
votes
2 answers
What is the use of the soft sign in front of (soft-indicating) vowels, in words like "компьютеры" and "пьёт"?
I was told that the soft sign makes the preceding consonant soft. I understand why it used at the end of words (царь, гулять, здесь) or before consonants (огоньки, письмо). But why is the soft sign used between a consonant and a soft-indicating…
Pertinax
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6
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4 answers
If 'ять' sounds like 'yat' then what does 'ят' sound like?
If have just started to learn Russian and have come across the fact that 'ь' remains silent but changes the sound of the letter that comes before it (I think). Please can someone give me an example of how e.g. ять and ят would sound different.
6
votes
3 answers
Sanity check -> проверка на вшивость?
Перевод sanity check -> проверка на вшивость напрашивается сам собой. Однако словари ничего про это не знают. Они предпочитают кучу странных вариантов, типа санитарная проверка, проверка работоспособности (как будто проверка на вшивость не является…
