Russian · TORFL Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 27
Что тебе нравится?What do you like?
Talking about leisure and tastes. Vocabulary: свободное время, хобби, читать, танцевать, плавать, гулять, музыка, фильм, любить, нравиться, спорт. Key grammar: two ways to say "like". "Любить" works like English: "Я люблю читать" (I love to read) — subject "я". But "нравиться" is the other way round: the thing you like is the subject, and the person goes in the dative case: "Мне нравится книга" (literally "the book is pleasing to me"). English speakers make themselves the subject: "Я нравлюсь книгу" ✗ → "Мне нравится книга" ✓. Plural: "Мне нравятся книги" (I like books). Reading corner: the soft "-ться" = "-tsa" (нравиться, купаться). Culture 3: the dacha, the banya and tea as a guest.
Dialogue
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Я нравлюсь / Мне нравится
- IvanМайк,тебенравитсяэтакнига?Mike, do you like this book?
- MikeДа!Янравлюськнигу.Yes! I like the book. (slip: with нравиться the book is the subject and you are dative — «Мне нравится книга»)
- IvanНе«я»,а«мне»:«Мненравитсякнига».Not "я" but "мне": "Мне нравится книга".
- MikeА,понял!Мненравитсякнига.Имненравитсямузыка.Ah, got it! I like the book. And I like the music.
- IvanОтлично!Ачтотылюбишьделать?Excellent! And what do you like to do?
- MikeЯлюблюплаватьигулятьвпарке.I love to swim and walk in the park.
Dialogue
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В выходные— At the weekend
- AnyaИван,чтотыделаешьввыходные?Ivan, what do you do at the weekend?
- IvanЯлюблючитатьислушатьмузыку.Аты?I love to read and listen to music. And you?
- AnyaМненравитсятанцевать.Иялюблюспорт.I like dancing. And I love sport.
- IvanАкакойспорттебенравится?And which sport do you like?
- AnyaМненравитсяплавать.Летом—каждыйдень!I like swimming. In summer — every day!
- IvanЗдорово!Давайпоплаваемвместевсубботу.Great! Let's swim together on Saturday.
Vocabulary
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- свободноевремя
nounfree time
- хобби
nounhobby
- читать
verbto read
- танцевать
verbto dance
- плавать
verbto swim
- гулять
verbto go for a walk
- музыка
nounmusic
- фильм
nounfilm, movie
- любить
verbto love, to like
- нравиться
verbto please, to be liked (мне нравится …)
- спорт
nounsport
Grammar
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"Нравиться" with the dative
Explanation
Russian has two ways to say that you like something. The first is the verb "любить" (like English): "Я люблю читать" (I love to read), "Я люблю музыку" (I love music) — subject "я", object in the accusative. The second is the verb "нравиться", and it works as a mirror image: the thing you like becomes the subject, and the person goes in the DATIVE case (мне, тебе, ему, ей, нам): "Мне нравится книга" — literally "the book is pleasing to me". The verb agrees with the subject: one thing — "нравится", many things — "нравятся": "Мне нравятся фильмы" (I like films). Typical mistake: English speakers make themselves the subject and say "Я нравлюсь книгу" ✗ → "Мне нравится книга" ✓. With an infinitive: "Мне нравится читать" (I like reading). Learn the dative forms: я → мне, ты → тебе.
Examples
- Мне нравится эта книга.I like this book.
- Мне нравятся русские фильмы.I like Russian films.
- Я люблю танцевать.I love to dance.
- Тебе нравится эта музыка?Do you like this music?
Culture
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Дача, баня и чай в гостяхThe dacha, the banya & tea as a guest
How do Russians spend their free time? Three things tell you the most: the dacha — a little house outside the city, the banya — a hot steam bath with birch whisks, and tea, drunk for hours when guests come round. Behind these three habits lies a whole culture of rest and friendship.
The dacha
The dacha is a country house or garden plot where families go for weekends and for the summer. There they grow vegetables, berries and flowers, rest from the city and grill shashlik (kebabs) in the open air. Many city dwellers have had a dacha since Soviet times, and it is passed down from generation to generation. At the dacha the rest is active: digging beds, watering cucumbers, picking apples. In summer you may hear: "Мы едем на дачу" (We are going to the dacha) — and it means a whole world of fresh air, work and calm.
The banya
The banya is the Russian steam bath, and it is not just washing but a whole ritual. In the hot steam room you throw water on the stones to make steam rise, and then with light strokes of a birch or oak whisk (веник) you "steam" the body — it is healthy and pleasant. After the steam room people jump into cold water or snow and then return to the warmth. Between rounds they drink tea and talk. There is even a saying: "В бане все равны" (In the banya everyone is equal). The banya is health, friendship and rest in one place.
Tea and guests
When guests come to a Russian home, the kettle goes on almost at once. Tea is drunk for a long time, over conversation, with jam, biscuits, sweets or cake. The hosts always offer more: "Ещё чаю?" (More tea?) — and to refuse straight away is considered almost impolite. Often a whole spread is on the table, even if the guest only dropped by "for a minute". Hospitality here is the soul of it: what matters is not what is served but that you are welcome. On leaving, people say "Спасибо за чай" (Thank you for the tea) — and it is thanks not only for the drink but for a warm evening.
The dacha, the banya and tea as a guest — three simple windows into Russian free time. Behind all three lies one thing: rest is not "doing nothing" but being in nature, caring for the body and spending time with those close to you.
Cyrillic
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Читаем «-ться» и «-тся» как «-тса»— Reading "-ться" and "-тся" as "-tsa"
Many verbs end in "-ться" (infinitive) or "-тся" (he/she form). It is written with many letters but read simply: "-tsa". The soft sign and "-ся" merge, "т" + "с" give a hard "ц" = "ts", and "я" here sounds like "a". So "нравиться" = "NRÁ-vi-tsa", "нравится" = "NRÁ-vi-tsa" (they sound the same!), "купаться" = "ku-PÁ-tsa", "улыбаться" = "u-ly-BÁ-tsa". Do not read letter by letter "-т-ь-с-я" — it is one short "-tsa". Read the verbs aloud.
Read the verbs aloud:
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