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Questions & Answers about Деревья растут.
What does деревья mean, and how is it related to its singular form?
Деревья is the plural form of дерево, which means "tree". The form changes to indicate that you’re referring to more than one tree.
Why is there no word for "to be" in the sentence Деревья растут.?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (есть) is usually omitted. The sentence Деревья растут. directly translates to "Trees grow," with the meaning fully conveyed by the verb растут without needing an explicit copula.
What does the ending -ут in растут indicate?
The ending -ут shows that the verb растут is in the third-person plural present tense. This form agrees with the plural subject деревья, indicating that multiple trees are performing the action of growing.
Can растут be interpreted as both "grow" and "are growing" in English?
Yes, it can. Russian does not distinguish grammatically between a simple present and a present continuous form like English. So растут can convey a general truth (trees grow) or an ongoing action (trees are growing), with the exact interpretation often depending on the context.
How does subject-verb agreement work in this sentence?
The noun деревья is plural, and the verb растут is conjugated in the third-person plural form. This correct matching of the subject and verb in number is a fundamental aspect of Russian grammar.
Is the word order in Деревья растут. flexible, or does it follow a strict rule?
While Russian allows for flexible word order to emphasize different aspects of a sentence, Деревья растут. follows a common and clear subject-verb order. In more complex sentences, the order might change for stylistic or contextual reasons, but in this simple declarative sentence the standard order keeps the meaning straightforward.