Learn Hardcore Russian: Моя коллега всегда улыбается на работе, и это делает день лучше. - My colleague always smiles at work, and it makes the day better.

Коллега translates to “colleague” in English. Although the noun is gender-neutral, the use of the feminine possessive моя (“my”) indicates that the colleague is a woman.

How is the adverb всегда used in this sentence, and what does it mean?

Всегда means “always.” It functions as an adverb modifying the verb улыбается (“smiles”), showing that the action happens all the time.

Why is the verb улыбается formed this way?

Улыбается is the third person singular present tense form of the reflexive verb улыбаться (“to smile”). The reflexive ending -ся indicates that the action is performed by the subject herself, and the form agrees with the singular subject, коллега.

What does the phrase на работе mean, and why is the preposition на used here?

На работе translates as “at work.” In Russian, the preposition на is used to denote locations associated with activities, such as workplaces, and it is the standard choice when describing being “at work.”

In the clause и это делает день лучше, what is the role of это and how is the idea expressed?

In this clause, это is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “this,” referring back to her smiling. The phrase делает день лучше means “makes the day better,” so together they express that her smile has a positive effect on the day.

Why is there a comma before и in the sentence?

A comma is placed before и because the sentence joins two independent clauses. Each clause could stand alone as a complete sentence, so the comma follows the standard punctuation rule in Russian (similar to English) when combining independent clauses with a conjunction.