Я отреставрирую старую картину.

I will restore an old painting.

Breakdown of Я отреставрирую старую картину.

• я: I
• старый: old
• картина: the painting
• отреставрировать: to restore

Questions & Answers about Я отреставрирую старую картину.

What does the verb отреставрирую tell us about person, tense, and aspect?

Отреставрирую is the first person singular form of a perfective verb. Because perfective verbs in Russian have no present tense, their forms are used to indicate future actions that will be completed. So even though it ends in -ю (which might also be seen in present-tense forms), here it means "I will restore."

Why does the verb form look like it might be present-tense but is translated as a future action?

The appearance of the -ю ending can be misleading, as it is common in present-tense conjugations. However, because отреставрирую comes from a perfective verb, it cannot express an ongoing present action—instead, it indicates that the action will occur in the future and will be completed once done.

What effect does the prefix от- have in отреставрирую, and is this meaningfully different from using the base form without it?

The prefix от- added to реставрировать helps form a perfective verb that emphasizes the completion or the end result of the restoration process. While both реставрирую and отреставрирую might be understood in conversation, the version with от- often implies that the restoration is to be carried out thoroughly and completely—a nuance that can be especially appropriate when referring to the careful work of restoring an old painting.

How does the subject pronoun Я function in this sentence?

In Russian, the subject pronoun (Я meaning "I") is often omitted because the verb ending indicates the subject. In this sentence, however, Я is explicitly stated to clearly identify the actor performing the action, adding emphasis and clarity to the speaker’s intent to restore the painting.

What grammatical case is used for старую картину, and what does it signify in the sentence?

The phrase старую картину is in the accusative case, which is used in Russian to mark the direct object of a verb. Here, it indicates that "painting" is the object that will be restored—the entity directly affected by the action described by the verb.

Why does the adjective старую end in -ую rather than -ая?

The base, nominative form of the adjective is старая (as in "a painting is old"). However, when the adjective is used with a feminine noun in the accusative case (as in старую картину), it takes on the ending -ую to agree in case, gender, and number with the noun. This change is a standard part of adjective declension in Russian.