Breakdown of Он может прочитать книгу за ночь.
книга
the book
он
he
прочитать
to read
мочь
to be able
ночь
the night
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Questions & Answers about Он может прочитать книгу за ночь.
What does может mean in this context?
может is the 3rd person singular present of мочь (to be able to, can). It expresses ability, so Он может прочитать… translates as He can read…
Why is прочитать used instead of читать?
прочитать is the perfective form of читать, indicating completion of the action (finishing the book). читать is imperfective and only describes an ongoing or habitual action. To stress that he will actually finish reading, we use прочитать.
What case is книгу and why?
книгу is the accusative singular of книга. It marks the direct object of прочитать (the thing being read).
What does за ночь mean and why do we use за + accusative here?
The preposition за with the accusative indicates the time span required to complete an action. за ночь therefore means within one night or overnight.
Could we use ночью instead of за ночь?
No. ночью is an adverb meaning at night (when something happens), but it doesn’t imply completion. For example:
• Он читает ночью = He reads at night (habitual)
• Он может прочитать книгу за ночь = He can finish the book within one night
Is the pronoun он necessary?
Russian often omits subject pronouns because the verb ending -ет already indicates 3rd person singular. You could say Может прочитать книгу за ночь if context makes clear who is meant. Including он adds clarity or emphasis.
How do you ask Can he read the book in one night in Russian?
Use the question particle ли:
Может ли он прочитать книгу за ночь?
Alternatively, drop ли and rely on rising intonation: Он может прочитать книгу за ночь?
How do you say He will be able to read the book in one night?
Use the future form of мочь:
Он сможет прочитать книгу за ночь.
How do you say He managed to read the book in one night and what is the difference between мог and смог?
Он смог прочитать книгу за ночь.
• смог is the perfective past of мочь and means he succeeded in doing it.
• мог is the imperfective past and simply means he was able to, without stating whether he actually did it.
Which syllable is stressed in прочитать?
The stress is on the last syllable: прочитАть.