Breakdown of Пить воду каждый день — полезная привычка.
пить
to drink
вода
the water
каждый
every
день
the day
полезный
healthy
привычка
the habit
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Пить воду каждый день — полезная привычка.
Why does the sentence start with the infinitive Пить?
In Russian, an infinitive verb like пить (to drink) can function as the subject of a sentence, expressing a general activity. It corresponds to the English gerund phrase “drinking.” So Пить воду каждый день means “Drinking water every day.”
Why is воду in the accusative case?
The verb пить requires a direct object in the accusative. The noun вода (water) is feminine, and its accusative singular form is воду. That’s why we say пить воду, not пить вода.
What role does каждый день play, and why is it placed after the object?
Каждый день is an adverbial phrase indicating frequency (“every day”). Russian word order is flexible; placing it after the object (воду) simply emphasizes the habit’s regularity. You could also say Каждый день пить воду… without changing the core meaning.
What is the function of the dash (—) in this sentence?
In present-tense Russian, the verb есть (“is”) is usually omitted. A dash marks the link between the subject (Пить воду каждый день) and the nominal predicate (полезная привычка), filling the gap where “is” would be in English.
Why is привычка feminine, and how does полезная agree with it?
The noun привычка (“habit”) is grammatically feminine. Its adjective полезная (“healthy” or “beneficial”) must match in gender (feminine), number (singular), and case (nominative), hence полезная привычка.
Could we use a short-form adjective like полезно instead?
Yes. You can say Пить воду каждый день полезно. Here полезно is a short-form neuter adjective acting as a predicate, agreeing with the infinitive phrase as a whole rather than with a noun.
Why aren’t there articles (a/the) before привычка?
Russian has no articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is understood from context. полезная привычка can mean “a healthy habit” or “the healthy habit” depending on what you want to emphasize.
Can I rearrange the phrases without changing the meaning?
Absolutely. For example:
- Каждый день пить воду — полезная привычка.
- Полезная привычка — пить воду каждый день.
All versions convey the same idea; different orders just shift the emphasis.