Я увлекаюсь фотографией.

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Breakdown of Я увлекаюсь фотографией.

• фотография: the photography
• увлекаться: to be keen on

Questions & Answers about Я увлекаюсь фотографией.

Why does увлекаюсь end with -ся, and what does it mean?

The -ся at the end makes увлекаться a reflexive verb. Here it doesn’t mean you literally “do something to yourself,” but it’s part of the verb’s meaning: увлекаться = “to be carried away by / to have a passion for.” So я увлекаюсь literally means “I am (myself) carried away by…” → “I’m passionate about….”

Which case is фотографией, and why is there no preposition before it?

Фотографией is in the instrumental case. The verb увлекаться governs the instrumental directly to express “being into” or “having a hobby,” so you do не need a preposition like в. Many Russian verbs that denote interest or tools take the instrumental, e.g. интересоваться историей, заниматься спортом.

Why is фотография singular here rather than plural?

When describing a field of interest or hobby in Russian, you normally use the singular noun in the instrumental case:
• я увлекаюсь музыкой
• мы увлекаемся астрономией
Even if you mean “photographs” in general, the hobby itself remains singular: фотография → фотографией.

Where is the stress in увлекаюсь, and how do I pronounce it correctly?