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Questions & Answers about Я читаю его книгу.
What does each word in Я читаю его книгу mean?
Breakdown:
- Я = I
- читаю = (am) reading; present tense of читать
- его = his
- книгу = book in the accusative case (singular feminine of книга)
Why is книгу in this form (книгу) and not книга?
Книгу is the accusative case, used for direct objects. Feminine nouns ending in -а change to -у in the accusative: книга → книгу.
Why doesn’t его change its ending to agree with книгу?
Его is an invariable third-person possessive pronoun (for both masculine and neuter owners). It never changes for gender, number, or case.
When would I use своя instead of его?
Use свой/своя when the possessor is the subject of the sentence (i.e., “I read my book” → Я читаю свою книгу). Use его when someone else’s (he/him) book is meant.
What is the difference between читаю and прочитаю/прочитал?
This is a matter of aspect:
- читаю (imperfective) = “I’m reading” (ongoing process).
- прочитаю (perfective future) = “I will read [to completion]”.
- прочитал (perfective past) = “I read [and finished]”.
Why is the word order Я читаю его книгу and not something like Я его читаю книгу?
Russian is flexible, but the neutral, unmarked order is Subject–Verb–Object (SVO). Changing it (e.g., Я его книгу читаю) adds emphasis or stylistic nuance.
How do you pronounce его, and where is the stress?
It’s pronounced [yɪˈvo] with the stress on the second syllable: ye-VO.
How would I say “I am reading her book” instead?
Use Я читаю её книгу. Её is the invariable possessive pronoun for “her.”