Breakdown of Я не люблю мыть посуду после ужина.
я
I
не
not
ужин
the dinner
после
after
любить
to like
мыть
to wash
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Questions & Answers about Я не люблю мыть посуду после ужина.
Why is мыть in the infinitive form after не люблю?
In Russian, verbs like любить (to like) and its negative counterpart не любить (to dislike) are followed by an infinitive to express liking or disliking an action. So you say не люблю мыть – literally “I don’t like to wash.”
Could I use the perfective form помыть instead of мыть?
No—when you talk about general habits or preferences, you use the imperfective aspect (мыть) because it describes an ongoing or repeated action. Помыть is perfective, implying a single completed action (“to wash up [once]”), and sounds odd with не люблю.
Why is посуду in this form instead of посуда?
Посуда is an inanimate feminine noun ending in -а. As the direct object of мыть, it goes into the accusative case. For inanimate feminine nouns, the accusative singular ending -а changes to -у, giving посуду.
Why is после ужина in the genitive case?
The preposition после (“after”) always takes the genitive. The noun ужин (dinner) in the genitive singular becomes ужина, so we get после ужина (“after dinner”).
Could you change the word order? For example, Я после ужина не люблю мыть посуду?
Yes. Russian word order is relatively flexible. Moving после ужина to the front shifts emphasis to the time (“It’s after dinner that I don’t like washing dishes”), but the basic meaning stays the same.
Why is there no equivalent of “the” before посуда?
Russian has no articles (no direct equivalents of “a” or “the”). Definiteness or indefiniteness is usually clear from context, so you simply say мыть посуду for “wash (the) dishes.”
Can I say ненавижу мыть посуду после ужина instead of не люблю?
Yes—ненавидеть means “to hate” and is stronger than не любить (“to not like”). Saying ненавижу мыть посуду would be “I hate washing the dishes,” a more intense feeling than “I don’t like washing dishes.”
Why use посуда rather than a more specific word like тарелки?
Посуда is a collective noun meaning “dishes” or “tableware” in general: plates, cups, utensils, etc. If you wanted to specify plates only, you could say мыть тарелки (“wash plates”). Using посуда keeps it broad.
Where is the stress in мыть посуду после ужина?
- мыть: one-syllable, no stress shift
- по́суду: stress on the second syllable (по-SU-du)
- по́сле: stress on the first syllable (PO-sle)
- у́жина: stress on the second syllable (u-ZHIN-a)