Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Почему они строят именно здесь?
What does именно add to the sentence?
именно is an emphasis particle meaning “exactly” or “precisely.” In Почему они строят именно здесь? it highlights that this particular spot is special or surprising compared to other possible locations.
Why is здесь used without any preposition?
здесь is a pure adverb meaning “here.” It doesn’t require a preposition or case ending. It simply tells you “where” something is happening, like English “here.”
Could we use тут instead of здесь? Do they mean the same?
Yes, тут and здесь are near-synonyms for “here.”
- здесь is slightly more neutral or formal.
- тут feels more colloquial or conversational.
You could say Почему они строят тут? and it would be fine.
Why is the verb строят in the imperfective aspect, not perfective?
Imperfective строить → строят indicates an ongoing or habitual action: “they are building” (right now or in general).
A perfective form like построят would mean “they will build (and complete)” at some point in the future, focusing on the result. Here you want the process/location, so imperfective is used.
Why is the verb in the third-person plural, строят, rather than singular?
Because the subject они is third-person plural (“they”). Russian verbs agree with their subjects in person and number. If you replaced они with он (“he”), you’d say строит (he is building).
Could we drop они and just say Почему строят именно здесь?
Yes. In Russian, the verb ending -ят in строят already tells you the subject is “they.” Including они adds clarity or emphasis (“why do they, in particular, build…”), but omitting it is grammatically correct.
Is the word order flexible? For instance, could you say Почему именно здесь они строят?
Absolutely. Russian word order is relatively free.
- Почему они строят именно здесь? – neutral, end-focus on location.
- Почему именно здесь они строят? – stronger emphasis on именно здесь (“why it’s exactly here that they’re building”).
Where is the stress in строят, and how is it pronounced?
строят is pronounced [STRO-yat], with the stress on the first syllable СТРО. The я in -ят sounds like “ya.”