Breakdown of После пробежки я обычно умываюсь холодной водой и чищу зубы снова.
я
I
вода
the water
холодный
cold
и
and
после
after
снова
again
обычно
usually
пробежка
the run
умываться
to wash oneself
чистить
to brush
зуб
the tooth
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Questions & Answers about После пробежки я обычно умываюсь холодной водой и чищу зубы снова.
Why is После пробежки in the genitive case?
The preposition После always requires the genitive case. That’s why the noun пробежка changes to пробежки, giving После пробежки (“after a run”).
Why is the verb умываюсь reflexive, and how does it differ from умываю?
The base verb умывать means “to wash” (something). Adding -ся gives умываться, which is reflexive and means “to wash oneself.” So умываюсь = “I wash myself” (e.g., my face), whereas умываю would mean “I wash (someone or something).”
Why is холодной водой in the instrumental case?
In Russian, the instrumental case answers the question “with what?” Here it indicates the means used for washing. Thus холодная вода becomes холодной водой (“with cold water”).
Why are зубы plural here?
The word зубы (“teeth”) is naturally plural when talking about brushing teeth, since you brush all your teeth. In Russian, certain body parts like teeth are typically used in the plural.
Why is снова placed at the end, and could it go elsewhere?
Снова means “again.” Russian adverbs are fairly flexible in word order. You can say снова чищу зубы (“again I brush my teeth”) or чищу зубы снова. Placing it at the end is common and conversational.
Why are the verbs in the present tense and imperfective aspect?
Imperfective verbs in the present tense (умываюсь, чищу) express habitual or repeated actions. If you used perfective forms (умыться, почистить), it would imply a single, completed action rather than a routine.
What is the role and typical position of обычно?
Обычно means “usually” and marks a habitual action. It most often appears before the verb (я обычно умываюсь), but you can also start the sentence with it (Обычно я умываюсь…) to shift emphasis.
How else could you say “after running” in Russian?
You could use a subordinate clause: После того как я пробежал, which literally means “after I ran.” Using the noun form (После пробежки) is shorter and more colloquial.