Я люблю учить новые слова.

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Breakdown of Я люблю учить новые слова.

• любить: to love
• новый: new
• слово: the word

Questions & Answers about Я люблю учить новые слова.

Why is люблю directly followed by the infinitive учить and not another form?

In Russian, to express “I like to do something,” you use the verb любить + infinitive. There’s no gerund or separate particle needed. So Я люблю учить literally means “I like to learn” (or “I like to teach,” depending on context—with слова it means “learn”).

In this sentence, does учить mean “to teach” or “to learn”?

Here учить means “to learn” or “to memorize.” Context decides: since слова (words) is the object, the speaker is learning words, not teaching them. If you wanted “teach,” you’d need a person as the object (e.g. учить детей).

Why is учить in the imperfective aspect rather than the perfective выучить?

The imperfective учить describes a habitual or ongoing activity: “I like learning new words” as a regular process. The perfective выучить would imply a single completed action: “I liked (or I like) to learn (and finish) new words,” which doesn’t fit well with expressing a general preference.

What case are новые слова, and why?