Breakdown of Не позволяй телефону разрядиться ночью, иначе будет трудно включить его утром.
быть
to be
телефон
the phone
не
not
утром
in the morning
ночью
at night
позволять
to let
разрядиться
to run out of power
иначе
otherwise
трудно
hard
включить
to turn on
его
it
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Questions & Answers about Не позволяй телефону разрядиться ночью, иначе будет трудно включить его утром.
Why is the verb не позволяй in this specific form? What does it tell us about who is being addressed and the mood?
In Russian, to give a direct command or piece of advice to one person informally, you use the second person singular imperative. The infinitive позволять becomes позволяй in this form, and adding не makes it negative: не позволяй means don’t let.
Why do we use телефону (dative case) after не позволяй, instead of nominative or accusative?
With the verb позволять, the thing you allow or disallow something to happen to is in the dative case. So телефон takes the ending -у (телефону) to express “don’t let the phone…”
What does разрядиться mean, and why is it reflexive and perfective?
Разрядиться means to run out of battery. The -ся ending marks it as reflexive (the phone performs the action on itself), and the perfective aspect focuses on the completion of the action (the battery becoming fully drained).
What role does ночью play here, and why is it in this form?
Ночью means at night and is an adverbial noun in the instrumental case. Russian uses these forms (ночью, утром, вечером) to indicate when something happens.
What is the meaning and grammatical function of иначе in this sentence?
Иначе is an adverb meaning otherwise or if not. It links the two clauses and shows the consequence if the first condition fails.
Why is будет трудно включить его утром constructed with будет трудно + infinitive?
To express that something will be hard to do, Russian uses будет (future of быть) + трудно (difficult) + an infinitive verb (включить). This literally means it will be difficult to switch it on in the morning.
Why do we use его instead of repeating телефон in the second clause?
Его is a pronoun referring back to the phone (masculine singular). It avoids repeating телефон and makes the sentence smoother.
Are there any pronunciation or stress tips for разрядиться and позволяй?
In разрядиться, the stress is on the second syllable: разрЯдиться. In позволяй, the stress is on the last syllable: позволЯй. Correct stress helps ensure you’re understood.