Breakdown of Когда приложение обновится, ты сможешь включать свет одним нажатием кнопки.
когда
when
ты
you
смочь
to be able
кнопка
the button
свет
the light
приложение
the app
обновиться
to update
включать
to turn on
один
one
нажатие
the press
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Questions & Answers about Когда приложение обновится, ты сможешь включать свет одним нажатием кнопки.
What is the role of the suffix -ся in обновится and what does the verb mean here?
The suffix -ся makes обновиться a reflexive verb, meaning “to update itself” or “to get updated.” It’s in the perfective aspect, so приложение обновится means “the app will finish updating.”
Why is a perfective verb used in the clause introduced by Когда?
In Russian, when you refer to a future action in a Когда-clause that must be completed before the main clause, you typically use the perfective aspect. That shows the update happens fully before you can do anything else.
Why is there a comma before ты сможешь?
Whenever a subordinate clause (here introduced by Когда) comes before the main clause, Russian punctuation requires a comma to separate them.
Why is включать in the imperfective, instead of the perfective включить?
With the verb смочь, using the imperfective infinitive включать expresses an ability to perform the action repeatedly or habitually (“be able to turn on”). If you used the perfective включить, it would mean “manage to turn on (once).”
What case is одним нажатием, and why is it used here?
Одним нажатием is in the instrumental case, indicating the means or instrument of the action (“by one press”).
Why is кнопки in the genitive case?
In Russian, when you specify what is being pressed inside a noun phrase like нажатие, you use the genitive case on that noun: “one press of (a) button.”
Is the pronoun ты necessary in the second clause?
No, Russian is pro-drop, so ты can be omitted because the verb ending makes the person clear. Including ты can add emphasis or clarity.
Could we swap the order of the clauses or move одним нажатием кнопки around?
Yes. Russian word order is flexible. You could say Ты сможешь включать свет одним нажатием кнопки, когда приложение обновится or Когда приложение обновится, одним нажатием кнопки ты сможешь включать свет, changing emphasis but keeping the same meaning. Remember to place a comma between the clauses if the subordinate clause comes first.