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Questions & Answers about Я легко понимаю грамматику.
What does the adverb легко mean in this sentence?
Легко means “easily.” It modifies the verb понимаю, indicating that the speaker finds understanding grammar to be an easy task.
Why is the verb понимаю in the first person singular form?
Because the subject Я (I) is performing the action, so you use the 1st person singular of the imperfective verb понимать: я понимаю (“I understand”).
What aspect and tense is понимаю, and why is it used here?
Понимаю is imperfective aspect in the present tense. The imperfective aspect is used for ongoing, habitual, or general actions—here it expresses a general ability to understand grammar.
Why is грамматику in the accusative case?
Грамматика is the direct object of the verb понимать, so it takes the accusative case. Feminine nouns ending in -а change to -у in the accusative: грамматика → грамматику.
Is the word order Я легко понимаю грамматику flexible?
Yes. Russian allows some word order variation for emphasis. You could say Я понимаю грамматику легко (puts focus on легко) or Легко я понимаю грамматику (poetic/very emphatic), but the default neutral order is Я легко понимаю грамматику.
Can I use понимаю and понял interchangeably here?
No. Понимаю (imperfective) describes an ongoing or general ability. Понял (perfective past) would mean “I understood (once).” They are different aspects with different meanings.
Why isn’t there an article before грамматику like in English (“the grammar”)?
Russian has no articles (no words equivalent to “a” or “the”). Definiteness is understood from context. In this sentence, the speaker refers to grammar in general.
How do you pronounce грамматику?
It’s pronounced [grahm-MA-tee-koo], with stress on the second syllable: грамМАтику.