Breakdown of Я наливаю молоко в чашку для кофе.
я
I
кофе
the coffee
для
for
чашка
the cup
в
into
наливать
to pour
молоко
the milk
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Questions & Answers about Я наливаю молоко в чашку для кофе.
Why is the verb наливаю used instead of the infinitive налить or the past tense налил?
Наливаю is the 1st-person singular present tense of the imperfective verb наливать, indicating an action that is ongoing or habitual (“I am pouring” or “I pour”). Налить is the perfective infinitive (“to pour” as a completed action) and налил is the past tense of the perfective aspect (“I poured”), which would change the timing or completeness of the action.
How do you form the 1st-person singular of наливать?
Start with the stem налива- and add the ending -ю, giving наливаю. Imperfective verbs ending in -ивать typically use the pattern -ива- + -ю/-ешь/-ют for present-tense conjugation.
Why are there no words for “a” or “the” before молоко and чашку?
Russian does not have articles like English a or the. Definiteness or indefiniteness is understood from context rather than expressed with separate words.
Why is молоко unchanged in this sentence; shouldn’t it look different when it’s the object?
Молоко is a neuter noun ending in -о. Inanimate neuter nouns in Russian have identical forms in the nominative and accusative cases, so молоко remains the same whether it’s the subject or the direct object.
How do you express “into the cup” in Russian?
Use the preposition в plus the accusative case to show motion into something. Here, в чашку literally means “into the cup,” where чашку is the accusative form of the feminine noun чашка.
What does чашку для кофе literally mean, and why is для used?
Literally it means “a cup for coffee.” The preposition для requires the genitive case and expresses purpose or intended use. So для кофе means “for coffee.”
Why is кофе the same in all cases, and why is it in the genitive here?
Кофе is a loanword that is indeclinable in modern standard Russian, so its form stays кофе in every case. After для, which governs the genitive, you still say кофе, because the word doesn’t change.
Is the word order fixed in this sentence, or can I move words around?
Russian word order is flexible. The neutral sequence is Subject–Verb–Object: Я наливаю молоко в чашку для кофе. You can shift elements for emphasis (e.g. В чашку я наливаю молоко to stress the cup), but the core meaning remains the same.