Learn Hardcore Russian: Картофель готовится медленно, поэтому нужно подождать. - Potatoes cook slowly, so you need to wait.

Картофель готовится медленно, поэтому нужно подождать.

Potatoes cook slowly, so you need to wait.

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Questions & Answers about Картофель готовится медленно, поэтому нужно подождать.

Why is готовится in the singular and with the suffix -ся? Does this make it passive?

The form готовится is the 3rd-person singular of the reflexive (–ся) verb готовиться, which here acts like a middle voice or impersonal passive. It literally means “is getting cooked” or “cooks itself,” so the agent (whoever is cooking) is not specified. If you want to name the cook, you’d use an active construction (e.g. “Мы готовим картофель…”).

Why is медленно used here? How is it formed?

медленно is an adverb meaning “slowly.” It’s formed from the adjective медленный (“slow”) by replacing the ending -ый with -о (a common pattern for turning adjectives into adverbs in Russian).

What is the function of поэтому, and why is there a comma before it?

поэтому means “therefore” or “so,” and it introduces a result clause. In Russian, when one main clause connects to another with поэтому, you place a comma before поэтому just as you would before “therefore” in English.

What kind of construction is нужно подождать? Why is there no explicit subject?