Questions & Answers about Я нарезаю хлеб для завтрака.
What is the infinitive of нарезаю and what does it mean?
The infinitive is нарезать, which means “to slice” or “to cut up.” In this sentence, Я нарезаю literally means “I am slicing” (bread).
What aspect is the verb нарезаю, and why is it in the present tense?
Нарезаю is in the imperfective aspect, which focuses on an ongoing or habitual action. Imperfective verbs in Russian have present-tense forms to show that the action is happening now (or regularly). By contrast, the perfective aspect (e.g. нарезать in its perfective sense) has no present tense and instead uses a future form like я нарежу (“I will slice”).
Why is хлеб in the accusative case, and why does it look the same as in the nominative?
Хлеб is the direct object of the verb “to slice,” so it takes the accusative case. Since хлеб is a masculine inanimate noun of the hard-stem type, its accusative form is identical to its nominative form: хлеб.
Can I say нарезаю хлеба instead of нарезаю хлеб?