Learn Hardcore Russian: Я хочу научиться готовить борщ по традиционному рецепту. - I want to learn to cook borscht according to the traditional recipe.

Научиться is a perfective verb meaning “to learn how to do something,” emphasizing the result or completion of the learning process. Учиться, on the other hand, is imperfective and means “to be learning” or “to study” in general, without focusing on completion.

Why do we use the infinitive готовить after научиться?

After verbs like научиться and хотеть, Russian requires another verb in the infinitive to express what action you want to learn or want to do. So научиться готовить literally means “to learn to cook.”

Why is готовить imperfective and not the perfective приготовить?

When you talk about mastering a skill or a repeated/action process, you use the imperfective aspect (готовить). The perfective приготовить would imply a single completed action (“to cook once”), whereas “learning to cook” implies an ongoing ability.

What case is борщ in, and why?

Борщ is in the accusative case as the direct object of готовить. Since борщ is an inanimate masculine noun, its accusative form is identical to its nominative form (борщ).

Why do we say по традиционному рецепту and not с традиционным рецептом?

The preposition по + dative case means “according to” or “following” (a set of instructions). С + instrumental would mean “with” (e.g. “with a recipe in hand”), which doesn’t convey “following a recipe” as accurately.

Why are традиционному and рецепту in the dative case?

After по in the sense of “according to,” Russian demands the dative case. So традиционный рецепт (nominative) becomes традиционному рецепту (dative).

Is the subject pronoun Я necessary at the beginning? Can we drop it?

Russian often omits subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the person. Я хочу… makes it explicit or adds emphasis, but you could also say Хочу научиться готовить… in a casual context.

What nuance does the perfective научиться add in this sentence?

Using the perfective научиться highlights the speaker’s intention to fully acquire the skill. It suggests a goal of “becoming able” to cook borscht, not just practicing.

Could we rearrange the word order, for example Я хочу научиться борщ готовить?

Yes, Russian word order is fairly flexible. Я хочу научиться борщ готовить is understandable but slightly more colloquial or emphatic. The standard, neutral order is научиться готовить борщ.

Can we use another preposition like в or согласно instead of по?

You could say согласно традиционному рецепту, but that sounds more formal or bookish. По + dative is the most natural everyday way to say “according to the traditional recipe.”