Learn Hardcore Russian: Напиши отчёт коротко, без лишних деталей. - Write the report briefly, without unnecessary details.

Напиши is the second-person-singular imperative of the perfective verb написать (“to write down, to compose”). It addresses one person informally (ты-form) and commands them to complete the action of writing the report.

Why isn’t the pronoun “ты” explicitly used with Напиши?

In Russian imperatives, the subject pronoun ты is usually dropped because the verb ending (–и) already clearly indicates second-person singular. Saying Ты напиши отчёт is grammatically correct but redundant and more emphatic.

Why does this sentence use the perfective verb написать instead of the imperfective писать?

Perfective aspect (написать → Напиши) focuses on the completion of the action (“write the report through to the end”), whereas the imperfective писать would stress the ongoing process (“be in the process of writing”). Here the speaker wants the task completed.

What case is отчёт in, and why?

Отчёт is in the accusative singular. It’s the direct object of написать/Напиши. Since отчёт is an inanimate masculine noun, its accusative form is identical to the nominative: отчёт.

What part of speech is коротко, and what does it modify?

Коротко is an adverb meaning “briefly.” It modifies the implied action of writing: “write briefly.” It tells how the report should be written.

What’s the difference between коротко and кратко?

Both adverbs mean “briefly” or “concisely.” Кратко is somewhat more formal or bookish, while коротко is neutral and slightly more colloquial. In everyday speech they’re often interchangeable.

Why is деталей in the genitive plural, and why is лишних also in genitive plural?

The preposition без (“without”) requires the noun that follows to be in the genitive case. Деталь (detail) in genitive plural becomes деталей. Any adjective modifying that noun must agree in case, number, and gender, so лишний → genitive plural лишних.

What role does the phrase без лишних деталей play in the sentence?

It’s an adverbial phrase of manner (“without unnecessary details”) specifying how the report should be written—i.e. in a concise style, omitting any superfluous information.

Why is there a comma before без лишних деталей?

The comma separates the main clause (Напиши отчёт коротко) from the added adverbial phrase (без лишних деталей). In Russian, short adverbial phrases are often set off by a comma when they follow the element they modify for clarity or emphasis.

Could you replace без лишних деталей with synonyms? For example, без излишних подробностей?

Yes. Излишний and лишний both mean “excessive/unnecessary,” and подробности is a synonym for детали. So Напиши отчёт коротко, без излишних подробностей conveys the same idea, perhaps with a slightly more formal tone.