Questions & Answers about Сейчас я делаю домашнее задание.
What does Сейчас mean and why is it placed at the start of the sentence?
Сейчас is an adverb meaning “now.” Russian word order is quite flexible. By putting Сейчас at the beginning, you emphasize the timing of the action. You could also say Я сейчас делаю домашнее задание or Домашнее задание я делаю сейчас, but each order shifts the focus slightly (on “I,” on “homework,” or on “now”).
Why is the verb делаю in the imperfective aspect instead of a perfective like сделаю?
Russian verbs come in two aspects:
- Imperfective (e.g. делать/делаю) for ongoing, repeated, or uncompleted actions.
- Perfective (e.g. сделать/сделаю) for single, completed actions.
Since you’re describing an action in progress (“I’m doing my homework right now”), you use imperfective делаю. If you wanted to say “I will finish my homework,” you’d use the perfective сделаю.
Why is the pronoun я included even though the verb ending already shows the subject?
In Russian, personal pronouns (я, ты, он/она, etc.) are optional because the verb ending already indicates the subject. You include я here for clarity or emphasis (“I am the one doing it”). In casual speech you could omit it: Сейчас делаю домашнее задание, and listeners will still know you mean “I.”
What case is домашнее задание in, and how do you know?