Questions & Answers about Нельзя читать книгу в тёмной комнате.
What is нельзя and how does it function in this sentence?
нельзя is an impersonal modal word expressing prohibition or impossibility. It literally means “it’s not allowed,” “one must not,” or “you can’t.” In Russian you use нельзя + infinitive to say that something is forbidden or cannot be done in general, without specifying a person.
Why is читать in the infinitive form?
After the impersonal modal нельзя, verbs always stay in the infinitive. Russian uses the infinitive to show the action that’s prohibited: нельзя читать = “one must not read.”
Why is книгу in the accusative case?
книга (book) is the direct object of читать. In Russian, direct objects normally take the accusative case: читать книгу (“to read a book”). Note that feminine nouns ending in -а change to -у in the accusative.
Why is в тёмной комнате in the prepositional case?
When you express a location with the preposition в (in), you put the noun in the prepositional case. комната becomes комнате, and the adjective тёмный agrees, becoming тёмной.
Why is there no explicit subject like “you” or “one”?