Question 1

What is the difference between the verbs читать and перечитать, and what does the prefix пере- add?

Accepted Answer

читать is imperfective, meaning “to read” (focus on the process, not completion).  
перечитать is perfective with the prefix пере-, adding the sense of “read again” or “read through completely a second time.” The perfective aspect also signals that you intend to finish the action.

Question 2

Why is a perfective infinitive (перечитать) used after хочу? I thought you always use imperfective verbs after “want.”

Accepted Answer

In Russian, хотеть can govern both aspects, but with different nuances:  
• With imperfective (e.g. хочу читать) you express desire to engage in an ongoing action (“I want to be reading”).  
• With perfective (e.g. хочу перечитать) you express desire to achieve the result (“I want to finish reading again”). Here, the speaker cares about completing the reading of lesson 3.

Question 3

Why is it третий урок and not третьего урока? Shouldn’t the direct object change case?

Accepted Answer

In this sentence третий урок is the direct object of перечитать and so it’s in the accusative case. Since урок is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form is identical to the nominative. Likewise, the ordinal третий declines like an adjective, and its accusative masculine singular form also coincides with the nominative третий.

Question 4

Can you omit the pronoun я in “Завтра я хочу перечитать третий урок”?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Russian frequently drops subject pronouns because verb endings already show person and number. You can simply say  
  Завтра хочу перечитать третий урок.  
Inserting я adds clarity or emphasis, but it isn’t required.

Question 5

Is the word order fixed? Where else could завтра go?

Accepted Answer

Word order in Russian is relatively flexible, especially for adverbs of time. Possible variants:  
• Я хочу завтра перечитать третий урок.  
• Я хочу перечитать завтра третий урок.  
• Завтра хочу перечитать третий урок.  
Placing завтра at the beginning often highlights “tomorrow” as the key point.

Question 6

How do you pronounce перечитать, and where is the stress?

Accepted Answer

Stress falls on the last syllable:  
• Pronunciation (rough Latin): pe-re-chi-TÁT’  
• IPA: [pʲɪrʲɪt͡ɕɪˈtatʲ]  
Make sure the stress is on тат in the infinitive.

Завтра я хочу перечитать третий урок.

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