Я пишу конспект, когда учитель говорит.

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Breakdown of Я пишу конспект, когда учитель говорит.

• говорить: to speak
• учитель: the teacher
• когда: when

Questions & Answers about Я пишу конспект, когда учитель говорит.

Why is there a comma before когда?

In Russian complex sentences, the main clause and a subordinate clause introduced by когда are always separated by a comma. Here Я пишу конспект is the main clause, когда учитель говорит is the subordinate clause.

Why is конспект in the singular and not plural?

Конспект refers to one continuous set or notebook of notes. Even though you may take many notes, they form a single summary. You’d use the plural конспекты only if you meant several distinct summaries.

What’s the difference between писать конспект and конспектировать?

Both mean “to take notes.”

• писать конспект is more colloquial and literally “to write a summary.”
• конспектировать is a single verb, more formal or bookish, and less common in everyday speech.

Why is пишу in the imperfective aspect rather than the perfective?

The imperfective писать indicates an ongoing or habitual action (“I am writing/taking notes”). A perfective verb like написать конспект would imply completing the notes, e.g. “I will finish taking notes when the teacher speaks,” which changes the meaning.