Question 1

Why is их used in this sentence instead of они, and what role does it play?

Accepted Answer

In Russian, они is the nominative form meaning “they,” used when “they” is the subject of a sentence. их is the accusative form (identical in form to the genitive) of the 3rd person plural pronoun, meaning “them.” Here, их is the direct object of the verb вижу (“I see them”).

Question 2

What case is парке in, and why is the preposition в used before it?

Accepted Answer

Парке is in the prepositional case, which is used after certain prepositions (like в, на) to indicate location (“in,” “on”). The structure в + prepositional case means “in/at.” So в парке literally means “in the park.”

Question 3

What is the difference between в парк and в парке, and why do we use в парке here?

Accepted Answer

В парк uses the accusative case after в, meaning “into the park” (motion toward).  
В парке uses the prepositional case after в, meaning “in the park” (location).  
Since Я вижу их в парке describes where the seeing happens (location), we use в парке.

Question 4

Can you omit я in Я вижу их в парке, and if so, what changes?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Russian is a pro-drop language: the verb ending -у in вижу already marks 1st person singular. You can simply say Вижу их в парке without я. The meaning remains “(I) see them in the park,” though omitting я can sound more colloquial or poetic.

Question 5

Does word order matter here? Could you say Я их вижу в парке, and what subtle emphasis changes?

Accepted Answer

Word order in Russian is relatively free because cases mark grammatical roles.  
- Я вижу их в парке – neutral, standard order: subject–verb–object–place.  
- Я их вижу в парке – shifts их forward, giving slight emphasis to “them” (as opposed to someone else).  
- В парке я вижу их – emphasizes location first: “It’s in the park that I see them.”

Question 6

What is the infinitive of вижу, and how is this verb conjugated in the present tense?

Accepted Answer

The infinitive is видеть (“to see”). It’s an imperfective verb of the second conjugation. Present-tense forms are:  
Я вижу  
Ты видишь  
Он/она видит  
Мы видим  
Вы видите  
Они видят

Question 7

Why does the root consonant change from вид- to виж- in вижу?

Accepted Answer

This is a regular consonant alternation in Russian where /d/ becomes /ʐ/ (spelled ж) before the vowel у or ю. So the root вид- (“see”) softens to виж- in forms like вижу, видишь, видят.

Question 8

Where is the stress in вижу, and how do you pronounce the ж sound?

Accepted Answer

The stress is on the first syllable: ВИ-жу [ˈvʲiʐu]. The letter ж represents the voiced postalveolar fricative [ʐ], similar to the “s” in English “measure.” It is always hard (non-palatalized).

Question 9

What aspect is вижу, and how would you express that you saw them once in the past?

Accepted Answer

Вижу is imperfective, indicating an ongoing or habitual action. To express a single completed action in the past, use the perfective verb увидеть. For example:  
— (masculine speaker) Я увидел их в парке.  
— (feminine speaker) Я увидела их в парке.

Я вижу их в парке.

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