Я сушу волосы полотенцем после душа.

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Breakdown of Я сушу волосы полотенцем после душа.

• после: after
• сушить: to dry
• волосы: the hair

Questions & Answers about Я сушу волосы полотенцем после душа.

Why is the verb сушу used here, and what aspect does it have?

сушу is the first-person singular present tense of the imperfective verb сушить (to dry). The imperfective aspect focuses on the ongoing process (“I am drying” or “I dry” in general). If you want to express the action as completed or one-time, you’d use the perfective высушить (e.g. Я высушу волосы полотенцем – “I will dry my hair with a towel”).

What case is волосы in, and why?

волосы is in the plural accusative case, because it’s the direct object of the verb “to dry.” Since волосы (hair) is an inanimate plural noun, its accusative form coincides with the nominative plural (волосы).

Why is полотенцем in the instrumental case without a preposition?

Russian uses the instrumental case to indicate the means or tool of an action. Here полотенцем (“with a towel”) shows how you dry your hair. Many verbs take a bare instrumental to express “with X” (e.g. резать хлеб ножом – “to cut bread with a knife”).

Why does после душа use душа in the genitive, and what does после govern?