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Questions & Answers about Я мою волосы шампунем.
Why is волосы in the plural form? In English we say “hair” singular.
In Russian the word for the hair on your head is normally used only in the plural: волосы. If you talk about a single strand, you use the singular волос, but when referring to all the hair collectively you always say волосы.
Why is шампунем in the instrumental case?
The instrumental case is used to show “with what” an action is performed. Since you wash with shampoo, шампунем (the instrumental form of шампунь) is the correct case.
Could I say Я мою волосы с шампунем instead of using the instrumental without a preposition?
Technically yes, с шампунем (with shampoo) works, but native speakers almost always drop the preposition and simply use the instrumental: Я мою волосы шампунем sounds more natural.
Why isn’t the reflexive verb мыться used here (like Я моюсь шампунем)?
Мыться means “wash oneself,” and usually you say Я моюсь (I’m washing myself). But when you specify the object you’re washing—волосы—you switch to the non-reflexive мыть and treat hair as a direct object: Я мою волосы шампунем.
Can I say Я мою голову шампунем instead of волосы?
Yes. Saying Я мою голову шампунем (“I wash my head with shampoo”) is very common and idiomatic in Russian. Both are correct; using голову just shifts the focus from the hair itself to the head as a whole.
Why is the verb in the imperfective form мою? Shouldn’t I use the perfective помою for a completed action?
The imperfective мою describes an ongoing or habitual action (“I am washing / I wash”). The perfective помою would imply a single completed event in the future or past:
• Я помою волосы шампунем завтра – “I will wash my hair with shampoo tomorrow.”
• Я помыл(а) волосы шампунем – “I washed my hair with shampoo.”
Is the word order fixed? Could I say Шампунем я мою волосы?
Russian word order is relatively flexible for emphasis. The neutral order is Subject–Verb–Object: Я мою волосы шампунем. Fronting шампунем (Шампунем я мою волосы) puts extra focus on the tool (shampoo), but it sounds more marked and poetic.
How do I conjugate мыть for other pronouns?
Here is the present-tense conjugation of мыть:
• Я мою
• Ты моешь
• Он/она/оно моет
• Мы моем
• Вы моете
• Они моют
So for example Ты моешь волосы шампунем? means “Do you wash your hair with shampoo?”