Breakdown of Я не могу дозвониться до ветеринара, потому что линия занята.
Questions & Answers about Я не могу дозвониться до ветеринара, потому что линия занята.
дозвониться до is a perfective verb phrase meaning “to get through to someone by phone.”
- звонить (imperfective) = “to call” (action in progress, habitual or repeated).
- дозвониться (perfective) = “to succeed in calling” (action completed, focus on result).
You use дозвониться до кого-то when you want to emphasize that you actually managed (or failed) to reach the person.
After the verb дозвониться you need the preposition до, which always takes the genitive case.
- до кого? до ветеринара
So ветеринар (nominative) → ветеринара (genitive).
Here занята is a short-form adjective (or participle) meaning “busy/engaged.” Short-form adjectives are often used in predicate position (after a linking verb or implied “is”).
- Полная форма занятая линия = “a busy line” (attribute before noun).
- Краткая форма линия занята = “the line is busy” (predicate).
потому что is a conjunction meaning “because.” It introduces the reason clause that explains the main clause.
Structure: Main clause, потому что reason clause.
In our sentence:
Я не могу дозвониться до ветеринара, потому что линия занята.
= “I can’t get through to the vet because the line is busy.”
Yes, you can flip the clauses. Russian allows this word order:
Потому что линия занята, я не могу дозвониться до ветеринара.
Just make sure to keep the comma. The emphasis slightly shifts to the reason at the beginning.
Both are correct, but the nuance differs:
- я не могу дозвониться = “I can’t (I’m unable to) get through” (focus on ability or external obstacle).
- у меня не получается дозвониться = “I’m not succeeding in getting through” (focus on the repeated failed attempts or result).
In everyday speech they’re close, but не могу sounds more direct about inability.
A rough literal breakdown:
- до = “up to/to”
- звониться = “to call” (reflexive form)
So literally “to call up to the vet,” which in natural English becomes “to get through to the vet.”