Learn Hardcore Russian: Мой друг волнуется и огорчается без причины. - My friend worries and gets upset for no reason.

The suffix -ся often marks a reflexive or middle‐voice form. Here it doesn’t mean “my friend worries himself” but turns the verbs into intransitive ones meaning “to become worried/upset.” Without -ся, волновать and огорчать are transitive (e.g. кто-то волнует друга = “someone worries a friend”). With -ся, the action happens to the subject: он волнуется = “he worries (himself),” он огорчается = “he gets upset.”

Why is причины in the genitive case after без?

The preposition без (“without”) always requires a noun in the genitive case. The nominative form is причина. Its genitive singular is причины, so без причины literally means “without a reason,” i.e. “for no reason.”

Why do we say мой друг and not моя друг?

Possessive pronouns in Russian agree with the gender, number, and case of the noun. Друг is masculine, singular, nominative, so you use the masculine form мой (“my”). If it were a female friend (подруга), you would say моя подруга.

Can Russian express “is worrying” vs. “worries” like English? How do I know which one волнуется means?

Russian does not distinguish grammatically between simple present and continuous. Волнуется can mean both “worries” and “is worrying.” Context and adverbs often clarify. In this sentence you can translate either way:
• “My friend worries and gets upset for no reason.”
• “My friend is worrying and getting upset for no reason.”

Are волнуется and огорчается imperfective or perfective? Why can we use them in the present tense?

Both verbs here are imperfective, which is why they have present‐tense forms. Perfective verbs do not have a present tense in Russian (they form the future instead). If you used a perfective version (e.g. огорчиться in the sense “to get upset once”), you could only say он огорчился (“he got upset” – past) or он огорчится (“he will get upset” – future).

What effect does moving без причины have? For example, can I say Мой друг без причины волнуется и огорчается?

Russian word order is flexible. Placing без причины before the verbs shifts emphasis onto “for no reason” but doesn’t change the basic meaning. Both are correct:
• Мой друг волнуется и огорчается без причины (neutral)
• Мой друг без причины волнуется и огорчается (emphasis on “no reason”)

What’s the difference between огорчаться and расстраиваться?

Both mean “to get upset,” but with different nuances:
• Огорчаться is more formal or literary, emphasizing disappointment or sorrow.
• Расстраиваться is more colloquial and can imply being upset, distressed, or even frustrated.
Choose based on tone and register: formal writing or speech → огорчаться; everyday conversation → расстраиваться.