Questions & Answers about Мой друг волнуется и огорчается без причины.
Why do the verbs волнуется and огорчается end in -ся?
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.”