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Breakdown of Завтра я заработаю немного денег.
я
I
деньги
the money
завтра
tomorrow
немного
a little
заработать
to earn
Questions & Answers about Завтра я заработаю немного денег.
Why is the verb perfective (заработаю) here? Could I use the imperfective instead?
Заработаю is perfective: it presents a single, completed result by tomorrow. Use the imperfective to focus on the ongoing process or habitual action: буду зарабатывать. So:
- Завтра я заработаю… = I will earn (and have the result).
- Завтра я буду зарабатывать… = I will be earning / will spend time earning.
How is the future formed with this verb?
Perfective verbs have a simple future with present endings: я заработаю, ты заработаешь, он/она заработает, мы заработаем, вы заработаете, они заработают.
Imperfective uses the compound future: я буду зарабатывать, ты будешь зарабатывать, etc.
Why is it денег and not деньги?
Because немного requires the genitive (partitive) case. Деньги is plural-only (pluralia tantum), and its genitive plural is денег. This is the same form you see in patterns like нет денег.
What’s the nuance difference between немного and мало?
- Немного = “a little, some” (neutral/positive: there is some amount).
- Мало = “little, not much” (negative: insufficient).
Colloquial variants for a small amount: немножко, чуть-чуть.
Can I drop the pronoun я?
Yes. Завтра заработаю немного денег is fine and common in speech. Including я can sound slightly more explicit or contrastive, but both are natural.
Are other word orders okay?
Yes; Russian allows flexible order for emphasis:
- Neutral: Завтра я заработаю немного денег.
- Also neutral: Я завтра заработаю немного денег.
- Focus on “when”: Я заработаю немного денег завтра.
- Contrast the amount: Немного денег я заработаю завтра.
Putting all three together differently is possible, but the first two are the most neutral.
How do I negate this?
Common options:
- Завтра я не заработаю много денег. = I won’t earn much money.
- Завтра я не заработаю денег. = I won’t earn (any) money.
- Stronger: Завтра я не заработаю ни копейки. = not a single cent.
Note the genitive after negation and the emphatic ни- genitive.
Can I say несколько денег?
No. Несколько is for countable items. Деньги isn’t counted that way. Say несколько рублей/долларов/евро or keep it uncountable: немного денег.
What’s the difference between заработаю, получу, and выиграю?
- Заработаю: earn by working.
- ПолучУ (деньги): receive money (salary, payment, transfer), source not specified.
- Выиграю (деньги): win money (lottery, bet).
You can also say получу зарплату (receive a salary).
How do подработаю and подзаработаю differ from заработаю?
- Подработаю: I’ll do some side work/odd jobs (emphasis on the extra work).
- Подзаработаю: I’ll earn a bit extra (emphasis on the extra earnings).
Both often imply a small, additional amount and pair naturally with немного денег.
Where is the stress, and any pronunciation tips?
Stress: Зáвтра я зарабóтаю немнóго дéнег.
Tips:
- завтра: the в is devoiced before т → sounds like “зáфтра”.
- заработаю: stress on -бó-.
- немного: stress on -нó-.
- денег: final г is devoiced → sounds like “дéнек”.
Is деньги countable with numerals?
Not directly. Use currency units: два рубля / три доллара / пять евро. With деньги you use quantifiers: много денег, немного денег, нет денег.
Does немного change form?
No, немного is invariable. It governs the genitive: немного воды, немного времени, немного денег. Colloquial немножко works similarly.
Is “Я заработаю завтра немного денег” okay?
Yes, it’s grammatical. Placing завтра early (Завтра я… or Я завтра…) is more neutral, but moving завтра later can add focus to “when.”
Is “Я буду заработать немного денег” correct?
No. With imperfective you must use буду + infinitive: Я буду зарабатывать немного денег. The form буду заработать is ungrammatical.
Does заработать have other meanings?
Yes:
- “To start functioning” (about machines): Часы заработали.
- “To bring upon oneself / to get (an illness, injury): Он заработал травму/насморк.
In your sentence, the object денег makes the meaning “to earn (money)” clear.
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