Я стараюсь двигаться каждый день: бегаю, гуляю и делаю зарядку.

I try to move every day: I run, walk, and do exercises.

Breakdown of Я стараюсь двигаться каждый день: бегаю, гуляю и делаю зарядку.

• я: I
• бегать: to run
• каждый: every
• день: the day
• и: and
• гулять: to walk
• стараться: to try
• двигаться: to move
• делать зарядку: to do exercises

Questions & Answers about Я стараюсь двигаться каждый день: бегаю, гуляю и делаю зарядку.

Why is я used here? In English we often drop I after saying it once, but in Russian the subject is often omitted. Could we omit я?

In Russian, you can omit я here:

• Стараюсь двигаться каждый день: бегаю, гуляю и делаю зарядку.

Because the verb ending (-юсь) already shows that the subject is я, the sentence is still clear.

So why include я at all?

• It adds a bit of emphasis: Я стараюсь... = I make an effort…
• It sounds very natural at the start of a statement about yourself.

Both versions are grammatically correct. Including я is slightly more explicit and personal; omitting it is a bit more casual and compact.

What is the difference between стараюсь and пытаюсь? In English both feel like I try.

Both can be translated as I try, but they are not the same:

• стараться = to make an effort, to do your best

  • Я стараюсь двигаться каждый день.
    → I make an effort to move every day / I try to keep active every day.

• пытаться = to attempt (with a chance of failure, or a specific task)

  • Я пытаюсь открыть банку.
    → I’m trying to open the jar (maybe I can’t).

In this sentence:

• Я стараюсь двигаться каждый день
  focuses on a regular effort and good intention, not on a single attempt that might fail.
  Using пытаюсь here would sound slightly strange, as if moving every day is some one‑time “attempt” rather than an ongoing effort.

Why is двигаться used and not something like делать упражнения or заниматься спортом? What nuance does двигаться have?

Двигаться literally means to move (oneself), as in not staying still.
Here it has the sense:

• двигаться = to be physically active, to move your body, not be sedentary.

The sentence:

• Я стараюсь двигаться каждый день
  ≈ I try to be physically active every day.

This is broader and vaguer than заниматься спортом (to do sports) or делать упражнения (to do exercises). It can include:

• running (бегаю)
• walking (гуляю)
• doing morning exercises (делаю зарядку)
• and in general “not just sitting all day”.

So двигаться emphasizes “not being physically passive” rather than “doing a specific type of exercise”.

Why is двигаться in the infinitive form here and not a finite verb like двигаюсь?

The verb стараться is usually followed by an infinitive:

• стараюсь + infinitive = I try to + verb

Examples:

• Я стараюсь учиться. – I try to study.
• Я стараюсь не опаздывать. – I try not to be late.
• Я стараюсь двигаться каждый день. – I try to move/be active every day.

So двигаться is in the infinitive because it is the action that the person is trying to perform.
Using Я стараюсь двигаюсь would be incorrect.

What does the -сь / -ся ending in стараюсь and двигаться mean?

The -сь / -ся ending marks a reflexive verb in Russian. It can have several functions; here are the relevant ones:

• стараться (from старать)

  • reflexive form means “to make an effort, to try (for oneself)”.
  • non‑reflexive старать is not used in modern Russian.

• двигаться (from двигать)

  • двигать (что‑то) = to move something:
    
    • двигать стол – to move the table
  • двигаться = to move oneself, to be in motion.

So:

• стараюсь = I try / I make an effort.
• двигаться = to move (oneself), to be active.

Reflexive verbs are extremely common in Russian, and often the reflexive version has a completely different meaning from the non‑reflexive one.

Why is it каждый день and not каждыйдень or something else? Is каждый an adjective here?

Yes, каждый is an adjective meaning every. It agrees with день:

• день (day) is masculine, singular, nominative.
• каждый is masculine, singular, nominative.

So:

• каждый день = every day.

You can think of it structurally like every day in English, where every modifies day.

Alternatives:

• ежедневно – adverb, daily
  
  • Я стараюсь ежедневно двигаться. – I try to move daily.

Both каждый день and ежедневно are correct; каждый день is slightly more colloquial and very common in speech.

Why is there a colon : after каждый день? Could we use a comma instead?

The colon introduces an explanation or list of what was just mentioned.

• Я стараюсь двигаться каждый день: бегаю, гуляю и делаю зарядку.
  → I try to be active every day: I run, walk, and do exercises.

Here, бегаю, гуляю и делаю зарядку explain how the speaker moves every day, so a colon is appropriate.

In spoken Russian, people sometimes use a comma where a colon would be more “correct” in writing, but in standard written Russian, the colon is the proper punctuation here.

Why don’t we repeat я before бегаю, гуляю и делаю зарядку? Shouldn’t it be я бегаю, я гуляю и я делаю зарядку?

Repeating я is grammatically correct but unnecessary and stylistically heavy.

Russian allows you to:

• state the subject once, then omit it when the subject remains the same and verb endings make it clear.

So:

• Full form: Я бегаю, я гуляю и я делаю зарядку. – correct but sounds a bit clumsy.
• Natural form: Я бегаю, гуляю и делаю зарядку. – much more natural.

In the original sentence, я is clearly the subject of all three verbs thanks to the -ю endings.

Why is it бегаю and not бегу? Don’t both mean “I run”?

Both mean “I run”, but they differ in aspect and nuance:

• бегаю – 1st person singular of бегать (imperfective, multidirectional, habitual)

  • Often: running as a repeated or habitual action.
  • Я часто бегаю по утрам. – I often go running in the mornings.

• бегу – 1st person singular of бежать (imperfective, unidirectional)

  • Often: right now, in one direction.
  • Я бегу домой. – I’m running home (right now, in this direction).

In Я стараюсь двигаться каждый день: бегаю…, the focus is on a regular habit, not on “I’m currently running somewhere”, so бегаю is the natural choice.

What is the difference between гулять and just ходить? Both can be “to walk”, right?

Yes, both can involve walking on foot, but their meanings differ:

• гулять:

  • to walk for pleasure, to stroll, to hang out outside.
  • Я гуляю в парке. – I’m taking a walk in the park (for pleasure).

• ходить:

  • to go (on foot) in general, especially with a destination or purpose.
  • Я хожу на работу пешком. – I walk to work (as transport).

In this sentence:

• гуляю fits well with the idea of leisurely walking / going for a walk as part of an active lifestyle, not just commuting on foot.

What exactly does делаю зарядку mean? Is зарядка just “exercise” in general?

Делать зарядку is a fixed phrase in Russian meaning:

• to do (usually light) morning exercises; a set of simple physical exercises.

Details:

• делаю = I do / I make.
• зарядка = literally “charging”, but in this context it means a short workout, often in the morning: stretches, bending, simple gymnastics.

So:

• делаю зарядку ≈ I do morning exercises / I do a little workout.

It doesn’t usually refer to heavy gym training; it’s more about light daily exercise to wake up and keep fit.

Which tense/aspect are the verbs in, and what does that say about the meaning?

All the finite verbs here are present tense, imperfective aspect:

• стараюсь (from стараться)
• бегаю (from бегать)
• гуляю (from гулять)
• делаю (from делать)

Imperfective aspect here expresses:

• habitual, repeated actions and
• a general characteristic (what the speaker usually does).

So the sentence describes a regular routine, not a one-time action:
“I generally try to stay active, and these are the activities I usually do.”