Мой приятель любит рассказывать шутки в трамвае.

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Breakdown of Мой приятель любит рассказывать шутки в трамвае.

• рассказывать: to tell
• в: on
• любить: to like

Questions & Answers about Мой приятель любит рассказывать шутки в трамвае.

What is the nuance of приятель compared with друг or friend in English?

Приятель is usually:

• someone you know quite well and get along with,
• but not necessarily a very close, trusted friend.

Nuances:

• друг = close friend, good friend, often with emotional closeness.
• приятель = buddy, pal, mate, acquaintance-friend somewhere between знакомый (acquaintance) and друг (close friend).

Using мой приятель sounds a bit lighter / more casual than мой друг.

Why is it мой приятель and not моя приятель?

Because приятель is grammatically masculine in Russian.

• Masculine singular мой приятель (my male friend/buddy)
• Feminine singular would be моя приятельница (my female friend/buddy)

The possessive pronoun agrees in gender, number and case with the noun, so masculine приятель takes masculine мой.

How does любит рассказывать work grammatically? Why not just one verb?

In Russian, the structure [verb of liking] + infinitive is very common:

• любить (to like / to love) + infinitive = to like doing something.

Here:

• любит = he (my friend) likes / loves