Learn Hardcore Russian: Мне нравится, когда комедия забавная, а не скучная. - I like it when a comedy is funny and not boring.

Мне нравится, когда комедия забавная…
- Мне — “to me” (dative experiencer)
- нравится — verb, 3rd person singular
- когда комедия забавная, а не скучная — subject clause (“when the comedy is funny, not boring”)

In Russian, when a whole clause acts as the subject, the verb is in 3rd person singular, just like:

Мне нравится, что ты пришёл. — I like that you came.

Why is it нравится and not нравятся here?

Нравится vs нравятся depends on what is liked:

Singular subject → нравится
- Мне нравится книга. — I like the book.
Plural subject → нравятся
- Мне нравятся книги. — I like books.

In your sentence, the subject is the whole situation когда комедия забавная, а не скучная — one situation, grammatically singular. Therefore, нравится (singular) is correct.

Why is there a comma after нравится?

In Russian, a comma is used to separate a main clause from a subordinate clause. Here:

Main clause: Мне нравится
Subordinate clause (introduced by когда): когда комедия забавная, а не скучная

So we write:

Мне нравится, когда комедия забавная, а не скучная.

This is similar to English “I like it, when the comedy is funny, not boring,” except in English we usually drop the comma.

Why do we use когда (“when”) and not если (“if”)?

Both когда and если can translate as “when” or “if,” but they differ:

когда — “when(ever)”, focusing on time / situation that actually happens or is expected to happen.
если — “if”, focusing on a condition, more hypothetical.

Мне нравится, когда комедия забавная…
→ I like it when the comedy is funny… (talking about real situations, in general)

If you used если:

Мне нравится, если комедия забавная…
This sounds more like: I’m pleased if the comedy is funny… — it emphasizes the condition and sounds slightly more formal or conditional.

The most natural, general-statement version is with когда.

Why are забавная and скучная in the feminine form?

They agree with комедия, which is:

feminine
singular
nominative case

So the adjectives must match:

комедия забавная — “the comedy is funny / amusing”
комедия скучная — “the comedy is boring”

The forms:

Masculine: забавный, скучный
Feminine: забавная, скучная
Neuter: забавное, скучное
Plural: забавные, скучные

Because комедия is feminine singular, we use забавная, скучная.

What is the difference between забавная, смешная, and весёлая?

All three can be translated as “funny” or “amusing,” but with different nuances:

забавная
- amusing, entertaining, kind of cute-funny
- Often about light, playful amusement.
- забавная комедия — an amusing comedy, not necessarily making you laugh out loud, but pleasantly entertaining.
смешная
- the most direct “funny, makes you laugh”
- смешная комедия — a comedy that is actually funny, causes laughter.
весёлая
- cheerful, lively, upbeat
- More about mood and energy than just jokes.
- весёлая комедия — light, feel-good, maybe with jokes, but definitely positive and lively.

So забавная suggests “amusing/entertaining,” not as strong as “hilarious” (очень смешная).

Why is it а не скучная, and not simply не скучная?

The phrase а не expresses contrast: rather than / as opposed to.

забавная, а не скучная
= funny, and not boring (instead of being boring)

If you said only не скучная:

Мне нравится, когда комедия не скучная.
= I like it when the comedy is not boring.
This doesn’t say what you prefer instead; it just denies “boring.”

With а не, you explicitly contrast two qualities:

забавная, а не скучная — funny, not boring (funny rather than boring)
умный, а не глупый — smart, not stupid

So а не makes the opposition clearer.

What is the difference between а and но here?

Both а and но can translate as “but,” but they are used differently:

а often shows contrast or opposition between two things, and can mean “and / while / whereas / but.”
но is a stronger “but,” often indicating an obstacle or contradiction.

In a simple contrast of qualities, а не is standard:

забавная, а не скучная
(You’re contrasting “funny” vs “boring.”)

Using но here (забавная, но не скучная) would sound awkward and unnatural. For “X, not Y” contrasts, а не is the normal pattern.

Could I change the word order to Когда комедия забавная, а не скучная, мне нравится?

Yes, that is grammatically correct:

Когда комедия забавная, а не скучная, мне нравится.

Russian word order is relatively flexible. Putting the когда-clause first emphasizes the condition/situation:

Когда комедия забавная…, мне нравится.
→ When the comedy is funny…, I like it.

Your original version:

Мне нравится, когда комедия забавная…
starts by emphasizing your reaction (“I like it…”).

Both are fine; the original feels slightly more natural, but the alternative is acceptable.

Why is there no explicit “it” like in English “I like it when…”?

English needs a dummy pronoun “it”:
I like it when the comedy is funny.

Russian does not use a dummy “it” here. The когда-clause itself acts as the subject of нравится:

Мне нравится, когда комедия забавная…
- literally: To me is pleasing, when the comedy is funny…

There is no separate word for “it” because it isn’t needed grammatically. The subordinate clause fills that role.

Is нравится perfective or imperfective? What aspect is used here and why?

Нравиться is an imperfective verb.

Imperfective is used for:

general preferences
repeated / habitual actions
ongoing states

In your sentence, you’re stating a general preference:

Мне нравится, когда… = I (generally) like it when…

There is a perfective понравиться (“to come to be liked / to appeal (once)”):

Мне понравилась эта комедия. — I liked this comedy (when I watched it / it appealed to me).

But for stable likes/dislikes or general statements, imperfective нравиться is used.

Could I say Мне нравится забавная комедия, а не скучная? Does it mean the same?

This is grammatical, but the meaning shifts a bit.

Мне нравится, когда комедия забавная, а не скучная.
→ I like it when a comedy is funny, not boring. (talking about the situation / condition in general)
Мне нравится забавная комедия, а не скучная.
→ I like a funny comedy, not a boring one.
This sounds more like you are comparing types of comedies or talking about your choice (e.g., when picking a movie).

The original emphasizes the circumstance (“when it is funny”), not the object choice (“this kind of comedy”).