Learn Hardcore Russian: Мне нравится общаться с родителями дома.

Мне нравится общаться… literally means “To me it is pleasing to talk…”
- Мне = to me (dative case)
- нравится = is pleasing (3rd person, like “it pleases”)

So the structure is: Something pleases me, not I like something.

Я нравлюсь means “I am liked” (by someone).
- Я нравлюсь родителям = My parents like me.
Я люблю общаться с родителями дома is also possible and means I love / I really like talking with my parents at home, but люблю is usually stronger and more emotional than нравится.

Why is нравится singular here?

Нравиться agrees with what is being liked, not with the person who likes it.

In this sentence, the “thing” that is liked is the action общаться (to talk, to communicate).
An infinitive like общаться is grammatically neuter singular, so you use нравится (3rd person singular):

Мне нравится общаться… – I like to talk…

Compare:

Мне нравится музыка. – I like (the) music. (music = singular)
Мне нравятся песни. – I like the songs. (songs = plural → нравятся)

What exactly does общаться mean? Is it just “to talk”?

Общаться is broader than just “to talk”:

It means to communicate, to socialize, to interact with someone.
It can include talking, spending time together, keeping in touch, etc.

Compare:

говорить / разговаривать – to speak, to talk (focus on the act of speaking)
общаться – to communicate / socialize (focus on the relationship and interaction)

So Мне нравится общаться с родителями дома suggests not only verbal conversation, but generally spending time and communicating with my parents at home.

Why does общаться have -ся at the end? What does that do?

The -ся makes the verb reflexive (or more broadly, part of a special verb type).

The non-reflexive form общать basically isn’t used in modern Russian in this meaning.
Общаться is used by itself and means to communicate / to socialize.

In many verbs, -ся adds meanings like “among each other” or “with one another.”
Here, общаться naturally implies interaction between people, so it’s almost always общаться с кем-то (to communicate with someone).

Why is it с родителями and not another case after общаться?

Some Russian verbs require a specific preposition and case. Общаться normally takes:

с + instrumental case → с кем? (with whom?)

So:

общаться с родителями – to communicate / socialize with (one’s) parents

Родители (nominative plural) → родителями (instrumental plural):

Nom. plural: родители
Instr. plural: родителями

You would not say общаться родителей or общаться к родителям; the correct pattern is общаться с + instrumental.

How is родителями formed from родители?

Родителями is the instrumental plural of родители (parents).

Pattern:

Nominative plural (who?): родители
Instrumental plural (with whom?): родителями

The ending -ями is a common instrumental plural ending for many masculine/feminine nouns in -и in the plural:

друзья → друзьями (friends → with friends)
учители → учителями (teachers → with teachers)
родители → родителями (parents → with parents)

Why is it дома and not в доме?

Дома (with stress on the first syllable: дОма) usually means “at home”:

Я дома. – I am at home.
Мне нравится общаться с родителями дома. – I like talking with my parents at home.

В доме means “in the house / inside the building” and is more literal or spatial:

Мы в доме. – We are in the house (not outside).

So:

дома = at home (your/their home as a place you belong)
в доме = inside a house (as a physical building)

Does the word order have to be Мне нравится общаться с родителями дома? Can it change?

Russian word order is more flexible than English. You can move elements for emphasis, while keeping the same basic meaning.

Possible variations:

Мне нравится дома общаться с родителями. – emphasis on дома (at home, not elsewhere).
Общаться с родителями дома мне нравится. – stylistically marked; emphasizes the whole activity.
С родителями дома мне нравится общаться. – focus more on с родителями дома.

The version Мне нравится общаться с родителями дома is neutral and natural; other orders are usually for stylistic or emphasis purposes.

Could we also say Я люблю общаться с родителями дома? What is the difference?

Yes, Я люблю общаться с родителями дома is grammatically correct.

Nuance:

Мне нравится… – “I like…” (quite neutral; something is pleasant for me)
Я люблю… – “I love / I (really) like…” (more personal, stronger feeling, more habitual)

So:

Мне нравится общаться с родителями дома. – It is pleasing to me; I enjoy it.
Я люблю общаться с родителями дома. – I love doing this; it’s something I care about and often do.

In everyday speech, both are common, with a slight difference in emotional tone.

Why don’t we say Я in the sentence? How do we know it’s “I like…”?

Russian often doesn’t use я when the person is clear from context or from the grammar.

Мне нравится… already tells us who likes it:
- мне = to me → the experiencer is I.

So Я would be redundant here. You could say:

Мне нравится общаться с родителями дома. – natural and normal.
Мне, Я, нравится… – incorrect.
Я люблю общаться с родителями дома. – here я is required because люблю needs its subject in nominative.

In short, with нравится, the person is typically shown by the dative pronoun (мне, тебе, ему, ей, нам, вам, им), not by я, ты, он etc.

How do you pronounce дома here? Isn’t there another word домá?

Yes, there are two forms with different stress and meanings:

дОма (stress on the first syllable) = at home
- This is the one in your sentence: Мне нравится общаться с родителями дОма.
домá (stress on the second syllable) = to home / homes (direction or plural houses, depending on context)
- E.g. Мы пошли домá. (colloquial) – We went home.

So in your sentence, you must say дОма (at home), not домá.