Breakdown of Я считаю, что это глупый вопрос.
Questions & Answers about Я считаю, что это глупый вопрос.
Считаю is the 1st person singular present tense of считать. In this context it means “to consider / to regard / to believe”, not “to count”.
- Я считаю, что это глупый вопрос.
= I consider / I believe that this is a stupid question.
Compared with думаю (from думать, “to think”):
- Я думаю is more neutral: I think, in my opinion… (general mental process or opinion).
- Я считаю often sounds a bit more judgmental or evaluative: I judge / I hold the opinion that… It can feel a bit stronger or more formal, especially when followed by negative evaluations like глупый вопрос.
In everyday speech, Я думаю and Я считаю often overlap, but считать emphasizes your assessment or evaluation a bit more than just casual thinking.
Russian almost always uses a comma to separate a main clause from a subordinate clause introduced by что (“that”).
- Main clause: Я считаю – I consider / I think
- Subordinate clause: что это глупый вопрос – that this is a stupid question
So the pattern is:
[Main clause], что [subordinate clause].
This is a standard rule of Russian punctuation. Unlike English (where you can write I think that this is… with or without a comma), Russian requires the comma in this structure.
Here что is a conjunction meaning “that”. It introduces the subordinate clause that expresses what exactly you consider:
- Я считаю, что… = I consider that… / I think that…
In English, you can often omit that:
- I think (that) this is a stupid question.
In standard written Russian, you cannot normally omit что in this kind of sentence. You usually must say:
- Я считаю, что это глупый вопрос. ✅
not - Я считаю, это глупый вопрос. ⛔ (this looks incorrect in formal writing)
In colloquial spoken Russian, some people do say things like Я думаю, это глупый вопрос, relying on intonation instead of что, but for learners and in correct written language, keep что.
In это глупый вопрос, это is not just “this” as a simple demonstrative; it functions more like “this is” / “it is” in a “X is Y” type sentence.
Structure:
- это – “this / it” (subject-like element)
- глупый вопрос – “a stupid question” (predicate noun phrase)
So это глупый вопрос = “this is a stupid question” or “it’s a stupid question”.
If you say этот глупый вопрос, этот directly modifies вопрос:
- этот глупый вопрос = “this stupid question” (as a noun phrase)
Compare:
- Это глупый вопрос. – This is a stupid question. (complete sentence)
- Этот глупый вопрос меня раздражает. – This stupid question annoys me. (этот just points to “this question” as an object.)
In the sentence Я считаю, что это глупый вопрос, we need the “X is Y” structure inside the subordinate clause, so это (not этот) is appropriate.
Both глупый and вопрос are in the nominative singular masculine.
Inside the clause это глупый вопрос we have a classic “X = Y” structure:
- это – subject-like element
- глупый вопрос – predicate noun phrase
In Russian, the predicate noun (and its agreeing adjective) in such “X is Y” sentences usually appear in the nominative case:
- Это интересный фильм. – This is an interesting film.
- Это старая книга. – This is an old book.
- Это глупый вопрос. – This is a stupid question.
So:
- вопрос is nominative masculine singular.
- глупый is nominative masculine singular, agreeing with вопрос in gender, number, and case.
Yes, глупым вопросом is also possible, but it belongs to a different structure.
Current sentence:
- Я считаю, что это глупый вопрос.
Literally: I consider that this is a stupid question.
Alternative structure:
- Я считаю этот вопрос глупым.
Literally: I consider this question (to be) stupid.
Here:
- этот вопрос is in the accusative (direct object of считаю).
- глупым is in the instrumental singular masculine, because after считать кого-то / что-то кем-то / каким-то, Russian often uses the instrumental for the “role” or “quality”:
- Я считаю это хорошей идеей. – I consider this a good idea.
- Они считают его талантливым. – They consider him talented.
- Я считаю этот вопрос глупым. – I consider this question stupid.
So:
- что это глупый вопрос → subordinate clause with “X is Y”, nominative.
- этот вопрос глупым → object + predicative in the instrumental.
Both patterns are correct, but they are grammatically different.
Word order in Russian is more flexible than in English, especially when the case endings are clear.
Both are grammatically correct:
- Я считаю, что это глупый вопрос.
- Я считаю, что вопрос глупый.
Nuance:
- это глупый вопрос feels like a neutral identification: this is a stupid question.
- вопрос глупый (with the noun first) can put a bit more emphasis on “the question” as the topic: as for the question, it is stupid.
The difference is subtle, and in everyday speech both variants are fine. For learners, это глупый вопрос is the most typical and easy pattern to follow.
Yes. In Russian, the personal pronoun is often optional because the verb ending already shows the person and number.
- Я считаю, что это глупый вопрос.
- Считаю, что это глупый вопрос.
Both mean the same (I consider that this is a stupid question). The version without я is common in:
- More informal or compressed speech/writing.
- Situations where the subject “I” is obvious from context (e.g., in personal messages, notes, or when you’re already talking about your opinions).
Dropping я is grammatically correct; it does not change the core meaning, just the style/feel slightly.
Считаю is:
- Present tense
- 1st person singular
- From the imperfective verb считать.
In the meaning “to consider / to regard”, считать is imperfective. Its present tense conjugation:
- я считаю – I consider
- ты считаешь – you (sg., informal) consider
- он / она / оно считает – he / she / it considers
- мы считаем – we consider
- вы считаете – you (pl. or formal) consider
- они считают – they consider
Common related perfective forms used for “to consider / to regard” are:
- счесть (perfective, more formal/literary) – past: счёл / сочла, future: счту, etc.
- посчитать can also sometimes be used figuratively (“to consider, to reckon”), but more often means “to count” in a completed way.
In this sentence, Я считаю expresses a current, general opinion: “I (now) consider / I (generally) regard…”, so the imperfective present is appropriate.
Глупый вопрос literally means “a stupid/silly question”. It usually sounds quite blunt and negative, especially if said directly to someone:
- Это глупый вопрос. – That’s a stupid question.
Depending on tone and context, it can feel:
- Rude / dismissive – implying the question is obviously bad and not worth asking.
- Sometimes slightly softer if used jokingly among friends (like English “that’s a dumb question, haha”), but it still carries a strong negative evaluation.
Softer or more polite alternatives:
- странный вопрос – a strange/weird question
- неуместный вопрос – an inappropriate / out-of-place question
- некорректный вопрос – an incorrect / improper question
- наивный вопрос – a naive question
- сложный вопрос – a difficult question (often used diplomatically instead of saying it’s “stupid”)
So yes, глупый вопрос is generally impolite if used seriously about someone else’s question.
Глупый is the correct nominative masculine singular form of the adjective meaning “stupid / silly”.
It must agree with the noun вопрос in:
- Gender: вопрос – masculine → глупый – masculine
- Number: вопрос – singular → глупый – singular
- Case: here nominative → глупый – nominative
Basic pattern for a regular hard-stem adjective (like глупый) in the nominative:
- Masculine singular: глупый
- Feminine singular: глупая
- Neuter singular: глупое
- Plural (all genders): глупые
Since вопрос is masculine singular nominative, the matching form is глупый вопрос.