Learn Hardcore Russian: Наш учитель говорит, что характер может меняться, и человек со временем меняется. - Our teacher says that character can change and that a person changes over time.

If it were нашего учителя, that would be genitive/accusative (for example: We love our teacher — мы любим нашего учителя). Here we are simply saying Our teacher says…, so nominative is required.

Why is there a comma before что in говорит, что характер может меняться?

In Russian, что often introduces a subordinate clause, similar to “that” in English.

Наш учитель говорит = Our teacher says
что характер может меняться = that character can change

Russian punctuation rules require a comma before что when it introduces such a subordinate clause. In English we often drop “that” (Our teacher says character can change), but in Russian you normally keep что and mark it off with a comma.

What exactly does что mean here? Is it “that” or “what”?

In this sentence, что corresponds to English “that” (a conjunction introducing a subordinate clause), not “what”.

As “that” (conjunction):
Он сказал, что придёт. – He said (that) he would come.
As “what” (pronoun):
Он знает, что нужно делать. – He knows what needs to be done.

Here it’s the first use: Our teacher says *that character can change…*

Why is характер used for “character”? Is it personality, moral character, or something else?

Russian характер can cover several related ideas that in English might be separated:

Personality / temperament: how a person tends to behave, react, feel.
Character in the moral sense: strength of character, moral traits.

In this sentence, характер может меняться most naturally means a person’s character/personality can change over time. Context would clarify whether the focus is more on temperament or moral qualities, but both are possible.

Why don’t we say “the character” or “a character” in Russian? There is no article before характер.

Russian does not have articles (a, an, the) at all. The noun характер here is bare, and the ideas of definiteness/indefiniteness are inferred from context.

Характер может меняться can mean:
- Character can change (general statement), or
- A person’s character can change.

If you need to be more specific, you usually add other words, e.g. его характер (his character), человеческий характер (human character), etc., rather than using articles.

What is the difference between может меняться and just меняется? Why do we have both forms in one sentence?

They have different functions and slightly different nuances:

может меняться
- может = can / may / is able to
- меняться = to change (infinitive, reflexive)
So характер может меняться = character can change / is capable of changing. It talks about possibility or potential.
меняется
- 3rd person singular, present tense of меняться: changes / is changing.
человек со временем меняется = a person changes over time (stating what actually happens in general).

Combining them:

First clause: theoretical possibility (character can change).
Second clause: general fact/habit (a person does change over time).

Why is меняться a reflexive verb (with -ся)? What does the -ся add here?

The -ся ending makes меняться reflexive or intransitive:

менять (without -ся) = to change (something), a transitive verb.
- Он меняет работу. – He is changing his job.
меняться (with -ся) = to change (oneself) / to change intransitively, no direct object.
- Характер меняется. – Character changes.

In this sentence:

характер может меняться – character can change (itself / intransitively)
человек … меняется – a person changes (himself / herself / themself)

We are not saying “someone changes character”, but that character and a person themselves undergo change, so the reflexive/intransitive form is used.

Why is меняться used after может, but меняется after человек?

After a modal verb like может (can), Russian normally uses the infinitive:

может меняться – can change (infinitive меняться)

When меняться is the main verb of the clause with a subject (человек), it appears in a finite form, agreeing with that subject:

человек … меняется – a person changes
- 3rd person singular, present tense to match человек (he/she).

So the forms differ because the grammar roles differ:

After может → infinitive (меняться)
As the main verb with subject человек → меняется

Why is present tense (меняется) used for something that happens “over time”, including the future?

Russian often uses the present tense to express:

General truths:
Земля вращается вокруг Солнца. – The Earth orbits the Sun.
Regular, long-term, or gradual processes:
Человек со временем меняется. – A person changes over time.

Even though the process extends into the future, the present tense is natural because it describes a general, timeless tendency. English does the same in many cases: “People change over time” is also present tense.

What does со временем literally mean, and why со and not just с?

Со временем means “over time / with time / as time passes.”

с/со = with, from, since (the exact meaning depends on context)
время = time
со временем (instrumental case) → literally: with time → idiomatically: over time.

The form со is a variant of с used mainly:

Before certain consonant clusters to make pronunciation easier: со мной, со школы, со страху etc.
Before some words by tradition, and со временем is a fixed, very common phrase.

So here со is chosen for euphony and because it’s part of a set expression.

Why is человек singular when the meaning feels like “people” in general?

Russian often uses человек in the singular to talk about a person in a general sense:

Человек со временем меняется. – A person changes over time / People change over time.
Человек слаб. – Man is weak / People are weak.

English can also use singular “a person” or generic “man” for general statements, but nowadays we often say “people”. Russian generic человек captures that same idea of “a typical person, any person”.

Why is there a comma before и in …характер может меняться, и человек со временем меняется?

In Russian, a comma is usually placed before и when it connects two independent clauses (each has its own subject and verb):

характер может меняться – subject: характер, verb: может меняться
человек со временем меняется – subject: человек, verb: меняется

Since both parts could stand as separate sentences, Russian punctuation rules require a comma before и in such cases. It’s like writing in English:

…character can change, and a person changes over time.

Can the word order be changed, e.g. может меняться характер instead of характер может меняться?

Yes, Russian word order is more flexible than English, but the usual, neutral order here is:

характер может меняться (subject → modal/verb → infinitive).

You could say может меняться характер, but that would sound more marked, often used:

For emphasis (highlighting the possibility может меняться).
In poetic or stylistic contexts.

For a standard, textbook-like sentence, характер может меняться is the most natural order.