Радио играет музыку.

The radio is playing music.

Breakdown of Радио играет музыку.

• музыка: the music
• играть: to play
• радио: the radio

Questions & Answers about Радио играет музыку.

Why does музыка change to музыку in this sentence?

Because музыку is in the accusative case.

In Russian, the direct object of the verb (the thing that is being acted on) goes into the accusative.

• Dictionary form: музыка (nominative, “music” as the subject)
• Direct object form: музыку (accusative, “music” as the object)

Here, the radio is doing something to the music (playing it), so:

• Радио – subject (what is doing the action)
• играет – verb
• музыку – direct object (what is being played, accusative case)

What gender is радио, and why does it end in -о like a neuter noun?

Радио is grammatically neuter, but it is also indeclinable (it does not change its form in different cases).

• It ends in -о, which is a common ending for neuter nouns.
• You will see it used mostly in the same form: радио, regardless of its role in the sentence.

Examples:

• Радио играет музыку. – The radio is playing music.
• У меня есть радио. – I have a radio.

In both, the word радио looks the same; the case is understood from context and from the rest of the sentence.

If радио is neuter, why doesn’t the verb look different? How do I know its gender matters?

In the present tense, Russian verbs in 3rd person singular (он / она / оно играет) all use the same form:

• он играет
• она играет
• оно играет

So with радио (neuter “оно”), the verb still looks like играет.

Gender shows up more clearly in the past tense:

• Он играл музыку. – masculine
• Она играла музыку. – feminine
• Радио играло музыку. – neuter

So in Радио играет музыку, you don’t see the gender in the verb form, but you know from grammar that радио is neuter.

Why do we say играет музыку and not something like делает музыку or слушает музыку?

The Russian verb играть has a specific usage with music:

• играть музыку – to play music (a device, band, etc. produces music)
• играть на гитаре – to play the guitar
• играть в футбол – to play football

So:

• Радио играет музыку. – The radio is playing music.
• Он слушает музыку. – He is listening to music. (listener)
• Он делает музыку. – could mean he creates/produces music (composer/producer), but not a general “play music” like a radio.

For a radio, speaker, or band producing sound, играть музыку is the natural phrase.

Does играет mean “is playing” or “plays”? How do I say the difference in Russian?

Играет in Russian present tense can mean both:

• The radio plays music (habitually, general fact)
• The radio is playing music (right now)

Russian doesn’t have a separate “present continuous” form like English. Context usually makes it clear:

• Каждый день радио играет музыку. – Every day the radio plays music. (habit)
• Сейчас радио играет музыку. – Right now the radio is playing music. (at the moment)

In both, the verb is simply играет.

Can I say just Радио играет without музыку? Is it still correct?

Yes, you can say Радио играет, and it is grammatically correct. It usually implies:

• The radio is on and is playing something (music, a program, etc.)

However, if you want to be clear that it's music specifically, you add the object:

• Радио играет. – The radio is on / is playing (something).
• Радио играет музыку. – The radio is playing music. (specifies what is playing)

Could I flip the word order and say Музыку играет радио? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say Музыку играет радио, and it’s still correct.

Word order in Russian is more flexible than in English. The basic meaning stays the same, but the focus changes:

• Радио играет музыку. – neutral order; simply states the fact: The radio is playing music.
• Музыку играет радио. – puts more emphasis on музыку or on the source: often heard in contexts like “It’s the radio that’s playing the music.”

In neutral, simple statements, learners should prefer Радио играет музыку.

Why is there no word for “the” in Радио играет музыку? How do I know if it’s “the radio” or “a radio”?

Russian has no articles (no separate words for “a/an/the”).

Радио играет музыку can be translated as:

• The radio is playing music.
• A radio is playing music.

The exact English translation depends on context:

• Talking about a device in your room → likely the radio.
• Talking about some random radio somewhere → could be a radio.

Russian relies on context, word order, and sometimes extra words like этот (this) or тот (that) to be more specific:

• Это радио играет музыку. – This (particular) radio is playing music.

Could we say По радио играет музыка instead? What’s the difference from Радио играет музыку?

Yes, and the meaning is slightly different:

• Радио играет музыку.
  Focus: the device (the radio set) is playing music.

• По радио играет музыка.
  Literally: Music is playing on the radio.
  Focus: the broadcast medium – something on the radio (a station/program) is playing music.

Roughly:

• Радио играет музыку. – The box in the corner is playing music.
• По радио играет музыка. – On the radio (on air), they’re playing music.

Is музыка usually singular like this, or can it be plural (музыки)?

Музыка is usually used in the singular to mean “music” in general, just like English music is uncountable.

• Я люблю музыку. – I love music.
• Радио играет музыку. – The radio is playing music.

The plural музыки exists but is much less common and tends to be more specific or stylistic, for example:

• старинные музыки – old musical pieces/styles (poetic or specialized) For everyday “music” in this kind of sentence, you should use the singular музыку (accusative).

How is радио and музыку pronounced? Where is the stress?

Stress and approximate pronunciation:

• ра́дио – РА-ди-о
  Stress on the first syllable: РА́-ди-о.

• му́зыку – МУ́-зы-ку
  Stress on the first syllable: МУ́-зы-ку.

In IPA:

• ра́дио – [ˈradʲɪɐ] or [ˈradʲɪo]
• му́зыку – [ˈmuzɨku]

For learners, focusing on putting the stress at the beginning of both words (РА, МУ́) will make you sound much more natural.

How does the verb играть work with different objects? I see играть музыку, играть в футбол, играть на гитаре—why different constructions?

Играть changes construction depending on what you “play”:

1. Music / roles / parts → direct object (accusative):

   • играть музыку – to play music
   • играть роль – to play a role (in a film, etc.)

2. Games / sports → играть в + accusative:

   • играть в футбол – to play football
   • играть в шахматы – to play chess

3. Musical instruments → играть на + prepositional:

   • играть на гитаре – to play the guitar
   • играть на пианино – to play the piano

So in Радио играет музыку, music is a direct object, so it’s simply музыку in the accusative without a preposition.