Мне не нравится, когда ошибки повторяются.

I don’t like it when mistakes are repeated.

Breakdown of Мне не нравится, когда ошибки повторяются.

• я: I
• не: not
• когда: when
• нравиться: to like
• ошибка: the mistake
• повторяться: to repeat oneself

Questions & Answers about Мне не нравится, когда ошибки повторяются.

Why is it мне and not я at the beginning?

Russian often uses an “experiencer in the dative” with verbs like нравиться (to be pleasing).

• Мне не нравится... literally = “To me, it is not pleasing that…”
• English expresses this with a subject I: “I don’t like it when…”
• Russian structure is different:
  
  • мне – dative case of я, “to me”
  • нравится – “is pleasing”

So instead of saying “I don’t like…”, Russian literally says “To me, it is not pleasing…”. That’s why it’s мне, not я.

Why is it не нравится and not something like я не люблю? Do they mean the same thing?

Both express dislike, but there is a nuance:

• Мне не нравится, когда ошибки повторяются.

  • Neutral, a bit more “impersonal”.
  • Literally: “It is not pleasing to me when mistakes are repeated.”
  • Often about reactions, impressions, mild preferences.

• Я не люблю, когда ошибки повторяются.

  • Slightly stronger, more personal.
  • Literally: “I don’t like it when mistakes are repeated.”
  • Can sound a bit more emotional or about a general habit/attitude.

In most contexts, they’re interchangeable, but нравится is the standard verb for “to like” in Russian and sounds very natural here.

What is the literal, word‑by‑word structure and meaning of the sentence?

Sentence: Мне не нравится, когда ошибки повторяются.

• Мне – “to me” (dative of я)
• не – “not”
• нравится – “is pleasing”
• , – comma
• когда – “when”
• ошибки – “mistakes” (nominative plural of ошибка)
• повторяются – “are repeated / repeat themselves” (3rd person plural, reflexive)

Literal-ish rendering:
> “To me, it is not pleasing when mistakes are repeated.”

Natural English:
> “I don’t like it when mistakes are repeated.” /
> “I don’t like it when mistakes keep happening again.”

Why is there a comma before когда?

In Russian, когда can introduce a subordinate clause (a “when-clause”). Subordinate clauses are normally separated from the main clause by a comma.

• Main clause: Мне не нравится
• Subordinate clause: когда ошибки повторяются

Rule: when когда introduces a full clause (with its own subject and verb – here ошибки повторяются), you put a comma before it:

• Мне не нравится, когда ошибки повторяются.
• Когда ошибки повторяются, мне не нравится. (comma still needed, but now after the clause)

Why is ошибки in the nominative plural? I thought after не you often use genitive.

The “genitive of negation” in Russian is common, but it doesn’t apply automatically everywhere. You only get genitive if the word is in an object-like position where genitive is allowed.

Here:

• ошибки is the subject of the verb повторяются (“mistakes repeat / are repeated”).
• Subjects normally stand in the nominative case, even in negative sentences.

So:

• ошибки (nom. pl.) – subject of повторяются
• The negation не belongs to нравится, not directly to ошибки.

If ошибки were a direct object of a negated verb, then genitive could be an option, e.g.:

• Я не делаю ошибок. – “I don’t make mistakes.” (ошибок = genitive plural)

Why is нравится singular when ошибки is plural? Shouldn’t it be нравятся?

The subject of нравится here is not ошибки. The subject is the entire clause когда ошибки повторяются.

Think of it like this:

• Underlying structure:
  
  • Мне не нравится [это]. – “I don’t like this.”
  • Then we explain это with a clause: когда ошибки повторяются.

So:

• Subject of нравится = “when mistakes are repeated” (a whole situation, treated as singular “it”)
• Therefore, the verb is singular: нравится.

If ошибки were the direct subject of нравиться, you’d indeed get plural:

• Мне не нравятся ошибки. – “I don’t like mistakes.”
  
  • Here ошибки is subject → verb = нравятся (plural).

But in your sentence, нравится agrees with the whole clause, not with ошибки.

What does the -ся in повторяются do? Why not just повторяют?

Повторяются is the reflexive form of повторять.

• повторяют – “(they) repeat (something)”
  
  • Ученики повторяют правило. – “The students repeat the rule.”
• повторяются – “(they) are repeated / repeat themselves / keep happening again”

In когда ошибки повторяются:

• Subject: ошибки – “mistakes”
• Verb: повторяются – literally “repeat themselves” → more naturally “get repeated / keep happening again”.

So ошибки повторяются focuses on the mistakes themselves recurring, not on who is doing the repeating. It’s more general and impersonal.

Is there any aspect nuance in повторяются? What if I used повторятся or another form?

Повторяются here is:

• Imperfective aspect (повторяться)
• Present tense, 3rd person plural

Imperfective aspect suggests:

• Repeated, habitual, or ongoing action
• “When mistakes keep happening again / are repeated (in general)”

Other forms:

• повторятся (future, imperfective reflexive):

  • когда ошибки будут повторяться – “when mistakes will be repeatedly made / will keep happening again”
  • More explicitly about the future and about repetition as a process.

• Perfective reflexive (повториться) would focus on a single completed repetition:

  • Мне не нравится, когда ошибка повторяется. – “I don’t like it when a mistake is repeated (again, that one time).”
  • Here it’s more about a specific mistake repeating once or a few times.

Your original sentence with повторяются feels like: “I don’t like it when mistakes tend to recur / keep happening.”

Can I change the word order and say Мне не нравится, когда повторяются ошибки? Is there any difference?

Yes, that word order is also correct:

• Мне не нравится, когда ошибки повторяются.
• Мне не нравится, когда повторяются ошибки.

Both mean the same thing. The difference is just a tiny nuance of focus:

• когда ошибки повторяются – neutral, “when mistakes are repeated”
• когда повторяются ошибки – a slight emphasis on the action повторяются first, then you specify what repeats (ошибки).

In everyday speech, they’re practically interchangeable.

How does this compare to Мне не нравится повторять ошибки?

These two are related but not identical:

1. Мне не нравится, когда ошибки повторяются.

   • Focus: the situation where mistakes are repeated (in general).
   • You might dislike that in class, at work, in general life, etc., regardless of who is repeating them.

2. Мне не нравится повторять ошибки.

   • Focus: your own action of repeating mistakes.
   • Literally: “I don’t like to repeat mistakes.” / “I don’t like making the same mistakes again.”

So №1 is about the fact that mistakes keep happening, №2 is about your own behavior or habit. Both are common and natural, but they answer slightly different questions.

Is this sentence neutral in style? Can I use it in both formal and informal contexts?

Yes, it’s stylistically neutral and works well in both:

• Informal:
  
  • Talking with friends:
    
    • Мне не нравится, когда ошибки повторяются в одном и том же тексте.
• Formal / professional:
  
  • At work, in a meeting:
    
    • Мне не нравится, когда одни и те же ошибки повторяются в отчётах.

It’s polite, clear, and suitable in most situations.