Learn Hardcore Russian: В профиль можно добавить фотографию и короткое описание себя. - You can add a photo and a short description of yourself to your profile.

В профиль literally means “into the profile / to the profile” and describes the direction of the action: you are adding something into the profile.

The preposition в
- accusative is used for movement into / to somewhere.
профиль is masculine inanimate; in the accusative it looks the same as in the nominative: (Nom.) профиль → (Acc.) профиль.

So the structure is:

добавить (что?) фотографию, описание
добавить (куда?) в профиль

This is why it is в профиль (into the profile), not a different form like в профиле (in the profile).

Could we say в профиле instead of в профиль? What would be the difference?

Yes, but it would change the meaning:

в профиль (в + accusative) – movement into the profile, “to the profile / into the profile”.
- В профиль можно добавить… = “You can add … to the profile.”
в профиле (в + prepositional) – location inside the profile, “in the profile”.
- В профиле есть фотография. = “There is a photo in the profile.”
- В профиле можно увидеть фотографию. = “In the profile you can see a photo.”

So for the action “add to the profile,” в профиль is the natural choice. В профиле would talk about what is already located there.

Why is there no subject like ты or вы? What does можно mean here exactly?

This is an impersonal construction:

можно + infinitive ≈ “it is possible / it is allowed / you can”.

There is no explicit subject, but in context it usually means “you (any user) can”.

So:

В профиль можно добавить…
≈ “You can add … to your profile.”
(literally: “It is possible to add … to the profile.”)

Russian often uses this impersonal можно (possible/allowed) instead of a personal form like:

Вы можете добавить фотографию… = “You can add a photo…”.

Both are correct; можно is more neutral and slightly more impersonal.

Can the word order be different, like Можно добавить фотографию в профиль…? Is there any change in meaning?

Yes, you can change the word order without changing the basic meaning. All of these are natural:

В профиль можно добавить фотографию и короткое описание себя.
Можно добавить в профиль фотографию и короткое описание себя.
Можно добавить фотографию и короткое описание себя в профиль.

Differences are mostly about emphasis and rhythm:

Starting with В профиль slightly emphasizes where (to the profile).
Starting with Можно slightly emphasizes the possibility (“It’s possible to add…”).

But for most everyday situations, they are interchangeable.

Why is the verb добавить (perfective) used instead of добавлять (imperfective)?

Russian has aspect:

добавлять – imperfective (process, repeated action, “to be adding”)
добавить – perfective (a single, completed action, “to add once and finish”)

With можно, when we’re talking about doing an action once, to achieve a result, Russian usually prefers the perfective:

Можно добавить фотографию. = You can (go ahead and) add a photo (once, as an action with a result).
Можно добавлять фотографии. = You are allowed to keep adding photos / to add photos repeatedly, in general.

In this sentence, the idea is: “You can add a photo (so that it will be there)”, i.e., a single completed action, so добавить (perfective) is natural.

Why is it фотографию and not фотография?

Фотография is a feminine noun:

Nominative: фотография (this is the dictionary form)
Accusative (direct object): фотографию

The verb добавить takes a direct object in the accusative:

добавить (что?) фотографию

So the form фотографию is simply feminine singular accusative.

Could we use фото instead of фотографию? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

В профиль можно добавить фото и короткое описание себя.

Фото is very common in speech and in interfaces (apps, websites). Differences:

фото
- Indeclinable in the singular (the form doesn’t change).
- Feels a bit more informal / colloquial.
фотографию
- Fully declined form of фотография.
- Sounds a bit more neutral or formal, but still very common.

Both are correct; choice depends on style. For a website text or an app, фото is very frequent.

Why is it короткое описание and not короткий описание?

In Russian, adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in gender, number, and case.

описание is neuter, singular, accusative (and looks like nominative): (Nom./Acc.) описание.
The adjective короткий must match that:
- Masculine: короткий текст
- Feminine: короткая статья
- Neuter: короткое описание

So короткое is the neuter singular form agreeing with описание.

What’s the difference between короткое описание and краткое описание?

Both mean roughly “short description”, but there is a nuance:

короткое описание
- More everyday, neutral.
- Literally “short” in length.
краткое описание
- Slightly more formal / literary.
- Often implies “brief, concise, to the point.”

In many contexts the choice is stylistic. For app or website instructions, both can appear, but краткое описание is a very common fixed phrase in Russian UI texts.

Why is it описание себя and not описание о себе?

Russian often uses a noun + genitive structure to show what the noun refers to:

описание (чего?) текста – description of the text
описание (чего?) города – description of the city
описание (кого?) себя – description of oneself

So описание себя is “a description of oneself” (genitive-type relation).

о себе is a prepositional phrase usually governed by a verb, not a noun:

рассказать о себе – to talk about oneself
написать о себе – to write about oneself

You can sometimes see описание о себе, but it sounds heavier and less natural than описание себя. For a simple UI/instruction sentence like this, описание себя is the standard and most natural choice.

What case is себя here, and who does it refer to?

Formally, себя here functions as genitive with the noun описание:

описание (кого? чего?) себя – description of oneself.

The reflexive pronoun себя has the same form for genitive and accusative, so you can’t see the case just from the form, but the governing word (описание) takes genitive, so that’s the underlying case.

Who does it refer to?

It is reflexive, so it refers back to the (implicit) person who is doing the action.
In this impersonal sentence, it means “yourself / oneself” in general:
“a short description of yourself (of the user)”.

Important traits of себя:

It is used instead of меня, тебя, его, её, нас, вас, их when it refers back to the subject.
It has no nominative form; it only appears in oblique cases.

Are both фотографию and короткое описание себя objects of добавить? How does и work here?

Yes. The structure is:

добавить [X и Y] в профиль

Where:

X = фотографию
Y = короткое описание себя

Both are direct objects (things you add), joined by и = “and”:

добавить фотографию и (добавить) короткое описание себя

The verb добавить is understood with both parts; you don’t have to repeat it. This is the same pattern as in English: “add a photo and a short description”.

Could we say Вы можете добавить в профиль фотографию… instead? Is there any difference from можно добавить?

Yes, you can say:

Вы можете добавить в профиль фотографию и короткое описание себя.

Both versions are correct, but they feel a bit different:

В профиль можно добавить…
- Impersonal, neutral.
- Sounds like a general rule or description of functionality.
- Common in help texts, manuals, UI instructions.
Вы можете добавить…
- Directly addresses “you” (the user).
- Slightly more personal and instructional.

So:

For a technical description of a feature, можно добавить is very typical.
For a direct instruction to the user, Вы можете добавить is also very natural.