Моя сестра подписалась на тот же канал и тоже оформила подписку.

Breakdown of Моя сестра подписалась на тот же канал и тоже оформила подписку.

мой
my
на
to
и
and
сестра
the sister
канал
the channel
тоже
also
тот же
the same
подписаться
to subscribe
оформить подписку
to take out a subscription
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Russian now

Questions & Answers about Моя сестра подписалась на тот же канал и тоже оформила подписку.

Why is the verb подписалась used here? Why not подписала or some other form?

The verb подписалась comes from подписаться (to subscribe), which is:

  • reflexive (it ends in -ся)
  • perfective (describes a completed action)
  • in the past tense, feminine, singular form

Breakdown:

  • инфинитив: подписаться (to subscribe)
  • он подписался – he subscribed
  • она подписалась – she subscribed
  • они подписались – they subscribed

Because the subject is моя сестра (my sister), a feminine noun, the verb must be in the feminine form: подписалась.

If you said подписала (without -сь), that would come from подписать (to sign something, e.g. a document), not “to subscribe”. So:

  • Она подписала договор. – She signed the contract.
  • Она подписалась на канал. – She subscribed to the channel.

So the -сь is essential here: it changes the meaning from “signed something” to “subscribed / signed herself up to something”.

Why is the perfective подписалась used and not the imperfective подписывалась?

Russian aspect (perfective vs imperfective) is important here.

  • подписываться – imperfective (to be subscribing, to subscribe regularly, to be in the process)
  • подписаться – perfective (to subscribe once, as a completed act)

In the sentence:

Моя сестра подписалась на тот же канал…

the idea is one finished action in the past: she did it, it’s done. That’s exactly what perfective is used for, so подписалась is natural.

If you used подписывалась, it would suggest:

  • a process:
    • Она подписывалась на этот канал, когда я ей позвонил. – She was subscribing to this channel when I called her.
  • or repeated/habitual action in the past:
    • Она часто подписывалась на разные каналы. – She often subscribed to various channels.

So here, since you’re just stating a single completed fact, подписалась (perfective) is correct.

Why do we say подписалась на канал with на, and what case is канал in?

The verb подписаться always takes the preposition на with the accusative case to express what you subscribe to:

  • подписаться на что? – subscribe to what?

Examples:

  • подписаться на канал – to subscribe to a channel
  • подписаться на журнал – to subscribe to a magazine
  • подписаться на рассылку – to subscribe to a mailing list

In the sentence:

…подписалась на тот же канал…

the noun канал is in the accusative singular. For an inanimate masculine noun like канал, the accusative form equals the nominative:

  • nominative: канал
  • accusative: канал

So grammatically it’s на + accusative, even though the form doesn’t change.

What is the difference between тот же канал and такой же канал?

Both can be translated as “the same channel” in English, but in Russian they are different:

  1. тот же канал

    • literally: that same channel
    • meaning: exactly the same, identical one, the very same channel as someone else has
    • example:
      • Я смотрю тот же канал, что и ты. – I watch the exact same channel as you.
  2. такой же канал

    • literally: a channel like that / a similar channel
    • meaning: a channel of the same type, with similar qualities, but not necessarily the identical one
    • example:
      • Я смотрю такой же канал, но другой компании. – I watch a similar channel, but from a different company.

In your sentence:

Моя сестра подписалась на тот же канал…

this suggests she subscribed to the very same specific channel that someone else has already subscribed to. If you said такой же канал, it would sound more like “a channel of the same kind”.

What is the difference between тоже and также, and why is тоже used here?

Both тоже and также can often be translated as also or too, but they are used slightly differently.

Very simplified guidelines:

  • тоже – focuses on similarity between subjects:
    • “X also did it (like Y).”
    • often informal, very common in spoken language.
  • также – often adds another fact about the same subject, closer to “in addition, moreover”, and a bit more formal or bookish.

Compare:

  • Я люблю кофе. Моя сестра тоже его любит.
    My sister also likes it (like me). – comparing two people.
  • Я люблю кофе и также люблю чай.
    I like coffee and also (in addition) like tea. – two facts about one person.

In your sentence:

…и тоже оформила подписку.

тоже implies: she also did this, just like someone else (probably the speaker or another person mentioned earlier) did. That’s a comparison of subjects, which is the typical use of тоже.

You could technically say также here, especially in a more formal text:

  • …и также оформила подписку.

but in everyday speech тоже feels more natural and conversational.

Aren’t подписалась на тот же канал and оформила подписку basically the same thing? Why say both?

They are related but not strictly identical, and context usually separates them.

  1. подписаться на канал

    • literally: to subscribe to a channel (click “Subscribe” on YouTube, follow a channel, etc.)
    • focuses on following that specific content source (the channel itself).
  2. оформить подписку

    • literally: to take out a subscription
    • a standard collocation with оформить
      • подписку
    • often used for formal or paid subscriptions: magazines, streaming services, premium memberships, etc.

So a natural interpretation of:

Моя сестра подписалась на тот же канал и тоже оформила подписку.

is something like:

  • She followed the same channel (e.g. clicked “Subscribe” on YouTube),
  • and she also took out a subscription (e.g. a paid or premium subscription associated with that channel or service).

In casual speech, people might say both even when the difference isn’t huge, but usually the idea is:

  • first action: started following the channel;
  • second action: arranged some formal/premium subscription (paid membership, additional content, etc.).
Why is it подписку and not подписка after оформила? And why don’t we repeat “на канал”?

The verb оформить takes a direct object in the accusative case:

  • оформить что? – оформить подписку (to take out a subscription)
  • оформить визу – to arrange a visa
  • оформить кредит – to take out a loan

The noun подписка is feminine:

  • nominative: подписка
  • accusative singular: подписку

So оформила подписку is correct: подписку is the accusative singular.

As for “на канал”, it’s not repeated simply because it’s clear from context; Russian often drops repeated information:

Full version (more explicit):

  • Моя сестра подписалась на тот же канал и тоже оформила подписку на него.
    (…and also took out a subscription to it.)

In your sentence, на этот же канал / на него is understood and omitted to avoid repetition.

Can we change the word order, especially the position of тоже? Does the meaning change?

Yes, Russian allows some flexibility in word order, and moving тоже slightly shifts the focus.

Original:

  • Моя сестра подписалась на тот же канал и тоже оформила подписку.
    – focuses on also with the second action: she also took out a subscription (like someone else).

Other possibilities:

  1. Моя сестра тоже подписалась на тот же канал и оформила подписку.

    • Here тоже attaches more to сестра as the subject:
    • My sister also subscribed to the same channel and took out a subscription.”
    • implies: someone else did that earlier, and now my sister did the same.
  2. Моя сестра подписалась на тот же канал и оформила тоже подписку.

    • This is possible but sounds more marked; it stresses тоже подписку = “a subscription too (not something else)”
    • used if you’re contrasting подписку with some other option, e.g.
      • Она могла разово заплатить, но оформила тоже подписку. – She could have paid once, but she also chose a subscription.

So yes, moving тоже changes what is being highlighted:

  • the subject (my sister also…),
  • the action (also took out a subscription),
  • or the object (a subscription too, not something else).
How would the sentence change if it were “my brother” instead of “my sister”?

You would need masculine forms for the pronoun and verbs:

  • Мой брат подписался на тот же канал и тоже оформил подписку.

Changes:

  • моя сестрамой брат (feminine → masculine)
  • подписаласьподписался (past tense feminine → masculine)
  • оформилаоформил (past tense feminine → masculine)

Everything else (на тот же канал, тоже, подписку) stays the same.

Quick pattern for past tense:

  • он подписался / оформил
  • она подписалась / оформила
  • они подписались / оформили
Can we omit моя and just say Сестра подписалась на тот же канал…?

Yes, in Russian it is very common to omit the possessive pronoun with close family members, especially when context is clear:

  • Сестра подписалась на тот же канал…
    – This will usually be understood as my sister in the right context.

The possessive pronoun (моя, мой) is:

  • optional when talking about your own close relatives (мама, папа, брат, сестра, бабушка, дедушка, etc.)
  • Often used if:
    • you want to emphasize that she is your sister, or
    • there are several people’s sisters in the conversation and you need to specify whose sister you mean.

So:

  • Сестра подписалась… – natural, neutral.
  • Моя сестра подписалась… – slightly more explicit/emphatic.
Why is there no comma before и in this sentence?

Russian punctuation rules say that no comma is used before и when it connects two simple predicates with the same subject and there is no special emphasis or complication.

Your sentence:

Моя сестра подписалась на тот же канал и тоже оформила подписку.

Here:

  • subject: Моя сестра (my sister)
  • predicate 1: подписалась на тот же канал
  • predicate 2: (тоже) оформила подписку

They are two actions of the same subject, joined by и. This is a standard case of однородные сказуемые (homogeneous predicates), so no comma is needed.

You would add a comma before и if it connected two independent clauses with their own subjects or structures, but that’s not the case here.

How are the key words in the sentence stressed (pronounced)?

Stress in Russian can change the word and even distinguish related forms, so it’s useful to know it here.

Key words with stress marked (capital letter = stressed vowel):

  • моЯ сестрА подписАлась на тот же канал
  • и тОже офОрмила подпИску.

Individually:

  • сестра́ – сестрА
  • подписаться – подписАться
    • past fem.: подписАлась
  • канал – канАл
  • тоже – тОже
  • оформить – офОрмить
    • past fem.: офОрмила
  • подписка – подпИска
    • accusative: подпИску

Also note the difference in stress between verb and noun:

  • подписАться (to subscribe)
  • подпИска (a subscription)

This is typical in Russian: verbs and their related nouns often have different stress patterns.