Questions & Answers about Я всегда записываю логин и пароль в блокнот, чтобы потом не искать их.
Why is записываю used here instead of запишу or записал(а)?
Записываю is imperfective present tense and here it expresses a habitual action: something you do regularly.
- Я всегда записываю… = I always write down… (general habit)
- Я запишу логин и пароль… = I will write down the login and password (this time / in the future).
- Я записал(а) логин и пароль… = I wrote down the login and password (on one specific occasion).
Because of всегда (always), the sentence is about a regular habit, so the imperfective present записываю is the natural choice.
What is the function of всегда here, and can it go in a different place in the sentence?
Всегда means always and marks the action as a regular, repeated habit.
The neutral position is right after the subject:
- Я всегда записываю… – I always write down…
Other possible positions and nuances:
- Всегда я записываю логин и пароль в блокнот… – sounds more emphatic or stylistic, like “It’s always that I write down…”
- Я записываю всегда логин и пароль в блокнот… – possible, but a bit less natural; emphasis shifts slightly to the fact that it’s this action that is always done.
For everyday speech, Я всегда записываю… is the standard word order.