Законченный проект радует меня.

A finished project makes me happy.

Breakdown of Законченный проект радует меня.

• радовать: to please
• меня: me
• проект: the project
• законченный: finished

Questions & Answers about Законченный проект радует меня.

Why is it меня and not мне?

Because the verb радовать takes a direct object in the accusative case.

• радовать кого? что? – “to please / to make (someone) happy”
• я радую кого? – меня, тебя, его, нас, etc.

So:

• Законченный проект радует меня.
  проект = subject (nominative)
  меня = direct object (accusative), “me”

Мне is dative and would go with verbs like нравиться:
Проект мне нравится. – “I like the project.”

What is радует exactly, and how is it different from нравится?

Радует is 3rd person singular present of радовать (“to please, to make happy”).

• радовать кого? – “to make someone glad/happy”
• Проект радует меня. – “The project makes me happy / pleases me.”

Нравиться means “to be liked”:

• нравиться кому? – “to be pleasing to someone, for someone to like it”
• Проект мне нравится. – “I like the project.”

Main differences:

• радовать focuses more on emotional joy / delight:
  • Эта новость радует меня. – “This news makes me happy.”
• нравиться is more neutral “to like”:
  • Этот фильм мне нравится. – “I like this film.”

Both can translate as “I like it,” but радовать is emotionally stronger: it actually makes you glad.

Is законченный an adjective or a verb form?

Законченный here is a past passive participle that has effectively become an adjective.

• It comes from the perfective verb закончить – “to finish.”
• As a participle, it literally means “having been finished.”
• In practice, it behaves like a normal adjective: it agrees in gender, number, and case with the noun.

In the sentence:

• проект – masculine, singular, nominative
• законченный – masculine, singular, nominative to match проект

So grammatically, you can treat законченный like an adjective, even though it’s formed from a verb.

What’s the difference between законченный проект and something like заканчивающийся проект?

They describe different stages:

• законченный проект – a project that is already finished, completed.

  • result, final state.

• заканчивающийся проект – a project that is in the process of ending / nearing completion.

  • ongoing process, not fully done yet.
  • It’s an imperfective present active participle from заканчиваться.

In Законченный проект радует меня, the idea is clearly: the project is fully finished, and that completed state pleases you.

Could I also say Меня радует законченный проект or Законченный проект меня радует? Are these correct, and what changes?

Both are correct; Russian word order is flexible, but it changes emphasis:

1. Законченный проект радует меня.
   Neutral word order. Slight focus on who is pleased: меня.

2. Меня радует законченный проект.
   Emphasis starts with me – I, not someone else, am pleased by the finished project. Often used in contrast:

   • Меня радует законченный проект, а его — нет.

3. Законченный проект меня радует.
   Here меня is shifted toward the end; this can sound slightly more expressive, stressing радует (меня): it really does make me happy.

All three are grammatically fine. The original version is the most neutral/typical.

Could I express this idea with рад instead, like Я рад законченному проекту? What’s the difference?

Yes, that’s a very natural alternative:

• Я рад законченному проекту. (for a man)
• Я рада законченному проекту. (for a woman)

Structure:

• рад / рада / рады = short-form adjective “glad, pleased, happy”
• Takes dative case: рад чему? кому?

So:

• законченному проекту – dative singular (“to/with the finished project”).

Difference in feel:

• Законченный проект радует меня.
  The project is grammatically the subject and is causing your joy.

• Я рад законченному проекту.
  You are the subject, and you state your emotional state directly: “I am glad about the finished project.”

Both are good; the second is slightly more personal (“I am glad”), the first focuses on the project as something that gives joy.

What tense is радует? Does it mean “is pleasing” right now or “pleases (generally)”?

Радует is present tense, imperfective aspect.

In Russian, that usually covers both:

• A current, ongoing situation:
  Сейчас меня радует только один факт. – “Right now only one fact makes me happy.”
• A general, habitual truth:
  Хорошая музыка радует меня. – “Good music pleases me / makes me happy (in general).”

Context decides whether it’s “is pleasing” (now) or “pleases” (in general). The Russian form is the same.

Since Russian has no articles, should I understand Законченный проект as “the finished project” or “a finished project”?

It can be either “the finished project” or “a finished project” depending on context.

• If both speakers know which specific project is meant, English would typically use “the finished project.”
• If no specific project was mentioned before, English might choose “a finished project”.

Russian doesn’t mark this difference grammatically, so Законченный проект on its own is neutral. The context around the sentence determines whether English would use “the” or “a.”

Could we leave out меня and just say Законченный проект радует?

Yes, that is possible and grammatical:

• Законченный проект радует.

Then “кого (кого именно)” is simply unspecified or understood from context. It sounds like:

• “The finished project is pleasing / is a joy (to us / to people / to everyone).”

Use the full меня when it’s important to specify who is pleased; omit it when the focus is more on the fact that the project itself is something joyful in general.

How do you pronounce законченный and радует? Where is the stress?

• законченный – za-KON-che-nyi
  Stress on ко́н: зако́нченный.

• радует – RA-du-et
  Stress on ра́: ра́дует.

Syllable breakdown:

• за-ко́н-чен-ный (4 syllables)
• ра́-ду-ет (3 syllables)