Learn Hardcore Russian: Я не люблю пластик.

Russian often does drop subject pronouns when the subject is clear from the verb ending, but using я is perfectly normal and quite common, especially:

when you’re stating an opinion or preference
when you want to emphasize I (as opposed to someone else)
in short stand‑alone sentences

So both are possible:

Я не люблю пластик. – Neutral, clear, maybe a bit more emphatic: I don’t like plastic.
Не люблю пластик. – More casual, like Don’t like plastic (myself). Often in conversation when context is clear.

Both are correct; including я here sounds very natural.

Why is the negation не before the verb люблю? Could it ever come after it?

In standard Russian, the basic rule is:

не + verb

So:

не люблю = do not like

Putting не after the verb (люблю не пластик) no longer negates the verb itself. Instead, it shifts the meaning to contrast the object:

Я люблю не пластик, а стекло.
I like not plastic, but glass.

So:

Я не люблю пластик. – Normal negation of liking.
Я люблю не пластик. – Means I like something other than plastic (and you must say what that is, or at least imply it).

What’s the difference between я не люблю пластик and мне не нравится пластик?

Both can translate as I don’t like plastic, but they differ slightly in feel and grammar.

Я не люблю пластик.
- Literally: I do not love/like plastic.
- Uses verb любить with a direct object.
- A bit more active and “stronger”: a personal attitude or preference.
- Often sounds more categorical: you’re stating a firm dislike.
Мне не нравится пластик.
- Literally: Plastic is not pleasing to me.
- Uses impersonal‑ish construction нравиться
  - dative мне.
- Slightly softer, more about what is or isn’t pleasing.
- Can sound less strong / more neutral as a preference.

In many everyday situations, they’re interchangeable, but я не люблю пластик can feel a bit more like a clear, stable dislike.

Why is пластик in this exact form? Shouldn’t a direct object take the accusative case?

It is in the accusative case; it just looks like the nominative.

пластик is an inanimate masculine noun ending in a consonant. For such nouns:

Nominative singular: пластик
Accusative singular: пластик (same form)

So grammatically it’s accusative, but the form is identical. That’s why you don’t see a visible ending change.

Compare:

Я люблю стол. – I like the table. (nominative/accusative same)
Я люблю маму. – I love Mom. (мама → маму in accusative)

Does я не люблю пластик mean I never like plastic in any situation, or just generally?

Normally it expresses a general, habitual attitude:

Я не люблю пластик. – As a rule, I don’t like plastic / I’m not a fan of plastic.

It doesn’t necessarily mean you absolutely never accept plastic in any circumstance; it’s more about your overall preference or dislike.

If you wanted to talk about a specific situation, you’d add context:

Я не люблю пластик в упаковке продуктов.
I don’t like plastic in food packaging.
Сейчас я не люблю пластик. (much less common; you’d usually phrase this differently or add context)

How do you pronounce люблю and where is the stress?

люблю is pronounced roughly like lyu-BLYU, with stress on the second syllable:

Phonetic: [лю‑блю́]
Syllables: лю‑блю
Both л and б are softened by the following ю.

Breakdown:

лю‑ – “lyu” (like English lyu in lyuba), soft л
блю – “blyu”, with soft б and л, stress here: люблю́

So the whole sentence is:

Я не люблю́ пла́стик.
- я – [ya]
- не – [nye]
- люблю́ – [lyu‑BLYU]
- пла́стик – [PLAS‑tik], stress on пла.

What aspect is люблю? When would I use anything like полюбить instead?

люблю is present tense of the imperfective verb любить.

Aspect: imperfective
Use: general states, repeated actions, habits
→ Я не люблю пластик. – a general ongoing attitude.

полюбить is the perfective partner:

полюбить – to come to love, to start loving (a change of state, usually in past or future)
Example:
Я полюбил стекло и перестал использовать пластик.
I came to love glass and stopped using plastic.

You would not say я полюблю пластик to mean I don’t like plastic; that would mean I will come to love plastic.

Are there any articles like “a” or “the” before пластик in Russian?

Russian has no articles. The bare noun пластик can correspond to:

plastic (in general)
a plastic (in some context)
the plastic

Context determines the meaning. For example:

Я не люблю пластик.
Usually: I don’t like plastic (as a material / in general).

If you need to be more specific, you use other words:

этот пластик – this plastic
тот пластик – that plastic
такой пластик – such plastic
весь этот пластик – all this plastic

What gender is пластик, and does that matter in this sentence?

пластик is masculine.

You can tell because:

It ends in a consonant.
In dictionaries, it’s listed as a masculine noun.
It takes masculine adjectives: новый пластик, плохой пластик.

In this sentence, the gender doesn’t change the form of пластик itself, but it would affect agreement if you added adjectives:

Я не люблю новый пластик. – I don’t like new plastic.
(новый is masculine, agreeing with пластик)

Can I say я ненавижу пластик instead? What’s the difference from я не люблю пластик?

You can, but the meaning is stronger.

Я не люблю пластик.
I don’t like plastic. – Dislike, lack of liking; can be mild.
Я ненавижу пластик.
I hate plastic. – Much stronger emotional reaction; sounds harsher and more intense.

Use не люблю for milder dislike or simple preference, and ненавижу when you truly hate something.

Are there other natural word orders, like пластик я не люблю? Do they change the meaning?

Yes, Russian allows several word orders; the difference is mostly in emphasis (focus), not basic meaning.

Я не люблю пластик.
Neutral, straightforward: I don’t like plastic.
Пластик я не люблю.
Emphasizes пластик:
Plastic, I don’t like (it).
Often used in contrast:
Пластик я не люблю, но металл — нормально.
Plastic I don’t like, but metal is fine.
Я пластик не люблю.
Emphasizes the negation with пластик as the topic:
Slightly colloquial, can give a nuance like “as for plastic, I don’t like it.”

All are grammatically correct; choose by what you want to stress.

Why can’t I just say я люблю не пластик for “I don’t like plastic”?

Я люблю не пластик does not mean I don’t like plastic. It means:

I like not plastic (but something else).

It’s a contrastive structure:

Я люблю не пластик, а стекло.
I like not plastic, but glass.

So:

To say I don’t like plastic → Я не люблю пластик.
To say I like something other than plastic → Я люблю не пластик, а …

How is люблю formed from любить? What are some other forms?

люблю is the 1st person singular present of любить (imperfective).

Present tense conjugation:

я люблю – I like
ты любишь – you (sg., informal) like
он / она / оно любит – he / she / it likes
мы любим – we like
вы любите – you (pl. or formal) like
они любят – they like

So я не люблю пластик literally = I do not like plastic.