Breakdown of Мне нравится читать такие записи, потому что они напоминают, что каждое животное чувствует боль и радость.
Questions & Answers about Мне нравится читать такие записи, потому что они напоминают, что каждое животное чувствует боль и радость.
In Russian, the verb нравиться literally means “to be pleasing to someone”, not “to like” (which is how we translate it into English).
- The someone who experiences liking is in the dative case.
- The thing that is liked is the subject (nominative).
So:
- Мне нравится... = “To me, it is pleasing...”
- мне = to me (dative)
- нравится = is pleasing
English flips this structure to “I like …”, but Russian keeps the “impersonal” feeling: the object is pleasing to you, rather than you actively liking it.
Because in this sentence the subject is not записи, but the infinitive phrase читать такие записи (to read such posts).
- The whole phrase читать такие записи functions as a single action, a verbal noun-like subject.
- When an infinitive (or infinitive phrase) is the subject, the verb is usually 3rd person singular:
- Читать такие записи мне нравится.
- Literally: “To read such posts is pleasing to me.”
If you removed читать and spoke about the posts themselves, then the verb would be plural:
- Мне нравятся такие записи. — I like such posts.
So:
- Мне нравится читать такие записи. — singular, because читать такие записи is the subject.
- Мне нравятся такие записи. — plural, because такие записи is now the subject.
Both can be translated as “I like reading such posts”, but there is a nuance:
Мне нравится...
- Literally: “It is pleasing to me...”
- Slightly more neutral, often used for current impressions, reactions, aesthetics.
- Can sound a bit softer:
Мне нравится эта музыка. — I like this music (it’s pleasing to me).
Я люблю...
- Literally: “I love / I am fond of...”
- Often expresses a more stable preference, a habit, or stronger liking.
- Я люблю читать can suggest reading is a regular hobby.
In many everyday contexts, they are interchangeable, but:
- Мне нравится читать такие записи – more like “I find reading such posts pleasant / enjoyable.”
- Я люблю читать такие записи – more like “I (generally) like / love reading such posts (as an activity).”
Because записи is plural, and the demonstrative такой (“such”) must agree with the noun in gender and number.
- запись — feminine, singular
- такая запись — such a post / such a note
- записи — plural (any gender in plural uses the same form of такой)
- такие записи — such posts / such notes
So:
- One post: такая запись
- Several posts: такие записи
The form такие is the plural of такой / такая / такое for all genders.
Записи is the plural of запись. The word has several meanings depending on context:
- a note, entry (in a notebook)
- a post (on a blog, social network, diary, etc.)
- a recording (audio or video)
- a record / inscription
In this sentence, in a modern context, читать такие записи is very naturally understood as:
- “to read such posts / such entries” (e.g., on a blog or social media)
So no, it’s not limited to “records”; it’s a general word for written or recorded entries.
In Russian, потому что (“because”) introduces a subordinate clause of reason.
The structure is:
- Main clause: Мне нравится читать такие записи,
- Subordinate clause: потому что они напоминают...
Russian punctuation rules require a comma between the main clause and the subordinate “because” clause:
- [Main], потому что [Reason].
So the comma is obligatory here, just like in English in sentences such as:
“I like reading such posts, because they remind (me) that…”
Они is a 3rd person plural pronoun: “they”.
It refers back to the nearest suitable plural noun: такие записи.
So:
- такие записи → “such posts / such entries”
- они напоминают... → “they remind (me)…”
The full idea:
Мне нравится читать такие записи, потому что (такие записи) напоминают, что...
“I like reading such posts because they remind (me) that…”
Both are grammatically correct, but there is a nuance:
они напоминают, что каждое животное чувствует...
- The verb напоминать here is followed directly by a clause with “что”.
- This construction is shorter and more direct.
- It’s common in speech and writing:
Он напомнил, что завтра собрание. — He reminded (us) that the meeting is tomorrow.
они напоминают о том, что каждое животное чувствует...
- Here напоминать takes the preposition о with a noun phrase том, which is then clarified by the “что”-clause.
- This is a bit more formal / explicit:
literally “they remind [about the fact] that…”
In your sentence, both versions sound natural:
- With о том: slightly more bookish or explicit.
- Without о том: more streamlined, very common in everyday style.
The version without о том is perfectly good and idiomatic here.
Here что introduces a content clause, similar to English “that”:
- они напоминают, что каждое животное чувствует...
- “they remind (us) that every animal feels...”
Without что, you cannot directly attach this clause to напоминают; the sentence would be ungrammatical or at least feel broken.
So:
- что here is a subordinating conjunction meaning “that”, not the question word “what”.
In Russian, каждый / каждая / каждое (“every/each”) must agree with the noun in:
- gender
- number
- case
The noun животное is:
- neuter
- singular
- nominative
So you must use the neuter form:
- каждый — masculine
- каждая — feminine
- каждое — neuter
Thus:
- каждое животное — every animal
(literally “each animal” in the neuter form)
The verb чувствует agrees with the subject, not with the objects.
- Subject: каждое животное — singular
- Verb: чувствует — 3rd person singular
- Objects: боль и радость — two things that are felt
So the structure is:
- каждое животное — чувствует — (что?) боль и радость
Just like in English:
- “Every animal feels pain and joy.”
- “feels” is singular because the subject “every animal” is singular, even though it feels two things.
In this sentence, боль and радость are direct objects of the verb чувствует, so they are in the accusative case.
However, for many feminine nouns ending in a soft sign (ь), the nominative singular form and the accusative singular form are identical:
- боль:
- nominative sg: боль
- accusative sg: боль
- радость:
- nominative sg: радость
- accusative sg: радость
So they look like nominative, but function as accusative here:
- чувствовать (что?) боль и радость — to feel pain and joy.
The imperfective aspect in Russian is used for:
- general statements
- repeated / habitual actions
- ongoing or timeless truths
In this sentence:
- читать — reading in general, as an activity you like, not one single finished reading.
- они напоминают — these posts regularly / generally remind (you), not in one specific moment.
- каждое животное чувствует — expresses a general truth about all animals.
Using the perfective would usually sound:
- too single-event,
- or shifted to a specific occasion.
For example:
- Мне понравилось прочитать эту запись. — I liked reading this (one specific) post (and I finished reading it).
(понравилось / прочитать — perfective, one event)
In your original sentence, we talk about general preference and general truths, so the imperfective is the natural choice.