Breakdown of Я стараюсь делать маленький перерывчик каждые сорок минут.
я
I
маленький
small
каждый
every
минута
the minute
Questions & Answers about Я стараюсь делать маленький перерывчик каждые сорок минут.
Why is it «стараюсь делать» and not «стараюсь сделать»?
In Russian, стараться + infinitive can take either imperfective or perfective, but the choice changes the nuance:
Я стараюсь делать маленький перерывчик…
- делать (imperfective) focuses on the regular, repeated action.
- This matches the idea of a habit or routine: you try to regularly take small breaks.
Я стараюсь сделать маленький перерывчик…
- сделать (perfective) focuses on achieving a single, concrete result (to succeed in taking a break at least once).
- This would be used more in a specific situation: “I’m trying to (manage to) take a short break (this time).”
Since the sentence talks about something you do every 40 minutes, the imperfective (делать) is the natural choice.
What is the difference between стараюсь and пытаюсь?