Questions & Answers about Я хочу продлить подписку.
Russian has two aspects of verbs: perfective and imperfective.
- продлить – perfective (focus on the result, “to extend once, to complete the extension”)
- продлева́ть – imperfective (focus on the process or repeated action, “to be extending / to extend regularly”)
In Я хочу продлить подписку, you are talking about one specific, completed action: “I want to renew/extend the subscription (this time).”
So the perfective продлить is natural.
You might use the imperfective in a different context, for example:
- Я каждый год продлева́ю подписку. – I renew the subscription every year.
- Я буду продлева́ть подписку каждый месяц. – I will be extending the subscription every month.
подписка is a feminine noun. Its base (dictionary) form is nominative singular:
- подписка – nominative (subject form)
In the sentence Я хочу продлить подписку:
- The verb продлить (to extend) is a transitive verb that takes a direct object.
- Direct objects in Russian normally take the accusative case.
So подписка changes to подписку (feminine accusative singular):
- Nom. sg.: подписка
- Acc. sg.: подписку
That’s why you say продлить подписку – extend what? → подписку (accusative).
Both are grammatically correct:
Я хочу продлить подписку.
Literally: I want to extend (the) subscription.
In context, it almost always means your own subscription, so Russian often leaves the possessive out.Я хочу продлить мою подписку.
Literally: I want to extend my subscription.
This is also correct, but in many real-life situations it can sound a bit more emotional, emphatic, or child-like, unless you need to contrast it with someone else’s subscription.
Typical natural usage to a service representative:
- Я хочу продлить подписку. – sounds fully natural and polite. If you really need to distinguish:
- Я хочу продлить именно мою подписку, а не его.
Yes, but the nuance changes slightly.
The neutral, most common order is:
- Я хочу продлить подписку.
You can say:
- Я хочу подписку продлить.
This is still correct, but it can sound a bit more emphatic, as if you are slightly highlighting подписку (what you want to extend) rather than the action продлить. In everyday speech, it’s possible, but less standard.
You can also drop я:
- Хочу продлить подписку. – Very common in casual conversation; the subject я is understood from context.
Both are common, but they express different shades of meaning:
Я хочу продлить подписку.
Literally: I want to extend the subscription.
Focus: your desire/decision.Мне нужно продлить подписку.
Literally: It is necessary for me to extend the subscription.
Focus: necessity/requirement, not so much personal desire. It can imply:- obligation (otherwise it will expire),
- something you must do for work, etc.
In a polite service context, Мне нужно продлить подписку often sounds slightly more neutral and businesslike; Я хочу… is also fine and very typical.
In Russian, the verb хотеть (to want) is usually followed by an infinitive to express wanting to do something.
Structure:
- Я хочу
- infinitive.
- хочу is the 1st person singular of хотеть.
- продлить is the infinitive.
So:
- Я хочу продлить подписку. – I want to extend the subscription.
- Other examples:
- Я хочу поесть. – I want to eat.
- Я хочу позвонить. – I want to call.
This хочу + infinitive structure is one of the most common ways to say “I want to do X” in Russian.
In Russian, Я хочу … is much less blunt than “I want …” can sound in English. It is very common and generally acceptable even in semi-formal situations.
For example, to a customer-service person, these all work:
- Я хочу продлить подписку. – Very common, not rude.
- Мне нужно продлить подписку. – Slightly more neutral/impersonal.
- Я бы хотел(а) продлить подписку. – More formally polite (like “I would like to…”).
If you want to be extra polite, use:
- Я бы хотел продлить подписку. (male speaker)
- Я бы хотела продлить подписку. (female speaker)
In this context, продлить подписку is usually translated as:
- to renew a subscription
- or to extend a subscription
Literally, продлить = “to make longer (in time).”
Common variants/synonyms:
- продлить подписку – extend/renew a subscription.
- продлить срок подписки – extend the term of the subscription (more formal/explicit).
- обновить подписку – renew/update the subscription (used especially in tech/online services).
In many everyday cases, продлить подписку and обновить подписку will be understood similarly, but продлить focuses on prolonging the time, while обновить carries a nuance of refreshing / updating.
Aspect difference again:
Я хочу продлить подписку.
Perfective: one specific, completed extension – I want to renew it (this time).Я хочу продлева́ть подписку.
Imperfective in infinitive: sounds like you want to extend it repeatedly or habitually, or you want to be in the habit of renewing it.
On its own, this sentence is a bit unnatural unless you add context like frequency or conditions.
More natural examples for the imperfective:
- Я хочу продлева́ть подписку каждый год. – I want to renew the subscription every year.
- Я буду продлева́ть подписку автоматически. – I will be renewing the subscription automatically.
For the simple, practical idea “I want to renew it now/this time,” use продлить.
Here’s a breakdown with approximate stress and sounds:
- Я – ya (like “yah”)
- хочу́ – stressed on -у: kha-CHU
- х like German “Bach” or Spanish “j” in “José”
- продли́ть – stressed on -ли́ть: prad-LEET’
- пр = pr
- дл = dl (cluster, pronounced together)
- final ть is soft (palatalized), like t with the tongue slightly raised (not fully like English “tyu,” but softer).
- подпи́ску – stressed on -пи́с-: pad-PEES-koo
- о in под- is unstressed and sounds more like a → pад-
- и in пи́ is like “ee” in “see”
- final у = “oo” (as in “boot”)
Stress pattern:
Я хочу́ продли́ть подпи́ску.
подписка is a feminine noun.
This affects:
- Its case endings (e.g., nominative подписка, accusative подписку).
- Agreement with adjectives and some participles if they are used.
Examples:
- новая подписка – a new subscription (feminine form новая).
- Я хочу продлить свою подписку. – I want to extend my subscription.
Here свою is the feminine accusative form of свой, agreeing with подписку.
In Я хочу продлить подписку, you only see the feminine in the -у ending of подписку.
You typically use ещё (“more/still”) + на + time phrase:
- Я хочу продлить подписку ещё на месяц. – I want to extend the subscription for one more month.
- Я хочу продлить подписку ещё на год. – …for one more year.
- Я хочу продлить подписку на три месяца. – …for three months (no ещё here, just a specific duration).
Common patterns:
- продлить подписку ещё на X – extend for X more.
- продлить подписку на X – extend for X (duration).