Questions & Answers about Мне непонятно, зачем ты выключил интернет.
Why does it start with Мне? Does that mean to me?
Yes. Мне is the dative case of я (I) and literally means to me / for me.
In Russian, many “state” expressions are built impersonally: instead of I don’t understand, Russian often says It is unclear to me → Мне непонятно.
What part of speech is непонятно? Is it an adjective?
In this sentence непонятно functions as a “category of state” word (often treated like an adverb used predicatively). It describes a state: (it is) unclear.
Related forms:
- непонятный = adjective (unclear, describes a noun)
- непонятно = it’s unclear / unclear (to someone)
Where is the verb to be? Shouldn’t it be Мне (есть) непонятно?
Russian normally omits есть in the present tense.
So Мне непонятно = It is unclear to me (present-time meaning is understood without a verb).
Why is there a comma: Мне непонятно, зачем...?