Breakdown of Я надеюсь привыкнуть к этим ценам, хотя пока мне это трудно.
Questions & Answers about Я надеюсь привыкнуть к этим ценам, хотя пока мне это трудно.
Why is привыкнуть in the infinitive after я надеюсь?
After надеяться (я надеюсь) Russian commonly uses an infinitive to mean to hope to do something:
- Я надеюсь привыкнуть… = I hope to get used to…
You can also hope for something with на + Accusative (a different pattern):
- Я надеюсь на помощь. = I’m hoping for help.
But with an action, the infinitive is most natural.
Why is it привыкнуть (perfective) and not привыкать (imperfective)?
Привыкнуть (perfective) focuses on reaching the result: to get used to (successfully, eventually). That fits well with надеюсь (a hoped-for outcome).
Привыкать (imperfective) emphasizes the process: to be getting used to / to get used to gradually. You might see:
- Я надеюсь привыкать к этим ценам… (less common; stresses the ongoing process)
- Я пытаюсь привыкать к этим ценам. = I’m trying to get used to these prices (little by little).
In this sentence, надеюсь привыкнуть = “I hope I’ll manage to get used to it.”
Why does привыкнуть require к and not another preposition?
Because the verb привыкнуть / привыкать is used with the pattern:
- привыкнуть к чему? / привыкать к чему? = to get used to what?
So к is simply the fixed government pattern for this verb.
Why is it к этим ценам (dative plural)? What case is этим?
The preposition к takes the dative case.
- к чему? → dative
So: - эти цены (nominative plural)
- к этим ценам (dative plural)
этим is the dative plural form of этот.
What’s the difference between эти цены and этих цен (genitive) — why not genitive here?
Genitive (этих цен) is used in other contexts (negation, “some of,” after certain prepositions, etc.), but к specifically requires dative, not genitive.
So it’s not a meaning choice here; it’s a grammar requirement: к + dative.
Why is there a comma before хотя?
Хотя introduces a subordinate concessive clause (although …). In Russian, a subordinate clause is normally separated by a comma:
- …, хотя … = …, although …
How is хотя different from но? Could I replace it?
They’re related but not identical:
- хотя = although / even though (introduces a subordinate clause)
- Я надеюсь…, хотя пока мне трудно.
- но = but (coordinates two main clauses)
- Я надеюсь привыкнуть к этим ценам, но пока мне трудно.
Both can work here. Хотя often feels a bit more like “concession” (acknowledging a contrast), while но is a straightforward “but.”
What does пока mean here — is it “while” or “for now”?
Here пока means for now / so far / at the moment.
Russian пока can mean:
1) while (simultaneous action): Пока я ел, он читал.
2) for now / currently: Пока мне трудно.
In your sentence it’s clearly #2: although for now it’s hard for me.
Why is it мне трудно and not я трудный or я труден?
Russian often expresses feelings/difficulty with an impersonal construction:
- мне трудно = literally to me it is difficult → I find it difficult / it’s hard for me
Я трудный means I am a difficult person (describing your character), which is a different meaning.
So мне is dative marking the experiencer (the person who feels it’s difficult).
What does это refer to in мне это трудно? Is it necessary?
это is a placeholder pronoun meaning this/it, referring to the situation of getting used to these prices.
You can say:
- хотя пока мне трудно (sounds natural; “though it’s hard for me for now”)
- хотя пока мне это трудно (more explicit: “though this is hard for me for now”)
Including это emphasizes that this specific thing (getting used to the prices) is difficult.
Can the word order change? For example: Хотя пока мне трудно, я надеюсь привыкнуть к этим ценам.
Yes. Russian word order is flexible, and moving the хотя… clause to the front is normal:
- Хотя пока мне это трудно, я надеюсь привыкнуть к этим ценам.
This puts more focus on the difficulty first, then the hope.
Your original order first states the hope, then adds a concession. Both are correct; the difference is mainly emphasis and flow.
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