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Сейчас я закончу работу, а потом позвоню бабушке.

Сейчас я закончу работу, а потом позвоню бабушке.
Now I will finish work, and then I will call my grandmother.

Breakdown of Сейчас я закончу работу, а потом позвоню бабушке.

я
I
работа
the work
сейчас
now
бабушка
the grandmother
а
and
позвонить
to call
закончить
to finish
потом
then/later
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Questions & Answers about Сейчас я закончу работу, а потом позвоню бабушке.

Why does Сейчас pair with what looks like the future (закончу, позвоню) instead of the present tense?

In Russian, Сейчас can mean right now / at this moment, but it often introduces an action that is about to happen and will be completed soon. With that “immediate future” meaning, Russian typically uses the future of a perfective verb: Сейчас я закончу… = I’ll finish (in a moment) rather than I am finishing.

What tense are закончу and позвоню?

Both are future tense forms, but specifically the simple future of perfective verbs:

  • (я) закончу = I will finish (and it will be completed)
  • (я) позвоню = I will call (make a call as a completed action)

Perfective verbs don’t have a true present tense meaning; their “present” forms refer to the future.

Why are the verbs perfective here? Could I say Сейчас я заканчиваю работу, а потом звоню бабушке?

The given sentence uses perfective because it describes two completed, one-time actions in sequence: 1) finish the work, 2) call grandma.

If you say Сейчас я заканчиваю работу, that uses imperfective and focuses on the process: I’m in the middle of finishing up.
But а потом звоню sounds odd without a broader context; for a planned next step you’d usually still use future: а потом позвоню. A more natural process-focused version could be:

  • Сейчас я заканчиваю работу, а потом позвоню бабушке.
What’s the difference between сейчас, теперь, and сегодня in a sentence like this?
  • сейчас = right now / in a moment (immediate timeframe)
  • теперь = now in the sense of from now on / at this stage (contrast with earlier)
  • сегодня = today (the day as a whole)

Here Сейчас fits because it’s about finishing soon, then doing the next action.

Why is there a comma before а потом?

Because this is a compound sentence with two clauses:

  • Сейчас я закончу работу,
  • а потом (я) позвоню бабушке.

Russian normally uses a comma between such clauses, especially with connectors like а.

What does а mean here, and why not и потом?

а often means and / but, but it usually adds a sense of shift or contrast between parts. Here it’s like and then / and after that with a mild “next step” transition.

и потом is also possible and more purely additive (and then), but а потом is very common in conversational sequencing.

Why is работу in the accusative case?

Because работа is the direct object of закончить (to finish). For an inanimate feminine noun:

  • nominative: работа
  • accusative: работу

So закончу (что?) работу.

Why is бабушке in the dative case?

Because позвонить takes the person you call in the dative:

  • позвонить (кому?) бабушке = to call (to) grandma

The called person is treated like an indirect recipient of the call.

Could I also say позвоню бабушку (accusative) like in English call grandma?

No—standard Russian does not use позвонить + accusative person. It’s позвонить + dative: позвоню бабушке.

If you want an accusative direct object, you’d use a different verb: вызвать (to summon/call for) or in some contexts набрать (to dial a number), but for “call someone (by phone)” the normal verb is позвонить кому-то.

Why is я only written once? Shouldn’t it be …а потом я позвоню…?

Russian often omits repeated subjects when it’s obvious. After я закончу, it’s clear the second action has the same subject, so (я) is dropped:

  • …а потом позвоню бабушке.

You can include я for emphasis or clarity:

  • …а потом я позвоню бабушке (slightly more emphatic).
What’s the most natural word order here? Can потом move?

The given order is very natural. потом is flexible:

  • …а потом позвоню бабушке (common)
  • …а позвоню потом бабушке (emphasizes that the call happens later)
  • …а потом бабушке позвоню (puts focus on grandma, often contrastive)

Moving words changes emphasis more than core meaning.

How do I pronounce позвоню and where is the stress?

Stress matters a lot in Russian:

  • позвоню́ (stress on the last syllable -ню́)
  • закончу́ (stress on the last syllable -чу́)

Approximate guide:

  • паз-ва-NYOO (with a clear stressed ending)
  • за-KON-choo (ending stressed)