Word
Когда лифт не работает, я держусь за перила и медленно поднимаюсь по лестнице.
Meaning
When the elevator doesn’t work, I hold on to the handrail and slowly climb the stairs.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Когда лифт не работает, я держусь за перила и медленно поднимаюсь по лестнице.
я
I
и
and
не
not
когда
when
Questions & Answers about Когда лифт не работает, я держусь за перила и медленно поднимаюсь по лестнице.
Why does the sentence start with Когда, and could I use Если instead?
Когда here means whenever / when(ever) and sets a regular situation: When the elevator doesn’t work (in general), I do X.
Если means if and sounds more conditional/hypothetical: If the elevator doesn’t work (this time), I’ll do X.
Both can be grammatical, but they imply slightly different attitudes: Когда = repeated/typical; Если = conditional.
Why is there a comma after Когда лифт не работает?
Because Когда лифт не работает is a subordinate clause placed before the main clause. In Russian, a leading subordinate clause is normally separated by a comma:
Когда …, я …
Why is не placed before работает (and not elsewhere)?
Russian не typically goes directly before the word it negates. Here it negates the verb работает:
лифт не работает = the elevator is not working.
Why is работает in the present tense—doesn’t it refer to “when it doesn’t work” in general?