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С тех пор как я начала вести проекты сама, мне всё чаще говорят про возможное повышение.

С тех пор как я начала вести проекты сама, мне всё чаще говорят про возможное повышение.
Ever since I started running projects myself, people talk to me more and more about a possible promotion.
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Questions & Answers about С тех пор как я начала вести проекты сама, мне всё чаще говорят про возможное повышение.

What does С тех пор как mean, and how is it different from just с тех пор?

С тех пор как means since (the time when) and it introduces a time clause with a verb:

  • С тех пор как я начала… = Since I started…

С тех пор by itself is more like since then / from that time on, and it usually needs context or another time reference:

  • С тех пор многое изменилось. = Since then, a lot has changed.
  • С тех пор, как… / С тех пор как… are both used; the comma is optional depending on style, but the comma between the clauses is required.
Why is there a comma after сама?

Because the sentence starts with a dependent time clause, and Russian separates it from the main clause with a comma:

  • С тех пор как я начала вести проекты сама, | мне всё чаще говорят…

This is the same logic as English: Since I started…, people tell me… (comma often used too).

Why is it я начала вести and not something like я начала вести́ла or a different tense?

Russian uses начать + infinitive to mean to begin to do something:

  • начала вести = began to run/lead/manage

The verb after начала stays in the infinitive (вести), not a conjugated past form.

What does вести проекты mean exactly? Is it literally “to lead projects”?

Yes—вести проект(ы) is a very common Russian work/business collocation meaning to run/handle/lead/manage a project (often from start to finish).
It’s not “to carry” in a physical sense here; it’s more like to be responsible for and coordinate.

Why is it начала (feminine)? What if the speaker is male?

Past tense in Russian agrees with the speaker’s gender:

  • feminine: я начала
  • masculine: я начал
  • plural (we): мы начали

So a male speaker would say: С тех пор как я начал вести проекты сам…

What does сама add here, and why is it at the end of the clause?

сама means myself / on my own / personally (emphasizing independence, not delegating).
Position at the end is natural for emphasis: вести проекты сама = to run the projects myself.

It agrees with the speaker: сам / сама / само / сами.

Why is it мне говорят (“to me they say”) instead of я слышу (“I hear”) or a passive?

Russian often uses an impersonal/unspecified they with говорят to mean people say / I’m being told:

  • мне говорят = they tell me / I’m told (no need to name who)

Мне is dative because Russian frames it as something being said to you (recipient).

Can I change the word order to говорят мне? Does it sound different?

Yes, говорят мне is grammatically fine. The difference is emphasis:

  • мне говорят (neutral/common) highlights who receives the message early.
  • говорят мне can sound slightly more contrastive or rhythmic, often used in longer sentences or when мне is being contrasted with someone else.
What does всё чаще mean? Why is there всё?

всё чаще means more and more often / increasingly often.
Here всё doesn’t mean “everything”; it intensifies the trend: the frequency is increasing over time.

Why does it use про? I thought “about” was о.

Both exist:

  • о / об + prepositional is the more neutral “about”: говорить о повышении
  • про + accusative is very common in spoken Russian and informal style: говорить про повышение

So говорят про возможное повышение is natural, slightly more conversational.

Why is it про возможное повышение (accusative)? How do I know the case?

Because про requires the accusative:

  • про что? → accusative
    So повышение (neuter) stays the same in nominative/accusative singular, but the adjective shows it clearly:
  • возможное = neuter nominative/accusative singular.
What exactly does повышение mean here—salary raise or job promotion?

повышение can mean either a raise or a promotion, but in workplace contexts with “being told about a possible …”, it very often means promotion (higher position).
If they meant specifically a pay raise, you might see повышение зарплаты (salary increase).

Could the sentence use возможном повышении instead? What would change?

Yes, but you’d typically also change the preposition:

  • говорят о возможном повышении (prepositional after о)
    That’s a slightly more formal/neutral variant.

With про, you normally keep accusative: про возможное повышение.