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Я тёр это пятно долго, но оно не исчезло полностью.

Я тёр это пятно долго, но оно не исчезло полностью.
I rubbed that stain for a long time, but it didn’t disappear completely.
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Questions & Answers about Я тёр это пятно долго, но оно не исчезло полностью.

Why is тёр used here, and what verb is it from?

тёр is the masculine past tense form of тереть (to rub).
Past tense in Russian agrees with the subject’s gender/number:

  • я тёр (male speaker)
  • я тёрла (female speaker)
  • я тёрло (rare; neuter speaker/role)
  • мы тёрли (we)
Why is there ё in тёр? Can it be written as тер?

The correct spelling is тёр with ё (stress is on that vowel). In many texts, ё is often printed as е, so you might see тер, but it’s still pronounced тёр. Writing ё helps avoid ambiguity and shows stress clearly.

What aspect is тёр (from тереть), and what does it imply?

Тереть is imperfective. Using the imperfective past (я тёр … долго) highlights the process/duration: you were rubbing for a long time, focusing on the effort rather than a completed result.
A perfective alternative would emphasize the outcome (if it fully worked), e.g. я вытер пятно (I wiped the stain off / got it out).

Why is это пятно in this form? What case is it?

In я тёр это пятно, это пятно is in the accusative case because it’s the direct object of тереть.
For inanimate nouns like пятно, the accusative looks the same as the nominative:

  • nominative: пятно
  • accusative: пятно
What’s the difference between пятно and клякса/пятнышко?
  • пятно = a stain/spot/mark in a neutral, general sense (very common for stains on clothes, carpets, etc.).
  • клякса = an ink blot or messy blot-like stain, often from ink/paint.
  • пятнышко = diminutive of пятно; a small spot, often sounds softer/cuter/less serious.
Why does it say оно? What does it refer to?

Оно is the 3rd-person singular neuter pronoun. It refers back to пятно, which is also neuter (пятно). Russian pronouns must match the noun’s grammatical gender.

Why is исчезло neuter, and what verb is it?

Исчезло is the past tense neuter singular form of исчезнуть (perfective: to disappear). It agrees with the subject оно (neuter).
So: оно исчезло = it disappeared.

Why is the second verb perfective (исчезло) while the first is imperfective (тёр)?

This combination is very natural:

  • я тёр … долго (imperfective) = describes a long action/process
  • оно не исчезло (perfective) = describes the (non-)result: the stain did not fully disappear as a completed outcome
What does полностью modify, and where can it go in the sentence?

Полностью (completely) modifies не исчезло: it didn’t disappear completely.
Word order variants are possible with slight emphasis changes:

  • … но оно не исчезло полностью (neutral/common)
  • … но оно полностью не исчезло (more emphasis on completely)
  • … но полностью оно не исчезло (even stronger emphasis/contrast)
Is долго placed correctly? Could it be somewhere else?

Yes, долго is placed naturally after the object: я тёр это пятно долго.
Other placements are possible:

  • я долго тёр это пятно = more emphasis on the duration from the start
  • долго я тёр это пятно = strong emphasis/contrast, more literary or expressive
Could I use но оно не исчезло до конца instead of полностью?

Yes. Both mean roughly not completely, but they differ slightly in style:

  • полностью = completely (neutral, common)
  • до конца = to the end / all the way (often a bit more conversational; can feel more “not all the way gone”)
    So … но оно не исчезло до конца is also natural.