Если дома нет кофеварки, я пью растворимый кофе.

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Breakdown of Если дома нет кофеварки, я пью растворимый кофе.

• пить: to drink
• дома: at home
• если: if

Questions & Answers about Если дома нет кофеварки, я пью растворимый кофе.

Why is если used here, and does it mean a real condition or a general habit?

Если means if. In this sentence, it introduces a condition:

• Если дома нет кофеварки... = If there is no coffee maker at home...

Because the main verb is also in the present tense (я пью), the whole sentence sounds like a general/habitual statement:

• Whenever there’s no coffee maker at home, I drink instant coffee.

So this is not necessarily about one specific occasion. It can describe a routine or usual behavior.

Why is дома used instead of в доме?

Here дома means at home. It is a very common adverb-like word in Russian.

• Я дома = I’m at home
• Дома нет кофеварки = There is no coffee maker at home

This is different from в доме, which more literally means in the house/building.

So:

• дома = at home
• в доме = in the house / inside the building

A learner might also notice that дома can look like the plural of дом, but here it is not a plural noun. It is the fixed expression meaning at home.

Why does Russian use нет here?