Breakdown of Когда тушь заканчивается, ресницы уже не выглядят такими тёмными, и приходится красить брови аккуратнее.
Questions & Answers about Когда тушь заканчивается, ресницы уже не выглядят такими тёмными, и приходится красить брови аккуратнее.
What does тушь mean here? Can it mean other things too?
Here тушь means mascara.
But yes, тушь can also mean ink in other contexts, especially drawing ink or writing ink. Russian often relies on context to tell you which meaning is intended.
A useful grammar note: тушь is a feminine noun even though it ends in ь. That is very common with nouns of this type.
Why is the verb заканчивается reflexive? What does -ся do here?
In this sentence, заканчиваться means to come to an end or to run out.
The non-reflexive verb заканчивать is usually transitive:
- заканчивать книгу = to finish a book
- заканчивать работу = to finish work
The reflexive/intransitive заканчиваться is used when the thing itself is ending:
- урок заканчивается = the lesson is ending
- деньги заканчиваются = the money is running out
- тушь заканчивается = the mascara is running out
So here -ся does not mean oneself. It helps form the intransitive verb meaning to end / run out.
Why is it Когда тушь заканчивается, not Когда тушь закончится?
Заканчивается is imperfective present, and here it gives a general, recurring meaning:
- Когда тушь заканчивается... = When mascara starts running out / whenever the mascara is getting low...
It sounds like a typical situation, not one single future event.
If you said Когда тушь закончится..., that would more naturally mean When the mascara runs out completely in a specific future instance.
So the difference is roughly:
- заканчивается = a repeated or ongoing situation
- закончится = one completed future event
What does уже не mean together?
Уже не usually means no longer or not anymore.
So:
- ресницы уже не выглядят... = the eyelashes no longer look...
Literally it is already not, but in natural English the best translation is usually no longer.
Why is it ресницы не выглядят такими тёмными? Why are такими and тёмными in the instrumental plural?
After выглядеть meaning to look / appear, Russian often uses the instrumental case for the quality or appearance being described.
Compare:
- она выглядит уставшей = she looks tired
- он выглядит странным = he looks strange
- ресницы выглядят тёмными = the eyelashes look dark
Since ресницы is plural, the adjective must also be plural:
- тёмными = instrumental plural of тёмный
- такими = instrumental plural of такой
So the structure is normal Russian grammar:
- выглядеть + instrumental
- выглядят такими тёмными = look that/so/as dark
What exactly does такими add here?
Такими comes from такой and here it means something like:
- that
- so
- as
In this sentence, because of the negative не, the most natural English idea is:
- не выглядят такими тёмными = do not look as dark
- or do not look that dark anymore
So такими points to the degree of darkness, not just the basic quality dark.
Why is приходится used without a subject? Who has to do it?
Приходится is a very common impersonal Russian construction meaning:
- to have to
- to be forced to
- it becomes necessary to
The person can be stated in the dative:
- мне приходится = I have to
- тебе приходится = you have to
- нам приходится = we have to
But Russian often leaves that person out when it is obvious from context or meant in a general sense.
So here:
- и приходится красить брови аккуратнее
means something like:
- and you/I/one have to do the eyebrows more carefully
The exact subject is understood from context rather than explicitly stated.
Why is the infinitive красить imperfective here, not a perfective verb like покрасить?
After приходится, Russian often uses the imperfective infinitive when the meaning is repeated, habitual, or focused on the activity itself rather than on one completed result.
So:
- приходится красить брови аккуратнее = one has to color/do the eyebrows more carefully
This sounds like a recurring necessity whenever the mascara gets low.
If you used a perfective infinitive such as покрасить, it would sound more like one specific completed action:
- приходится покрасить... = have to color them once, get it done
The imperfective красить fits better here because the sentence describes a typical situation.
What does красить брови mean exactly? Is it literally paint the eyebrows?
In beauty and cosmetics language, красить is broader than literal English paint.
Красить брови can mean:
- to color the eyebrows
- to tint the eyebrows
- to fill in the eyebrows
- to do the eyebrows with makeup
So in this context it does not necessarily mean permanent dyeing. It simply means applying color to make the eyebrows look right.
Russian uses красить very naturally for makeup-related actions:
- красить ресницы = do/apply mascara to the eyelashes
- красить губы = put color/lipstick on the lips
- красить брови = do/fill in the eyebrows
Why is it аккуратнее? Is that an adjective or an adverb?
Here аккуратнее is functioning as an adverb, modifying красить.
It means:
- more carefully
- more neatly
So:
- красить брови аккуратнее = to do/color the eyebrows more carefully
Formally, аккуратнее is the comparative form, related to аккуратно or аккуратный.
Russian very often uses this simple comparative form instead of a longer expression with более:
- аккуратнее = more carefully
- быстрее = faster
- точнее = more precisely
So the idea is that, once the mascara is running out, extra care is needed with the eyebrows.
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