Пока чайник кипит, я мешаю тесто в большой миске.

While the kettle is boiling, I am mixing the dough in a big bowl.

Breakdown of Пока чайник кипит, я мешаю тесто в большой миске.

• я: I
• большой: big
• в: in
• миска: the bowl

Questions & Answers about Пока чайник кипит, я мешаю тесто в большой миске.

Why is there a comma in Пока чайник кипит, я мешаю тесто в большой миске?

Because пока чайник кипит is a subordinate time clause: while the kettle is boiling.

Russian normally separates this kind of clause with a comma, just like English often does in sentences such as While the kettle is boiling, I mix the dough in a large bowl.

If the order changes, the comma still stays:

Я мешаю тесто в большой миске, пока чайник кипит.

What does пока mean here?

Here пока means while.

That is different from the very common conversational пока!, which means bye!

So in this sentence:

• Пока чайник кипит = While the kettle is boiling

Depending on context, пока can also mean as long as, but in this sentence while is the most natural interpretation.

Why does Russian say чайник кипит? Isn’t it really the water that boils?

Yes, logically it is the water inside the kettle that boils, but Russian commonly says чайник кипит, just as English can say the kettle is boiling.

So this is a normal, idiomatic way to speak. It does not mean the metal kettle itself is somehow boiling; it means the kettle has water in it that has come to a boil.