Я учусь водить машину.

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Breakdown of Я учусь водить машину.

• машина: the car
• учиться: to learn
• водить: to drive

Questions & Answers about Я учусь водить машину.

Why is it учусь, not учу?

Because the verb here is учиться, which means to learn.

• учить = to teach, or to learn/study something directly
• учиться = to learn, to be studying, to train oneself

So:

• Я учу русский. = I am studying Russian.
• Я учусь водить машину. = I am learning to drive.

If you said Я учу водить машину, that would normally mean I am teaching someone to drive or I am learning how to drive only in a much less natural way. In this sentence, учусь is the normal choice.

What does the -сь in учусь mean?

The -сь is a shortened form of -ся, the reflexive marker.

The full dictionary form is учиться. In the 1st person singular, it becomes учусь.

This -ся / -сь often changes the meaning of a verb. Here:

• учить → to teach / to study something
• учиться → to learn, to be in the process of learning

So учусь is not just a different ending; it belongs to a different verb form and meaning.

Why is водить used here?