Breakdown of Вообще-то я хотел помолчать, но её тёплые слова сразу меня ободрили.
я
I
хотеть
to want
но
but
слово
the word
Questions & Answers about Вообще-то я хотел помолчать, но её тёплые слова сразу меня ободрили.
What does вообще-то mean here, and why isn’t it just вообще?
Вообще-то is a very common conversational word meaning something like:
- actually
- as it happens
- to tell the truth
- in fact
In this sentence, it softens or frames what the speaker is saying:
- Вообще-то я хотел помолчать = Actually, I wanted to keep quiet / I had meant to stay silent
By contrast, вообще often means:
- in general
- generally
- at all (in some negative contexts)
So here, вообще-то is the natural choice because the speaker is not talking about things in general. They are correcting or qualifying the situation: actually, I had wanted to stay silent.
Why is it я хотел помолчать and not just a past tense verb meaning I was silent?
Хотел + infinitive means wanted to do or intended to do something.
So:
- я хотел помолчать = I wanted to keep quiet / I meant to remain silent
This is different from simply describing an action that happened.
Compare:
- я молчал = I was silent / I kept quiet
- я хотел помолчать = I wanted to be silent / I intended to keep quiet
The sentence is about the speaker’s intention at first, and then about what changed that intention.
Why is the infinitive помолчать and not ?