Questions & Answers about Если обложка порвалась, её можно аккуратно заклеить дома.
Why is the sentence introduced with если?
Если means if and introduces a condition.
So Если обложка порвалась... means If the cover got torn / has torn.
Russian often uses the same basic pattern as English here:
- Если X, Y = If X, then Y
The second part gives the result or possible action:
- её можно аккуратно заклеить дома = it can be carefully repaired/glued at home
Russian does not need a separate word for then here.
Why is it порвалась, and what does the -сь ending do?
Порвалась is the past tense of порваться, a reflexive verb.
Here is the breakdown:
- рвать = to tear
- порвать = to tear up / tear completely
- порваться = to get torn, to tear accidentally, to rip
The -ся / -сь makes the verb reflexive, but in many cases that does not mean a literal oneself. Here it changes the meaning from someone tears something to something gets torn / rips.
Compare:
- Он порвал обложку. = He tore the cover.
- Обложка порвалась. = The cover tore / got torn.
So порвалась is used because the cover is presented as undergoing the action, not actively tearing something else.
Why does порвалась end in -а?