Breakdown of Раз уж я всё равно пришла в книжный, я непременно куплю подарок бабушке.
я
I
в
to
купить
to buy
подарок
the gift
Questions & Answers about Раз уж я всё равно пришла в книжный, я непременно куплю подарок бабушке.
What does раз уж mean here?
Раз уж is a conversational connector meaning something like:
- since
- seeing as
- given that
- if I’m already at the point where...
In this sentence, Раз уж я всё равно пришла в книжный... means:
- Since I came to the bookstore anyway...
- Seeing as I’m already at the bookstore...
It often adds a feeling of “well, since that’s already the case”.
Why is всё равно used here? Doesn’t it usually mean it’s all the same / I don’t care?
Yes, всё равно can mean it’s all the same or I don’t care, but it also very often means anyway.
Here it means:
- I came anyway
- I came in any case
- I’m here already regardless
So Раз уж я всё равно пришла в книжный is roughly:
- Since I came to the bookstore anyway...
- Since I’m here already anyway...
This is a very common use of всё равно in everyday Russian.
Why is it пришла, not пришел?