Если я болею, я остаюсь дома и пью тёплый чай.

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Breakdown of Если я болею, я остаюсь дома и пью тёплый чай.

• пить: to drink
• и: and
• дома: at home

Questions & Answers about Если я болею, я остаюсь дома и пью тёплый чай.

Why does the sentence start with если?

Если means if.

It introduces a condition:

• Если я болею = If I am ill / If I’m sick

So the whole sentence has the structure:

• If X, then Y

In Russian, this is a very common way to build conditional sentences.

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Why is there a comma after болею?

Russian puts a comma between the if-clause and the main clause.

So:

• Если я болею, я остаюсь дома и пью тёплый чай.

This works like English:

• If I’m sick, I stay home and drink hot tea.

Even if English sometimes feels more flexible in informal writing, Russian normally requires the comma here.

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What exactly does болею mean?

Болею is the 1st person singular present tense of болеть.

So:

• болеть = to be ill / to be sick
• я болею = I am ill / I’m sick

It can describe a state of being sick, not just a momentary action.

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