Breakdown of Продавец согласился торговаться.
продавец
the seller
согласиться
to agree
торговаться
to bargain
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Questions & Answers about Продавец согласился торговаться.
Why is согласился in the masculine form?
Because the subject, продавец (seller), is grammatically masculine.
In the Russian past tense, verbs usually agree with the subject in gender and number:
- согласился = masculine singular
- согласилась = feminine singular
- согласилось = neuter singular
- согласились = plural
So with продавец, you use согласился.
For example:
- Продавец согласился торговаться.
- Продавщица согласилась торговаться.
What does -ся mean in согласился and торговаться?
The ending -ся (or -сь) is the reflexive marker, but in Russian it does not always mean a literal oneself idea.
In these two verbs, it is simply part of the dictionary form:
- согласиться = to agree
- торговаться = to bargain / haggle
So you should learn them as whole verbs, not try to translate them word-for-word as agree oneself or bargain oneself.
A useful point:
- Some Russian reflexive verbs are truly reflexive.
- Others are just standard verbs that happen to use -ся.
Here, both verbs belong to that second group.