When reading official news, legal documents, or discussing international diplomacy, you will notice that Russian becomes highly formal. One of the most common ways to elevate your register is by replacing a simple verb with a noun-verb pair.
In English, we do this when we say "to make a decision" instead of "to decide," or "to exert influence" instead of "to influence." In Russian, these are known as "light verb constructions." The verb acts as a grammatical helper (carrying the tense, aspect, and person), while the noun provides the core meaning.
Taking Part and Exerting Influence
Instead of using the simple verb участвовать (to participate), formal Russian prefers the phrase принимать участие (to take part).
| The president took part in the most important summit. | Президент принял участие в самом важном саммите. |
Another highly common "light verb" is оказывать / оказать, which translates to "to exert," "to render," or "to provide." It is frequently paired with nouns like влияние (influence) or поддержка (support) instead of using their simple verb equivalents.
| These states exert a strong influence on the development of society. | Эти государства оказывают сильное влияние на развитие общества. |
| After the summit, they provided us with huge support. | После саммита они оказали нам огромную поддержку. |
Expressing Concern and Bearing Responsibility
To sound like a true diplomat, use the verb выражать / выразить (to express) paired with abstract nouns like обеспокоенность (concern) or согласие (agreement).
| The delegation constantly expresses concern because of this conflict. | Делегация постоянно выражает обеспокоенность из-за этого конфликта. |
When discussing legal or official consequences, instead of simply saying someone will "answer" for their actions, you can use the phrase понести ответственность (to bear responsibility).
| The criminal must bear responsibility for his actions. | Преступник должен понести ответственность за свои поступки. |
Achieving Victory
When talking about elections, courts, or strategic wins, the simple verb побеждать (to win) is often replaced by the formal phrase одерживать / одержать победу (to achieve victory).
Notice how these light verbs form standard imperfective and perfective aspect pairs (like одерживать and одержать). You simply conjugate the verb according to the tense you need, while the noun remains locked in its case (usually the accusative).
| Our team not only plays well, but also often achieves victories. | Наша команда не только хорошо играет, но и часто одерживает победы. |
| That candidate managed to achieve victory thanks to his team. | Тот кандидат смог одержать победу благодаря своей команде. |
