Breakdown of Потому что он хочет пить.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
пить
to drink
потому что
because
хотеть
to want
Questions & Answers about Потому что он хочет пить.
Why do we use the dictionary form пить instead of conjugating it?
When you have two verbs together like "wants to drink", only the first verb changes to match the subject. So он хочет is conjugated for "he", and the second verb пить stays in its dictionary form (the infinitive), just like the "to drink" part in English.
хочет is the "he/she/it" form of хотеть (to want). What makes this verb irregular?
хотеть is a famous "mixed" verb in Russian! In the singular forms (I, you, he), it has a "ч" in the stem (я хочу, ты хочешь, он хочет). But in the plural (we, you, they), the stem changes back to "т" and it uses a different pattern of endings (мы хотим, вы хотите, они хотят).
I always mix up потому что and почему. How can I remember which one is "because"?
Use почему when you are asking a question ("Why?"). Use потому что when you are giving the answer ("Because..."). Think of the -тому part as pointing to the reason: "for that reason".
How should I pronounce что in потому что?
Even though it is spelled with a ч (ch), it is pronounced with a "sh" sound: "shto". When speaking, Russians usually say the whole phrase потому что smoothly together as if it were a single word.