Questions & Answers about Вечером они хотят отдыхать.
The dictionary form for "to want" is хотеть. Why does "they want" end in -ят (хотят)?
Хотеть is a very common but irregular verb with a "split personality." In the singular forms (I, you, he/she), it takes Type 1 endings, like я хочу and он хочет. But in the plural forms (we, you, they), it switches to Type 2 endings: мы хотим, вы хотите, and они хотят. This is a special verb pattern you just have to memorize!
Why is the word for evening (вечер) written here as вечером?
Adding the ending -ом to the noun вечер (evening) turns it into a time expression meaning "in the evening." You will see this exact same pattern with other times of day, such as утром (in the morning) and днём (in the afternoon).
Why doesn't the verb отдыхать change its ending to match "they"?
When you have two verbs connected together, like "want to rest," only the first verb changes to match the subject. Because the first verb is already conjugated as хотят (they want), the second verb stays in its basic dictionary form, or infinitive: отдыхать (to rest). It works just like English!
Could I put вечером at the end of the sentence instead?
Yes! Они хотят отдыхать вечером is also perfectly correct. Russian word order is quite flexible. Putting вечером at the very beginning of the sentence simply places a little more emphasis on when they want to rest.
Learn Вечером они хотят отдыхать and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free