Breakdown of Музыка играет очень тихо, и я внимательно слушаю.
и
and
я
I
музыка
music
очень
very
слушать
to listen
играть
to play
тихо
quietly
внимательно
carefully
Questions & Answers about Музыка играет очень тихо, и я внимательно слушаю.
Why do the words for quietly (тихо) and carefully (внимательно) end in -о?
In Russian, you can turn many adjectives into adverbs (words that answer the question 'how?') by replacing their ending with -о. For example, the adjective for quiet is тихий, so the adverb quietly becomes тихо. Attentive is внимательный, so carefully or attentively is внимательно.
Why does очень come before тихо?
Adverbs of degree like очень (very) almost always go directly before the word they describe. So 'very quietly' is очень тихо. Putting it after the adverb sounds unnatural in Russian, just like it does in English.
Why does внимательно come before the verb слушаю? Can I put it at the end of the sentence?
In Russian, adverbs of manner often come right before the verb they describe. This is different from English, where they usually go at the end. Saying я внимательно слушаю (literally 'I carefully listen') is the most natural word order. You will be understood if you put it at the end, but placing it before the verb sounds much more natural to a native speaker.
Wait, doesn't играет mean to play a game? Why is it used for music?
The verb играть (to play) is very versatile! Just like in English, you use it for playing games, playing sports, playing musical instruments, and also to simply say that music or a song is playing (музыка играет).
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