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Questions & Answers about Радио тихо играло.
Why does the past tense verb играло end in -ло instead of just -л?
In the past tense, Russian verbs must match the gender of the subject. The noun радио ends in -о, making it a neuter noun. To form the neuter past tense of the regular verb играть (to play), we drop the -ть and add -ло, giving us играло. If the subject were masculine, it would be играл, and for a feminine subject, играла.
Does the word тихо have an -о ending because it is matching the neuter noun радио?
The English translation says "played quietly", but тихо comes before the verb. Is this word order normal?
Yes, it is very natural. While Russian word order is flexible, adverbs like тихо (quietly) or быстро (quickly) usually come right before the verb they describe. You could say Радио играло тихо, but Радио тихо играло sounds perfectly standard to a Russian speaker.
Can the verb играть be used for machines and music, or just for people playing games?