Breakdown of Я хочу купить этот телефон, потому что он простой и дешёвый.
и
and
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
я
I
телефон
phone
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
потому что
because
хотеть
to want
дешёвый
cheap
купить
to buy (perfective)
простой
simple
Questions & Answers about Я хочу купить этот телефон, потому что он простой и дешёвый.
Could I use почему instead of потому что to say 'because'?
No, you can't. Even though both words deal with reasons, почему is strictly a question word meaning 'why?'. Потому что is the answer, meaning 'because'. Since this sentence is stating a reason rather than asking a question, you must use потому что.
Why does the sentence use он ('he') when a phone is an 'it'?
In Russian, all nouns have a grammatical gender. Телефон is a masculine word because it ends in a consonant. Therefore, you must use the masculine pronoun он to refer to it. This is why the adjectives describing it (простой and дешёвый) are also in their masculine forms.
Этот телефон is the object being bought. Shouldn't it change its ending for the accusative case?
It is indeed in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb купить (to buy). However, for inanimate masculine nouns (objects and non-living things), the accusative form looks exactly the same as the nominative (dictionary) form. So, этот телефон doesn't change its spelling here.
Why do the adjectives простой and дешёвый have different endings if they are both masculine?
Both are standard masculine adjective endings, but they depend on where the stress falls in the word. In простой, the stress is on the very last syllable, which requires the -ой ending. In дешёвый, the letter ё is always stressed, leaving the ending unstressed, which gives it the -ый ending.
Learn Я хочу купить этот телефон, потому что он простой и дешёвый 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