Breakdown of Сегодня праздник, поэтому мы решаем не работать.
не
not
мы
we
работать
to work
праздник
holiday
Questions & Answers about Сегодня праздник, поэтому мы решаем не работать.
Why do we use поэтому here instead of потому что?
Both words explain why something happens, but they work in opposite directions. потому что means 'because' (We aren't working because today is a holiday). поэтому means 'therefore' or 'so' (Today is a holiday, therefore we aren't working). Here, the reason comes first, so we use поэтому.
Is the letter д in праздник silent?
Yes, it is completely silent. You pronounce the word as if it were written 'празник'. Russian sometimes drops the sound of a consonant in the middle of a heavy cluster of consonants to make the word easier to say.
Why is the verb работать in its dictionary form (infinitive) instead of matching мы?
When you combine two verbs to say you 'decide to do' something, only the first verb changes to match the subject. Here, решаем (we decide) is conjugated for мы (we), so the second verb работать (to work) stays in the infinitive.
Why does не come after решаем? Could I put it before?
In Russian, the word не (not) must go right before the exact word it makes negative. We are deciding 'not to work', so не goes before работать. If you wrote мы не решаем работать, it would mean 'we are not deciding to work', which changes the meaning completely.