Breakdown of Он никогда не говорит правду.
не
not
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
говорить
to speak, to talk
никогда
never
правда
truth
Questions & Answers about Он никогда не говорит правду.
Why do we need не if the sentence already has никогда?
In Russian, double negatives are required. When you use a negative word like никогда (never), you must also put не (not) immediately before the verb. So the sentence literally translates to 'He never does not tell the truth'.
This lesson focuses on perfective verbs. Why is an imperfective verb used here instead?
Говорит is an imperfective verb in the present tense. We use the imperfective aspect here because никогда (never) describes a general, habitual fact rather than a single, completed action. If you used the perfective future verb скажет, it would mean he won't tell the truth on one specific, future occasion.
Why is the word for truth spelled правду instead of правда?
The dictionary form of the word is правда. It changes to правду because it is the direct object of the verb (he tells what?). Feminine nouns ending in -а change their ending to -у in this situation, which is called the accusative case.
Does говорит mean 'speaks', 'talks', or 'tells'?
It can mean all three depending on the context! Because it is paired with правду (the truth) in this sentence, the only natural English translation is 'tells'. If it were paired with a language, it would mean 'speaks', and if used alone, it often means 'talks'.
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