Breakdown of Он так говорит.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
говорить
to speak, to talk
так
so, like this
Questions & Answers about Он так говорит.
How do we get говорит from the dictionary form говорить?
Говорить (to speak/say) is a common verb that follows the standard Second Conjugation (the -и type pattern). To make the he/she/it form, we drop the -ить from the end and add -ит, giving us говорит.
I thought так meant "so". Why is it translated as "like this" here?
You are right that так often means "so" (as in так хорошо meaning "so good"). However, when it describes how an action is done, it means "in this way" or "like this". So, Он так говорит literally means "He speaks in this way."
Is it okay to change the word order and say Он говорит так?
Yes! Russian word order is flexible, and Он говорит так is perfectly correct. Putting the short adverb так right before the verb is just a very natural habit for Russian speakers.
Does this sentence mean "He speaks like this" or "He is speaking like this"?
It can mean both! Russian does not have a separate continuous tense like English does. Depending on what is happening in the conversation, Он так говорит covers both "he speaks" (a general habit) and "he is speaking" (happening right now).
Learn Он так говорит 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