Breakdown of Он открывает дверь.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
дверь
door
открывать
to open (imperfective)
Questions & Answers about Он открывает дверь.
Why didn't дверь change its ending to show it is the direct object?
Even though it is the direct object, дверь does not change its ending. You likely learned that feminine nouns usually change in the accusative case (for example, машина becomes машину). However, дверь belongs to a special group of feminine nouns ending in a soft sign (-ь). These nouns look exactly the same in the accusative case as they do in the dictionary.
Does открывает mean "opens" or "is opening"?
It can mean both! Russian does not have a separate continuous tense like English does. Depending on the context, открывает can translate to either "opens" (as a routine) or "is opening" (happening right now).
How do I pronounce the end of дверь with the soft sign (-ь)?
The soft sign (-ь) does not make a sound of its own, but it tells you to pronounce the consonant before it softly. For the р in дверь, you soften it by raising the middle of your tongue toward the roof of your mouth.
Why does the verb открывает end in -ет?
Russian verbs change their endings to match who is doing the action. Because the subject here is он (he), the verb takes the standard he/she/it ending for this common group of verbs, which is -ет.
Learn Он открывает дверь 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