Breakdown of Он фотографирует памятник.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
фотографировать
to photograph
памятник
monument
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Questions & Answers about Он фотографирует памятник.
Since we are learning about reflexive verbs ending in -ся, why doesn't фотографирует have that ending?
Reflexive verbs (with -ся or -сь) are generally used when the subject does an action to themselves or the action happens on its own. Here, the subject is taking a picture of an external object (a monument), so we use the standard, non-reflexive verb. If he were taking a selfie or getting his picture taken, you would use the reflexive version: фотографироваться.
The dictionary form of this verb is фотографировать. Why is it spelled фотографирует here instead of фотографировает?
This is a very common rule for verbs ending in -овать. In the present tense, the -ова- part drops out and is replaced by -у- before you add the normal person endings. So, the stem becomes фотографиру-, and then we add -ет for the Он (he) form.
Since памятник is the direct object receiving the action, shouldn't its ending change?
It actually is in the Accusative case (the case used for direct objects), but its ending doesn't change here. For masculine nouns that are inanimate (objects and concepts, not people or animals), the Accusative form looks exactly the same as the standard Nominative dictionary form. Because a monument is an inanimate object, памятник stays the same.
Does фотографирует mean he does this as a routine, or that he is doing it right now?
It can mean both! Russian does not have a separate continuous tense for actions happening right now (like the English 'is photographing'). Depending on the context, this sentence can mean 'He photographs the monument' or 'He is photographing the monument'.