Breakdown of Я хочу окончить университет.
я
I
хотеть
to want
университет
university
окончить
to finish, graduate from
Questions & Answers about Я хочу окончить университет.
Why is университет used without a word for from?
In English, we say graduate from a university, but in Russian, you directly finish it. It acts as the direct object of the verb окончить, so it takes the accusative case. Since университет is an inanimate masculine noun, its accusative form looks exactly the same as its basic dictionary form.
If I want to say I will graduate using the compound future tense from this lesson, can I say я буду окончить?
No, you can never pair a future form of быть (like буду) with a perfective verb like окончить. The compound future tense is only for imperfective verbs. To say I will graduate as a completed future action, you just conjugate the perfective verb directly to form the simple future: я окончу.
I learned the verb закончить for to finish. Is окончить just a different spelling?
They share the same root, but окончить is used almost exclusively for graduating from or completing a formal educational program (like a school or university). For finishing everyday tasks or actions, you use закончить.
Why didn't we conjugate окончить to match the subject Я?
When you string two verbs together to say you want to do something, only the first verb changes. Хочу is conjugated to match Я (I want), while the second verb stays in its infinitive (dictionary) form, just like to graduate does in English.
Learn Я хочу окончить университет 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