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Questions & Answers about Я занимаюсь музыкой.
Why is the word for music музыкой instead of the direct object музыку?
In Russian, the verb заниматься (to practice / be engaged in) always requires the topic or activity to be in the Instrumental case. The dictionary form музыка changes its ending to -ой to become музыкой.
The current lesson is about the Instrumental case with с. Why is there no с here?
While you use с plus the Instrumental case to mean together with, the Instrumental case is also used without a preposition after certain verbs. Because заниматься naturally takes the bare Instrumental case to show what activity you are engaged in, adding с here would be incorrect.
Why does the verb занимаюсь end in -сь?
This is a reflexive verb, which you can spot by the -ся or -сь at the end. Because the regular I form of this verb (занимаю) ends in a vowel, the reflexive ending shortens to -сь.
Does занимаюсь mean to study in all situations?
No, it specifically means to practice, train, or be engaged in an activity, like music or sports. If you want to say you study at a location like a university, you use the verb учиться. If you are studying a specific school subject, you use изучать.