Questions & Answers about Я изучаю русский язык.
I've seen other words for "to study", like учиться. Why do we use изучаю here?
In Russian, the verb you use depends on what or how you are studying. Изучать (which becomes изучаю for "I") means to study a specific subject or field deeply, like a language. You would use учиться to talk about where you are a student (like "I study at a university").
Since "the Russian language" is the object, shouldn't русский язык be in the accusative case? Why didn't the endings change?
It actually is in the accusative case! Язык is a masculine noun. For masculine nouns that are inanimate (objects or concepts, not people or animals), the accusative case looks exactly like the dictionary form (the nominative case). The adjective русский copies this, so neither word changes its ending here.
Does изучаю mean "I study" or "I am studying"?
It means both! Russian doesn't have a separate tense for actions happening right now. Я изучаю translates to either "I study" or "I am studying", depending on the context.
Do I always have to include the word язык (language)?
No, it's very common to just say Я изучаю русский. Russian speakers often drop the word язык because it's completely clear from the context that you mean the language.