Breakdown of Он болен и не работает.
и
and
не
not
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
работать
to work
болен
ill (болен, больна, больны)
Questions & Answers about Он болен и не работает.
Why is it болен instead of the regular dictionary word больной?
болен is a short-form adjective. In Russian, when you are stating that someone is currently a certain way (like sick, glad, or busy), you often use the short form. The long form больной is mostly used to directly describe a noun, like in 'a sick man'.
Does болен change if the subject is a woman?
Yes, short-form adjectives change based on gender and number. If the sentence were about a woman ('She is ill'), it would be Она больна. For plural ('They are ill'), it would be Они больны.
Where is the word for 'is' in Он болен?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb 'to be' (am/is/are) is almost always left out. The sentence literally reads 'He ill', but the meaning is 'He is ill'.
How do we know не работает means 'is not working' rather than 'doesn't work'?
Russian doesn't have a separate tense for actions happening right now (like the English 'is doing'). The present tense verb работает can mean both 'works' generally and 'is working' at this moment. You just use context to tell the difference. Since he is currently sick, 'is not working right now' makes the most sense here.
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