Breakdown of Я должен мыть пол, а сестра должна мыть посуду.
сестра
sister
а
and (contrastive)
я
I
мыть
to wash
должен
must, have to
посуда
dishes
пол
floor
Questions & Answers about Я должен мыть пол, а сестра должна мыть посуду.
Why does the word for obligation change from должен to должна in this sentence?
Do I need to conjugate the action verb that comes after должен?
No, you just use the infinitive (dictionary form) of the verb, much like how we say must wash in English. In this sentence, the infinitive мыть (to wash) directly follows both должен and должна.
Why does the sentence use а for and instead of и?
The conjunction а is used to show a mild contrast or to switch focus from one person to another. Because this sentence compares what you have to do with a different chore your sister has to do, а is the natural choice. It functions a bit like whereas or while in English.
Why is the word for dishes spelled посуду here?
The dictionary form is посуда, which is a feminine noun. Because the dishes are the direct object receiving the action of being washed, the noun must be put into the accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in -а, this means changing the ending to -у. Notice that the floor (пол) doesn't change its ending because masculine inanimate nouns look exactly the same in both the nominative and accusative cases.
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