Breakdown of Вы должны напомнить об этом вашей любимой жене.
вы
you (plural)
ваш
your [formal/plural] (ваш, ваша, ваше)
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
о
about (о, об, обо)
жена
wife
любимый
favourite
должен
must, have to (должен, должна, должны)
напомнить
to remind (perfective)
Questions & Answers about Вы должны напомнить об этом вашей любимой жене.
Why does the sentence use вашей любимой жене?
The verb напомнить (to remind) requires the dative case for the person you are reminding. Since жена (wife) is feminine, we use the feminine dative endings for the whole phrase: the possessive pronoun ваша becomes вашей, the adjective любимая becomes любимой, and the noun жена becomes жене.
Why is it об этом and not just о этом?
The preposition о (about) changes to об when the next word starts with a pronounced vowel (like the э in этом). This makes it easier to say. Also, этом is in the prepositional case, because the preposition о/об always requires the prepositional case when talking about a topic.
Why does должны end in -ы?
The word должны (must / obligated) is actually a short adjective, so it has to match the subject of the sentence. Because the subject here is Вы (formal or plural 'you'), we must use the plural ending -ы. This applies even if you are speaking formally to just one person.
Why use the perfective verb напомнить instead of the imperfective напоминать?
The perfective verb напомнить is used because this is a single, specific action you need to successfully complete. If you used the imperfective напоминать, the sentence would mean 'You must regularly remind your beloved wife about this' as an ongoing habit.
Learn Вы должны напомнить об этом вашей любимой жене 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