Breakdown of Я должен договориться с начальником.
я
I
начальник
boss
с
with (also со)
должен
must, have to (должен, должна, должны)
договориться
to come to an agreement / to arrange
Questions & Answers about Я должен договориться с начальником.
Why does договориться have the reflexive ending -ся if I'm not doing something to myself?
While -ся often means doing something to yourself, it is also used for reciprocal actions. This means two or more people are doing an action with each other. Here, договориться means reaching a mutual agreement with someone else.
Why is начальник (boss) in the Instrumental case (начальником) here?
Reciprocal verbs like договориться are usually followed by the preposition с (meaning 'with') plus the Instrumental case to show who you are interacting with. So, начальник gets the masculine Instrumental ending -ом to become с начальником.
If I am a woman, how should I change the word должен?
You would say должна. The word должен (must/have to) acts like an adjective, which means it has to agree with the gender of the subject. Я должен means the speaker is male, and Я должна means the speaker is female.
Why is the verb договориться in its infinitive form here?
It follows должен. Just like in English where we say 'must do' instead of 'must doing', in Russian you use the word for obligation (должен) followed directly by the dictionary form (infinitive) of the verb.
How do I pronounce the -ться ending in договориться?
The combination of -ть and -ся at the end of Russian verbs always blends together to make a 'tsa' sound. It sounds exactly like the Russian letter ц followed by а.
Learn Я должен договориться с начальником 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