Breakdown of Почему ты всегда ссоришься с учителем?
ты
you (singular)
учитель
teacher
всегда
always
почему
why
с
with (also со)
ссориться
to argue / to quarrel (to have a falling out)
Questions & Answers about Почему ты всегда ссоришься с учителем?
Why does the verb ссоришься have a -ся ending?
The ending -ся shows that the verb is reflexive. In this lesson, we are looking at reciprocal reflexives. These are actions where two or more people do something to or with each other. Here, arguing is a two-way action: you are arguing with the teacher, and the teacher is arguing with you.
Why is the reflexive ending -ся here instead of -сь?
The rule for reflexive verbs is to use -сь after vowels and -ся after consonants. The present tense ending for ты (you) is -ишь, which ends in the consonant ш. Therefore, we attach -ся to get ссоришься.
Why does учителем end in -ем instead of the usual masculine instrumental ending -ом?
The dictionary form of the word is учитель, which ends in a soft sign. Masculine nouns ending in a soft sign take the soft ending -ем in the Instrumental case, rather than the hard ending -ом that you see in words like с братом (with a brother).
Can I use the verb ссориться without the preposition с?
If you want to mention who you are arguing with, you must use с (with) followed by the Instrumental case. However, you can use the verb on its own if the subject is plural and they are arguing among themselves, such as in Они всегда ссорятся (They always argue).
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