Question 1

Why use свой here instead of мой for 'my'?

Accepted Answer

Свой is a reflexive possessive pronoun that refers back to the subject of the sentence. Because the subject 'I' (Я) is acting on an object that belongs to 'I', Russian prefers свой (meaning 'one's own'). While мой чемодан isn't strictly wrong here, свой is much more natural and common.

Question 2

Why didn't свой чемодан change its ending? Isn't it the direct object?

Accepted Answer

It is the direct object, so it is in the Accusative case! However, for masculine inanimate nouns (non-living objects like чемодан), the Accusative form looks exactly the same as the Nominative (dictionary) form. The pronoun свой simply copies the noun's case and gender.

Question 3

Is должен a verb, and does it change depending on who is speaking?

Accepted Answer

It translates like the verb 'must', but in Russian должен is a short adjective. This means it changes to match the gender and number of the subject. Because it is masculine here, we know the speaker is male. If a woman were speaking, she would say Я должна.

Question 4

Does the verb собрать always mean 'to pack'?

Accepted Answer

Not exactly. The core meaning of собрать is 'to gather', 'to collect', or 'to put together'. When you talk about a suitcase (чемодан) or a bag, you are gathering your things into it, so 'to pack' is the best English translation for this specific context.

Я должен собрать свой чемодан.

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