Breakdown of Ты представляешь себе нашу новую квартиру?
ты
you (singular)
новый
new
наш
our
квартира
apartment
себя
oneself (себе: Dat/Prep)
представлять
to imagine (with себе)
Questions & Answers about Ты представляешь себе нашу новую квартиру?
Why is себе used here instead of just saying представляешь?
себе is the Dative form of the reflexive pronoun себя (oneself). The phrase представлять себе literally means 'to present to oneself'. It is the standard Russian way to say 'to imagine' or 'to picture' something in your mind.
Could I say тебе instead of себе since the subject is ты?
No, you have to use себе. In Russian, whenever an action is directed back at the subject, you must use the reflexive pronoun себя (in the correct case). You cannot use personal pronouns like тебе, мне, or ему if they refer back to the person doing the action.
Why do the words in нашу новую квартиру all end in -у?
They are in the Accusative case because they are the direct object being pictured. Because квартира (apartment) is a feminine noun ending in -а, it changes to квартиру. The words describing it, наша новая (our new), change to нашу новую to match.
Does представлять mean something else if I leave out себе?
Yes! Without себе, the verb представлять usually means 'to represent' or 'to introduce' (like introducing a friend). Adding себе shifts the meaning inward to your own mind, meaning 'to imagine'.
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