Breakdown of Наши каникулы скоро начинаются, но мы ещё ничего не решили.
не
not
мы
we
наш
our
скоро
soon
но
but
ничего
nothing
ещё
still, more
начинаться
to begin (of an event)
решить
to decide (perfective)
каникулы
holidays
Questions & Answers about Наши каникулы скоро начинаются, но мы ещё ничего не решили.
Why is it Наши каникулы instead of a singular word for "our holiday"?
The word каникулы (school or university holidays) is a "plural-only" noun in Russian, much like the words "scissors" or "pants" in English. Because the noun is always plural, the possessive pronoun and the verb must also be in their plural forms: наши and начинаются.
Why does the verb начинаются end with -ся?
The -ся ending shows that the action is happening to the subject itself, without a direct object. Without it, начинать means "to start [something else]". Because the holidays are starting on their own rather than starting another thing, we must use the -ся form.
The English translation says "haven't decided anything", but the Russian uses ничего не. Is that a double negative?
Yes! Unlike English, Russian requires a double negative. You must combine a negative pronoun like ничего (nothing/anything) with не (not) right before the verb. Literally, you are saying "we yet nothing not decided".
Why is решили in the past tense when the English translation says "we haven't decided"?
Russian doesn't have a "present perfect" tense like English ("have decided"). To express that an action is (or isn't) completely finished leading up to the present moment, Russian simply uses the past tense of a perfective verb. Решили is the past plural form of решить (to decide).
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