Breakdown of Люди пишут о разных вещах на новых форумах.
новый
new
писать
to write
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
о
about (о, об, обо)
вещь
thing
люди
people
разный
different, various
форум
forum
Questions & Answers about Люди пишут о разных вещах на новых форумах.
Why do both phrases (разных вещах and новых форумах) have such similar endings?
Because they are both in the prepositional plural! In the plural, Russian simplifies things: nouns take -ах or -ях, regardless of whether they are masculine, feminine, or neuter. Adjectives take -ых or -их. Both prepositions in this sentence (о meaning "about" and на meaning "on") require the prepositional case here.
The dictionary word for "thing" is вещь, which ends in a soft sign. Shouldn't its plural ending be -ях?
Normally, words ending in a soft sign do take the soft ending -ях. However, the letter щ is part of the 7-letter spelling rule, which states that you can never write я after ш, щ, ж, ч, г, к, or х. You must use а instead. Therefore, вещь becomes вещах.
Why do the adjectives разных and новых end in -ых instead of -их?
In the prepositional plural, adjectives take -ых if their base ends in a hard consonant (like the н in разный and новый). They take -их if the base ends in a soft consonant, or if they are affected by the 7-letter spelling rule.
I know the infinitive is писать (to write). Why is the "they" form пишут instead of "писают"?
The verb писать has a stem mutation. When you conjugate it in the present tense, the с changes to ш in all forms: я пишу, ты пишешь, and они пишут. This is a very common pattern from earlier lessons that helps make the Russian language flow better when spoken.
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