Questions & Answers about Они не любят прощаться.
Why does прощаться end in -ся?
The -ся ending shows that it is a reflexive verb. While reflexive verbs often describe doing something to yourself, they also commonly express reciprocal action—doing something with or to each other. Here, прощаться means "to say goodbye to one another."
Why is the imperfective verb прощаться used here instead of the perfective проститься?
After verbs that express likes, dislikes, or habits (like любить, нравиться, or ненавидеть), Russian requires the imperfective infinitive. Because "not liking" is an ongoing attitude or fact, they dislike the general, recurring process of saying goodbye.
How do you pronounce the -ться ending in прощаться?
The -ться combination at the end of an infinitive is always pronounced like -тца (or "tsa" in English). The soft sign is completely silent, and the т and с blend into a single "ts" sound.
Is прощаться related to the word for "to forgive" (прощать)?
Yes! Historically, when parting for a long time, Russians would ask each other for forgiveness in case they never met again. So прощаться literally developed from "to forgive each other." This is also why the famous, dramatic word for "farewell" is прощай.