Breakdown of Она плачет, потому что он уезжает.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
потому что
because
уезжать
to leave (by vehicle)
плакать
to cry
Questions & Answers about Она плачет, потому что он уезжает.
Why does this sentence use уезжает for 'is leaving' instead of уходит?
The prefix у- means 'away' or 'departure'. Because it is attached to the root for riding/driving (-езжать), уезжает specifically means he is leaving by transport (car, train, plane, etc.). If he were leaving on foot, you would use уходит.
Is уезжает perfective or imperfective?
It is imperfective. When you add a prefix to a verb of motion, the unidirectional verb (like ехать) becomes perfective (уехать). To make the imperfective form used here for an ongoing present-tense action ('is leaving'), Russian uses the root -езжать. Thus, он уезжает.
The dictionary form of 'to cry' is плакать. Why is it spelled плачет here?
Russian often changes consonants when conjugating verbs. For плакать, the к changes to a ч in all present tense forms. So you get я плачу (I cry), он/она плачет (he/she cries), and они плачут (they cry).
Do I always need a comma before потому что?
Yes! Unlike in English, Russian grammar strictly requires a comma before conjunctions that start a new clause, such as потому что (because), что (that), and если (if).
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