Breakdown of Она всегда берёт с собой коврик и форму.
и
and
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
всегда
always
с
with (also со)
брать
to take (imperfective)
себя
oneself (себе: Dat/Prep)
форма
the kit
коврик
the mat
Questions & Answers about Она всегда берёт с собой коврик и форму.
Why do we use с собой instead of с ней to mean "with her"?
собой is the Instrumental case of the reflexive pronoun себя (oneself). Because the person doing the action (she) is the same person the action relates back to, Russian requires the reflexive pronoun. Literally, she takes them "with herself". If you used с ней, it would mean she is taking the items with a completely different woman!
Why does форма change to форму but коврик doesn't change?
Both words are in the Accusative case because they are the direct objects she is taking. форма is a feminine noun ending in -а, which changes to -у. However, коврик is a masculine inanimate noun (not a living thing). For masculine inanimate nouns, the Accusative form looks exactly the same as the dictionary (Nominative) form.
What exactly does форму mean in this context?
While форма often translates to "shape" or "form", when talking about sports, school, or work, it means "uniform", "kit", or "gym clothes".
Why do we use the verb берёт here instead of its perfective pair?
берёт is the "she" form of the imperfective verb брать (to take). Because the sentence includes всегда (always), it describes a repeated, habitual action. For ongoing habits, Russian uses the imperfective aspect.
Why is there an "ик" at the end of коврик?
It is built from the word ковёр (carpet or rug). The -ик ending is a diminutive suffix, meaning it makes the original object smaller. So a коврик is a small rug, or as used here, an exercise or yoga mat.
Learn Она всегда берёт с собой коврик и форму and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free