Breakdown of Я не беру с собой фен, потому что оставляю его дома.
не
not
я
I
дома
at home
потому что
because
его
him / it (acc)
с
with (also со)
брать
to take (imperfective)
себя
oneself (себе: Dat/Prep)
фен
hair dryer
оставлять
to leave
Questions & Answers about Я не беру с собой фен, потому что оставляю его дома.
Why does the sentence use с собой instead of со мной for "with me"?
Собой is the Instrumental case of the reflexive pronoun себя (oneself). In Russian, when the person doing the action (the subject, Я) is the same person the pronoun refers to, you use the reflexive pronoun. Literally, you are saying "I don't take a hair dryer with oneself."
What is the dictionary form of the verb беру?
The infinitive is брать (to take). It's an irregular verb where an -е- appears in the present tense stem: я беру (I take), ты берёшь (you take), он/она берёт (he/she takes), and so on.
Is фен (hair dryer) in the Nominative or Accusative case here?
It is in the Accusative case because it is the direct object—the thing you are not taking. Since фен is a masculine, inanimate (non-living) noun, its Accusative form looks exactly the same as its Nominative (dictionary) form.
Why is "it" translated as его in the second half of the sentence?
Его is the Accusative form of он (he/it). Because фен is a masculine noun, you must use masculine pronouns to refer back to it, even though it's an inanimate object. Remember that его is pronounced with a "v" sound: "ye-vo".
Why is there an -а at the end of дома?
Дом is the standard noun for "house," but дома is a fixed adverb that means "at home" or "in the house." You use дома to answer the question "where?" (где?), which fits perfectly since you are leaving the hair dryer at home.
Learn Я не беру с собой фен, потому что оставляю его дома 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