Breakdown of Если ты изучаешь лингвистику, ты должен много читать.
ты
you (singular)
много
a lot
читать
to read
изучать
to study
Questions & Answers about Если ты изучаешь лингвистику, ты должен много читать.
Why does this sentence use изучаешь instead of учишься or учишь?
The verb изучать is used for studying a specific academic subject in depth, like лингвистику. You would use учиться to talk about where or how you study, and учить is for when you memorize something (like vocabulary words).
Why does лингвистику end in -у instead of -а?
The verb изучать takes the accusative case because the subject you are studying is the direct object. The dictionary form of the word is лингвистика (a feminine noun), so the ending changes to -у in the accusative case.
If I am talking to a woman, does the word должен change?
Why is много placed before the verb читать?
In Russian, adverbs like много (a lot) or хорошо (well) typically go directly before the verb they describe. While читать много would be understood, много читать is the natural and expected word order.