Questions & Answers about Мама покупает лимон и салат.
Why do лимон and салат keep their dictionary endings here? I thought the object of a sentence changes its ending.
You are right that the direct object of a verb takes the Accusative case, which often changes the ending (like changing a feminine noun's -а to a -у). However, лимон and салат are masculine inanimate nouns (non-living things). In Russian, the Accusative form for masculine inanimate nouns looks exactly the same as the dictionary form.
Does покупает mean "buys" or "is buying"?
It can mean both! Russian does not have a separate continuous tense like English does. Depending on the context, покупает translates to either "buys" as a regular habit, or "is buying" right at this moment.
Where are the words for "a" and "the" in this sentence?
Russian does not use articles at all. There is no direct translation for "a", "an", or "the". Depending on the situation, лимон can mean "a lemon" or "the lemon". We know it means "a lemon" and "a salad" here based on the general context.
How do we get the form покупает from the dictionary form?
The dictionary form (infinitive) of this verb is покупать (to buy). To make it match Мама (she, representing the 3rd person singular), we drop the final -ть and add the ending -ет.
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