Questions & Answers about Я готов работать.
Why do we use готов instead of the regular adjective готовый here?
Готов is a short-form adjective. In Russian, short forms are often used to describe temporary states or conditions, like being ready, busy, or sick right now. When you say you are ready to do something, you almost always use the short form.
Does готов change if a woman is speaking?
Yes! Short-form adjectives must agree with the gender and number of the person they describe. Because готов ends in a consonant, it is the masculine form, so we know a man is speaking here. A woman would add an -a and say Я готова работать, and a group of people would say Мы готовы работать.
Where is the word for 'am' in this sentence?
Russian does not use a 'to be' verb like 'am', 'is', or 'are' in the present tense. You simply put the subject (Я) and the adjective (готов) together. If you wanted to say 'I was ready' in the past tense, you would need a linking verb: Я был готов.
Why is работать in the infinitive (dictionary) form instead of matching Я?
Just like in English ('ready to work'), when you are ready to do an action, you follow the short adjective готов directly with the infinitive form of the verb. You only conjugate the main verb of the sentence, and here the main idea is being ready, not the working itself.
Learn Я готов работать 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