Question 1

Since our lesson is about the pronoun себя, why does this sentence use the ending -ся on появляется instead?

Accepted Answer

The suffix -ся is basically a glued-on, shortened version of себя that often makes a verb intransitive (meaning it takes no direct object). You use the standalone word себя when the subject does an action directly to themselves (like 'he loves himself'). However, появляется simply means 'he appears' or 'turns up'. Because it describes a state of showing up rather than an action he is actively doing to himself, it just takes the built-in -ся ending.

Question 2

Why is каждый день considered Accusative case here if it looks exactly like the dictionary form?

Accepted Answer

In Russian, time phrases that express how often or how long something happens (like 'every day' or 'all year') are put in the Accusative case without needing a preposition. Because день is a masculine, inanimate (non-living) noun, its Accusative form is identical to its Nominative (dictionary) form. The adjective каждый (every) simply matches it!

Question 3

How do you pronounce the -тся ending on появляется?

Accepted Answer

Whenever a reflexive verb ends in -тся (or -ться), those letters merge and are pronounced as a hard 'tsa' sound (-ца). So, this word is pronounced like 'по-яв-ля-е-ца'. Don't let the spelling trick you; this is a very common pronunciation rule for reflexive verbs.

Question 4

Could I use the perfective verb появится instead?

Accepted Answer

No, because of the time phrase каждый день (every day). This phrase tells us that the action is a repeated, habitual routine. Russian strictly uses imperfective verbs (like появляется) for repeated actions. If you used the perfective появится, it would mean he will turn up exactly once and complete the action.

Он появляется здесь каждый день.

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