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Questions & Answers about Мы зарабатываем деньги.
Is the verb зарабатываем related to the word for work (работа)?
Yes! It is built around the root работ- (work). The prefix за- and the suffix -ыва- turn it into the imperfective verb зарабатывать (to earn regularly). We conjugate it for Мы by dropping the -ть and adding the standard Type 1 ending -ем.
What case is деньги in here, and why doesn't its ending change?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object being earned. However, because деньги is an inanimate noun, its accusative form looks exactly the same as its dictionary (nominative) form.
Is деньги singular or plural in Russian?
It is always plural! Just like the English words "scissors" or "pants," деньги has no singular form in modern Russian.
Since this lesson focuses on the genitive plural, how would this sentence look if we said "We earn a lot of money"?
Quantity words like много (a lot) and numbers from 5 upwards require the genitive plural case. The genitive plural of деньги is the irregular form денег. So, "We earn a lot of money" becomes Мы зарабатываем много денег.