Breakdown of Он пытается понять правило.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
правило
rule
понять
to understand (perfective)
пытаться
to try, to attempt
Questions & Answers about Он пытается понять правило.
Why does пытается have the reflexive -ся ending if he isn't trying 'himself'?
Many Russian verbs have a reflexive ending (-ся or -сь) even when they don't literally mean doing something to yourself. The verb пытаться (to try or attempt) is one of these verbs and always takes this ending. Fun fact: without the -ся, the verb пытать means to torture or interrogate!
Why is понять perfective here instead of the imperfective понимать?
He is trying to achieve the final result of understanding the rule, not just the ongoing process of studying it. After verbs of attempting like пытаться (to try), you usually use a perfective infinitive to show the specific, completed goal the person wants to accomplish.
Why doesn't the ending of правило change, since it's the direct object?
правило (rule) is a neuter noun. For neuter nouns (and inanimate masculine nouns), the accusative case used for direct objects looks exactly the same as the dictionary form. It is grammatically in the accusative case here, but the spelling simply doesn't change.
How do you pronounce the -тся ending in пытается?
Even though it is spelled with a т and an с, the -тся ending at the end of a Russian verb is pronounced like ца (tsa). So, the word пытается sounds like 'пытаеца'.
Learn Он пытается понять правило 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