Breakdown of Не бросайте мусор на улице.
не
not
улица
street
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
мусор
trash
бросать
to throw; to give up
Questions & Answers about Не бросайте мусор на улице.
Why is бросайте imperfective here instead of perfective?
In Russian, when you tell someone not to do something (a negative command), you almost always use the imperfective aspect. Бросайте is the imperfective form, used here for a general prohibition. The perfective form would mean something closer to a warning about accidentally dropping or losing something.
Why is it бросайте and not бросай?
The -те ending marks the formal or plural 'you' (вы). Public signs and general announcements always use this polite or plural form. If you were scolding a close friend or a child (ты), you would say Не бросай.
Is мусор in the nominative case here?
It is actually in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb (the thing being thrown). However, because мусор (rubbish/trash) is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form looks exactly the same as its dictionary (nominative) form.
Throwing is an action. Why is it на улице (prepositional) instead of на улицу (accusative)?
Here, на улице answers the question 'where?' (location) rather than 'to where?' (destination). The sentence means 'while you are out on the street, do not litter' rather than 'do not throw trash onto the street from somewhere else'.
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