Word
Мы с удовольствием читаем стихи Пушкина.
Meaning
We read Pushkin's poems with pleasure.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Мы с удовольствием читаем стихи Пушкина.
мы
we
читать
to read
стихи
poetry, verse
с удовольствием
with pleasure, gladly
Questions & Answers about Мы с удовольствием читаем стихи Пушкина.
Why does the surname Пушкин end in -а here?
It is in the Genitive case to show possession: "the poems of Pushkin". For Russian surnames ending in -ов, -ев, and -ин (like Пушкин), the Genitive case uses the standard masculine noun ending -а.
Wait, aren't Russian surnames supposed to have special adjective-like endings?
Only in certain cases! Surnames ending in -ов, -ев, and -ин are a mix. They take standard noun endings in most cases (like the Genitive -а we see in Пушкина), but they take the adjective ending -ым in the Instrumental case (for example, с Пушкиным - "with Pushkin").
What case is удовольствием and why?
It is in the Instrumental case. The preposition с meaning "with" requires the Instrumental case here. The neuter noun удовольствие (pleasure) changes its final -е to -ем. The fixed phrase с удовольствием is the standard, natural way to say you do something "gladly" or "with pleasure" in Russian.
Why doesn't the word for "poems" (стихи) change its ending if it's the direct object?