Breakdown of Он независимый человек и всё делает самостоятельно.
и
and
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
человек
person
делать
to do
весь
all, the whole, everything, everyone (весь, вся, всё, все)
самостоятельно
independently
независимый
independent
Questions & Answers about Он независимый человек и всё делает самостоятельно.
Since the lesson is about 'один' meaning 'alone', could we say 'всё делает один' here?
You could, but it changes the meaning slightly. Один means physically doing it alone or by himself. Самостоятельно emphasizes doing things independently, on one's own initiative, or without anyone's help. Because he is a независимый человек (independent person), самостоятельно is the better fit to show his self-reliance.
Why use самостоятельно instead of независимо to mean 'independently'?
Независимо usually means independently of or regardless of an external factor (like a separate variable). When talking about a person doing tasks without help, Russian uses самостоятельно. It literally comes from сам (oneself) and стоять (to stand) — standing on your own two feet!
How can I easily remember the long word независимый?
It helps to break it down to its roots. It comes from the verb зависеть (to depend). If you add the adjective ending, you get зависимый (dependent). Finally, adding the negative prefix не- gives you независимый (independent).
Why does the sentence use the imperfective verb делает here instead of a perfective verb?
The imperfective aspect is used because this describes a general, ongoing characteristic of this person. He habitually does everything independently. If we used the perfective сделает, it would mean he will get everything done in one specific future instance.
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