Breakdown of Ты не прав, но это нельзя доказать.
это
this / it is
не
not
ты
you (singular)
но
but
нельзя
one must not
прав
right, correct (as in "you are right")
доказать
to prove
Questions & Answers about Ты не прав, но это нельзя доказать.
Why do we use the perfective verb доказать after нельзя here?
When нельзя is followed by a perfective verb, it means the action is physically or logically impossible to successfully complete. Here, no matter how hard someone tries, the result of proving it simply cannot be achieved.
What would it mean if we used the imperfective verb доказывать with нельзя instead?
If you used the imperfective доказывать, the meaning would change from 'impossible' to 'forbidden'. Нельзя доказывать would mean 'it is not allowed to prove' or 'one must not prove it'. Since the speaker means the proof just can't be done, the perfective is required.
Why is прав used instead of the full adjective правый?
прав is a short-form adjective. Russian uses short adjectives for certain conditions, and for a person 'being right', the short forms (прав, права, правы) are the standard way to express it. The full form правый is mostly used to mean 'right' as a physical direction (like the right hand).
Is there a single Russian word for 'wrong' that I could use instead of не прав?
While there are adjectives for 'incorrect' or 'false' (like неправильный), when describing a person who is mistaken in a discussion, Russian simply negates 'right'. You say ты не прав to a male, or ты не права to a female.
Learn Ты не прав, но это нельзя доказать 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