Breakdown of Мой брат часто слушает подкасты или аудио, работая.
брат
brother
мой
my (мой, моя, моё) / mine
работать
to work
часто
often
слушать
to listen
или
or
аудио
the audio
подкаст
the podcast
Questions & Answers about Мой брат часто слушает подкасты или аудио, работая.
How is работая formed and what exactly does it mean here?
работая is an imperfective verbal adverb. It is formed by taking the present tense 'they' form of the verb работать (работают), dropping the last two letters, and adding -я. It translates to 'while working' and shows that this action happens at the same time as the main verb (слушает).
Why is there a comma before работая?
In Russian, single verbal adverbs and the larger phrases they form must always be separated from the rest of the sentence by commas. Since работая is at the very end of the sentence, it gets a comma right before it.
Can I use работая if someone else is doing the working?
No. A strict rule for verbal adverbs in Russian is that they must share the same subject as the main verb. Here, мой брат (my brother) is both the one listening (слушает) and the one working (работая). If someone else were working, you would need a different structure, like using пока (while).
Why doesn't the word аудио change its ending here?
аудио is a borrowed foreign word in Russian. Like many borrowed nouns ending in a vowel (such as метро or кафе), it is indeclinable. It stays exactly the same in all grammatical cases, even though it acts as a direct object in the accusative case here.
Could I put работая at the beginning of the sentence instead?
Yes! Russian word order is flexible, so you could say Работая, мой брат часто слушает подкасты или аудио. It just shifts the emphasis slightly, but the overall meaning remains the same. Just remember to keep the comma after it!
Learn Мой брат часто слушает подкасты или аудио, работая 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