Breakdown of Без доверия люди не могут понимать друг друга.
не
not
понимать
to understand
люди
people
мочь
to be able to
Questions & Answers about Без доверия люди не могут понимать друг друга.
Why does the phrase for 'each other' take the form друг друга in this sentence?
The Russian phrase for 'each other' is made of two parts. The first half (друг) is frozen and never changes. The second half changes its case depending on what the verb requires. Because понимать (to understand) needs a direct object in the accusative case, the second part becomes друга.
Why is the word for trust spelled доверия?
The preposition без (without) always requires the genitive case. The dictionary form of the word is the neuter noun доверие. To put it in the genitive case, the final -е changes to -я, resulting in без доверия.
Why use the imperfective verb понимать instead of the perfective понять?
This sentence expresses a general, ongoing truth about human relationships. Because the inability to understand each other is described as a continuous state rather than a one-time successfully completed action, the imperfective aspect (понимать) is required.
Which verb does могут come from?
Могут is the 'they' form of the irregular verb мочь (to be able to). It is in the plural form here to match the subject of the sentence, люди (people).