Breakdown of Я привыкаю к тому, что здесь холодно.
здесь
here
я
I
что
that (conjunction)
тот
that
холодно
cold (adverb)
к
towards, to
привыкать
to get used to
Questions & Answers about Я привыкаю к тому, что здесь холодно.
Why do we say к тому, что instead of just к что or simply что?
The verb привыкать (to get used to) requires the preposition к plus the Dative case. However, Russian grammar doesn't allow you to attach a preposition directly to the conjunction что. Instead, you use the "pointer word" то to take the preposition and the case. Since к requires the Dative case, то becomes тому. You are literally saying, "I am getting used to that, that it is cold here."
Could I use the perfective verb привыкну here instead of привыкаю?
Not if you want to say "I am getting used to." Привыкаю is imperfective, which shows an ongoing process in the present. If you use the perfective form привыкну, it acts as the future tense, meaning "I will get used to." To say the process is already complete ("I got used to"), you would use the past perfective: Я привык (or привыкла for a female speaker).
Where are the words for "it" and "is" in здесь холодно?
Russian doesn't use dummy subjects like "it" for weather, environments, or physical states. Furthermore, the present tense of the verb "to be" is almost always omitted. Холодно is an impersonal state word, so saying здесь холодно (literally "here cold") is all you need to say "it is cold here."
Is the comma right before что required?
Yes, it is absolutely mandatory. In Russian, dependent clauses introduced by conjunctions like что must always be separated from the main clause by a comma. When using pointer phrases like к тому, что or о том, что, the comma always goes immediately before что.
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