Breakdown of У меня болят кости и суставы, когда на улице холодно.
и
and
я
I
улица
street
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
у
at, by
когда
when
холодно
cold (adverb)
болеть
to hurt, to ache; to be ill
сустав
joint
кость
bone
Questions & Answers about У меня болят кости и суставы, когда на улице холодно.
Why is the verb болят in the plural form here instead of болит?
Because the grammatical subjects of the sentence are the body parts: кости (bones) and суставы (joints). Since there are multiple things doing the hurting, the verb must take the plural form болят.
If bones and joints are the subject, why is the English word 'My' translated as У меня?
In Russian, you do not say 'My bones hurt.' Instead, you use a structure that translates roughly to 'At me, the bones hurt.' The preposition У is followed by the Genitive case pronoun меня to show who is experiencing the pain, while the body parts stay in the Nominative case.
Is кость (bone) a feminine noun? How does it form the plural кости?
Yes, кость is a feminine noun ending in a soft sign. To make it plural in the Nominative case, you drop the soft sign and add -и, giving you кости.
Doesn't на улице literally mean 'on the street'? Why is it translated as 'outside'?
Literally, it does mean 'on the street' using the Prepositional case. However, it is the standard Russian idiom used to mean 'outside' or 'outdoors' whenever you are talking about the weather or simply being out of the house.
Why use the word холодно instead of the adjective холодный?
When talking about general environmental conditions like the weather without a specific noun, Russian uses an impersonal structure. This requires the adverb form ending in -о, so 'it is cold' simply becomes холодно.
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