Breakdown of Эти воспоминания всегда объединяют меня с братьями.
брат
brother
я
I
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
всегда
always
с
with (also со)
объединять
to unite
воспоминание
memory
Questions & Answers about Эти воспоминания всегда объединяют меня с братьями.
Why is the instrumental plural братьями instead of something regular like "братами"?
The word брат (brother) is one of the irregular nouns that form their plural with a soft sign (-ья). When these nouns decline into the instrumental plural, they keep that soft sign and add -ями, making it братьями. This is the exact same pattern you see in друзьями (friends) or деревьями (trees).
The English translation says "with my brothers," but I don't see a word for "my" in the Russian sentence. Why is that?
In Russian, possessive pronouns like мой are often left out when the context makes it obvious who the object belongs to. Adding моими here isn't grammatically wrong, but it sounds redundant to a native speaker.
What is the base form of воспоминания and how does its plural work?
The singular form is воспоминание (memory), which is a neuter noun ending in -ие. Neuter nouns with this ending form their plural by changing the final -е to -я, resulting in the nominative plural воспоминания.
Why is there a hard sign (ъ) in объединяют?
The hard sign is used here because the prefix об- ends in a consonant and the root starts with the vowel е (from един - one or united). The ъ acts as a separator, telling you to pronounce the prefix and the root distinctly rather than blending them together.
Why do we use меня here instead of мне?
The verb объединять (to unite) takes a direct object, which requires the accusative case. Меня is the accusative form of я (me), while мне is the dative or prepositional form and would only be used for indirect objects.
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