Breakdown of Почему эти люди протестуют на площади, а не голосуют?
не
not
а
and (contrastive)
площадь
square
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
почему
why
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
люди
people
протестовать
to protest
голосовать
to vote
Questions & Answers about Почему эти люди протестуют на площади, а не голосуют?
Why do the verbs протестуют and голосуют have a -у- instead of the -ова- seen in their dictionary forms?
The infinitives are протестовать (to protest) and голосовать (to vote). When conjugated in the present tense, the -ова- suffix drops out and is replaced by -у-. Because the subject here is the plural люди (they), we add the standard ending -ют to get протестуют and голосуют.
Why does the word for square end in -и in на площади instead of the usual prepositional -е?
The dictionary form is площадь. It is a feminine noun ending in a soft sign, making it a 3rd declension noun. Unlike most nouns that take -е in the prepositional case (answering where something is happening), 3rd declension nouns take -и.
The English translation says and not voting. Why is the Russian word а used instead of и for and?
The conjunction а is used to show contrast. In Russian, when you contrast two actions by saying someone is doing one thing а не (and not) doing another, you must use а rather than и because you are directly contrasting two opposing ideas.
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