Breakdown of Вы должны переделать черновик сегодня, а завтра дописать статью.
а
and (contrastive)
вы
you (plural)
статья
article
сегодня
today
завтра
tomorrow
должен
must, have to (должен, должна, должны)
черновик
the draft
дописать
to finish writing
переделать
to redo
Questions & Answers about Вы должны переделать черновик сегодня, а завтра дописать статью.
How does the prefix пере- change the meaning of делать in this sentence?
The prefix пере- often adds the meaning of doing something over again, usually to correct or improve it. Since делать means to do or make, переделать means to redo or remake. Here, it means rewriting the draft.
What does the prefix до- add to the verb писать?
The prefix до- indicates taking an action all the way to its logical end or completion. While написать just means to write something completely, дописать specifically emphasizes finishing something that was already started, which is why it translates to finish writing the article.
Why are both переделать and дописать in the perfective aspect?
You are being told to complete two specific, one-time actions with clear results: having the draft redone and the article finished. After должны (must), we use perfective infinitives when the obligation is to get a specific task done successfully.
Why does the word for article change to статью, while the word for draft (черновик) stays exactly like its dictionary form?
Both words are the direct objects of their verbs, so they are in the accusative case. Статья is a feminine noun, so its -я ending changes to -ю. Черновик is a masculine inanimate noun, and masculine inanimate nouns do not change their endings in the accusative case.
Why does the sentence use а for and instead of и?
The conjunction а is used here to contrast two different timeframes and actions: today you do one thing, whereas tomorrow you do another. When comparing or contrasting two parallel ideas like this, Russian prefers а over и.
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