Breakdown of При гриппе надо пить много воды.
вода
water
много
a lot
пить
to drink
надо
must, need to
грипп
flu
при
in the presence of, under, at
Questions & Answers about При гриппе надо пить много воды.
Why is "при" used here instead of "с" for "with"?
While the English translation says "with flu", the Russian preposition с (with) is used for physical accompaniment (like "tea with lemon"). The preposition при followed by the Prepositional case (гриппе) is used to mean "in the case of", "during", or "when experiencing" a specific condition or circumstance.
Does "при" take the Genitive case like the prepositions we are focusing on in this lesson?
No, it doesn't. Unlike the advanced prepositions of position you are studying right now (such as среди or внутри, which take the Genitive case), the preposition при always requires the Prepositional case. That is why the masculine noun грипп takes the ending "-е" to become гриппе.
Why is there no word for "you" in this sentence?
This sentence uses an impersonal construction. The word надо (it is necessary / one must) is combined directly with the infinitive пить (to drink) to state a general rule or piece of advice for anyone. If you wanted to specifically say "you must drink", you would add the pronoun "you" in the Dative case: вам надо пить.
Why is "воды" used instead of "вода"?
The word много (a lot / much) is a word of quantity. In Russian, whenever you specify an amount or quantity, the noun that follows must be in the Genitive case. For the feminine noun вода, the Genitive singular form is воды.
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