Он смотрел на меня, будто не слышал вопроса.
He looked at me as though he had not heard the question.
Breakdown of Он смотрел на меня, будто не слышал вопроса.
не
not
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
смотреть
to watch / to look at / make sure (in a warning)
меня
me
слышать
to hear
вопрос
question
будто
as though
Questions & Answers about Он смотрел на меня, будто не слышал вопроса.
The English translation says "as though." How is будто related to verbs of seeming like казаться?
Будто (or как будто) is a conjunction meaning "as if" or "as though." While this lesson focuses on verbs like казаться (to seem), будто is another way to express that same idea of appearance versus reality. You could even rephrase this sentence using the lesson's verb: Он смотрел на меня, и казалось, что он не слышал вопроса (He looked at me, and it seemed that he hadn't heard the question).
Why is it вопроса (genitive) instead of вопрос (accusative)?
This is the "genitive of negation." When a direct object follows a negated verb (like не слышал), it often takes the genitive case instead of the accusative. This is especially common with verbs of perception (like hearing or seeing) and helps emphasize that he didn't hear the question at all.
The English translation uses the past perfect "had not heard." Why does Russian just use the regular past tense не слышал?
Russian does not have a distinct past perfect tense (like "had done"). It relies on context and just uses the standard past tense. Here, the conjunction будто (as if) makes it clear that the "not hearing" is the condition happening before or during the moment he looked at you.
Why use the imperfective слышал instead of the perfective услышал?
When an action didn't happen, Russian often prefers the imperfective aspect to state a simple fact or emphasize a total lack of action. Не слышал focuses on the ongoing state of him being completely unaware of the question, rather than the failure to complete a specific action.
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