Breakdown of Обращайтесь к врачу, если болит.
врач
doctor
если
if
болеть
to hurt, to ache; to be ill
обращаться
to address, to turn to
Questions & Answers about Обращайтесь к врачу, если болит.
The lesson is about passive verbs with -ся, but does обращайтесь have a passive meaning here?
No, it doesn't. While the -ся ending often makes an imperfective verb passive (like in дом строится for "the house is being built"), many Russian verbs just naturally end in -ся. Here, обращаться means "to turn to" or "to address someone." You are actively doing it, so it is just a regular reflexive verb, not a passive one.
How is the command form обращайтесь built?
It is the formal/plural imperative (command) form. To make a command for a reflexive verb, you first form the regular command: обращайте (turn). Because this ends in the vowel е, the reflexive particle shrinks from -ся to -сь. Put them together, and you get обращайтесь.
Why is it к врачу and not just в врача or another case?
When you "turn to" or approach a person (like a doctor) for help, Russian requires the preposition к (towards) plus the Dative case. Врачу is the Dative form of врач. You cannot use в or на here because those are for going to places, not people.
Where is the word for "it" in если болит?
Russian frequently drops the pronoun for "it" as a subject, especially in general statements about conditions or feelings. Болит is the third-person singular form of болеть (to hurt or ache), so it already contains the meaning of "it hurts" all by itself.
Learn Обращайтесь к врачу, если болит and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free