Breakdown of После обеда он захотел спать.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
спать
to sleep
после
after
обед
lunch
захотеть
to want (suddenly), to feel like
Questions & Answers about После обеда он захотел спать.
How does the prefix за- change the meaning of хотел?
In Russian, adding the prefix за- to certain verbs indicates the sudden or spontaneous beginning of an action or state. While хотел means the ongoing state of 'wanted', захотел means he 'suddenly wanted' or 'got the urge' to do something.
Why is a feeling like wanting expressed with a perfective verb here?
Feelings and states (like wanting or sleeping) are usually imperfective because they are ongoing. However, because the prefix за- focuses on the specific, completed moment the desire started, the new verb захотеть becomes perfective.
Could I use the imperfective хотел instead of захотел in this sentence?
Yes, but it changes the nuance. После обеда он хотел спать just describes his ongoing state at that time ('After lunch he was sleepy'). Using захотел makes it a specific event: the sleepiness suddenly hit him right after he ate.
Why does обед (lunch) end in -а here?
The word is in the genitive case (обеда) because it follows the preposition после (after). The preposition после always requires the genitive case.
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