Breakdown of Почему ледники тают, а никто ничего не замечает?
не
not
а
and (contrastive)
почему
why
ничего
nothing
никто
nobody
замечать
to notice
ледник
glacier
таять
to melt
Questions & Answers about Почему ледники тают, а никто ничего не замечает?
Since this lesson is about progressive comparisons, how would I add 'faster and faster' to this sentence?
You would use всё combined with the comparative adverb быстрее (faster). To say 'Why are glaciers melting faster and faster...', you would say: Почему ледники тают всё быстрее...
Why does the sentence use а for 'but' instead of но?
In Russian, а is used to show a strong contrast or juxtaposition between two parallel situations—in this case, the glaciers melting while people do nothing. но is typically used for a direct contradiction or an unexpected result, like an obstacle to an action.
The phrase никто ничего не замечает translates literally to 'nobody nothing not notices'. Is this triple negative normal?
Yes, it is completely mandatory! Unlike English, Russian requires negative concord. Whenever you use negative pronouns like никто (nobody) or ничего (nothing), the verb they attach to must also be negated with не.
Could I use the perfective verb заметит instead of the imperfective замечает?
Not in this context. The imperfective замечает is necessary here because it describes a continuous, ongoing state in the present tense, which matches the ongoing, continuous process of the glaciers melting (тают).
Learn Почему ледники тают, а никто ничего не замечает 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