Breakdown of Кто-нибудь зажигал эту свечу и потом гасил её?
и
and
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
потом
then
кто-нибудь
anyone / someone (unspecified)
свеча
candle
зажигать
to light
гасить
to extinguish
Questions & Answers about Кто-нибудь зажигал эту свечу и потом гасил её?
Why are зажигал and гасил in the imperfective aspect here when they describe completed actions in the past?
This is a classic example of the "annulled result." Using the perfective зажёг would imply the candle was lit and is still lit right now. Because the candle was lit and then subsequently put out, the result of the lighting was reversed. When a past action's result is undone by the time of speaking, Russian requires the imperfective aspect.
If putting out the candle reversed the lighting, why is гасил also imperfective instead of perfective?
While you could technically use the perfective погасил to emphasize the current unlit state of the candle, using the imperfective гасил here triggers the "general factual" use of the imperfective. The speaker is simply asking about the pure fact of the action occurring in the past ("Did this event take place?"), rather than focusing on the result.
Could I use кто-то instead of кто-нибудь here?
Not without changing the meaning. Кто-нибудь is used in questions for a true unknown ("anybody at all"). If you used кто-то (somebody), the sentence would imply you already know that someone played with the candle, and you are just wondering who that specific, yet unidentified, person is.
Is гасил related to the verb гаснуть?
Yes, they form a transitive and intransitive pair. Гаснуть means to go out or fade on its own (for example, the flame died naturally). Гасить, used here, is transitive and means to actively extinguish or put something out. Since a person is acting upon the candle (её), we need the transitive гасил.
Learn Кто-нибудь зажигал эту свечу и потом гасил её 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