Breakdown of Я заслушался этой красивой песней и опоздал.
и
and
песня
song
я
I
красивый
beautiful
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
опоздать
to be late (perfective)
заслушаться
to get carried away listening
Questions & Answers about Я заслушался этой красивой песней и опоздал.
How does the combination of за- and -ся change the meaning of слушать (to listen)?
Adding the prefix за- and the postfix -ся to a verb often creates a meaning of extreme absorption or doing something to excess, losing track of time. While слушать is simply "to listen", заслушаться means to get completely lost in listening or carried away by what you hear.
Why is этой красивой песней in the instrumental case? Don't we usually use the accusative case to listen to a song (слушать песню)?
That is a crucial change! When a verb takes this за- ... -ся absorption form, the object that you are absorbed in takes the instrumental case. Think of it as being carried away by means of or with the beautiful song, rather than acting directly upon it.
Is заслушался perfective or imperfective?
It is perfective. Even though the listening itself took a while, заслушаться focuses on the result of the action: the point where you crossed the line into being completely absorbed, which led directly to the next perfective action of being late (опоздал).
Can I use this за- ... -ся pattern with other senses like reading or watching?
Yes, this is a highly productive pattern. For example, зачитаться means to get carried away reading a book, and засмотреться means to get lost staring at something. Just remember they also require the instrumental case for the object you are absorbed in.
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