Breakdown of После того как температура упадёт, не пейте эти таблетки.
не
not
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
пить
to drink
температура
temperature, fever
тот
that
после
after
таблетка
pill, tablet
упасть
to fall (perfective)
как
as (in comparisons)
Questions & Answers about После того как температура упадёт, не пейте эти таблетки.
Why is упадёт in the future tense when the English translation uses the present tense "drops"?
In English, time clauses starting with "after" or "when" use the present tense for future events. Russian is strictly logical here: since the temperature will drop in the future, the sentence requires the future perfective tense (упадёт).
Why does the negative command не пейте use the imperfective aspect for a specific instruction?
In Russian, negative imperatives (telling someone not to do something) almost always take the imperfective aspect, even for a one-time, specific event. A perfective negative imperative here would sound like a warning against doing it by accident ("Watch out, don't accidentally swallow these pills").
Why do we use the verb пить (to drink) for pills?
In English, you "take" a pill, but in Russian, you always "drink" medication (пить таблетки, пить лекарство). Using the Russian verb for "take" (брать or взять) would just mean physically picking the pills up with your hand, not ingesting them.
Does температура here refer to the weather?
Given the context of taking pills, температура here means a fever or high body temperature. Just like in English, saying someone "has a temperature" (у него температура) is a common way to say they have a fever.
Why is the conjunction после того как three words, and is a comma missing?
После того как is a compound conjunction meaning "after." When it starts a sentence, it usually acts as a single unbreakable block, so you don't put a comma before как. The comma only comes at the end of the time clause, right before the main clause (не пейте).
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