Breakdown of Почему про неё всегда распускают грязные слухи?
всегда
always
почему
why
её
her (acc)
грязный
dirty
про
about (colloquial)
слух
rumor
распускать
to spread (rumors)
Questions & Answers about Почему про неё всегда распускают грязные слухи?
Why is the word for "they" (они) missing before распускают?
This is an indefinite-personal clause, which is the focus of this lesson! By using the 3rd-person plural verb распускают without они, the sentence emphasizes the action rather than the specific people doing it. It translates to the generic English "they" or "people" (Why do people always spread...).
Why does this sentence use про неё instead of о ней?
Both mean "about her." However, про (which takes the accusative case, hence неё) is slightly more colloquial and very natural in everyday speech, especially when talking about gossip or rumors. О or об (with the prepositional case, о ней) is more neutral and formal. Also, notice the added н on the pronoun, which happens when third-person pronouns immediately follow a preposition.
The verb распускают means "spread" here. What else can it mean?
While распускать слухи is a common set phrase for "to spread rumors," the imperfective verb распускать literally means to let something loose, untie, or dissolve. You will also see it used for dismissing a group (like dissolving a parliament or letting a class go home), unravelling a knitted sweater, or a flower opening its petals.
Could we use a perfective verb here instead of the imperfective распускают?
No, because the word всегда (always) clearly indicates that this is a recurring, habitual action. Habitual actions require the imperfective aspect, so we must use распускают rather than its perfective counterpart распустят.
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