Breakdown of Любой ребёнок хочет прикоснуться к этой игрушке.
ребёнок
child
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
хотеть
to want
игрушка
toy
любой
any
к
towards, to
прикоснуться
to touch lightly
Questions & Answers about Любой ребёнок хочет прикоснуться к этой игрушке.
How does the prefix при- in прикоснуться act as an "attenuative" (смягчительный) prefix here?
The prefix при- often adds the meaning of doing an action slightly, briefly, or softly. Here, прикоснуться means to touch lightly or just barely make contact. It gives the sense of a gentle, delicate touch rather than grabbing the toy roughly.
Why does прикоснуться take the preposition к + dative case (к этой игрушке) instead of a direct object?
Because прикоснуться has the reflexive suffix -ся, it cannot take a direct object in the accusative case. Literally, it translates closer to "lightly touch oneself towards something." Therefore, it requires the preposition к (to/towards) followed by the dative case (этой игрушке).
What is the imperfective pair for прикоснуться, and why does the root change?
The imperfective is прикасаться. Notice the root vowel changes from о (-кос-) to а (-кас-). This is a common spelling rule for this specific root: if the suffix -а- immediately follows the root (as in прикасаться), the root vowel is а. Otherwise, it is о (as in прикоснуться).
Could I use каждый instead of любой here?
You could, but любой fits the nuance much better. Каждый means "every" and focuses on counting all members of a group (every single child). Любой means "any" (literally "any you like") and emphasizes that no matter which child you pick, they will want to touch the toy.
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