Breakdown of С тех пор как я начал заниматься спортом, я обрёл дисциплину.
я
I
заниматься спортом
to do sport
начать
to begin (perfective)
с тех пор как
since
обрести
to gain
дисциплина
discipline
Questions & Answers about С тех пор как я начал заниматься спортом, я обрёл дисциплину.
The lesson focuses on с тех пор как. Why is there no comma before как in this sentence?
When a compound conjunction like с тех пор как (since) starts a sentence, it usually is not split by a comma. The comma only comes at the end of the subordinate clause (after спортом). If the phrase came in the middle of a sentence, it might be split depending on emphasis.
In English, we say 'I have gained' (present perfect), but Russian uses the past tense обрёл. Why is that?
Russian does not have a direct equivalent to the English present perfect tense. To express a completed action that has an ongoing result in the present, such as having gained discipline, you simply use the past tense of a perfective verb like обрёл.
Why is the imperfective verb заниматься used immediately after the perfective verb начал?
In Russian, phase verbs that indicate the start, continuation, or end of an action, such as начал, must always be followed by an imperfective infinitive. Even though the act of starting was completed, the sports themselves are an ongoing process.
Why is the word for sports in the instrumental case (спортом)?
The verb заниматься means to occupy oneself with or to be engaged in. This verb always dictates that its object must be in the instrumental case, transforming спорт into спортом.
The verb обрёл means 'gained' here. Could I use a more common word like получил?
You could, but обрести, which is the infinitive of обрёл, is much more natural here. While получить usually refers to physically receiving a tangible object, обрести is used for acquiring abstract qualities or states like discipline, peace, or confidence.
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