Breakdown of Из-за свиста и волнения мне совсем не думается.
и
and
не
not
я
I
из-за
because of; from behind
совсем
completely, quite
думаться
to think (impersonal)
волнение
nervousness
свист
booing
Questions & Answers about Из-за свиста и волнения мне совсем не думается.
The translation says 'I can't think straight', but the Russian uses мне не думается. Why use this form instead of я не могу думать?
Using the dative pronoun мне with a reflexive verb like думается creates an impersonal construction. It implies a lack of conscious control, as if the action is happening to you: thinking just is not working out for me. While я не могу думать simply states a factual inability, мне не думается captures the psychological block caused by the nervousness.
Does свист really mean 'booing'? I thought it meant 'whistling'.
It does literally mean whistling. However, in Russian culture, whistling at a performance or event is a sign of strong disapproval, which makes it the exact cultural equivalent of booing in the English-speaking world.
The current lesson is about несмотря на (despite), but here we see из-за. How do they differ grammatically?
Из-за means because of and points to the direct cause of a situation. It always takes the genitive case, which is why we see the endings in свиста and волнения. By contrast, the lesson's target несмотря на means despite, showing a concession rather than a cause, and it takes the accusative case.
Why does думается have the -ся ending here if thinking is not an action you do to yourself?
The -ся particle is not just for reflexive actions. Here, it turns an active verb into an impersonal state verb to describe a spontaneous mood or physical state. You will see this structure often, for example in мне не спится (I cannot get to sleep) or мне не верится (I cannot believe it).
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