Breakdown of Тяжело перестраивать привычный график, но она делает это по-доброму.
это
this / it is
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
делать
to do
но
but
тяжело
hard / heavily
график
schedule (work, shifts)
перестраивать
to reorganize
по-доброму
kindly
привычный
familiar
Questions & Answers about Тяжело перестраивать привычный график, но она делает это по-доброму.
How is the word по-доброму formed, and why does it have a hyphen?
This is an adverb of manner meaning "kindly" or "in a kind way." It is formed from the adjective добрый (kind). To make this type of adverb, you add the prefix по- and change the adjective ending to its dative masculine/neuter form, which is -ому. Whenever an adverb is formed with по- and ends in -ому, -ему, or -и, it must always be written with a hyphen.
Could I just use the standard adverb добро instead of по-доброму?
Not naturally in this context. While по-доброму emphasizes the specific manner in which someone acts—"in the way a kind person would do it"—the word добро is rarely used as a standalone adverb of manner in modern Russian. Добро is primarily used as a noun meaning "good" (as opposed to evil) or in set phrases. To describe behavior as kind, gentle, or amicable, по-доброму is the correct choice.
Why is the imperfective verb перестраивать used here instead of the perfective перестроить?
The imperfective is used because the first half of the sentence expresses a general truth rather than a specific, one-time completed event. When you use predicative adverbs like тяжело (it is hard), трудно (it is difficult), or вредно (it is harmful) to make a general statement about an activity, Russian strongly prefers the imperfective infinitive.
Does график mean "graphic" like a picture or digital art?
No, this is a common "false friend." While it can mean a mathematical graph or chart, in everyday Russian график is the standard word for a "schedule" or "timetable" (such as a work schedule or a bus timetable). If you want to talk about computer graphics or art, you would use the feminine noun графика.
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