Breakdown of Прочитав твои замечания, я решил выделить эти слова.
я
I
твой
your [informal] (твой, твоя, твоё)
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
слово
word
прочитать
to read (perfective)
решить
to decide (perfective)
замечание
comment (remark)
выделить
to set off (to highlight, perfective)
Questions & Answers about Прочитав твои замечания, я решил выделить эти слова.
Why is there a comma after замечания?
The comma sets off the verbal adverb phrase (деепричастный оборот), which is Прочитав твои замечания. In Russian, a verbal adverb phrase with dependent words is almost always isolated with commas, regardless of whether it comes before, inside, or after the main clause.
Why is Прочитав used here instead of Читая?
Прочитав is a perfective verbal adverb, which translates to "having read." It shows that the reading was completely finished before the main action took place. If you used the imperfective Читая ("while reading"), it would mean you made the decision simultaneously during the active process of reading.
Does the person doing the "reading" have to be the same person doing the "deciding"?
Yes, absolutely! A strict rule for verbal adverbs in Russian is that their action must be performed by the subject of the main clause. Here, я (I) is the subject who reads and decides. If someone else read the comments, you could not use a verbal adverb; you would need a subordinate clause like После того как он прочитал... (After he read...).
I learned замечание as a "reprimand" or "warning." Why is it translated as "comments" here?
While сделать замечание often means to give a verbal reprimand or scold someone for bad behavior, in the context of editing, reviewing, or grading work, замечания simply refers to a reviewer's "comments," "notes," or "feedback" on a text.
Why do we use the perfective infinitive выделить after решил instead of the imperfective выделять?
You use the perfective выделить because it refers to a single, specific, and complete result: highlighting these specific words just this once. You would use the imperfective выделять if you decided to make a habit of it (for example, "I decided to always highlight such words").
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