Breakdown of Он взвешивал плюсы и минусы и обдумывал проект, прежде чем начать.
и
and
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
проект
the project
минус
minus
плюс
plus
начать
to begin (perfective)
прежде чем
before (doing something)
обдумывать
to consider (think over, imperfective)
взвешивать
to weigh (measure weight)
Questions & Answers about Он взвешивал плюсы и минусы и обдумывал проект, прежде чем начать.
Why is прежде чем followed by the infinitive начать instead of a conjugated verb like он начал?
When the subject of the main clause (он) is exactly the same as the person performing the action after прежде чем, Russian uses the infinitive. If a different person were starting the project, you would have to use a conjugated verb (like прежде чем они начали - before they started).
The main verbs (взвешивал, обдумывал) are imperfective, but начать is perfective. Why do they mix aspects here?
The aspects reflect how the speaker views each action. The imperfective verbs show that the weighing and thinking over were ongoing, continuous processes in the past. But the action of starting is viewed as a single, distinct milestone that he hasn't crossed yet, which requires the perfective начать.
Is плюсы и минусы the standard translation for 'pros and cons'?
Yes! It literally translates to 'pluses and minuses' and is the most natural, everyday way to express 'pros and cons' in Russian. Another very common alternative you will hear is за и против (literally 'for and against').
How does the prefix об- change the base verb in обдумывал?
The prefix об- often adds the meaning of doing something thoroughly or from all sides (think of covering an object completely). So while думал is simply 'thought', обдумывал means 'thought over', 'pondered', or 'considered from every angle'.
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