Questions & Answers about Мы живём в небольшом городе.
Since this lesson covers diminutives, why did the speaker say небольшом городе instead of using the diminutive городок?
While городок translates to 'small town,' it carries a subjective, cozy, or affectionate tone. Using небольшой город is more objective and neutral. If you wanted to express personal fondness for the town or soften your speech, городок would be the perfect pragmatic choice.
What is the subtle difference between небольшом and маленьком in this context?
Небольшой literally means 'not large' and implies a moderate, modest size. Маленький means strictly 'small' or 'little.' Native speakers often prefer небольшой for towns, apartments, and salaries to sound more neutral and diplomatic, whereas маленький emphasizes that it is genuinely tiny.
Why is небольшом written as one solid word here rather than не большом?
When the prefix не- creates a new, distinct adjective with a synonymous meaning (not big = moderate), it is written together. You would only separate them as не большом if you were making a direct contrast in the same sentence, such as 'in a not big, but huge town' (в не большом, а огромном городе).
I sometimes mix up the present tense stem for жить. Is живём fully regular?
The infinitive жить (to live) is slightly irregular because it adds a -в- in the present tense, making the stem жив-. Because the stress falls on the endings, you will always hear the stress on the final vowel and see the letter ё used across its conjugations (e.g., я живу, ты живёшь, он живёт).
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