Breakdown of Мы быстро нашли общий язык.
мы
we
быстро
fast, quickly
найти общий язык
to find common ground
Questions & Answers about Мы быстро нашли общий язык.
I see язык means 'language', but the translation says 'common ground'. Is this a set idiom?
Yes, найти общий язык literally translates as finding a 'common language', but it is the standard Russian idiom for finding 'common ground', reaching an understanding, or hitting it off.
Why do общий and язык look like they are in the nominative case if they are the direct object of the verb?
They are actually in the accusative case because they are the direct object of нашли. Because язык is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form, along with the modifying adjective общий, is identical to the nominative case.
Why use the perfective verb нашли instead of the imperfective находили?
The perfective нашли is used here to focus on the successful result of the action. If you used the imperfective находили, it would imply a repeated process or just the attempt to find it, which does not fit well with the adverb быстро describing a single completed achievement.
Can общий be used for other shared things, or does it only mean 'general'?
Absolutely! While общий often means 'general', it is very commonly used to mean 'shared', 'mutual', or 'joint'. For example, you can say наш общий друг for our mutual friend or общая кухня for a shared kitchen.
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