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- Topic: Russian >
- "Том — мой кот."
37 Comments
474
Russian dropped the equivalent of “is” in most cases, and the dash (representing a slight pause) is a substitute for it in situations like this one.
37
There are a few languages, like Russian or Hebrew, which don't use copulas at predicative sentences.
What is a predicative sentence? It declares some predicament about something, like "The sun IS yellow" or "The sky IS blue" or "I AM Tarzan" or "You ARE Jane".
The verbs in caps don't indicate any real action, they only link the subject (sun, sky, Tarzan or Jane) with the predicament about them - that is why we call such verbs copulas.
Well, Russian, or Hebrew, or ape-men like Tarzan don't use copulas, they simply say "I - Tarzan. You - Jane".
One can think that is primitive, but this is how they do.
When translating a predicative sentence, if the final language DOES use copulas, you should use copulas. Otherwise your English will sound just as from an ape-man.
348
Why can't "это" exist where the dash is? Or can it and we're learning it's often omitted?