22 Comments
I'd say мне хочется is like 'I feel like..[doing something]', and я хочу is just 'I want.. [to do something]. 'I would like' is more like я хотел бы.
Please could someone explain the difference between приготовить and готовить in this context? I understand that they are a perfective/imperfective pair, I'm just wondering about the different implications of the two. Am I correct in thinking that using "Мне хочется приготовить рис" implies "I would like to cook rice at this moment in time (and finish the job)", whereas "Мне хочется готовить рис" implies "I would like to cook rice (possibly on a regular recurring basis and not necessarily specifically at this current moment)."? And if that's not correct, is the verb used in anyway related to the use of the reflexive "ся" in "хочется"? Thanks in advance.
You are right about aspect.
You can use both Dative + the reflexive verb "Мне хо́чется" and Nominative "Я хочу́" (see my answer above).
Thanks! Given how much English it took me to explain how I perceived the implications of each of the verb pairs, and the fact that I was correct, Russian certainly manages to convey a lot of information in very few words!
I would say you could imply the same amount of information in English, but it's not quite as clear.
You should cook for me (implies as a regular occurence) You should cook me something (implies a one time thing)
Just curious, if you say that you would like to cook rice because you have in mind to cook a great dish that will need rice (I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's an aim , a point to cooking rice), which verb would you use (apologies if it's obvious I really have issues getting to terms with the imperfective/ perfective). Thanks
I suspect you need to use the perfective, since you're clearly intending to do the cooking immediately, and to the point of completion, but I'm not confident enough yet to give you an answer with any certainty, so you probably want to wait for a native speaker to add their two-pennies' worth. In the meantime, this website provides a really helpful explanation of aspect (but I think it's a case of practice makes perfect too, hence why I can't give you a definite answer!): http://learnrussian.rt.com/grammar-tables/aspects-of-russian-verbs--imperfective-and-perfective/
Я хотел бы = I would like...
MikeyRadles is right that it's used for hypothetical, contrary-to-fact statements. Если бы он знал об этом, он бы тоже поехал на концерт. = If he had known about it, he would have gone to the concert too. [but I didn't know] The бы requires you to use the past tense form, no matter what time you're talking about. So the above sentence could also be "If he knew about it [now], he would go to the concert." Also - in the example above, better to say "Если бы я был женщиной..." since бы needs that past tense form.
I believe (non native here) that “бы” is a marker of the subjunctive mood, which is probably best described as discussing hypothetical matters. For example, this comically sexist phrase (entirely meant as a joke and assuming I’ve learnt the grammar in this area correctly): “Если бы я женщина, тогда я носила бы юбку. Но я мужчина.” means, “If I were a woman then I would wear a skirt. But I’m a man.” Note how the verb “носить” is in the past tense here (and see * below).
Applying this to your question, “я хотел бы” is a hypothetical of the verb “to want”, kind of meaning, “I would want”, and thus, can be translated as “I would like”. Hope that helps.
- As already mentioned, I’m only a learner myself, so if any native speakers would like to confirm or deny the above, that would be useful. Moreover, my own phrase above has given rise to a question of my own. In the phrase, “Если бы я женщина, тогда я носила бы юбку. Но я мужчина.” (assuming this is correct anyway), I used the feminine past tense “носила” because at that point in the hypothetical situation, “я” represented a woman. Is this correct? I realise the likelihood of this phrase ever occurring in real life is small, but hey, you never know...! Hahaha! Also, does the location of “бы” matter significantly? Or does the following mean exactly the same (as I suspect)? “Если бы я женщина, тогда я бы носила юбку. Но я мужчина.”
** Forgive me if this is all a load of rubbish!! Haha!
Hm.. as for the gender for the hypothetical situation... at this page:
http://www.b17.ru/forum/topic.php?id=20992#topic_top
someone suggests a game: women complete the phrase "If I were a man..." and men complete the phrase "If I were a woman..". Most seem to use the gender ending of their real situation, not the hypothetical, in the 2nd clause too; though a few have things like "Ушла бы... ушел бы в бизнес." or "Я не стал(а) бы.."
бы can precede or follow the verb: Я бы хотел and Я хотел бы are both fine.
Thanks very much Curt. Very interesting, and helpful. As it happens Duolingo gave me a revision session on subjunctive today, and your "past tense" reminder (and my thinking about it in order to help Adam), ensured I completed it without error. Boom! :-)
I always thought you were mistyping Subjunctive for Subjective! Turns out there is something called Subjunctive, and not just that, you say that there is a complete exercise on that on Duolingo!!!
Indeed. It is sometimes called the Conditional Mood too. Here is a link to help you along: http://russianlearn.com/grammar/category/the_conditional_mood
Mikey and Curt, many thanks gentlemen, much appreciated, as it happens I must read these many times until I can get my head around it. Lingots for both of you :)
