Russian has several verbs that can translate as “to study”. But even in English if you think beyond just the word “study”, you will notice how it is different in English as well. Take a look at these two examples of the word “to study” in English.
I study Russian.
I study at the University of Arizona.
I study in my fourth year.
What differences do you notice in terms of the surrounding words?
Answer: In sentence (1) the word study is followed by a direct object, which is expressed by the word “Russian”. Remember that the direct object is asking the question “what?” In sentence (2) the word “study” is followed by a preposition at and then the place where you study. In other words, it is where you go to school. The last sentence (3) is followed by the preposition in and the year in which you study. This last sentence in English is a bit awkward, and there are other ways you can express this sentence, such as I’m in my fourth year or I’m a senior. But in Russian this sentence structure is natural.
So, as you could see in English the meaning of the word “study” changes as well depending on what follows. In Russian, there are several words that mean “study”.
The first concordance box has the word “изучаю”, while the second one contains the word “учусь”.
Study the concordance boxes above and answer the following questions in the Padlet embedded below:
Looking at the examples of the word изучаю, what do you notice about its use? Which English example from above is it most similar to? Why?
Can you relate to these examples from other students? Do you study similar/different things?
Looking at the examples of the word учусь, what do you notice about its use? Which English example(s) from above is it most similar to? Why? As you can see the pattern of use of this verb is a bit more complex.
Do you see any examples of non-standard use? How can they be corrected?
Which examples can you relate to?
Fill in the blanks with the correct verb.
1. Я __________________ (учусь/изучаю) на втором курсе.
2. Я __________________ (учусь/изучаю) испанский язык.
3. Я __________________ (учусь/изучаю) в университете Аризоны.
4. Я __________________ (учусь/изучаю) в университете на первом курсе.
5. Я __________________ (учусь/изучаю) русский язык, потому что он красивый.
As you could see, the difference between these two verbs can be a bit tricky for an English speaker, hence you might see some mishaps in how the students used these two words. Do you notice anything that can be rephrased?
Now how would you explain the difference between these two words to your friend who wants to learn Russian but doesn’t know anything about Russian?
Tell your classmate what you study, where you study, and which year you’re in.
As you noticed all the examples were in the first person singular. Now conjugate the verb into second person singular and ask your classmate what they study, where they study, and which year they’re in.