Why should you do what they want?
When we can explain the paradoxical nature of the world and man to children and receive smart feedback then our experience is worthy.
Today I offer you to read a few excerpts from “The Barber’s Uncle” by William Saroyan (page 11). First of all, I ask you to read the text in English. It takes about 7 minutes. Then take a look at the Russian text. Don’t be afraid of seeing some unknown Russian words. It should never stop us from achieving the goal! :)
The Russian text you may find here: “Парикмахер, у дяди которого...”.
Мисс Гамма говорила, что мне нужно постричься (1); мама говорила, что мне нужно постричься; мой брат Грикор говорил, что мне нужно постричься.
Все говорили:
— Когда ты наконец (2) пострижёшься?
There is something I need to get or do. You can’t say in Russian “Я нужен купить буханку хлеба (or just “купить хлеб”)” if you want to say “I need to buy a loaf of bread”. It means before the verbs “нужно” and “надо” we have to change the pronoun according to the Dative case: мне (“me”), тебе (“to you”), вам (“to you” in the plural form, or in respectful but then start the pronoun with a capital letter – “Вам”), им (“to them”), ей (“her”), ему (“him”). We want to give something to… ourselves. :) BTW, if you can change and starts with “Я должен”, then chill, you do it right!
мне нужно завтра рано вставать = я должен встать завтра рано утром = I have to get up early tomorrow
Ему нужно много работать = Он должен много работать = He has to work a lot
“Наконец” means “at least”, “eventually”. You won’t find it in the original text. However, it transmits people's annoyance.
— А ты помнишь Самсона? — говорю я. — Помнишь, как он разъярился (1), когда его остригли (2)?
Разъярился – He got furious.
разъ-яр-и-ть-ся
You already may notice what a strong feeling this word transmits! Ярость, ярый, яростно… How devilish, isn’t it? Another word comes to my mind as “яркий” (bright, vivid) and it’s safe to say that when we get angry, our face may get scarlet.
– the prefix “раз” basically means the verbs open up action.
разузнать – to find out, to scent out
расследовать – to investigate
рассмотреть –to contemplate, to consider
The last letter of the prefix changes due to the first letter of the root. if you noticed a voiced consonant o a vowel, then it ends with a voiced consonant as well.Остригли – they cut it (hair) all away.
о-стриг-а-ть
A barber cuts hair around and over the skin, right? :) Simultenioutsly it means that the haircut was rather making someone bold than making hairstyle.
Я поднёс чашечку ко рту и отхлебнул (1) горячей чёрной жидкости. Это было вкуснее всего, что я когда-либо пробовал (2).
Отхлебнул – it means “to drink”. Just that. You can use it, it’s just a colloquial form, “to gulp down”. But have you noticed that..?
от-хлеб-ну-ть
It has nothing with a loaf of bread now but with a sound, we produce when we take a quick sip of liquid with bubbles appear.When we want to say that this is our first time or the best that you’ve ever tried or done, then you should add the following construction:
<…> что + pronoun + когда-либо + verb in the past tense referring to the pronoun
Это было самое классное, что я когда-либо видела!
It was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!
P.S. Some extra words from the text.
used to buy — бывало покупал
earn money — зарабатывать деньги
evil and hatred and fear — зло, ненависть и страх
to satisfy the world — удовлетворить окружающих
grew fierce — рассвирепел
felt ugly — быть в плохом настроении
whose head was bitten off— чью голову откусил
My team is a set of books and a good playlist and of course your support. When you enroll in any language course, pay for it but do you feel satisfied with the result? We never know it beforehand. Here I share my understanding of the language and some phrases that will help you to grasp the logic of the Russian language. If you find my tips and ideas useful then…
Now I would like to ponder over the text with me (tweedledee6@mail.ru) in Russian.
Why do you think the barber makes coffee?
What is similar about the barber and the boy?