Thread: can someone tell me what this means?! "Язык чужой и это все совсем не страшно."

Hi,

'Язык чужой и это все совсем не страшно'

A friend sent me an e-mail with this sentence in, and I don't think I understand it properly. To me, it comes out as "(The) language (is) unfamiliar and these (ie. my spelling mistakes) are all entirely not awfully": Why does the sentence end with an adverb? What verb does it apply to here? 'To be'? If not, could it be replaced by an adjective, like 'ужасные'? I think my grammar knowledge has a gap, here.

The most sensible meaning I can think of is 'The language is strange, and these (mistakes) are not all entirely awful.' I'd like to be sure, though.

My small beginner's brain is defeated. Maybe there is a bit missing? I mean from the sentence, not my brain...!

Thanks all,

Richard B

Язык чужой = It's not native language, it's not your mother tongue.
Это всё совсем не страшно = It's all o.k., it's not a big deal.

Thanks Lampada,

So is this a saying, or a 'standard expression'? I still don't understand why it ends with an adverb. Is there a verb that the adverb modifies? Is it possible for you to explain for me? Thankyou!

Richard B

Originally Posted by grafrich

Thanks Lampada,

So is this a saying, or a 'standard expression'? I still don't understand why it ends with an adverb. Is there a verb that the adverb modifies? Is it possible for you to explain for me? Thankyou!

Richard B

You are right. The adverb modifies the verb "быть" (to be), but we almost never use it in such sentences. For Russians the adverb itself is a predicate of the sentence.

Это круто - It's cool.
Создал Бог землю и сказал, что это хорошо.
Это правильно!

Oh good! I got something right!
I had started to think that in Russian predicates can include adverbs.

Thanks Полуношник,
Rich

I would say that страшно is actually a short-form neuter adjective, rather than an adverb. (Mind you, for any given adjective, the neuter short-form is usually identical to the adverbial form, so they're only distinguishable by function: if страшно is modifying a verb, then it's an adverb; but if it's the predicate of a subject noun or pronoun, then it's a short-form adjective.)

Hmmm.. it seems to be an adverb. Also is not there a rule that you always can replace a short adjective with its full form? You can't do it here. So it must be an adverb after all, and it probably refers to the 'invisible' verb "есть" (is).