Thread: Ah, This Grammar is Making me Insane!

Originally Posted by Dogboy182

Despite the opinions on whether or not it звучит or не звучит, I was just trying to show how it can be used. I've heard it used like that, but whatever.

Also, Throbert made some very useful observations. It is true that дом doesn't always mean house. I remember trying to explain for example "Дом 4. Кв 25" to non-Russians with frustration. They'd always say something like "How can it be a house and an apartment!?!?". Hilarious.

That's a very interesting question. It seems I have never understood it completely.
Does it mean that "дом" (as a noun) is not equal to the English "house"?
For example, I've checked both English and Russian wikipedia. The English wikipedia House - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia provides a definition for "house" (I have underlined some key words):

"A house is a building or structure the primary function of which is to be occupied for habitation by humans or other creatures.[1][2] The term house includes many kinds of dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to complex structures composed of many systems.[3] English-speaking people generally call any building they routinely occupy "home"."

But all the pictures in the English-language article only show some old-style (rural type) houses of 1 or 2 floors.

The Russian version of the same article (Жилище — Википедия) redirects to "жилище" (not "дом"). But I'd say "жилище" is just a more generic term than "дом". If you look at the pictures in the Russian article, you will see both old and modern houses there (e.g. Многоквартирный дом в Нидерландах, Двенадцатиэтажный жилой дом в России).

I wonder if English-speaking people never call a modern high-rise "дом" a house?
I understand it can be called "a building". But I think "a building" is something more general: it can be a factory, a museum, a hospital, a temple etc. of various architecture types.
Is it true that "a house" is reserved only for a rural low-rise "дом"? Or am I missing something?

Originally Posted by Боб Уайтман

I wonder if English-speaking people never call a modern high-rise "дом" a house?
I understand it can be called "a building". But I think "a building" is something more general: it can be a factory, a museum, a hospital, a temple etc. of various architecture types.
Is it true that "a house" is reserved only for a rural low-rise "дом"? Or am I missing something?

I'm not native but from what I heard - a house usually implied to someone's home (one family) and in the US sometimes even more strictly applied to a separate few-story residential building that belongs to a family, a house usually stays on a piece of land that belongs to the same family . Other types of "residential spaces" will be townhouse, apartment, flat, studio and condo (from condominium).
Other types will be buildings and one building can include several apartments for example.

Originally Posted by Doomer

I'm not native but from what I heard - a house usually implied to someone's home (one family) and in the US sometimes even more strictly applied to a separate few-story residential building that belongs to a family, a house usually stays on a piece of land that belongs to the same family . Other types of "residential spaces" will be townhouse, apartment, flat, studio and condo (from condominium).
Other types will be buildings and one building can include several apartments for example.

Thank you, Doomer!
BTW, is it a US-specific concept? What is about the UK, and the rest of the English-speaking world? (If anyone knows...)

It's interesting that it contradicts to my intuitive image of house/дом When I hear this word out of a context, the first thing that comes to my mind subconsciously is an image of a multistory multi-apartment modern urban building. I am an urban dweller myself, and that is the reason. But I think it's also an issue related to some cultural differences.

Originally Posted by maxmixiv

I bet, if the discussion encompass the term подъезд too, it will end not soon

I believe "подъезд" in English is just "porch" or "entrance". But when applying it to a street address (like ул. 1 Мая, д. 10, подъезд 2) I would translate it as "entrance": 1st May str. - 10, entrance 2.

Of course, it would be better to have some input from native English speakers, if they could comment on it.