Thread: Are these sentences correct?

Are these russian sentences correct?

я их вывожу из здании.
если бы она звонила во среду, я шёл бы в школу.
если бы она была звонила во среду, я шёл бы в школу.
я принесу сумку.
я сумку принесу.

See below.

Originally Posted by tiudavidharris

Are these russian sentences correct?

я их вывожу из здании.

Я их вывожу из здания. Or better: Я вывожу их из здания. (This wording is preferred)

если бы она звонила во среду, я шёл бы в школу.

Если бы она позвонила в среду, я пошёл бы в школу. Note: в среду, not во среду. The verbs should be perfective here.
And even better:
Если бы она позвонила в среду, я бы пошёл в школу. ("бы" here is more naturally placed before the verb, but your position is also possible).

если бы она была звонила во среду, я шёл бы в школу.
No! "была" + "звонила" would never work. It is non-sense.

Я принесу сумку.
Correct.

Я сумку принесу.
Correct.

Если бы она позвонила в среду, я бы пошёл в школу.

why perfective?

and what does 'был' mean? how does it function?

Originally Posted by tiudavidharris

why perfective?

Really, it is hard to explain why. I just know how I would say it. Your version with imperfective (Если бы она звонила в среду, я бы шёл в школу) is strange and does not sound natural.

I would try to provide some explanation, but I am not sure if this explanation is perfect.

The past tense imperfective emphasizes the action in its process (i.e. how the action was performed), i.e. it is a point of view "from inside the action".
Если бы она звонила в среду, я бы шёл в школу - it is more like "If she were calling (me) on Wednesday, I would be walking to school".

BTW, is your native language English? I wonder if my explanation makes sense to you

But in your example, you actually need the action "as a whole", i.e. "looking on it from outside". That is why you need perfective.

Originally Posted by tiudavidharris

and what does 'был' mean? how does it function?

There is no "был" in this sentence. There is "бы". They are completely different words!

"бы" is a particle (it has no exact equivalent in English), but it is used to form conditionals. So, a verb with "бы" refers to a possibility, not to a real action. Something which could happen but did not.

A simple example. Compare:
Я тебе помог - I helped you (it really happened)
Я бы тебе помог - I would help you (but I did not)
Если бы ты меня попросил, я бы тебе помог - If you have asked me (but you have not!), I would help you (but I did not!).

BTW, is your native language English? I wonder if my explanation makes sense to you

Yes, English is my first language. I happen to be a Canadian. I hope to go to Russia someday.
How about you?

Originally Posted by tiudavidharris

How about you?

I am a native speaker of Russian. I live in Russia.

I asked this question because I'd like to know what is your native language in order to explain the things more clearly.

BTW, I like languages and I learned at least 8 of them

Thank you!

wowowiwa. you know 8 languages! thats plenty!

I cannot say I know all of them fluently. At least I can explain something and be understood in some basic situations
Languages take too much time, and that's the main problem with them.

Well i definitely understand your english! it is good! i actually thought you were a native english speaker with your user name 'Bob Whiteman'.
It is true that languages take so much time.
I study am studying russian on my own everyday. I will get a tutor soon because it is quite a challenge!

Originally Posted by tiudavidharris

why perfective?

and what does 'был' mean? how does it function?

Perfective aspect, in addition to obtaining results, often addresses subsequent actions. If you use imperfective, then you are stating that the actions were occurring at the same time.
If you used the imperfective it would mean, as Bob said, "If she were calling (me) on Wednesday, I would be walking to school."
The use of perfective would mean more along the lines of, "If she would have called me on Wednesday, I would have gone to school."

The word бы is translating as 'would' in this example. It is an example of conditional verb usage.

thank you