Thread: Uses of -то

«За колечко вам прошлый раз два билетика внесла, а оно и купить-то его новое у ювелира за полтора рубля можно. Рубля-то четыре дайте...»

I can't guess what купить-то means exactly, I don't think I've seen -то connected to a verb before. Also, I am guessing рубля-то четыре means "about 4 roubles," but is the -то just emphasizing that it's an approximation or doing something else?

Maybe there are some rules about -то that will make my life easier? Thanks!

I don't believe there are any particular rules regarding the usage of -то with verbs. In modern language -то is usually used when you want emphasize the verb (it's used in colloquial speech) for some reason, often with "but" to follow. However, in all such cases, you can do without -то, it's not critical.
- Ты хлеба купил?
- Купить-то я купил, но...

- Have you bought any bread?
- I have bought some all right, but...

- Ты хлеба купил?
- Купил, но...

- Have you bought any bread?
- I have, but...

- Да куда он пошел-то?
- Where did he go? (implying something like "Stop beating around the bush and tell me now")
In this sentence there are actually two 'emphasizers': - "Да" and "-то". If you say "Да куда он пошел-то?" instead of "Куда он пошел?", that might mean you're annoyed that the person you speak to is either being evasive and does not tell you where 'he' (whoever he is) went or talks a lot but never to the point (not deliberately); or you might be wondering where "he" could have gone (for instance, if there was nowhere for 'him' to go). The point is, it's all emotional.
As for your piece of text (it's from Crime and Punishment, right&), it's a bit dated in general (naturally, it's mid 19th century). "Купить-то его новое у ювелира за полтора рубля можно" means that the woman is kind of listing the reasons for giving Raskolnikov very little money for the ring. She means "The ring is worthless, and even if I wanted to buy such a ring, I could easily buy one for 1,5 rubles, and a new one at that".

'Рубля-то четыре дайте...' means '(Please)At least, give me 4 rubles' (-то is used here to emphasize the pleading).

The general point is that '-то' in the examples above is not the same as '-то' in words such as 'кто-то' (someone), 'как-то' (somehow), 'где-то'(somewhere), etc. where '-то' has specific meaning (some-).

The '-то' you asked about is common in informal/colloquial speech where it is used as a kind of subtle emphasizer.

Thanks! That's extremely helpful. It's too bad there are so many possibilities for -то. Наконец-то, кто-то, купить-то, рубля-то...ой. Hopefully I'll get the feel for it. Thanks again.