Thread: Разные вопросы по глаголам (by tiudavidharris

Originally Posted by maxmixiv

Смотреть is a cunning verb.
All the following phrases correct:
Смотрю в книгу (и вижу фигу)
Смотрю журнал
Смотрю расписание поездов
Смотрю в окно
Смотрю в бинокль/в микроскоп
Смотрю на экран монитора
Смотрю в монитор
Смотрю в зеркало
Смотрю на пол/потолок
Смотрю на тебя
Смотрю в тарелку
Смотрю в зубы коню (дарёному)

Can anyone see any system? I can't

Let's try.

Смотреть + Accusative (without prep.)
a) the same as рассматривать, осматривать, оценивать - to inspect, to examine.
b) to watch the performance, the action (представление, шоу, парад, казнь, word телевизор here is used instead of телепередачи - it is called metonymy)

Смотреть + на + Accusative
to look at smth., to stare at the object without any specifically denoted direction of interest.

Смотреть + в + Accusative
to look through smth. or inside smth. at smth else (в бинокль на Кеннеди, в зеркало на себя, в телевизор на кинескоп, в книгу на фигу)

here is one exclusion: should be "смотреть зубы коню", I think it is again metonymy: "зубы" is used instead of "рот".

Originally Posted by it-ogo

here is one exclusion: should be "смотреть зубы коню", I think it is again metonymy: "зубы" is used instead of "рот".

I think not. It is from "Дарёному коню в зубы не смотрят" (You don't look at the teeth of a horse you got as a gift), isn't it? The meaning behind the phrase is that one can estimate the age of the horse examining its teeth. So it is a) no use looking at them if the horse is for free anyway b) kinda rude.
Though the example is not representative for the very basic reason: govenment changes with time. That's where language development is so much like real life.

Originally Posted by Shady_arc

I think not. It is from "Дарёному коню в зубы не смотрят" (You don't look at the teeth of a horse you got as a gift), isn't it? The meaning behind the phrase is that one can estimate the age of the horse examining its teeth. So it is a) no use looking at them if the horse is for free anyway b) kinda rude.
Though the example is not representative for the very basic reason: govenment changes with time. That's where language development is so much like real life.

That's what I mean. Examine teeth = смотреть зубы (like a dentist). But to examine teeth one should look into a mouth, смотреть в рот. Here we have a metonymy when we spread the meaning of рот to зубы to express both ideas simultaneously.