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For English-speaking students of Russian, I've written a short dialogue for another language blog with usage examples for several of the "modal" Russian verbs discussed in this thread:

Maria,...

I definitely agree that "must" often sounds strangely over-formal in colloquial speech.

Regarding "need to," it can sometimes emphasize "physical necessity" more strongly than "have to". So if you...

I think you could also add to the list Мне стоит -- which can be understood as a rather weak "should". Similar to "It would probably make sense for me (to do XYZ)". So мне стоит means "I should" in...

As far as I know:

Я скучаю без тебя. = Мне скучно без тебя. (It's dull/boring/not fun for me when you're not here.)
Я скучаю по тебе. = Мне грустно без тебя. (It's sad for me when you're not...

As I said, to my ears, "dialectism" belongs to linguistics, but "dialecticism" belongs to philosophy. However, others might disagree with me!

So to avoid confusion, I would recommend "dialect...

Back-translating to English:

I noticed her use of the phrase "я скучаю тебя," which suggests that she speaks Russian poorly.

I think it might be better to say:

Её употребление этой фразы...

I'm about 99% certain that Valda meant "I'm embarrassed to say that I have often used the construction я тебя скучаю in the past." (Or, "I admit with shame that I've used it" or "I blush to confess...

To my ears, "dialecticism" means "something related to the philosophical concept of dialectics." So "dialectism" is better if you're talking about regional differences. But even better than "a...

If I'm not mistaken, раздражать/раздражить can also mean "to cause physical irritation" (for example, if you get a skin-rash from itchy woolen sweaters).

And a question for native Russians: what...

Adding to what Seraph said, when "enjoy" means to "to have; to possess", it is most often followed by some abstract noun such as "advantage" or "benefit":


In both of the above examples, it would...

Another answer to Valda's general question: to use a verb after a preposition, you can theoretically use a construction with the neuter demonstrative pronoun то + чтобы + -- putting the то in...

Valda, see my comment above about the difference between an English gerund (which is inherently a noun) and the so-called Russian "gerund" (which is inherently an adverb).

I can understand that...

Would it be possible to use "лаются" and "кусаются" in this context to emphasize that you're talking about a general tendency? As in Собака кусает меня за руку ("The dog is biting my hand") vs....

What about:

"Он голубой и пристаёт к тебе только, чтобы украсть у тебя косметики."
("He's gay and is hitting on you only to steal your make-up.")

Valda -- I'd also point out such verbs as пройти ("to go past") and пропускать ("to let pass by", in several senses).