Hello 🙋, dear learners! Today we focus on impersonal one-member sentences, i.e. with no (or zero) subject.
The pattern we’re going to consider today is as follows: 1. the principal parts of the sentence, i.e. zero subject + predicate (reflexive verb, 3rd person singular), and 2. subordinate parts, like objects or adverbials (optional).
Examples:
1. Ды́шится легко́.
2. До́ма не сиди́тся.
3. Не спи́тся, ня́ня: здесь так ду́шно! (А. Пу́шкин)
The English equivalent to the zero subject of this Russian sentence pattern can be a formal subject like ‘One’, ‘You’ or ‘It’. So,
1. the structure of “Ды́шится легко́” ('You don't /won't have trouble breathing' OR: 'It’s easy to breathe' OR: 'You can breathe well') is:
Subject – zero
Predicate – ды́шится
Adverbial modifier of manner – легко́
2. the structure of “До́ма не сиди́тся” ('One can’t stay at home') is:
Subject – zero
Predicate – не сиди́тся
Adverbial modifier of place – до́ма
3. the structure of “Не спи́тся, ня́ня...” ('I can't sleep, nanny…') is:
Subject – zero
Predicate – не спи́тся
Vocative (address) – ня́ня
Implied object (missing here) – мне (dative)
Please, read and listen to a short verse and find the impersonal sentence patterns in it:
NOTE: гололе́дица (syn. гололёд) – slippery surface, icy road (compound noun formed from “голый” + “лёд”)
Thank you.