Idyot dozhd and mne kholodno: sentences with no subject
Weather talk runs without an owner: svetaet, temneet, morosit, gromykhaet. Nobody asks who is dawning; in the past the verb takes the it-form: svetalo, temnelo, podmorozilo. For example: “Вчера был дождь, а вечером — гром” — Yesterday there was rain, and in the evening thunder. A rule from the Russian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Weather talk runs without an owner: svetaet, temneet, morosit, gromykhaet. Nobody asks who is dawning; in the past the verb takes the it-form: svetalo, temnelo, podmorozilo.
The second way is the adverb: Segodnya kholodno, Vchera bylo dushno, K vecheru stalo pasmurno. No subject here either, and the past uses bylo, never byl.
Rain and snow walk: idyot dozhd, idyot sneg, shyol liven. The rain walks by itself, and no who is asked to come along.
And whoever is freezing stands in the to-form: mne kholodno, nam zharko, rebyonku kholodno. Not ya kholodnyy — the feeling belongs to the person, and the to-form shows it.
Table
| The event | Today | Yesterday |
|---|---|---|
| rain | idyot dozhd | byl dozhd |
| snow | idyot sneg | byl sneg |
| dawning | svetaet | svetalo |
| growing dark | temneet | temnelo |
| cold | kholodno | bylo kholodno |
| I am cold | mne kholodno | mne bylo kholodno |
By example
- Вчера был дождь, а вечером — громVchera byl dozhd, a vecherom — gromYesterday there was rain, and in the evening thunder
- Сегодня холодно, а завтра обещают солнечноSegodnya kholodno, a zavtra obeshchayut solnechnoIt is cold today, and tomorrow they promise sun
- Мне холодно, а тебе душно — открой окноMne kholodno, a tebe dushno — otkroy oknoI am cold and you are stuffy — open the window
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How to talk about the weather in Russian?
Weather talk runs without an owner: svetaet, temneet, morosit, gromykhaet. Nobody asks who is dawning; in the past the verb takes the it-form: svetalo, temnelo, podmorozilo.
Why svetaet and not nebo svetaet?
And whoever is freezing stands in the to-form: mne kholodno, nam zharko, rebyonku kholodno. Not ya kholodnyy — the feeling belongs to the person, and the to-form shows it.
What mne kholodno means?
And whoever is freezing stands in the to-form: mne kholodno, nam zharko, rebyonku kholodno. Not ya kholodnyy — the feeling belongs to the person, and the to-form shows it.
Weather phrases without a subject?
Weather talk runs without an owner: svetaet, temneet, morosit, gromykhaet. Nobody asks who is dawning; in the past the verb takes the it-form: svetalo, temnelo, podmorozilo.
What does it look like in a Russian example sentence?
“Вчера был дождь, а вечером — гром” (Vchera byl dozhd, a vecherom — grom) — Yesterday there was rain, and in the evening thunder. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.