Lessons 13 · 1 lessons · S. Yu. Islambekova, U. T. Yaminova, Z. Kh. Abduraimova. Russian Language, Grade 7 (textbook for general secondary schools with Uzbek and other languages of instruction), 2nd revised edition. “Uzbekistan” Publishing and Printing Creative House, Tashkent, 2017
13
Action happening by itself: impersonal verbs
Textbook: pp. 42–45
GoalRecognise impersonal verbs («светает, моросит, знобит, не спится») and know that they have no subject.
Impersonal verbs («безличные глаголы») express an action or state that happens by itself. They have no subject and cannot have one: «Холодает. Во дворе стемнело». They describe natural phenomena («светает, вечереет, моросит, похолодало») or a person’s state («знобит, нездоровится, не спится, не сидится»); the person is in the dative: «Бабушке нездоровится. Сестре не сидится на месте». In the past tense an impersonal verb is neuter: «светало, потемнело». Compare «Волна перевернула лодку» (a sentence with a subject) and «Волной перевернуло лодку» (no subject; the doer is in the instrumental).
Worked examples
“Зимнее утро” (A winter morning). «Светало. За ночь подморозило, и во дворе было скользко. Брату нездоровилось, его немного знобило. К обеду потеплело, и с крыш закапало.» (It was getting light. It had frozen overnight, and the yard was slippery. My brother felt unwell and had a slight chill. By lunchtime it grew warmer, and water began to drip from the roofs.)
Compare: «Я не работаю» (with subject) — «Мне не работается» (impersonal); «Небо светлеет» (with subject) — «На востоке светлеет» (impersonal).
Class activity
“Weather without a subject”. Looking out of the window, pupils say 3–4 impersonal sentences («Похолодало. Моросит. Светло»); the partner checks that no sentence has a subject.