Russian Word of the Day

Soon we are coming up on November 2nd, that means Voting Day. The Russian word голосовать means to vote. Тhe root of the word is голос, which means voice. This captures the idea behind having the right to vote so well! The whole point is to make your voice heard.

Я собираюсь голосовать во вторник.
I am going to vote on Tuesday.

While there is no presidential election this year, I still think it's pretty important to go to the polls. Just from watching a bit of the news (it's usually so negative that I can only watch so much) we can tell that quite a few senators, governors, and other local politicians are up for election this year.

В Аризоне мы голосуем за сенатора.*
In Arizona we are voting for a senator.

Of course, there are plenty of rules to follow to try to keep the voting fair and square. For example, you must be 18 years old.

Машенька ещё не может голосовать — ей семнадцать.*
Masha is seventeen, so she can't vote yet.

Nowadays we don't just vote in the political arena. Many reality shows feature polls as a kind of gimmick to get the viewers really committed. And it works too. Some of these shows gеt so many votes that phone lines are overloaded.

Миллион американцeв проголосовали за того парня, который пел так хорошо.
А million Americans voted for that guy who can sang so well.

So whatever the situation, make your votes count. And remember...

*Notice how in the present tense you would not say "голосовает" or "голосоваем." Instead you take off the "овать" end of the word and replace it with "у" and then conjugate it per the rules.