Как (часть первая)

by Don  

The Russian word for ‘how’ is как. When you start studying Russian, you first encounter it in “How are you?” phrases:

Как дела? How are things going?
Как живёшь? How are you?

Since the word asks about the manner in which something is done, we call it an adverb. Since it poses a question we call it an interrogative adverb. In the following sentences the word is an interrogative adverb. In English we often use the pronoun ‘you’ or ‘I’ or (if you are really pedantic) ‘one’ in sentences that ask how to do something. Similar sentences in Russian often ask usе an infinitive construction:

Как доехать до университета? How can I get to the university?
Как лучше добраться до Москвы? На поезде или на самолёте? How is it best for one to get to Moscow? By train or by plane?
Как приготовить борщ? How do you make borshch?
— Как можно избежать штрафов за превышение скорости, зафиксированное фото радарами?
— Приобретите себе радарную систему с выведенной из эксплуатации подводной лодки и установите её в своей машине. Её сигнал пересилит сигнал радаров городского движения и вы будете кататься по всему городу, не получая никаких штрафов.
“How can I avoid photo radar fines?”
“Get yourself a radar system from a decommissioned submarine and install it in your car. The signal will overwhelm city traffic radar, and you will be able to ride all over town without any fines whatsoever.”

2 comments

Comment from: Alexe [Visitor]

In most contexts, “Как дела?” is the equivalent of “How are you?", though literally it still means “How are things going?” or “How do you do".

“Привет, как дела?” is the standard casual greeting formula for peers now in russia.

12/23/10 @ 04:02
Comment from: Shady_arc [Visitor]

Приобретите себе –> “Приобрести” is a rather formal verb similar to English “to purchase” or “to obtain". If I were to make a pun like that, I would use some more colloquial verb like “купить” - “to buy” or, perhaps “найдите", “достаньте” (eve without “себе").

12/18/10 @ 10:28


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