(no subject)

[wolfie-18.livejournal.com]

Congratulate me, everyone, I finally got a hold of Russian fairy tales. I just had a question about the excessive use of "Да." As in these examples...

"Жили-были муж да жена"
"...Марья смотрела в окно на их весёлые забавы, вздыхала да о своём горе думала"
"Выклянуло тут солнце, да такое яркое, что снег в ямках заблестел, словно глаза ожили."

Oh, and what's the - for in the first sentence? Just curious...
And curious as well in "Всё бы хорошо, но счастья у них не было." Is it customary to drop -ло in that first всё бы, or am I off-track? Because now I'm going back to the conditional, such as захотел бы or если б вы знали, and I'm thinking that было had something to do with this.

And another thing... when referring to everything, you say "всё" and any adjectives would be in the neutral, but what about when you refer to everyone, do you say "все" or "всё?" And when you're greeting people, do you say "привет всем" or "привет всём?" Sorry for the nickety-pickety details, but it's itching my brain.