Problem with "то"

[kragoth.livejournal.com]

Hello,

As part of my studies, I've finally ran across a word I've seen a million times, but never translated. The word "то". I fret over it because I've seen it used randomly (Or so it seems) and I don't understand how it can be translated to get it's meaning. I'm quite aware it means "Then, What, This, That"...but it looks like a demonstrative, but also another form of что, and on top of that, it is used to show what happens as a result.

Если вы не пойдете, то я пойду (From yandex)
If you don't go, then I will

То-то же! (Yandex)
Now you understand!

то был, то была, то было (Yandex)
That was

он узнал то, что ему надо (Yandex)
He learned what he wanted to know (needed)

Comments

[kragoth.livejournal.com]

Probably. I thought there was a rule that you can't use ÷òî twice like that, so you would use òî. That's just what I assumed from that.

[brocster.livejournal.com]

Аctually, the situation with "то, что" here is a little bit more "involved" than that.

In the majority of these cases, the то will not get translated into English. That's primarily because English -- in all its glorious magnificence -- allows us to join two clauses together directly, whereas Russian (usually) does not. For example:

- She told us about what she found under the bed. (I know, stupid sentence!)

Now, we know that the preposition "about" in Russian -- o -- must be followed by a noun (or adjective + noun) in the Prepositional (or Locative) case. But if we put the word "what" in the Prepositional case, then it can't serve as the direct object for the verb "found" -- and, just in case you aren't sure, "what" here IS the direct object of "found" [What did she find under the bed?].

So, to resolve that issue and "separate" the preposition in the first clause (She told us about) from the question word in the second clause (what she found under the bed), Russian sticks in a meaningless filler word "то":

Oна нам рассказывала о том, что нашла под кроватью.

Remember, что here has to be in the Accusative (as the direct object of нашла), but "о" also has to be followed by some noun in the Prepositional case -- so this filler "то" fits the bill perfectly.


The filler "то" also comes in handy in situations where you can't decline the word following the preposition, for example:

- She told us about where she lived last summer.

A fairly straightforward sentence... in English. In Russian, however, the question word "where" does not decline, so you can't put it in the Prepositional case -- besides, it has to stay in its own clause to refer to the verb "lived". Thus, instead of a nonsensical "Она нам рассказывала o где...", Russian once again uses the "filler" word that can be put in the Prepositional case, thereby allowing the rest of the sentence to continue on as normal:

Она нам рассказывала о том, где прошлым летом жила.

We wouldn't (and shouldn't) translate the "то" in either of the above sentences, since it's just a filler word that makes the preposition "o" happy by allowing it to be followed by some sort of noun in the Prepositional case. Does that make any sense?

Here are a few more situations (please еxcuse the "artificiality" of the еxamples):

- He studies how much money his parents earn.
---> Он занимается тем, сколько денег родители зарабатывают. (Тhe verb зaниматься requires a noun in the Instrumental case, hence the filler "тем" here.)

- They're interested in what you're writing about. (This one's a bit more "interesting"!)
---> Они интересуются тем, о чём ты пишешь.

In the last example, the verb интересоваться requires the Instrumental case (just like заниматься), so we get "тем" for the filler word. Then we have to deal with the second clause (what you're writing about ---> about what you're writing) -- so we need the preposition "o" plus the Prepositional case of "what".

As you can see, the case of the filler word "то" does not (and usually is not) the same as the case of the following word (i.e., the beginning of the second clause). Russian also makes it easy to see the two separate clauses, because you have to write a comma in between the two (whereas English makes things more difficult to see).


Тhere's a bunch more that could be said about "то" -- as you've already seen, it's quite a useful (and frequently used!) word in Russian. Just keep reading -- and asking questions -- and you'll get the hang of it soon!


- Andrew : )

[kragoth.livejournal.com]

I find it quite useful.

[kragoth.livejournal.com]

You. Are. My. Hero. No one could have explained it better than you...on this forum. And, as a bonus, (I read this this morning, but I'm replying now) I actually used òî in a sentence today. I like it a lot. That is all.

-Matt (Scourcher of all that is beetle-like)

[brocster.livejournal.com]

You're more than welcome. I'm glad I could be of some assistance. : )

I have a special treat for you -- "All You Ever Wanted to Know about Russian то but Were Afraid to Ask" (or, perhaps, didn't even know to ask!) -- a contribution from an anonymous (but extremely well-versed) authority on Russian. Enjoy! : )

- Andrew
***********************

The Complete "TO" Guide for Russian Learners

==== Pronoun

1. то: neuter form of the pronoun "тот" / "that" (as opposed to "этот" / "this")

2. не то: colloquial = not that (at all), something wrong, not the one needed/wanted/expected
"Это всё не то!" --
- Тебе понравилось платье?
- Нет, что-то в нём не то.

3. "самое то": colloquial - could be described as an antonym to "не то" = exactly what was needed/wanted/expected.
- Попробуй вот это.
- О, самое то! - Great

4. "то же самое": the same
- Попробуй теперь вот это.
- Но это же то же самое! [the first же here just adds emphasis to the statement]

5. "то ли ещё будет": colloquial ~ this is not the worst of it, it could still get even worse than it already is
- Жить стало совсем невыносимо...
- То ли ещё будет!

6. "То ещё" : colloquial, denotes a sarcastic, ironic (negative) judgment аbout something.
"To eщё счастье у них!"

==== Conjunction

7. если..., то...: "if..., then..."
Eсли на улице темно, то не ходи" Used in conditional sentences, always at the beginning of the main (non-conditional) clause.

8. то ..., то...: repeating conjunction, used to indicate repetition or alternation of two people, actions, etc.
"То один, то другой".
"То снег, то дождь".

9. И то: conjunction (colloquial) = "к тому же", "при этом" (also, and even, "at that")
"У него только один костюм, и то плохой"

10. а то / не то / a не то: conjunction (colloquial) = or else
"Поторопись, а то (не то) (а не то) опоздаем"

11. не то..., не то... / то ли..., то ли... : repeating conjunction (colloquial) - indicates contrast, especially in cases of uncertainty, indecision, etc.
"To ли oн придет сегодня, то ли нет"
"Не то синий, не то зеленый"

12. не то что (чтобы)..., а (но)...: conjunction. Similar to #5
"Не то чтобы я болен, но как-то устал"

13. то есть (commonly abbreviated in writing as "т.е.", archaic form: "то бишь"): conjunction = that is (= i.e.), used for clarification, specification.
"До города 50 км, то есть час езды"

... continued in next post ...

[kragoth.livejournal.com]

I'm amazed. So many things with TO, I think I'll slip a few into my conversation. I'm keeping this in my email for a reference.

[brocster.livejournal.com]

==== Particle

(#13 continued)
то есть: particle, colloquial, used when asking to clarify or specify something just said, usually with astonishment.
- Я не еду.
- То есть как это не едешь?!

14. то и дело / то и знай (colloquial) = quite often, regularly, continuously; from time to time
"To и дело звонит телефон"

15. то ли дело: colloquial, expresses opposition to the preceding statement, means "much better", "quite different".
"Зимой здесь скучно, то ли дело летом"

16. -то: particle connected to the preceding word for emphasis.
"Ночь-то какая теплая!"
"Властью-то облечен, да дурак!"
"Где-то он сейчас?" , not to be confused with the adverb "где-то" meaning "somewhere")

17. -то: particle connected to preceding pronouns when referring to unknown/general items in a list of actions, objects, characteristics.
"Он рассказал, что был там-то и там-то, делал то-то и то-то"

The end.

[kragoth.livejournal.com]

Thanks. The "Òî ëè äåëî" will be quite useful. :-)

[pashator.livejournal.com]

>- He studies how much money his parents earn.
>---> Он занимается тем, сколько денег родители зарабатывают. (Тhe verb зaниматься requires a noun in the Instrumental case, hence the filler "тем" here.)

This is not a very good example and it is really hard for me to explain why in English. to study in Russian will be "изучать, заниматься (изучением)" so in this example it should be "Он изучает сколько денег зарабатывают (его) родители". However this sentence is meaningless by itself, I don't see how you can "study" this subject. Maybe you want to say "He found out how much money his parents earn" - "Он узнал сколько денег зарабатывают его родители". However it has nothing to do with "то".:) As I said really difficult to explain.

Also I noticed that you're doing almost literal translation, it's ok as an example but nobody will use it this way. For example:

"Она рассказывала нам о том, где жила прошлым летом"
"Он интересуется тем, сколько денег зарабатывают его родители"