A few usage questions

[slovami.livejournal.com]

1. It seems like I only hear забавно used sarcastically. Our зав. кафедрой uses it this way all the time:
Он: Значит, они отдали немку (школницу–стажера) вам?/So they handed the German girl off to you?
Преподаватель немецкого: да./Yes.
Он: И она будет жить у вас три неделя?/So she's staying with you for three weeks?
П.н.: Да./Yes.
Он: Забавно.../Well, that was nice of them...

Is it ever used literally, the way "fun" is used in English? (e.g. "We went to the circus and it was really fun.")

2. Прочесть/прочитать: is there any difference in usage? Or are they just two different forms of the perfective of читать?

3. The other day someone told me that it is very unusual to say, for example, "Это было сорок лет назад." She said that Russians almost always say, "Это было сорок лет ТОМУ назад." What do you think? In Russian classes we never learned the construction with тому, although it's true, I hear it all the time. So, which variant is more literary? Is it ok not to use тому?

4. I know that the correct form is technically скучать по + prepositional (if a pronoun; e.g. "я скучала по вас," не "я скучала по вам"), but what do *you* say? What do other people say? Is it common to use the dative?

And thanks a lot for the interesting replies regarding опять/снова/еще раз. I love these fine points of the language and I'm happy there are people willing to discuss them! :)

Comments

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Basically, милый meant two things: 1. dear one, beautiful one (Maupassant's "Bel Ami" has been translated to Russian as "Милый друг") -- and it soon almost became a noun: "а вот здесь живёт моя милая" (here is where my dear one lives.) 2. cute. Over the course of years, the use of милый became more and more ironic OR very intimate; this contrast usage still exists -- one can pettingly call his/her loved one "милый" AND ironically say "какой милый" about a rude passer-by in the street. A famous quotation from the great Russian cartoon "Karlsson Who Lives On The Roof" (adaptation of the great Astrid Lindgren's children book, which, however, completely changed the nature of the main character) helps to understand this ironic usage a bit, as it influenced this usage: the evil Fröken Bock is, in the end, converted into Karlsson friend, and she stands by a window and frantically waves him goodbye, and says to The Kid's parents who burst into room, in that unforgettable voice of the late Faina Ranevskaya:
- Он улетел! Но обещал вернуться. Милый! Милый!
(He flew away! But he promised to come back. Dearest! Dearest!)

You should hear HOW she says that -- мммилый! мммилый! -- to get the idea of ironic usage of this word :)
If it makes you any curious, try to find it on the last minute of this cartoon (the link only works 4:00 AM to 10:00 AM Moscow time, which is 8 hours ahead of EST, for those outside Russia):
http://multiki.arjlover.net/info/karlson.vernulsya.avi.html

[slovami.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the explanation! I've heard of Karlsson but have never seen it. I love Soviet-era cartoons, though, so I will definitely check it out! :) Also, if I'm not mistaken, Faina Ranevskaya is from Taganrog (which is where I am living now). Yay, Taganrog!