(no subject)

[olydiagron.livejournal.com]

I have a little text from my LJ here, I would really like help to correct it. Especially it is intressting for me to improve the way I use verbs. I want it to sound like when you tell a story orraly, you know the way one can use present tense about the past, for example.

(  Bible words for a sinner )

 

Just a couple of sentences.

[tricours.livejournal.com]

I'm practising using the dative :)

Я завидую моему друг, потому что он ничего не делает на работе.
Я никому не сочувствую.
Моя мать мне сочувствует, когда она видит мою комнату.
Я встаю очень рано по понедельникам, по средам и по пятницам.
Я всегда получила хорошие отметки по курсу французского языка.
Моя подруга часто очень усталая по субботам.

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! :)