{"id":3782,"date":"2012-09-24T08:00:14","date_gmt":"2012-09-24T08:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=3782"},"modified":"2012-09-23T20:54:56","modified_gmt":"2012-09-23T20:54:56","slug":"the-right-tool-for-the-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/the-right-tool-for-the-job\/","title":{"rendered":"The right tool for the job"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once upon a time, when \u043c\u044b \u0441 \u0442\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/u>\u0440\u0438\u0449\u0430\u043c\u0438 \u0441\u043d\u0438\u043c\u0430<\/u>\u043b\u0438 \u043d\u0435\u0431\u043e\u043b\u044c\u0448\u0443<\/u>\u044e \u043a\u0432\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0438<\/u>\u0440\u0443 \u043d\u0435\u0434\u0430\u043b\u0435\u043a\u043e<\/u> \u043e\u0442 \u041a\u0438\u0435<\/u>\u0432\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0432\u043e\u043a\u0437\u0430<\/u>\u043b\u0430<\/b> (“some friends and I were renting a small apartment not far from the Kievsky train terminal”), the door on one of the kitchen cupboards got a bit wobbly, because a \u043f\u0435\u0442\u043b\u044f<\/u><\/b><\/span> (“hinge”) was loose. Alas, although it was a furnished apartment, the furnishings didn’t include a toolbox, and we had no immediate way to fix the hinge. So when our landlord showed up a couple days later to collect our rent, I asked to borrow a screwdriver:<\/p>\n

\u041c\u043c\u043c\u043c\u043c… \u043c\u044b \u0445\u043e\u0442\u0438<\/u>\u043c… \u0430\u0430\u0430\u0430… \u0442\u043e \u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c, \u043d\u0430\u043c \u043d\u0443\u0436\u043d\u0430<\/u> \u0432\u043e<\/u>\u0442 \u0442\u0430\u043a\u0430<\/u>\u044f \u0448\u0442\u0443<\/u>\u043a\u0430, \u0434\u043b\u044f… \u0448\u0442\u0443<\/u>\u043a\u0430 \u0434\u043b\u044f \u0442\u043e\u0433\u043e<\/u>, \u0447\u0442\u043e<\/u>\u0431\u044b:<\/b> [here I pantomimed using an invisible screwdriver to tighten an imaginary screw]<\/i><\/p>\n

Well, this did work, since our landlord smiled, popped downstairs to his car, and was back in ten minutes with his \u0438\u043d\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0443\u043c\u0435<\/u>\u043d\u0442\u044b<\/b> (“tools”), and fixed the hinge in a jiffy. But using pantomime to ask for a “thingy” is rather inelegant, and for me it was just another one of those constant reminders of how limited my Russian was: I could more or less understand newspaper editorials about the devaluation of the ruble, but was over my head when I needed something as ridiculously simple as a screwdriver.<\/p>\n

Tools for (Un)Attaching Things<\/b><\/p>\n

So, let’s take a further look at some of vocabulary that’s useful when you’re talking about basic household repairs — beginning, of course, with \u043e\u0442\u0432\u0451\u0440\u0442\u043a\u0430<\/b>, “screwdriver.” Etymologically, it more or less means “a thing for unscrewing”, and derives from the verb \u043e\u0442\u0432\u0451\u0440\u0442\u044b\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c\/\u043e\u0442\u0432\u0435\u0440\u043d\u0443<\/u>\u0442\u044c<\/b>, “to loosen by turning”. The opposing verb is \u0437\u0430\u0432\u0451\u0440\u0442\u044b\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c\/\u0437\u0430\u0432\u0435\u0440\u043d\u0443<\/u>\u0442\u044c<\/b>, “to tighten by turning,” but for some reason, a screwdriver is an \u043e\u0442\u0432\u0451\u0440\u0442\u043a\u0430<\/b>, not a \u0437\u0430\u0432\u0451\u0440\u0442\u043a\u0430<\/b>. The screw itself is a \u0432\u0438\u043d\u0442<\/b> — \u0430 word that an also mean, in other contexts, the “propeller” of an airplane or boat. However, don’t get \u0432\u0438\u043d\u0442<\/b> get mixed up with \u0431\u043e\u043b\u0442<\/b> (guess!) — they both have spiral threads around them, but a \u0431\u043e\u043b\u0442<\/b> has a corresponding \u0433\u0430<\/u>\u0439\u043a\u0430<\/b> (“nut”) and a screw doesn’t. And for tightening a bolt\/nut assembly, you might use a \u043a\u043b\u044e\u0447<\/b> (“wrench; spanner”) instead of an \u043e\u0442\u0432\u0451\u0440\u0442\u043a\u0430<\/b>, depending on the bolt’s design.<\/p>\n

The disadvantage to a \u0432\u0438\u043d\u0442<\/b> is that you may need to make a starter hole with a \u0441\u0432\u0435\u0440\u043b\u043e<\/u><\/b> (“drill”). But if you don’t have a drill handy sometimes a nail will do the job: in Russian, what you need is a \u0433\u0432\u043e\u0437\u0434\u044c<\/b> (masc., gen.<\/i> \u0433\u0432\u043e\u0437\u0434\u044f<\/u><\/b>). A small nail is a \u0433\u0432\u043e<\/u>\u0437\u0434\u0438\u043a<\/b>, but don’t get this mixed up with the feminine noun \u0433\u0432\u043e\u0437\u0434\u0438<\/u>\u043a\u0430<\/b>, which means “cloves” in the sense of those aromatic things you stick into a baked ham.<\/p>\n

Of course, a nail isn’t much good without a \u043c\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0442\u043e<\/u>\u043a<\/b> — i.e., a heavy piece of metal (or sometimes wood) fixed to one end of a \u0440\u0443\u043a\u043e\u044f<\/u>\u0442\u043a\u0430<\/b> (“handle”). The non-diminutive \u043c\u043e<\/u>\u043b\u043e\u0442<\/b> generally means those really massive hammers used by \u043a\u0443\u0437\u043d\u0435\u0446\u044b<\/u><\/b> (“blacksmiths”) or Norse gods; so if you mean the “hammer” in a home toolbox, \u043c\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0442\u043e<\/u>\u043a<\/b> is better. (This is also the word for an auctioneer’s hammer, and the phrase \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0434\u0430\u0432\u0430<\/u>\u0442\u044c\/\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0434\u0430<\/u>\u0442\u044c \u0447\u0442\u043e<\/u>-\u043d\u0438\u0431\u0443\u0434\u044c \u0441 \u043c\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0442\u043a\u0430<\/u><\/b> means “to sell something at auction”). <\/p>\n

The verb “to hammer” can generally be expressed with \u0432\u0431\u0438\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c\/\u0432\u0431\u0438\u0442\u044c<\/b> (perf. \u044f \u0432\u0431\u044c\u044e, \u0442\u044b \u0432\u0431\u044c\u0451\u0448\u044c…<\/b>), optionally followed by the instrumental \u043c\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0442\u043a\u043e<\/u>\u043c<\/b>:<\/p>\n

\u041e\u043d\u0430<\/u> \u0432\u0431\u0438\u0432\u0430<\/u>\u0435\u0442 \u0433\u0432\u043e<\/u>\u0437\u0434\u0438\u043a \u043c\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0442\u043a\u043e<\/u>\u043c<\/b> (“She’s driving in the nail with a hammer”)<\/p>\n

Another handy verb construction that generally works for screws and nails and bolts is \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0434\u0435<\/u>\u043b\u044b\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c\/\u043f\u0440\u0438\u0434\u0435<\/u>\u043b\u0430\u0442\u044c \u0447\u0442\u043e<\/u>-\u043d\u0438\u0431\u0443\u0434\u044c \u043a \u0447\u0435\u043c\u0443<\/u>-\u043d\u0438\u0431\u0443\u0434\u044c<\/b>, “to attach<\/i> something to something”:<\/p>\n

\u042f \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0434\u0435<\/u>\u043b\u0430\u043b \u043f\u043e<\/u>\u043b\u043a\u0443 \u043a \u0441\u0442\u0435\u043d\u0435 \u0432\u0438\u043d\u0442\u0430\u043c\u0438<\/b> (“I attached the shelf to the wall with screws”). <\/p>\n

But what if you need to remove a bent nail, or a rusted screw? In that case, you can use \u043a\u043b\u0435<\/u>\u0449\u0438<\/b> (“pliers”, always pl., gen.<\/i> \u043a\u043b\u0435\u0449\u0435<\/u>\u0439<\/b>) to \u0441\u0445\u0432\u0430<\/u>\u0442\u044b\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c\/\u0441\u0445\u0432\u0430\u0442\u0438<\/u>\u0442\u044c \u0432\u0438\u043d\u0442 \u0438\u043b\u0438 \u0433\u0432\u043e\u0437\u0434\u0438\u043a<\/b> (“grasp the screw or nail”). <\/p>\n

Tools for Cutting<\/b><\/p>\n

Now that you know some tools for putting things together, let’s consider some for taking things apart — or, more specifically, cutting bits of things off of other things.<\/p>\n

The \u043f\u0438\u043b\u0430<\/u><\/b> (“saw”) is one such tool — as a Russian dictionary might define it, your basic handsaw is a \u0437\u0443\u0431\u0447\u0430\u0442\u0430\u044f \u043c\u0435\u0442\u0430\u043b\u043b\u0438\u0447\u0435\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f \u043f\u043b\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0438\u043d\u043a\u0430 \u0441 \u0440\u0443\u043a\u043e\u044f<\/u>\u0442\u043a\u043e\u0439<\/b> (“a toothed metal sheet with a handle”), though of course there are also powered tools with a \u0434\u0438\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0432\u0430\u044f \u043f\u0438\u043b\u0430<\/u><\/b> (“circular saw”). And the most basic verb for “sawing” is \u043f\u0438\u043b\u0438<\/u>\u0442\u044c<\/b> (\u044f \u043f\u0438\u043b\u044e<\/u>, \u0442\u044b \u043f\u0438<\/u>\u043b\u0438\u0448\u044c…<\/b>), but you can attach various “motion prefixes” to produce a more precise meaning. For instance, \u043e\u0442\u043f\u0438<\/u>\u043b\u0438\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c\/\u043e\u0442\u043f\u0438\u043b\u0438<\/u>\u0442\u044c<\/b> implies “to saw off (the end of something)”, while \u0440\u0430\u0441\u043f\u0438<\/u>\u043b\u0438\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c\/\u0440\u0430\u0441\u043f\u0438\u043b\u0438<\/u>\u0442\u044c<\/b> is “to saw into many pieces”.<\/p>\n

I already mentioned the noun \u0441\u0432\u0435\u0440\u043b\u043e<\/u><\/b> (“drill”); we don’t necessarily think of drills as “cutting tools,” but that’s essentially what they do. And the basic verb you need to use<\/i> a drill in Russian is \u0441\u0432\u0435\u0440\u043b\u0438<\/u>\u0442\u044c\/\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0432\u0435\u0440\u043b\u0438<\/u>\u0442\u044c<\/b> (“to drill”). In English, we can “drill a piece of wood” or “drill a hole in<\/i> the wood”; in Russian, the direct object of \u0441\u0432\u0435\u0440\u043b\u0438<\/u>\u0442\u044c\/\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0432\u0435\u0440\u043b\u0438<\/u>\u0442\u044c<\/b> is the solid object being drilled, and not the \u043e\u0442\u0432\u0435\u0440\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0435<\/b> (here, “hole”) that you’re making. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once upon a time, when \u043c\u044b \u0441 \u0442\u043e\u0432\u0430\u0440\u0438\u0449\u0430\u043c\u0438 \u0441\u043d\u0438\u043c\u0430\u043b\u0438 \u043d\u0435\u0431\u043e\u043b\u044c\u0448\u0443\u044e \u043a\u0432\u0430\u0440\u0442\u0438\u0440\u0443 \u043d\u0435\u0434\u0430\u043b\u0435\u043a\u043e \u043e\u0442 \u041a\u0438\u0435\u0432\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0432\u043e\u043a\u0437\u0430\u043b\u0430 (“some friends and I were renting a small apartment not far from the Kievsky train terminal”), the door on one of the kitchen cupboards got a bit wobbly, because a \u043f\u0435\u0442\u043b\u044f (“hinge”) was loose. Alas, although it was a furnished…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3782","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t