# Infinitive + Personal form of the same verb



## Maroseika

Do you have in your language an intensifying construction similar to the Russian combination of the same verb in the Infinitive and Personal forms with the pronoun (rarer - noun) between them, such as:

*Съесть*-то он *съест*, да кто ж ему даст? (He can eat it, but who will let him?)
*Придти *она, конечно, *придет*, но работать все равно не будет. (She can come, of course, but will not work anyway).
*Жениться*-то я на ней *женюсь*, а вот *полюбить *- не *полюблю*. (I can marry her, but will not come to love her).
*Выучить *ты, может быть, и *выучишь*, а экзамен все равно не сдашь. (Maybe you even learn this, but will not pass your exam anyway).


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## VelikiMag

There is a similar construction in BCMS, but instead of infinitive we use _da + personal form _constructions. These constructions require, like in Russian, a contrasting conjunction in the subordinate clause - _but_.

Da *znam* - *znam*, ali to nije dovoljno. (I do know indeed, but that's not enough)

For the Past and Future tenses, one can put in the second position either the standard verb form or the auxiliary verb in its full form only. The latter is more common.

Past: Da *sam znao* - *znao sam*, ali to nije bilo dovoljno / Da *sam znao* - *jesam*, ali to nije bilo dovoljno.
Future: Da *ću znati* - *znaću*, ali to neće biti dovoljno / Da *ću znati* - *hoću*, ali to neće biti dovoljno.


Provided examples would read something like this:
Da *će pojesti* - *poješće*, ali ko će mu dati?
Da *će doći* - naravno da *će doći*, ali svakako neće raditi.
Da *ću* je *oženiti* - *oženiću* je, ali da *ću* je *zavoljeti* - *neću*.
Da *ćeš naučiti* - možda i *hoćeš*, ali ispit svakako nećeš položiti.


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## Maroseika

Very interesting, thank you, VelikiMag.

There is also a stable saying, with a bit different semantics - pure intensification, without any contrasting of two parts: 
*Знать не знаю и ведать не ведаю* (I haven't got the faintest idea).

Anything similar in BCMS?


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## VelikiMag

The only stable expression that is somewhat similar and that comes to mind right now is: _Nit govori, nit romori_ (_He's as silent as the grave_; lit. _Neither he speaks nor he babbles_). And again like in Russian it intensifies a negation.
I don't think that such expressions are numerous. There is a tendency to form a rhyme, so maybe in literature one can find something.


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## 123xyz

In Macedonian, we cannot juxtapose a finite verb with it's infinitive form so as to emphasize it, first of all because we have no infinitive as a grammatical form. However, the same effect (more or less) could be achieved with the preposition "за" and the gerund form (глаголска именка) of the verb in question.

For example, "за доаѓање ќе дојде, но не е дека нешто ќе сработи" would be the rough translation of "придти она, конечно, придет, но работать все равно не будет". However, I wouldn't really say that this structure is one of mere emphasis in the sense of intensification (not the Macedonian one but the one that the starter of the thread has introduced in general). It seems to be more about focalization, i.e. directing the attention toward the verb in question so as to contrast it with something else, rather than implying that it is performed to a particularly large extent or something such. Thus, I'd say that this structure roughly corresponds to "as for..." in English (or even "as far as...").

Anyway, in addition to the structure with "за", a structure with "дека" (which is the conjunction "that") followed by the finite verb in the form it appears at its original point in the sentence is also possible. This one would directly correspond with the construction with "da" in BCS that has been discussed above. Thus, "da će doći - naravno da će doći, ali svakako neće raditi" can be directly translated to "дека ќе дојде, секако дека ќе дојде, но во никој случај нема да работи".


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## marco_2

Maroseika said:


> Do you have in your language an intensifying construction similar to the Russian combination of the same verb in the Infinitive and Personal forms with the pronoun (rarer - noun) between them, such as:
> 
> *Съесть*-то он *съест*, да кто ж ему даст? (He can eat it, but who will let him?)
> *Придти *она, конечно, *придет*, но работать все равно не будет. (She can come, of course, but will not work anyway).
> *Жениться*-то я на ней *женюсь*, а вот *полюбить *- не *полюблю*. (I can marry her, but will not come to love her).
> *Выучить *ты, может быть, и *выучишь*, а экзамен все равно не сдашь. (Maybe you even learn this, but will not pass your exam anyway).



In Polish in colloquial speech we use a similar construction, though I think that we don't treat *to *as a particle (like in Russian), but as a pronoun, e.g.

*Przyjść to może i przyjdzie, ale pracować na pewno nie będzie. *(She may come but she won't work for sure.)


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## AndrasBP

Even though Hungarian is not a Slavic language, we also have a similar construction. Hungarian infinitives end in "-ni".

*Megvenni megvettem*, de még nem olvastam el. (Although I bought it, I haven't read it yet.)
*Látni láttam*, de fogni még nem sikerült. (I have seen them, but I've never managed to catch one. (About a certain type of fish.))

I'm not sure if this construction developed under Slavic influence or just independently.


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## Azori

It exists in Slovak, too:

*Prísť *samozrejme* príde*, ale pracovať tak či tak nebude. = (She) will come of course but will not work anyway.
Dom je biedny, ale *spadnúť nespadne*. = The house is poor but won't fall down.
*Naučiť* *sa* to možno aj *naučíš*, ale skúšku beztak nespravíš. = Maybe you'll even learn this but you won't pass the exam anyway.
*Báť sa *toho* nebojí*, len nemá čas prísť. = (She) is not afraid of it, (she) just doesn't have time to come.


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## Словеса

Maroseika said:


> There is also a stable saying, with a bit different semantics - pure intensification, without any contrasting of two parts:
> *Знать не знаю и ведать не ведаю* (I haven't got the faintest idea).


Still the same idea of the infinitive setting the topic for the personal form. No difference, in my view. Yet another example:
- Ты слышал эти разговоры?
- Да. Слышать слышал.
('Have you heard these talks? - Yes. Heard them I have')
The love for the sense of contrast must be merely a consequence, topics like to be contrasted to each other, it's one of their traits.


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## William Stein

Словеса said:


> Still the same idea of the infinitive setting the topic for the personal form. No difference, in my view. Yet another example:
> - Ты слышал эти разговоры?
> - Да. Слышать слышал.
> ('Have you heard these talks? - Yes. Heard them I have')
> The love for the sense of contrast must be merely a consequence, topics like to be contrasted to each other, it's one of their traits.



I didn't know that construction in Russian but you could imagine a Russian immigrant in the US saying, "Yeah, for listening, I listened" and the meaning would be understood although it's not normal English.


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