# прекращать



## jos.dan

Всем привет))

In a former thread I was told that *прекращать/прекратить что-л* means "to stop sth temporarily", whereas *завязывать/завязать с чем-л* means "to stop sth forever".

завязывать с чем-либо

But today I found out that прекращать/прекратить also means "to terminate". For example, a sentence I found online:

*Кроме того, в период подготовки к родам работодатель не может прекратить трудовой контракт.*
_Moreover, during confinement, the employer cannot terminate the employment contract._

Does this mean the termination is temporary?

Заранее спасибо)


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## Awwal12

jos.dan said:


> In a former thread I was told that *прекращать/прекратить что-л* means "to stop sth temporarily", whereas *завязывать/завязать с чем-л* means "to stop sth forever".


If I remember correctly, it was mostly about прекратить vs. перестать, and in fact those are semantically interchangeable in their main meanings (although "перестать" doesn't have the meaning "to terminate" and doesn't attach any arguments other than infinitive).
Завязывать is, in the first place, colloquial - and yes, it normally means "to stop doing sth for good", but it doesn't mean that перестать and прекратить necessarily denote only temporal termination.


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## Maroseika

*Прекращать *mainly means "stop doing smth. forever". It may refer to tepmporary stop only in some special contexts, for example with elucidating words:

_Дождь прекратился, и выглянуло солнце.
Дождь на время прекратился, и мы успели сбегать в магазин._

As for *завязывать*, it's low colloquial and is used in point of a person stopping doing smth. reprehensible or undesirable (originlly give up drinking).


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## Awwal12

Maroseika said:


> *Прекращать *mainly means "stop doing smth. forever". It may refer to tepmporary stop only in some special contexts, for example with elucidating words:
> 
> _Дождь прекратился, и выглянуло солнце.
> Дождь на время прекратился, и мы успели сбегать в магазин._


Cf. "он прекратил петь" (by default - only at the moment, not forever). Surely if you tell someone "прекращай свистеть" you don't want him to stop whistling forever, do you?.. (For a comparison, "прекращай пить" may imply that.) I doubt any generalizations regarding the probable permanency are productive here outside of some particular contexts.


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## kngram

jos.dan said:


> Всем привет))
> 
> In a former thread I was told that *прекращать/прекратить что-л* means "to stop sth temporarily", whereas *завязывать/завязать с чем-л* means "to stop sth forever".
> 
> завязывать с чем-либо
> 
> But today I found out that прекращать/прекратить also means "to terminate". For example, a sentence I found online:
> 
> *Кроме того, в период подготовки к родам работодатель не может прекратить трудовой контракт.*
> _Moreover, during confinement, the employer cannot terminate the employment contract._
> 
> Does this mean the termination is temporary?
> 
> Заранее спасибо)


It depends on the context.
Cf.
Эй, прекращай бездельничать. Hey, stop messing around. = Эй, завязывай бездельничать. Hey, wrap up being lazy for now. Both colloquial. Conversation among, for example, builders.
Прекратить трудовые отношения Formal. Terminate employment for good. HR official terminology.
Он полностью "завязал." Criminal slang. Colloquial. He has quit his bad habit (of something) completely.


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## jos.dan

Thanks for all the answers 



Awwal12 said:


> Завязывать is, in the first place, colloquial - and yes, it normally means "to stop doing sth for good", but it doesn't mean that перестать and прекратить necessarily denote only temporal termination.





kngram said:


> Эй, прекращай бездельничать. Hey, stop messing around. = Эй, завязывай бездельничать. Hey, wrap up being lazy for now. Both colloquial. Conversation among, for example, builders.
> Прекратить трудовые отношения Formal. Terminate employment for good. HR official terminology.
> Он полностью "завязал." Criminal slang. Colloquial. He has quit his bad habit (of something) completely.



So, we could say that:
прекратить → to stop sth temporarily or permanently
завяазать → to stop sth permanently (most of the time, but could mean "to stop sth temporarily" in some contexts)


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## kngram

jos.dan said:


> Thanks for all the answers
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So, we could say that:
> прекратить → to stop sth temporarily or permanently
> завяазать → to stop sth permanently (most of the time, but could mean "to stop sth temporarily" in some contexts)


Yes, we can. You're right.


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## jos.dan

Thank  you, kngram


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## kngram

jos.dan said:


> Thank  you, kngram


) Don't mention it.


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## Nikined

I think you shouldn't really try to differentiate them by this "permanent-temporary" thing (is it an issue in Spanish?). They both effectively mean "to stop" and differ in other aspects.


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## Vovan

jos.dan said:


> In a former thread I was told that *прекращать/прекратить что-л* means "to stop sth temporarily", whereas *завязывать/завязать с чем-л* means "to stop sth forever".


Since it was me who introduced the verb "перестать" in that thread, I'll try to explain the difference between "прекратить" and "перестать" (as in "verb+inf.) in a more general context.

The main difference is that "прекратить" suggests one's will in putting an end to one's own action(s), whereas "перестать" is neutral in that respect and just states that something doesn't happen any more.
_В последнее время он перестал приходить к нам в гости. Интересно, у него что-то случилось? (An observation. They don't know whether it was his decision or not. He just doesn't come any more. Using "прекратил" here would be pragmatically wrong. )_​_После ссоры он прекратил помогать ей. (His own decision and will to stop helping her is suggested.)_​​
​​​


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## jos.dan

Nikined said:


> I think you shouldn't really try to differentiate them by this "permanent-temporary" thing (is it an issue in Spanish?)



Not really. In fact, I think we would use the same verb in both situations.  If you think whether an action is stopped temporarily or permanently doesn't really matter, then that's better for me  I will treat them as synonyms for that respect



Vovan said:


> The main difference is that "прекратить" suggests one's will in putting an end to one's own action(s), whereas "перестать" is neutral in that respect and just states that something doesn't happen any more.



Thanks a lot for the explanation, Vovan


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## Awwal12

Vovan said:


> The main difference is that "прекратить" suggests one's will in putting an end to one's own action(s), whereas "перестать" is neutral in that respect and just states that something doesn't hap


I agree that "прекратить" sounds more forceful, but your definition doesn't seem satisfactory. Compare:
"...наукоемкие предприятия, которые там были при советской власти, фактически прекратили существовать в 1990-е годы..."
"...черная фигурка прекратила ходить вокруг камня и села, согнувшись, на валун..."
"Ему это почти удалось, и он сам не заметил, как прекратил раздражаться на Муртазу..."

I'd say "прекратить" implies some sort of emotional activity, but not necessarily from the agent (for example, it may imply that the action was causing distress to the speaker, or that its termination caused it).


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## Vovan

Awwal12 said:


> I'd say "прекратить" implies some sort of emotional activity, but not necessarily from the agent


I think I pointed it out in my second example ("_His own decision and will to stop helping her is suggested (by the speaker)_.").


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## Awwal12

No. "Not necessarily from the agent" means that the agent may have no emotional activity related to the termination, either actual or suggested; in fact, it may be incapable of emotional activity whatsoever. E.g.:
"Могли бы вы посоветовать что-то из домашних средств, чтоб волосы прекратили сыпаться?"


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## Vovan

*Awwal*, I wasn't talking about "_emotional _activity" but about "being/seeming the _subject _of one's (own) activity".
As for your sentence, it is an example of the anthropomorphism embedded in our everyday language. Fortunately, we can easily come up with an anthropomorphistic utterance that would sound (partly normal and partly) ridiculous:
_ Ветер (изменил направление и) прекратил дуть в форточку._​To me, "Ветер (изменил направление и) перестал дуть в форточку" sounds a little more normal - for the reason explained above.
Also note:
_ Из форточки перестало дуть._​_ Из форточки прекратило дуть. (Asks for the subject.)_​


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## Awwal12

Vovan said:


> As for your sentence, it is an example of the anthropomorphism embedded in our everyday language.


Frankly, I don't feel any anthropomorphism behind that. It just hints that the hair loss irritates the speaker.


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## Vovan

Awwal12 said:


> Frankly, I don't feel any anthropomorphism behind that.


_Как сделать так, чтобы эти буклеты перестали падать с полки?_​Можно ли в данном предложении заменить "перестали" на "прекратили"?


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## Awwal12

Vovan said:


> _Как сделать так, чтобы эти буклеты перестали падать с полки?_​Можно ли в данном предложении заменить "перестали" на "прекратили"?


I don't see why it should be fundamentally impossible. Of course, it will sound slightly different.


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## Vovan

*Awwal*, okay, what about "Его мысли прекратили быть понятными мне"?


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## nizzebro

I would suggest anyway paying attention to the meaning of the token, trying to feel it's sense. 'Прекратить' has the stem '_крат_' - 'short' and prefix '_пре_(trimmed '_пере_') - 'over'  so it means to shorten the flow of the activity and immediately 'jump over it'.   'Завязать' - 'to tie up behind/around' - means to stop an unacceptable action/habit, holding it tight and keeping it under control.


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## Awwal12

Vovan said:


> *Awwal*, okay, what about "Его мысли прекратили быть понятными мне"?


To me it sounds stylistically poor regardless of which verb is there. However:
"Трудовая  деятельность,  прекратив  быть  сопряженной  как  с  символическим,  так  и  с  материальными  аспектами  производства, утратила  значение  практики..."


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## Awwal12

P.S.: However, it seems "прекратить" cannot describe termination of experientive activities (*я прекратил его слышать; *я прекратил ей нравиться; etc.). Not quite sure about other non-agentive predicates.


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## nizzebro

We don't use "перестать" with a _noun _as a complement,  but we use  "прекратить" this way*.*
Thus "прекратить" is indeed more 'active', so to speak.


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## Vovan

Awwal12 said:


> To me it sounds stylistically poor regardless of which verb is there.


Вопрос не в стилистике, а в приемлемости для вас "мысли/рассуждения/теории... прекратили быть понятными" и "мысли/рассуждения/теории... перестали быть понятными". Вы ушли от ответа на вопрос.  Прекращаю вас понимать, Awwal!


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## Awwal12

Vovan said:


> Вопрос не в стилистике, а в приемлемости для вас "мысли/рассуждения/теории... прекратили быть понятными" и "мысли/рассуждения/теории... перестали быть понятными"


Both are, in principle, acceptable, and apparently not only for me, judging on the quotation (it's ultimately all about "прекращать быть").

"*Прекращать понимать", on the other hand, relates to my postscript.


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## Vovan

Awwal12 said:


> it's ultimately all about "прекращать быть"


No, it's about "Теории прекращают...", "Картина прекратила...", etc.
_ Еще вчера столь популярная, книга прекратила продаваться._​


Awwal12 said:


> "*Прекращать понимать", on the other hand, relates to my postscript.


It may do, but your postscript doesn't explain anything.


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## Awwal12

Vovan said:


> No, it's about "Теории прекращают...", "Картина прекратила...", etc.


That's fine by itself. Note that "прекратить" with noun arguments (like in the set phrase "прекратить существование") - in the adjacent meaning "to terminate" - is used quite freely with any subject. However, the infinitive argument sets much harder limits on the acceptability.


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## Vovan

Awwal12 said:


> Note that "прекратить" with noun arguments (like in the set phrase "прекратить существование") - in the adjacent meaning "to terminate" - is used quite freely with any subject.


I hoped you would abstain from providing "examples" like "Пуговица ушла в небытие"...
Okay, at least you admitted that there _are _some limitations on using "прекратить" in relation to the subject of a sentence.


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## Okkervil

Awwal12 said:


> Both are, in principle, acceptable, and apparently not only for me, judging on the quotation (it's ultimately all about "прекращать быть").


 Нет, только один из них. 

"Трудовая деятельность, прекратив быть сопряженной как с символическим, так и с материальными аспектами производства, утратила значение практики..." -- кто-то всерьез считает это нормальным русским?


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## Awwal12

Okkervil said:


> "Трудовая деятельность, прекратив быть сопряженной как с символическим, так и с материальными аспектами производства, утратила значение практики..." -- кто-то всерьез считает это нормальным русским?


Это звучит как нормальный формальный русский.


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## Okkervil

Awwal12 said:


> Это звучит как нормальный формальный русский.


 Увы, это совсем не так. В этом чудовище как минимум два косяка, которые были бы отмечены красным карандашом редактора. Раньше, разумеется.


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## Awwal12

Формальный русский далеко не всегда строго соответствует литературным стандартам. Это вы ещё не читали типичных армейских приказов, скорее всего. Иначе говоря, нормальный ≠ грамотный.


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