Russian · Chapter 10 · Lesson 14 · Grammar primer
Conjunctions: и, а, но
И adds, но contradicts, and а marks a contrast that is not quite a contradiction.
The short version
Comparing two things? That and is a, not i
I adds one thing to another. A sets two different things side by side to contrast them, so mama doma, a papa na rabote needs a: Mum is at home and Dad is at work. With i it sounds like two unconnected facts. And after a negative, not X but Y, the but is always a: eto ne kofe, a chay.
Ya lyublyu chay, a ona lyubit kofe.
Whether is li, never yesli
English uses if for a condition and for whether. Russian splits them: yesli is only the condition, and whether is the particle li, placed straight after the verb. Ya ne znayu, yesli on pridyot is a word-for-word copy of English that Russian cannot use.
Ya ne znayu, pridyot li on.
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