Russian Classes: Russians use a surprising verb to support their favorite soccer teams

Joosep Martinson - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images/Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images/Pavel Pavlov/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images/Epsilon/Getty Images

Привет!
Are you a fan of soccer? Today I'd like to introduce you to the most popular Moscow teams - 'Spartak', 'Lokomotiv', 'Dynamo' and 'CSKA'. If you're interested in what all these names mean, read on!

Grammar time!
In order to claim support for a sports team, we use the verb "болеть" [bolet']. The primary meaning of this verb is actually “to ache” or “to be ill/sick”. However, it also means “to support”. Let's conjugate the verb "болеть" with all of the Russian pronouns. It belongs to the first conjugation group, so pay attention to the endings.
- Я болеЮ
- Ты болеЕШЬ
- Он/она/оно болеЕТ
- Мы болеЕМ
- Вы болеЕТЕ
- Они болеЮТ

Note that in the phrase "I support + [team]" you need to use the preposition "за" + the accusative case. For example: "Я болею ЗА Спартак".

Check out more lessons in our Telegram channel, using the tag #russianclasses!

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