он сло мал *себе* н огу v s. он сл омал ногу

[Robert Chandler]

Dear all,

Just off the top of my head: I wonder whether the себе might be conveyed in English by 'managed to'.  E.g. 'While I was on my way home, I managed to break my leg'.  Not so much a matter of intention, in my example - more a matter of conveying an ironical, self-critical attitude about the incident.

But let me repeat: I am only guessing!

Robert

On 20 Jan 2011, at 06:24, yelena kalinsky wrote:

> Dear Emily,
> 
> I think the difference has to do with intention. While сломать ногу =
> simply to break one's leg, сломать себе ногу = to break one's own leg.
> Make sense?
> 
> Yelena
> 
> 2011/1/19 Emily Saunders <emilka at mac.com>:
>> Дорогие SEELANGовцы!
>> 
>> I'm hoping for a quick answer to the question of which is better and is
>> there any difference.  I find both on a Google search.
>> 
>> Я сломала себе ногу.
>> Я сломала ногу.
>> 
>> Спасибо заранее!
>> 
>> Emily Saunders
>> 
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Robert Chandler, 42 Milson Road, London, W14 OLD

tel. +44 207 603 3862





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