Russian/Grammar/Attention

Внима́ние! (Attention!) is a list of words or phrases that English speakers should pay special attention to. These are either pairs of words that reduce to a single word in English, or words that have shades of meaning that are not usually noted in a dictionary entry.

то́же — та́кже

Both mean "also", but the difference in meaning concerns the scope. The word то́же is used when including the subject with a group or another individual. If Sergei says "я говорю́ по–ру́сски", then Andrei can respond by saying "я то́же". It has the sense of "me too!" when used during a dialogue. The word та́кже is only used when speaking about the same subject. Sergei can say "я говорю́ по–ру́сски и та́кже уме́ю танцева́ть".

почему́ — заче́м

These words are interrogatives meaning "why". Почему is the more commonly-used one, an all-purpose word used when simply asking for the reason for something. "Почему́ не́бо голубо́е?" Зачем literally means "for what" and carries this more direct connotation. "Зачем ты разби́л ва́зу?"