пере-

The prefix пере- is one of the most productive prefixes in Russian. In its repetitive sense, it carries several nuances:

• Correction: Used when the first attempt was wrong or failed (e.g., переделать - to redo/fix).
• Replacement: Used when a new result must supersede the old one (e.g., переизбрать - to re-elect).
• Anew: Starting from scratch (e.g., перечитать - to reread).

Nuances of Repetition:

• Difference from "снова": For verbs of creation or modification, using a пере- verb usually implies doing something differently or better to fix a previous result. However, for verbs of perception or communication (e.g., перечитать), it often means repeating the action from start to finish, similar to снова or ещё раз. Note that some verbs can belong to both categories depending on context: пересмотреть can mean to rewatch (perception) or to reconsider/revise (modification). Additionally, while переспросить is pragmatically used to ask someone to repeat what they said, it literally just means 'to ask again' (the subject repeats their own action of asking).
• Self-directed Repetition: When the reflexive suffix -ся is added to a repetitive пере- verb, it often indicates redoing an action on oneself or changing one's own state (e.g., переодеться - to change clothes, переобуться - to change shoes). Note that while English uses "to change", Russian literally says "to re-dress" and "to re-shoe". You cannot use менять intransitively to mean "I need to change" (you must use переодеться), though you can use it transitively with specific items (e.g., поменять мокрую обувь - to change wet shoes).

Linguistic Tendencies:

• Transitivity: This repetitive sense is overwhelmingly used with transitive verbs (verbs that take a direct object). However, there are a few highly common exceptions with intransitive verbs (e.g., перезвонить - to call back, переголосовать - to vote again). A particularly important and highly lexicalized exception is передумать (to change one's mind), which perfectly captures the idea of replacing an old decision with a new one.
• Intentionality: As a general rule of thumb, the action is usually controlled and intentional.

Morphology and Aspect:
1. Adding пере- to an imperfective verb typically creates a perfective verb.
2. To describe the process of redoing something, you must use the secondary imperfective form, often ending in -ывать/-ивать (e.g., переписывать).
3. Prefix Stacking: Notably, пере- is one of the few Russian prefixes that can freely "stack" on top of other prefixes to indicate redoing an already prefixed action (e.g., перепроверить - to re-verify, перезаписать - to re-record, перераспределить - to redistribute).

Distinction from other 'пере-' meanings:
Be careful not to confuse the repetitive sense with other common meanings:

• Distributive (Total Coverage): Indicates an action performed on all objects in a group or by all subjects (e.g., перемыть всю посуду - to wash all the dishes, перецеловать всех детей - to kiss all the children).
• Motion: Meaning 'across' or 'from one place to another' (e.g., перейти - to cross).
• Excess: Doing something too much (e.g., пересолить - to oversalt).
• Reciprocal Meaning: When combined with the suffix -ся, it can form a reciprocal meaning indicating a brief or mutual exchange (e.g., переписываться - to correspond/exchange messages).