Жеребьёвка определила очерёдность.

The draw determined the order.

Breakdown of Жеребьёвка определила очерёдность.

• определить: to determine; define (perfective)
• жеребьёвка: the draw; toss
• очерёдность: the order; sequence

Questions & Answers about Жеребьёвка определила очерёдность.

Why is определила in the feminine form?

Because the subject is жеребьёвка, which is a feminine singular noun.

In the past tense, Russian verbs agree with the subject in gender and number:

• masculine: определил
• feminine: определила
• neuter: определило
• plural: определили

So жеребьёвка определила means the draw determined.

What form of the verb is определила?

Определила is:

• past tense
• feminine singular
• from the verb определить

The basic dictionary form is определить, and here it means something like to determine, to decide, or to establish.

Why is определила perfective, and what does that add?

Определить is a perfective verb. Perfective verbs usually present an action as completed and producing a result.

So Жеребьёвка определила очерёдность means that the draw has already been carried out, and as a result, the order is now known.

If you used the imperfective определяла, it would sound more like:

• it was determining
• it used to determine
• it was in the process of determining

That would usually not fit this short sentence as well.

What case is очерёдность, and why?