Мы выбрали наиболее короткий путь.

Выбрали is the past tense plural form of the verb выбрать (to choose / to select).

• выбрать = perfective infinitive
• выбрал = he chose
• выбрала = she chose
• выбрало = it chose
• выбрали = they chose

It agrees with мы (we), so the verb must be plural.

Also, Russian past tense is built from the infinitive stem plus endings that show gender in the singular and number in the plural.

Russian uses aspect, and here выбрать is perfective, which means the action is seen as completed.

So:

• мы выбирали = we were choosing / we used to choose / we spent time choosing
• мы выбрали = we chose / we have chosen

In this sentence, the idea is that the choice has already been made, so выбрали is the natural form.

Путь is the direct object of выбрали, so it is in the accusative case.

But путь is an inanimate masculine noun, and for inanimate masculine nouns, the accusative singular is usually the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: путь
• accusative: путь

That is why the noun looks unchanged.

Yes, this is a very common learner question. Путь is unusual because it ends in -ь but is actually masculine.

So you say:

• длинный путь
• короткий путь
• этот путь

not feminine forms like короткая or эта.

It is one of those nouns you simply have to memorize as masculine.

Because the adjective must agree with путь in gender, number, and case.

Here:

• путь = masculine, singular, accusative
• since it is inanimate, accusative looks like nominative
• so the adjective also takes the masculine singular accusative form, which is the same as nominative:

короткий путь

Compare:

• nominative: короткий путь
• accusative (inanimate): короткий путь
• genitive: короткого пути

So the form in the sentence is exactly what agreement requires.

Наиболее means most in a somewhat formal or neutral way. It is used to form the superlative analytically:

• наиболее короткий = the shortest / most short

So наиболее короткий путь means the shortest route/path.

A very common alternative is:

• самый короткий путь

Both mean roughly the same thing, but наиболее often sounds more formal, more written, or more technical.

Both can mean the shortest, but there is a style difference.

• самый короткий = very common in everyday speech
• наиболее короткий = often more formal, written, academic, or technical

So:

• Мы выбрали самый короткий путь. = very natural everyday Russian
• Мы выбрали наиболее короткий путь. = also correct, but slightly more formal or deliberate

A learner should understand both.

Yes. Russian has another way to express the superlative using a special adjective form:

• краткий = brief
• кратчайший = shortest

So кратчайший путь is possible, and in some contexts it sounds very natural, especially in set expressions or more formal language.

However, for short path/route, самый короткий путь is often the most straightforward everyday option.

So you may see:

• самый короткий путь
• наиболее короткий путь
• кратчайший путь

All can mean something like the shortest path/way, but with different style or wording.

Yes, it can often be omitted.

Russian often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear:

• Мы выбрали наиболее короткий путь.
• Выбрали наиболее короткий путь.

Both can work, depending on context.

Including мы may:

• add emphasis
• make the subject explicit
• help contrast with someone else

For example:

• Мы выбрали наиболее короткий путь, а они — самый безопасный.

So мы is not always necessary, but it is perfectly normal.

Not exactly. These words can overlap, but they are not identical.

• путь = path, way, route; can be literal or figurative
• дорога = road; often a physical road, but can also mean way in a broader sense
• способ = method, means, way of doing something

In this sentence, путь works well because it can mean a route or way forward.

So короткий путь is natural for the shortest route / path.

The usual stress is:

• Мы́ (often unstressed in normal speech)
• вы́брали
• наибо́лее
• коро́ткий
• путь

For a learner, the most useful ones to remember are:

• вы́брать
• вы́брали
• наибо́лее
• коро́ткий
• путь (monosyllabic, so no issue)

Stress is important in Russian because it is not always predictable.

Yes. Путь can be both:

• literal: a route, path, road
• figurative: a course of action, direction, approach

So depending on context, the sentence could mean either:

• We chose the shortest route
• We chose the quickest/shortest way forward

Russian uses путь very broadly, just like English can use path or way both literally and figuratively.