Основание ракетки оказалось лёгким.

The racket blade turned out to be light.

Breakdown of Основание ракетки оказалось лёгким.

• оказаться: to turn out
• лёгкий: light
• основание ракетки: the racket blade

Questions & Answers about Основание ракетки оказалось лёгким.

Why is ракетки in the genitive case here?

Because ракетки depends on основание and means of the racket.

So the structure is:

• основание = base / foundation
• ракетки = of the racket

This is a very common Russian pattern: one noun is followed by another noun in the genitive to show possession or relationship.

Examples:

• крышка коробки = the lid of the box
• дверь дома = the door of the house
• основание ракетки = the base of the racket

So ракетки is not the subject. It is just modifying основание.

How do I know that основание is the subject?

There are two main clues:

1. Основание is in the nominative form.
2. The verb оказалось agrees with it in neuter singular.

In Russian past tense, the verb agrees with the subject in gender and number:

• masculine: оказался
• feminine: оказалась
• neuter: оказалось
• plural: оказались

Since основание is a neuter singular noun, the verb is оказалось.

What does оказалось mean here, and how is it different from было?