Breakdown of Сервитут указали в выписке из ЕГРН.
Questions & Answers about Сервитут указали в выписке из ЕГРН.
Why is указали plural, even though there is no subject in the sentence?
In Russian, a 3rd person plural past tense verb can be used with an unspecified or unknown subject. It works a bit like English they in sentences such as They listed the easement in the extract, where they does not refer to specific people.
So here:
- указали = they indicated / they listed / it was stated
- the actual people are not important
- the focus is on the fact that the information appears in the document
This is a very common Russian way to avoid naming the subject.
Who is the implied subject of указали?
There is no explicit subject, but the implied meaning is something like:
- the officials
- the registry staff
- the people who prepared the extract
- or simply someone responsible for the document
In natural English, you would often translate this more passively:
- The easement was listed in the extract from the EGRN.
So although Russian uses an active plural form, English may prefer a passive translation.
Why is сервитут in this form? Why doesn’t it change?
Сервитут is the direct object of указали, so it is in the accusative case.
But here is the key point:
- сервитут is a masculine inanimate noun
- for many masculine inanimate nouns in Russian, the accusative singular = nominative singular
So:
- nominative: сервитут
- accusative: сервитут
That is why the form does not change.
Why is it в выписке, not в выписку?
Because в выписке means in the extract, expressing location, not motion.
With в, Russian uses:
- prepositional case for location: in / inside / within
- accusative case for motion toward something
So:
- в выписке = in the extract → location
- в выписку would suggest motion, like into the extract, which does not fit here
The noun changes like this:
- выписка → nominative
- в выписке → prepositional
What does из ЕГРН mean grammatically?
Из ЕГРН means from the EGRN.
Here:
- из is a preposition meaning from / out of
- it normally requires the genitive
- ЕГРН is an abbreviation for Единый государственный реестр недвижимости
With abbreviations like ЕГРН, Russian often does not add visible case endings, so the form stays the same in writing.
So in the phrase:
- выписка из ЕГРН = an extract from the EGRN
This whole phrase means an official extract taken from that registry.
Why is указали used instead of указывали?
Because указали is perfective, while указывали is imperfective.
Here the sentence refers to a completed fact:
- the easement was listed / was indicated
- the action is viewed as a finished result
That is why указали is natural.
Compare:
- указали = they indicated it, they listed it, they did so as a completed action
- указывали = they were indicating it / used to indicate it / indicated it repeatedly or without focusing on completion
In a document-related statement like this, Russian usually prefers the perfective because the result matters.
What does указать mean here? Does it literally mean to point at?
Not in this sentence. Although указать can sometimes mean to point out, here it means something more like:
- to state
- to indicate
- to specify
- to list
- to mention in an official document
So Сервитут указали в выписке means that the easement was officially mentioned or recorded in the extract, not that someone physically pointed to it.
Could this sentence also be said in a passive way?
Yes. A very common passive version would be:
- Сервитут был указан в выписке из ЕГРН.
This means almost the same thing: The easement was indicated/listed in the extract from the EGRN.
Another common official style is:
- В выписке из ЕГРН указан сервитут.
This is also very natural and sounds formal and document-like.
So Russian has several ways to express the same idea:
- Сервитут указали... → indefinite they
- Сервитут был указан... → passive
- В выписке из ЕГРН указан сервитут. → formal document style
Why is Сервитут placed at the beginning of the sentence?
Russian word order is flexible, and the first position often shows the topic — what the sentence is about.
By starting with Сервитут, the speaker makes the easement the main topic:
- As for the easement, it was listed in the extract from the EGRN.
If you changed the order, the focus could shift. For example:
- В выписке из ЕГРН указали сервитут.
This sounds a bit more like In the extract from the EGRN, they listed an easement, with slightly more attention on the document itself.
So the original order is natural if the conversation is already about the easement.
Is this sentence formal or conversational?
It sounds fairly formal or bureaucratic, especially because of words like:
- сервитут
- выписка
- ЕГРН
- указали in the sense of official listing
This is the kind of language you would expect in:
- legal discussion
- property documents
- administrative communication
- real-estate contexts
In everyday conversation, a speaker might still say it, but it clearly belongs to an official/property-law context.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning RussianMaster Russian — from Сервитут указали в выписке из ЕГРН to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions