В озере плавает большая рыба.

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Breakdown of В озере плавает большая рыба.

• в: in
• озеро: the lake
• плавать: to swim

Questions & Answers about В озере плавает большая рыба.

What case is used for the noun озеро in the sentence, and why is this form used?

Озеро appears as озере, which is the prepositional case. This form is used after the preposition в when indicating the location where an action takes place.

What is the subject of the sentence, and how can you tell it’s in the correct form?

The subject is большая рыба (big fish). It is in the nominative case, which is the default for subjects in Russian. Notice that the adjective большая agrees with рыба in gender (feminine), number (singular), and case (nominative).

Why does the verb плавает appear before the subject in this sentence?

Russian syntax is more flexible than English. In this sentence, the location phrase В озере comes first, followed by the verb плавает, setting the scene and emphasizing the action or the location. The subject большая рыба follows for stylistic or emphatic effect.

What are the tense and aspect of the verb плавает, and what does that indicate about the action?

The verb плавает is in the present tense and uses the imperfective aspect. This indicates that the action of swimming is ongoing or habitual, without focusing on its completion.

Is it acceptable to rearrange the word order in this sentence, and what might be the effect of such a change?