Мой завтрак состоял из овсянки и свежих фруктов.

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Breakdown of Мой завтрак состоял из овсянки и свежих фруктов.

• и: and
• свежий: fresh
• фрукт: the fruit
• завтрак: the breakfast
• состоять из: to consist of
• овсянка: the oatmeal

Questions & Answers about Мой завтрак состоял из овсянки и свежих фруктов.

What does the phrase состоял из mean, and how is it structured in this sentence?

Состоял из translates to “consisted of” in English. In this construction, состоял is the past tense, masculine singular form of состоять (to consist), while из is a preposition that introduces the components that make up the subject (in this case, овсянки и свежих фруктов).

Why is the verb состоял in the masculine singular form?

The verb состоял agrees with its subject, завтрак, which is a masculine noun in Russian. In the past tense, Russian verbs must reflect the gender and number of their subject, so since завтрак is masculine and singular, состоял is the correct form.

Why are овсянки and свежих фруктов in what appears to be the genitive case?

When using the construction состоять из, the items that make up the whole are expressed in the genitive case. Овсянки is the genitive form of овсянка (oatmeal), and фруктов is the genitive plural of фрукты (fruits). This case usage helps indicate the composition or ingredients of the subject.

How does adjective and noun agreement work in the phrase свежих фруктов?

In свежих фруктов, both the adjective свежих and the noun фруктов are in the genitive plural form. Russian adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case. Since фрукты changes to фруктов in the genitive plural, the adjective свежий becomes свежих to match it.

Could the sentence be structured differently to express the same idea, and why is состоял из preferred here?

While there are alternative ways to describe the contents of something (for example, using был сделан из to mean “was made up of”), состоял из is a fixed and common expression in Russian that specifically means “consisted of.” This construction emphasizes the idea that the subject is composed of particular elements or ingredients, making it the standard and more precise choice in this context.