Learn Hardcore Russian: Продавец говорит, что телефон дорогой. - The seller says that the phone is expensive.

Что acts as a subordinating conjunction that introduces the subordinate clause. It is equivalent to the word “that” in English and signals that the following clause is what the seller is saying.

Why is there a comma after говорит in the sentence?

In Russian, when a subordinate clause (introduced by что) follows a main clause, it is separated by a comma. This punctuation rule helps clarify the sentence’s structure.

Why is there no linking verb such as “is” between телефон and дорогой?

Russian omits the verb быть (“to be”) in the present tense. The phrase телефон дорогой uses a predicate construction where дорогой describes the noun телефон, with the linking verb understood implicitly.

What is the grammatical structure of the phrase телефон дорогой?

In this phrase, телефон is the subject in the nominative case, and дорогой is a predicate adjective that describes it. Together, they form a predicate structure without an explicit linking verb.

Could the sentence be restructured as дорогой телефон instead of телефон дорогой?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly. Дорогой телефон is an attributive phrase that directly modifies the noun (like “expensive phone”), while телефон дорогой is used in a predicate construction (as in “the phone is expensive”) following a verb like говорит.

What tense is the verb говорит, and what does it indicate about the seller’s action?

The verb говорит is in the present tense, which indicates that the seller is currently stating or expressing that the phone is expensive.