Breakdown of В нашем университете много студентов, и профессор объясняет материал понятно.
и
and
объяснять
to explain
понятно
clearly
в
at
много
a lot
наш
our
университет
the university
студент
the student
профессор
the professor
материал
the material
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about В нашем университете много студентов, и профессор объясняет материал понятно.
What is the function of the phrase В нашем университете in this sentence?
This phrase is a prepositional phrase that indicates location. The preposition в (“in”) requires the noun and any accompanying adjectives to be in the prepositional case. In this example, нашем (our) and университете (university) are both in the prepositional case, meaning “at our university.”
Why is the noun студентов in the genitive case in the expression много студентов?
In Russian, quantifiers like много (“many”) govern the genitive plural. As a result, the noun студент takes its genitive plural form студентов when used with много. This is a common rule in expressions indicating quantity.
How does the word понятно function in the clause профессор объясняет материал понятно?
The word понятно functions as an adverbial modifier, describing the manner in which the professor explains the material—namely, “clearly.” It is derived from the adjective понятный in its short, neuter form, which is commonly used in Russian to express how an action is performed.
Why is there a comma before и in the sentence?
The comma is placed before и because the sentence consists of two independent clauses that are joined by this coordinating conjunction. The first clause (В нашем университете много студентов) and the second clause (профессор объясняет материал понятно) each can stand alone as a complete sentence, so the comma signals a clear division between the two ideas.
What is the overall structure of this sentence, and how does word order affect its meaning?
The sentence is compound, composed of two independent clauses linked by и (“and”). The first clause sets the context by stating there are many students at the university, while the second clause provides additional information about the professor’s teaching method. The word order—starting with the location and quantity, then moving to the professor’s action—creates a natural flow of information and emphasizes both the setting and the manner of explanation.