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Questions & Answers about Солнце греет нас.
What is the overall structure of the sentence Солнце греет нас.?
The sentence follows a typical Subject-Verb-Object order. Солнце is the subject (the sun), греет is the verb (warms), and нас is the direct object (us). This simple structure makes it straightforward even though Russian generally allows flexible word order.
Why is the verb form греет used here, and what does it tell us about the subject?
Греет is the third person singular present tense form of the imperfective verb греть. It agrees with the subject Солнце, which is a neuter noun in singular form. The imperfective aspect indicates an ongoing or general habitual action, which suits the natural fact that the sun continuously warms us.
What case is the pronoun нас in, and why is that important?
Нас is the accusative case form of the pronoun мы (we). In Russian, most transitive verbs require their direct object to be in the accusative case. Since греет takes a direct object, нас is correctly used to indicate “us.”
Why is there no article (like the) before Солнце as in English?
Russian does not use articles at all. There is no equivalent of the English a or the in Russian. Солнце simply means the sun, and context lets you know it refers to the unique celestial body.
Can the word order of the sentence be changed, and what effect might that have?
Yes, Russian’s rich case system allows for flexible word order without causing confusion about the roles of the words. For example, Нас греет солнце. is also correct. Changing the order can emphasize a different part of the sentence—putting нас at the beginning might stress the beneficiaries of the action rather than the sun as the doer.