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Breakdown of Это правда, что концерт начнётся в семь часов?
это
this
концерт
the concert
что
that
в
at
семь
seven
час
the hour
правда
the truth
начаться
to start
Questions & Answers about Это правда, что концерт начнётся в семь часов?
What does это mean in this sentence?
Это is a demonstrative pronoun used as a dummy subject, equivalent to English “it” in “Is it true that…”.
Why is there a что after правда?
The conjunction что (“that”) introduces the subordinate clause. Together правда, что literally mean “true that…”, just like “Is it true that…” in English.
Why is концерт in the nominative case?
Inside the clause что концерт начнётся…, концерт is the subject of the intransitive verb начнётся, so it takes the nominative case.
What is the aspect of начнётся, and why is the perfective used here?
Начнётся is the 3rd-person singular future of the perfective verb начаться. The perfective aspect is used to express that the action (the concert beginning) will occur at a specific point in time.
What does the suffix -ся do in начнётся?
The -ся makes the verb intransitive or reflexive. Начаться means “to start” (to begin on its own), whereas without -ся, начать would mean “to start something.”
Why is the time expression в семь часов preceded by в?
In Russian, clock times use в + accusative. So в семь (часов) translates to “at seven (o’clock).”
Why is the stress on the ё in начнётся?
Russian ё always carries the stress. Therefore начнётся is pronounced [nəˈt͡ɕnʲɵtsə], with stress on the -нё- syllable.
Could this question be phrased differently?
Yes. More formally you could say Правда ли, что концерт начнётся в семь часов?
Or more colloquially Концерт начнётся в семь часов, правда?
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