Breakdown of Эта ситуация совершенно новая для меня.
Questions & Answers about Эта ситуация совершенно новая для меня.
Because ситуация is a feminine noun in the nominative case.
– эта is the feminine singular demonstrative pronoun (“this”).
– это is the neuter singular demonstrative pronoun and wouldn’t agree with a feminine noun.
Adjectives in Russian must agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case.
– новая is the nominative singular feminine form of новый.
– новый is masculine, новое is neuter, and новые is plural.
совершенно is an adverb meaning “completely” or “absolutely.” It modifies the adjective новая, intensifying it.
– Word order in Russian is relatively flexible, but adverbs of degree typically precede the adjective they modify: совершенно новая.
для is a preposition that always requires the genitive case.
– меня is the genitive form of я (“I”).
So для меня literally means “for me.”
Yes. Russian word order is quite flexible. Starting with Для меня shifts the emphasis onto the fact that it’s new for me.
– Neutral word order (subject–predicate): Эта ситуация совершенно новая для меня.
– Emphatic: Для меня эта ситуация совершенно новая.
Yes, you can use other adverbs to intensify новая:
– абсолютно новая (absolutely new)
– полностью новая (fully new)
– крайне новая (extremely new, less common)
Or you might omit the intensifier and say simply Эта ситуация новая для меня.