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Учитель объясняет задачу.

Учитель объясняет задачу.
The teacher explains the task.
FromLesson 20inHardcore Russian
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Breakdown of Учитель объясняет задачу.

учитель
the teacher
объяснять
to explain
задача
the task

Questions & Answers about Учитель объясняет задачу.

What is the gender and number of учитель, and how can I recognize it?
Учитель is a masculine noun in the singular. In Russian, most nouns ending in a consonant (here: -ль) are masculine. You also see agreement with the verb: учитель объясняет uses the 3rd-person-singular ending -ет, matching a singular subject.
What is the case of задачу, and why is it used here?
Задачу is in the accusative singular. It denotes the direct object of the transitive verb объяснять (“to explain”). Feminine nouns ending in -а in the nominative (задача) change to -у in the accusative.
Why is there no preposition before задачу?
Transitive verbs in Russian take their direct objects in the accusative case without a preposition. English “explain something to someone” splits into two parts, but Russian simply uses accusative for что? (“what?”) and dative for кому? (“to whom?”) with no extra word like “to” before the object.
What is the verb form объясняет, and what does it tell me?
Объясняет is the 3rd-person-singular present-tense form of the imperfective verb объяснять (“to explain”). It indicates that the action is ongoing or habitual (“he/she explains”). The perfective counterpart is объяснить, whose 3rd-person-singular future form is объяснит (“he/she will explain”).
Where are the stresses in Учитель объясняет задачу?
  • Учитель: учИ͟тель (stress on и)
  • объясняет: объяснЯ͟ет (stress on я)
  • задачу: заДÁ͟чу (stress on да́)

Accurate stress is crucial for being understood.

How would I say “The teacher explains the problem to the student” in Russian?

You add the indirect object in the dative case, without a preposition:
Учитель объясняет задачу ученику.
Here ученику (dative singular of ученик) answers кому? (“to whom?”).

What’s the difference between задача, проблема, and упражнение?
  • Задача often means a specific task or (especially math) problem to solve.
  • Проблема is a general “problem” or “issue” (e.g., social, technical).
  • Упражнение is an exercise (e.g., in a textbook, physical workout).
    Choose based on context: math → задача, general issue → проблема, practice drill → упражнение.
Can I use a perfective verb here instead of объясняет?

Yes, but the meaning changes. Perfective объяснить focuses on the completed result. In the present you’d use its future form:
Учитель объяснит задачу.
That means “The teacher will explain the problem” (once, to completion), not that he is in the middle of explaining.

Is the word order fixed in “Учитель объясняет задачу”?

No; Russian has flexible word order for emphasis. The neutral order is Subject–Verb–Object (SVO). You could say:
Задачу объясняет учитель.
Here you emphasize задачу, perhaps contrasting which task is being explained.

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