Breakdown of Их родители, кажется, тоже считают этот урок полезным.
полезный
useful
этот
this
урок
the lesson
казаться
to seem
Questions & Answers about Их родители, кажется, тоже считают этот урок полезным.
Why are there commas around кажется?
кажется here is a parenthetical word (вводное слово) meaning “it seems.” In Russian, вводные слова are normally set off by commas, just as in English you’d say “Their parents, it seems, also…” The commas show that кажется is an aside, not part of the main clause structure.
What part of speech is кажется, and does it change form?
кажется is the 3rd-person-singular present tense of the impersonal verb казаться (“to seem”). It doesn’t agree with a subject—you always use кажется when you mean “it seems.” Other forms include past tense казалось (“it seemed”) and perfective future (по)кажется in contexts like “it will appear.”
Why does считают take этот урок in the accusative and полезным in the instrumental?
The verb считать (“to consider”) in Russian uses a two-part complement:
• a direct object in the accusative (what is being considered), here этот урок
• a predicative adjective or noun in the instrumental (how it is considered), here полезным
So the pattern is считать + Accusative + Instrumental.
Why is полезным in the Instrumental case instead of Nominative?