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Breakdown of Соблюдение правил гигиены помогает предотвращать распространение вирусов.
правило
the rule
помогать
to help
предотвращать
to prevent
соблюдение
following
гигиена
the hygiene
распространение
the spread
вирус
the virus
Questions & Answers about Соблюдение правил гигиены помогает предотвращать распространение вирусов.
Why is соблюдение used here, and what part of speech is it?
соблюдение is an abstract noun (отглагольное существительное) derived from the verb соблюдать (“to comply with, to observe”). In this sentence it stands in the nominative singular neuter and means “observance” or “compliance.”
Why are правил гигиены both in the genitive case?
We have a nested “of-genitive” construction. First, правил (genitive plural of правило) goes with соблюдение, because in Russian соблюдение governs the genitive (“observance of something”). Then гигиены (genitive singular of гигиена) specifies which rules (“rules of hygiene”). So literally it’s “observance of the rules of hygiene.”
What is the grammatical role of помогает here, and how is it formed?
помогает is the third person singular present tense of the imperfective verb помогать (“to help”). Its subject is the noun phrase соблюдение правил гигиены, so it means “the observance of hygiene rules helps…”
Why do we use помогает предотвращать (imperfective infinitive) rather than помогает предотвратить (perfective)?
Using the imperfective предотвращать highlights an ongoing, habitual or general action (“helps in preventing…”), rather than a single completed act. The perfective предотвратить would shift the nuance to “help to accomplish a one-time prevention,” which is less natural when talking about routine hygiene.
What part of speech is распространение and how is it formed?
распространение is a neuter noun (отглагольное существительное) formed from the verb распространять (“to spread, to distribute”). It means “the spreading” or “the distribution.”
Why is вирусов in the genitive plural?
As a verbal noun, распространение takes its direct object in the genitive, so “spread of viruses” becomes распространение вирусов (“вирусов” is the genitive plural of вирус).
Where is the stress in соблюдение, предотвращать, распространение, and вирусов?
– соблЮдение (on “ю”)
– предотвращАть (on “а”)
– распространЕние (on “е” after “т”)
– вИрусов (on “и”)
Could I use a synonym instead of соблюдение правил гигиены, for example следование правилам гигиены or придерживаться правил гигиены?
Yes, придерживаться правил гигиены is a common alternative meaning “to stick to/follow hygiene rules.”
следование правилам гигиены is grammatically possible but less idiomatic in Russian; people prefer соблюдение or the reflexive verb придерживаться.
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