Удар был сильным.

The blow was strong.

Breakdown of Удар был сильным.

• быть: to be
• сильный: strong
• удар: the blow

Questions & Answers about Удар был сильным.

What are the basic meanings and grammar roles of each word in Удар был сильным?

• Удар – noun, masculine, singular, nominative. Means “a blow / hit / strike.” It’s the subject of the sentence.
• был – past tense, masculine, singular of быть (“to be”). Here it means “was.”
• сильным – adjective сильный (“strong”), masculine/neuter, singular, instrumental case. It’s a predicate adjective describing удар.

Literal structure: “The blow was strong.”

Why is сильным in the instrumental case and not nominative сильный?

Russian often uses the instrumental case for a predicate after the verb быть (and some similar verbs) when describing what something was / became / seemed, etc.

• Удар был сильным. – literally: “The blow was (as) strong.” (instrumental)
• This is called the predicate instrumental.

Using the instrumental here is standard and neutral. With adjectives, Russian allows two patterns:

• Nominative predicate:
  Удар был сильный.
• Instrumental predicate:
  Удар был сильным.

Both are grammatically correct. The instrumental often sounds a bit more “complete,” neutral, or literary, while the nominative can sound more conversational or evaluative. In everyday speech, you will hear both; textbooks tend to prefer the instrumental here.

So can I say Удар был сильный instead? Is it wrong?

It is not wrong. It’s grammatically correct and used in real speech.

Rough nuance (very subtle, and often not important in real life):

• Удар был сильным. – neutral statement of fact; sounds a bit more standard, can fit both spoken and written Russian.
• Удар был сильный. – a bit more colloquial / evaluative; often used in storytelling, emotional speech, etc.

For a learner, you can safely use Удар был сильным as your default. Later you’ll get a feel for when natives say был сильный.

Why don’t we just say сильный удар был instead?

You can say that; it’s just a different structure:

• Удар был сильным. – predicate: describes how the blow was.
• Сильный удар был. – a strong blow existed / happened.

Сильный удар был is more like saying “There was a strong blow” or “It was a strong blow (that occurred).”
Удар был сильным focuses more on evaluating that particular удар that you’re already talking about: “The blow (we’re discussing) was strong.”

Can I change the word order to Сильным был удар? What does that sound like?

Yes, that’s possible:

• Сильным был удар.

This is mainly a stylistic inversion. It:

• Puts emphasis on “сильным” (the strength).
• Sounds a bit poetic, dramatic, or literary.

Normal neutral order remains:

• Удар был сильным.

Why do we need был? Can I say just Удар сильный?

• Удар был сильным. – past: “The blow was strong.”
• Удар сильный. – present: “The blow is strong.”
  (More naturally: *“A strong blow” / describing a type or general characteristic.)

You cannot simply drop был if you mean the past. In Russian:

• Present tense “is” (есть) is usually omitted:
  Он врач. – He is a doctor.
• But past tense “was” (был) is normally kept:
  Он был врачом. – He was a doctor.

So for a past description, you should say Удар был сильным.

Why not use the adverb сильно and say Удар был сильно?

Because after быть in this kind of sentence you need a noun or adjective (a predicate nominal), not an adverb.

• сильный / сильным – adjective: “strong.”
• сильно – adverb: “strongly / hard.”

Correct patterns:

• Удар был сильным. – adjective (instrumental) = “The blow was strong.”
• Он сильно ударил. – adverb modifying a verb: “He hit hard.”

Удар был сильно is ungrammatical.

What about the short form adjective? Can I say Удар был силён or Удар силён?

Yes, in principle:

• Удар был силён.
• Удар силён.

Here силён is the short form of сильный.

Nuance:

• Short forms are more literary, stylistic, or expressive.
• They often emphasize a current state or quality:
  Удар силён. – The blow is strong (in its force).

In modern neutral speech, full forms are safer:

• Удар был сильным. – perfectly neutral.
• Удар был силён. – may sound more bookish / poetic.

Is удар only a physical “hit” or can it be metaphorical?

Удар can be both literal and figurative:

Literal:

• Сильный удар по голове. – a strong blow to the head.

Figurative:

• Удар по экономике. – a blow to the economy.
• Смерть мужа стала для неё тяжёлым ударом. – Her husband’s death was a heavy blow to her.

So Удар был сильным. could describe:

• a physical hit (punch, kick, explosion shockwave), or
• some metaphorical impact, depending on context.

How is Удар был сильным pronounced and where is the stress?

Stress and rough transcription:

• Удар – stress on the second syllable: удА́р → [u-DAR]
• был – one syllable: был → [byl] (like “bïl”, short, central vowel)
• сильным – stress on the first syllable: сИльным → [SEEL-nym]

So: удА́р был сИльным – [u-DAR byl SEEL-nym], with the main stresses on удА́р and сИль-.