Learn Hardcore Russian: Новый формат урока сначала кажется непривычным, но через пару дней можно поучиться и понять, что он удобный. - The new lesson format seems unusual at first, but after a couple of days you can study this way for a bit and realize that it is convenient.

формат урока – the format of the (this) lesson / this type of lesson (generic)
формат уроков – the format of the lessons (as a group of particular lessons)

In Russian, using the singular like this is very natural for talking about a type or kind of something:

структура курса – the structure of the course (type of course)
программа занятия – the program of the class

So урока here is singular genitive to express “the lesson as a type.”

Why is it кажется непривычным and not кажется непривычный or кажется непривычен?

Three forms are in theory possible, but they’re not all equally natural:

кажется непривычным
- непривычным = instrumental case, long adjective (непривычный → непривычным)
- After verbs like быть, становиться, казаться, Russian very often uses the instrumental for a predicate:
  - Он кажется странным. – He seems strange.
  - Это кажется сложным. – This seems difficult.
- This is the most natural version here.
кажется непривычный
- непривычный = nominative, long adjective.
- This is grammatically possible but much less common with казаться. It can sound more bookish, stylized, or marked.
кажется непривычен
- непривычен = short-form adjective.
- Short forms are more formal/literary or used in certain fixed patterns.
- You might see кажется непривычен, but in everyday speech кажется непривычным is more typical.

So: казаться + instrumental adjective (кажется непривычным) is the standard, neutral choice.

What does the reflexive ending -ся do in кажется and поучиться?

The -ся / -сь ending marks reflexive / non-personal / middle meanings, but the exact function depends on the verb.

кажется (from казаться)
- казаться ≠ “to seem oneself”.
- Here -ся makes the verb impersonal / middle in meaning:
  - Он кажется усталым. – He seems tired.
- There is a related verb показаться (to appear, to seem), also reflexive.
поучиться (from учиться)
- учиться – to study, to learn (for oneself, process of learning)
- The reflexive here signals “to be engaged in learning”, not “to teach someone”.
- Without -ся, учить means “to teach / to learn (something)”:
  - учить английский – to learn/teach English
- With the prefix по- and -ся, поучиться = “to study for a while”.

So in both verbs the -ся is part of the dictionary form and you should learn them as separate verbs:

казаться – to seem
поучиться – to study for a bit

Why do we say сначала кажется and not put сначала at the very beginning: Сначала новый формат урока кажется…?

Both word orders are possible; the difference is emphasis:

Новый формат урока сначала кажется непривычным…
- Natural, neutral order.
- The focus starts on “the new format”, then adds that this format at first seems unusual.
Сначала новый формат урока кажется непривычным…
- Stronger emphasis on time: at first, as opposed to later.
- Common if you want to contrast сначала with something like потом later in the text.

Russian word order is relatively flexible, and both are correct. The original just slightly highlights “new format of the lesson” first.

Why is it через пару дней to mean “after a couple of days”? How does через work with time?

With time expressions, через + accusative usually means “in / after (a certain time from now or from some point)”.

через час – in an hour / an hour later
через неделю – in a week / a week later
через пару дней – in a couple of days / after a couple of days

So here:

через – preposition “in/after” (for future/relative time)
пару – accusative singular of пара (a pair, a couple)
дней – genitive plural of день after пару

Alternative:

после пары дней – after a couple of days (more literally “after the passing of a couple of days”; a bit heavier stylistically)

через + time is very common and sounds lighter and more conversational.

Why is it пару дней and not пара дней, два дня, or несколько дней?

All of these are possible, but they have slightly different nuances:

пару дней
- пару = accusative of пара (a pair, a couple)
- Very common in speech, slightly vague: “a couple of days, like 2-ish”
- Sounds relaxed and colloquial-neutral.
пара дней
- Nominative (пара) – would be used as the subject or a separate noun phrase:
  - Пара дней пролетела быстро. – A couple of days flew by quickly.
- After через, you need accusative, so it becomes через пару дней.
два дня
- Literally exactly two days.
- More precise, slightly more “counting” than пару дней.
несколько дней
- “several days” (3–5ish, indefinite).
- Slightly longer period, less specific than “a couple”.

So через пару дней matches the casual English feeling of “after a couple of days.”

Who is the subject of можно поучиться и понять? Why is можно used instead of мы можем?

можно + infinitive is an impersonal construction. It often translates as “one can / it is possible to…” and doesn’t name a specific subject.

можно поучиться – one can study (a bit) / it’s possible to study
можно понять – one can understand / it’s possible to understand

This is typical in Russian when:

You want to talk about something as generally possible, not tied to “I / we / they”;
Or you don’t care who exactly is doing it.

Compare:

Через пару дней можно поучиться и понять…
– After a couple of days, you can (in general) study a bit and realize…
Через пару дней мы можем поучиться и понять…
– After a couple of days, we can study a bit and realize… (more specific: “we”)

The impersonal можно + infinitive is extremely common and often corresponds to English “you can…” in the general sense.

What exactly does поучиться mean? How is it different from учиться or учить?

The difference is both in the prefix по- and in the verb itself.

учиться
- Means to study / to learn (for oneself), process-oriented:
  - Я учусь в университете. – I study at university.
  - Он учится русскому языку. – He is learning Russian.
поучиться
- по- here often adds the sense of “for a while / a bit” (delimitative aspect).
- поучиться ≈ “to study for a bit / to try studying (for some time)”
- Implies limited duration and often an experimental try.
учить (without -ся)
- Means to learn (something) / to teach (someone something):
  - учить слова – to learn/memorize words
  - учить детей математике – to teach children math

So in this sentence:

можно поучиться
≈ “you can try studying / you can study with it for a while”,
emphasizing a short period after which your opinion changes.

Why are there two infinitives after можно: можно поучиться и понять? Is anything missing?

Nothing is missing. In Russian, you can coordinate multiple infinitives after можно (or other modal verbs/constructions):

Здесь можно сидеть и читать. – You can sit here and read.
Там можно поесть и отдохнуть. – There you can eat and rest.

In your sentence:

можно поучиться и понять
– one can study for a bit and come to understand (two actions that naturally follow one another)

Both поучиться and понять share the same modal word (можно), so you don’t have to repeat anything:

Not: можно поучиться и можно понять (possible but heavier)
Better: можно поучиться и понять

How does что work in понять, что он удобный?

Here что introduces a subordinate clause that functions as the object of the verb понять:

Main part: можно … понять – one can understand
Object (what exactly can you understand?): что он удобный – that it is convenient

So structurally:

понять, что он удобный
= to understand that it is convenient

This что is not the question word “what”; it’s a conjunction meaning “that”:

Я знаю, что он дома. – I know that he is at home.
Она верит, что это правда. – She believes that it is true.

Why is it он удобный and not он удобен or это удобно?

All three are grammatically correct, but they differ in style and focus:

он удобный
- удобный = long-form adjective, nominative.
- Very common, neutral, slightly more conversational:
  - Стул удобный. – The chair is comfortable.
- Refers specifically to this “format” (masculine: он).
он удобен
- удобен = short-form adjective.
- Often more formal / written / concise.
- Common in more elevated style:
  - Этот метод удобен для всех. – This method is convenient for everyone.
это удобно
- удобно = adverb/adjectival adverb.
- Focuses on the situation / fact rather than the specific object:
  - Так делать удобно. – Doing it this way is convenient.
- If you said понять, что это удобно, it would mean something like “to realize that this is convenient” in a more general way (this approach, this situation).

In the original sentence, он удобный keeps the focus tightly on the new format (masculine формат → он), in a neutral, everyday style.