Word
Флейта звучала тише, чем саксофон, поэтому учитель попросил играть смелее.
Meaning
The flute sounded more quietly than the saxophone, so the teacher asked them to play more boldly.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Флейта звучала тише, чем саксофон, поэтому учитель попросил играть смелее.
учитель
the teacher
звучать
to sound
играть
to play
чем
than
Questions & Answers about Флейта звучала тише, чем саксофон, поэтому учитель попросил играть смелее.
Why is it звучала and not звучал?
Because флейта is a feminine singular noun, and the past tense in Russian agrees with the subject in gender and number.
- флейта = feminine singular
- past tense of звучать becomes звучала
Compare:
- саксофон звучал = the saxophone sounded
- флейта звучала = the flute sounded
So звучала tells you that the thing doing the sounding is feminine.
What does тише mean here, and what form is it?
Тише is the comparative form meaning more quietly or quieter.
It comes from тихо = quietly / soft and is related to тихий = quiet, soft.
In this sentence, it works adverbially: it describes how the flute sounded.
- Флейта звучала тише = The flute sounded quieter / more softly
Russian often uses the same comparative form in places where English might use either an adjective or an adverb, depending on the translation.
Why is чем used here?