Метроном задаёт ритм.

Because метроном is the thing doing the action: it sets the rhythm.

In Russian, the subject is normally in the nominative case, and метроном is nominative singular. It is a masculine noun, which you can often recognize because it ends in a consonant.

So in Метроном задаёт ритм, the structure is:

• метроном = the metronome = subject
• задаёт = sets
• ритм = rhythm = direct object

It is in the accusative, but for many masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular looks exactly the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: ритм
• accusative: ритм

That is normal for masculine inanimate nouns.

Compare:

• Я вижу метроном. = I see a metronome.
• Я слышу ритм. = I hear the rhythm.

Both метроном and ритм are masculine inanimate nouns, so their accusative singular form stays the same.

Задаёт is the 3rd person singular present form of задавать.

So:

• infinitive: задавать
• he/she/it sets: задаёт

Since метроном is singular, the verb is singular too.

You can think of it as:

• я задаю = I set
• ты задаёшь = you set
• он/она/оно задаёт = he/she/it sets
• мы задаём = we set
• вы задаёте = you set
• они задают = they set

Because that is the correct stressed vowel in this form: задаёт.

The ё is pronounced like yo in yonder or York. The stress falls on it, so the pronunciation is roughly:

• за-да-ЁТ

In printed Russian, ё is sometimes written as е, so you may also see задает, but it still means задаёт and is pronounced the same way. For learners, it is very helpful to remember the version with ё.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• метроном → me-tra-NOM
• задаёт → za-da-YOT
• ритм → RITM

So the full sentence is roughly:

me-tra-NOM za-da-YOT RITM

A more careful pronunciation:

• Метроном = /mʲɪtrɐˈnom/
• задаёт = /zədɐˈjɵt/
• ритм = /rʲitm/

The verb задавать is imperfective, and that makes sense here because the sentence describes a general function or an ongoing action:

A metronome sets the rhythm.

Russian often uses the imperfective for:

• habitual actions
• repeated actions
• general statements
• ongoing processes

A metronome does not set the rhythm as one single completed act; it provides or maintains it over time. That is why the imperfective is natural here.

Its perfective partner is задать. That would be used for a completed action, like:

• Метроном задал ритм. = The metronome set the rhythm.

That sounds more like one completed event.

Yes. Задавать / задать is a very common verb with several related meanings depending on context.

It can mean:

• to set
• to establish
• to determine
• to provide
• to assign
• to ask (in expressions like задавать вопрос = to ask a question)

In задаёт ритм, it means something like:

• sets the rhythm
• establishes the rhythm
• provides the beat

So the exact English translation may vary a little depending on context.

Russian has no articles, so there is no separate word for a, an, or the.

So Метроном задаёт ритм could be understood as:

• The metronome sets the rhythm
• A metronome sets the rhythm

Which one sounds best depends on context, and English has to choose, but Russian does not.

No, Russian word order is much more flexible than English word order because case endings help show what each word is doing.

The neutral, straightforward order here is:

Метроном задаёт ритм.

That is the most natural way to present the sentence with no special emphasis.

But other orders are possible for emphasis or style, for example:

• Ритм задаёт метроном.
  This puts more focus on rhythm or answers a question like What sets the rhythm?

Even though the order changes, the meaning is still clear because:

• метроном is the subject
• ритм is the object

Because Russian does not need a subject pronoun when the noun itself is already there.

In English, you might say:

• The metronome sets the rhythm.

Russian does the same:

• Метроном задаёт ритм.

You would only use a pronoun like он if you were replacing the noun:

• Он задаёт ритм. = It / he sets the rhythm.

But if метроном is already stated, there is no need for он.

Метроном is masculine.

You can tell because it ends in a consonant, which is the most common pattern for masculine nouns in Russian.

Its gender matters because:

• adjectives modifying it would use masculine forms
• past tense verbs referring to it would use masculine forms
• pronouns referring to it would normally be он

For example:

• Новый метроном задаёт ритм. = The new metronome sets the rhythm.
• Метроном задал ритм. = The metronome set the rhythm.
  Here задал is masculine past tense.

Yes, you will often see that in real Russian text.

Russian writers frequently omit the dots and write е instead of ё, so задает is very commonly printed instead of задаёт.

However:

• the correct pronunciation is still задаёт
• the stress is still on that syllable
• for learners, it is best to remember the form with ё

So both spellings may appear, but задаёт is the clearer learning form.