Breakdown of Администратор сказал, что в хостеле нет свободных комнат.
в
in
комната
the room
сказать
to say
что
that
Questions & Answers about Администратор сказал, что в хостеле нет свободных комнат.
Why is сказал masculine here?
Because Russian past tense verbs agree with the gender and number of the subject.
- администратор is a masculine noun
- so the past tense form is сказал = said for a masculine subject
Compare:
- администратор сказал = the administrator said
- администраторша сказала = the female administrator said
- они сказали = they said
In the past tense, Russian does not change the verb for person the way English does; it mainly changes for gender and number.
Why is что used here?
Что introduces a subordinate clause and often means that.
So:
- Администратор сказал = The administrator said
- что в хостеле нет свободных комнат = that there are no free rooms in the hostel
This is very common in Russian after verbs of saying, thinking, knowing, and so on:
- Он сказал, что... = He said that...
- Я думаю, что... = I think that...
- Мы знаем, что... = We know that...
In English, that is often optional, but in Russian что is normally kept.
Why is it в хостеле and not в хостел?