Мы сняли абажур и увидели, что патрон у лампы почти сломан.

Yes, снять is a very flexible verb in Russian. Its meaning depends heavily on context.

In this sentence, Мы сняли абажур means We removed/took off the lampshade.

Common meanings of снять include:

• to take off / remove — снять пальто, снять крышку, снять абажур
• to rent — снять квартиру
• to film / shoot — снять фильм
• to take down — снять картину со стены

Because абажур is a physical object that can be taken off a lamp, removed is the natural meaning here.

These are perfective past-tense verbs, which present the actions as completed events:

• сняли = removed / took off
• увидели = saw / noticed

In this sentence, the speaker is describing a sequence of completed actions:

1. We removed the lampshade
2. We saw that...

If you used the imperfective forms:

• снимали
• видели

the sentence would sound more like a process, repetition, or background action, which is not the point here.

So the perfective verbs fit because the sentence tells us what happened and what result followed.

Because абажур is a masculine inanimate noun, and in the singular its accusative form is the same as its nominative form.

Here абажур is the direct object of сняли, so it is in the accusative case:

• nominative: абажур
• accusative: абажур

If it were an animate masculine noun, the accusative would usually match the genitive instead.

It can mean cartridge, yes, but here it means the lamp socket / lampholder — the part of the lamp where the bulb is screwed in.

This is a very common source of confusion for learners. In technical or household contexts, патрон often means:

• socket
• lamp holder
• bulb holder

So патрон у лампы means the lamp’s socket.

Russian often expresses possession with у + genitive, especially when talking about a part belonging to something.

So:

• патрон у лампы literally means something like the socket by/at the lamp
• naturally in English: the lamp’s socket or the socket of the lamp

This structure is very common:

• ручка у двери = the door handle
• крыша у дома = the roof of the house
• ножка у стула = the leg of the chair

So у here is not really about location; it is a natural Russian way to show that something belongs to or is part of something else.

Because у requires the genitive case.

The noun is лампа:

• nominative: лампа
• genitive singular: лампы

So:

• у лампы = of the lamp / on the lamp / belonging to the lamp, depending on context

In this sentence, it marks the lamp as the thing whose socket is being discussed.

Here что means that and introduces a subordinate clause:

• увидели, что... = saw that...

So the structure is:

• Мы сняли абажур и увидели
• что патрон у лампы почти сломан

English often uses the same structure:

• We saw that the socket was almost broken.

Russian uses что very commonly after verbs like:

• знать — to know
• думать — to think
• видеть / увидеть — to see
• слышать / услышать — to hear

Сломан is the short form of сломанный and is used predicatively — that is, as part of the statement about the subject.

Compare:

• сломанный патрон = a broken socket
  This is the full form, used like an adjective before a noun.

• патрон сломан = the socket is broken
  This is the short form, used as the predicate.

So in this sentence:

• патрон ... почти сломан = the socket is almost broken

Using сломался would shift the meaning a bit toward broke / has broken as an event, while сломан describes the resulting state.

It means almost broken or nearly broken — in other words, the socket is in very bad condition but not quite fully broken yet.

So почти modifies сломан:

• почти сломан = almost broken

It suggests that the speaker judged the socket to be very close to failure.

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, and different orders can shift emphasis.

This version is neutral and natural:

• патрон у лампы почти сломан

Other possible orders:

• у лампы патрон почти сломан
• почти сломан патрон у лампы

But they do not all sound equally neutral. The original sentence presents the information in a straightforward way:

1. mention the thing being discussed: патрон
2. clarify which one: у лампы
3. say what is true about it: почти сломан

So the word order is mainly about information flow, not strict grammar.

Yes, it could. Russian often drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

So both are possible:

• Мы сняли абажур и увидели, что...
• Сняли абажур и увидели, что...

The form сняли and увидели already shows we or they, depending on context. Including мы makes the subject explicit and can sound slightly clearer or more deliberate.

In this sentence, мы is perfectly natural, but it is not strictly necessary.