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Questions & Answers about Фарфор оказался настоящим.
Why is оказался used here instead of был?
Оказался means turned out to be or proved to be, not just was.
So Фарфор оказался настоящим suggests that there was some doubt, uncertainty, or discovery, and in the end it was revealed that the porcelain was genuine.
Compare:
- Фарфор был настоящим = The porcelain was real/genuine.
- Фарфор оказался настоящим = The porcelain turned out to be real/genuine.
So оказался adds the idea of an unexpected result or conclusion.
What form is оказался?
Оказался is:
- past tense
- masculine singular
- perfective
- from the verb оказаться
Why masculine singular? Because it agrees with фарфор, which is a masculine singular noun.
You can see the past tense endings here:
- оказался — masculine
- оказалась — feminine
- оказалось — neuter
- оказались — plural
Since фарфор is masculine, we get оказался.
Why is настоящим in the instrumental case?