Продавец обернул коробку лентой.

the seller

Breakdown of Продавец обернул коробку лентой.

• коробка: the box
• лента: the ribbon
• обернуть: to wrap around

Questions & Answers about Продавец обернул коробку лентой.

What does each word in Продавец обернул коробку лентой do grammatically?

• Продавец = the seller / shop assistant. It is the subject of the sentence, in the nominative case.
• обернул = wrapped. This is a past tense, masculine singular, perfective verb form.
• коробку = the box. It is the direct object, so it appears in the accusative case.
• лентой = with ribbon / using ribbon. It is in the instrumental case, showing the material or means used.

So the structure is basically:

[subject] + [verb] + [object] + [instrument/material]

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Why is коробку in the accusative case?

Because коробка is the thing being acted on: the seller wrapped the box.

The verb обернуть takes a direct object, and direct objects are usually in the accusative.

• Nominative: коробка
• Accusative: коробку

Since коробка is an inanimate feminine noun, the accusative singular ends in -у here.

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Why is лентой in the instrumental case?