Breakdown of Студентка долго отвечала на вопрос.
студентка
student (f)
отвечать
to answer
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
вопрос
question
долго
for a long time
Questions & Answers about Студентка долго отвечала на вопрос.
Why use the imperfective verb отвечала here instead of a perfective verb?
The adverb долго (for a long time) focuses on the duration and process of the action. Whenever you talk about how long an action took in the past, you must use the imperfective aspect. A perfective verb would focus on the final result, like saying she successfully completed her answer, rather than the time spent doing it.
Why do we need the preposition на before вопрос?
In English, you answer a question directly, but in Russian, you must use отвечать на (literally to answer on) when pointing to what you are answering. It is a set grammar pattern you will need to memorize for this verb.
What case is вопрос in, and why didn't its ending change?
It is in the accusative case because it follows the preposition на showing the target of the answer. However, вопрос is a masculine inanimate noun (a concept or thing, not a living being). For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative form is exactly identical to the dictionary form.
Why does the verb отвечала end in -ла?
Past tense verbs in Russian must match the gender of the subject doing the action. Because студентка (a female student) is feminine, the verb takes the feminine past tense ending -ла. If it were a male student (студент), the verb would be отвечал.
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