Breakdown of Он не помнит это лицо.
не
not
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
помнить
to remember
лицо
the face
Questions & Answers about Он не помнит это лицо.
Why is it это лицо and not этот лицо?
The word лицо (face) ends in -о, making it a neuter noun. The word for "this" must match the gender of the noun it points to, so we use the neuter form это.
Is это лицо in the accusative case here?
Yes, it is! It is the direct object of the sentence (the thing being remembered), so it is in the accusative case. It just doesn't look different because neuter words like это and лицо do not change their endings in the accusative case.
Why does помнит end in -ит instead of -ет?
The dictionary form of this verb is помнить (to remember). Because it ends in -ить, it belongs to the second group of Russian verbs (Group 2 conjugation). These verbs use -ит for the "he/she/it" form, unlike Group 1 verbs which use -ет (like знает - he knows).
Can I put не after the verb, like "Он помнит не это лицо"?
You can, but it changes the meaning entirely! Он не помнит means "He doesn't remember." If you put не right before это лицо, it means "He remembers not this face (but a different one)." In Russian, не always goes immediately before the exact word it negates.
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