Breakdown of Она обнимает этого талантливого музыканта.
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
музыкант
musician
обнимать
to hug
талантливый
talented
Questions & Answers about Она обнимает этого талантливого музыканта.
Why do этого and талантливого both end in -ого?
Because they describe a living, male person (музыканта) who is the direct object of the verb (he is the one being hugged). In the Accusative case, adjectives and pronouns describing animate masculine nouns take the endings -ого or -его, which look exactly like the Genitive case.
How are the -ого endings in этого and талантливого pronounced?
The letter г in these specific adjective and pronoun endings is pronounced like an English "v". You will hear them pronounced roughly as "eh-ta-va" and "ta-lant-li-va-va". This is a very common pronunciation rule to remember for the -ого and -его endings.
Why does the noun музыкант change to музыканта?
Just like the adjectives describing him, masculine nouns for living beings (animate nouns) change their ending when they are the target of an action. They usually add -а or -я. If she were hugging an inanimate object, the masculine noun wouldn't change at all, but a person requires the -а ending.
Does обнимает mean "she hugs" or "she is hugging"?
It translates to both! Russian only has one present tense. Она обнимает can mean "she is hugging" right now, or "she hugs" as a general habit, depending entirely on the context of the conversation.
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