Question 1

Why is дизайнером in the Instrumental case here instead of the Nominative?

Accepted Answer

When we talk about professions or roles using the verbs быть (to be) or стать (to become), Russian uses the Instrumental case. Since the noun дизайнер ends in a hard consonant, it takes the standard masculine Instrumental ending -ом to become дизайнером.

Question 2

The daughter is female, so why does дизайнером have a masculine ending?

Accepted Answer

Many job titles in Russian, especially borrowed words like дизайнер, do not have a commonly used feminine form. The masculine form is used as a neutral professional title for both men and women. So, even though the subject (дочь) is feminine, the job title stays grammatically masculine.

Question 3

I always forget how to conjugate хотеть (to want). Is хочет regular?

Accepted Answer

No, хотеть is a famously irregular verb because it mixes two different conjugation patterns! In the singular, it has a ч in the root and takes type-1 endings: я хочу, ты хочешь, она хочет. But in the plural, it keeps the т and takes type-2 endings: мы хотим, вы хотите, они хотят.

Question 4

Why doesn't дочь end in -а or -я if it is a feminine noun?

Accepted Answer

Дочь (daughter) belongs to a special group of feminine nouns that end in a soft sign (ь) instead of the typical -а or -я. Another very common family word that follows this exact same pattern is мать (mother).

Наша дочь не хочет быть дизайнером.

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