Breakdown of Эта девочка хочет стать медсестрой в больнице.
девочка
girl
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
хотеть
to want
в
in / to (direction)
больница
hospital
стать
to become
медсестра
nurse
Questions & Answers about Эта девочка хочет стать медсестрой в больнице.
Why is the word for nurse written as медсестрой instead of медсестра?
It is in the Instrumental case. In Russian, when you use the verb стать (to become) followed by a profession, that profession must take the Instrumental case. The dictionary form is медсестра, and feminine nouns ending in -а change to -ой in the Instrumental case.
Why do we use Эта девочка here instead of the familiar Это девочка?
When 'this' is used as a pointing word attached to a noun (meaning 'this specific girl'), it has to match the noun's gender. Since девочка is feminine, we use Эта. You only use the fixed neutral word Это when you are introducing something as a full sentence, like in Это девочка (This is a girl).
Is the word медсестра a combination of two words?
Yes! It is a shortened version of медицинская сестра, which literally translates to 'medical sister'. Over time, it was blended into a single word, which is now the standard Russian term for a female nurse.
Why does больница (hospital) change to больнице at the end of the sentence?
It is in the Prepositional case. Because we are talking about the location where the girl wants to work, we use the preposition в (in) plus the Prepositional case. For feminine nouns ending in -а like больница, the ending changes to -е.
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