Questions & Answers about Этот рюкзак — для ноутбука.
Why does the word ноутбука end in -а here?
Because it comes after the preposition для (for). In Russian, для always requires the noun that follows it to be in the Genitive case. Since ноутбук (laptop) is a masculine noun ending in a consonant, its Genitive form is made by adding -а.
Why is there a dash (—) in the middle of this sentence?
The dash represents the present-tense verb 'is'. In Russian, the verb 'to be' is skipped in the present tense. When a sentence has a subject (Этот рюкзак) and a descriptive phrase right after it, a dash is often used in writing to show where 'is' would normally go.
Doesn't ноутбук sound exactly like the English word 'notebook'? Does it mean a paper notebook?
It is borrowed from English, but ноутбук specifically means a laptop computer! If you want to talk about a paper notebook for writing, you would use the word тетрадь or блокнот.
Why use Этот instead of Это?
Этот means 'This' when it attaches directly to a masculine noun, like Этот рюкзак (This backpack). Это is used when saying 'This is...', such as Это рюкзак (This is a backpack). Since the sentence is about 'This backpack', we must use the matching masculine form Этот.