Breakdown of Мы ничего не можем сделать этими плохими иголками.
не
not
мы
we
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
плохой
bad
сделать
to do (perfective) / to make (perfective)
мочь
to be able to
ничего
nothing
иголка
the needle
Questions & Answers about Мы ничего не можем сделать этими плохими иголками.
Why are the words этими плохими иголками in the instrumental case if there is no preposition like 'with' (с)?
The instrumental case is used here to show the tool or instrument used to perform an action. Even though we translate it as 'with these bad needles' in English, Russian does not use the preposition с when you are using an object as a tool. If you used с, it would mean you are doing something accompanied by the needles!
How are the plural instrumental endings formed for этими плохими иголками?
For nouns like иголка (needle), the plural instrumental ending is -ами, making it иголками. The adjectives and demonstrative pronouns describing it take the plural endings -ыми or -ими. Here, we use -ими for both этими (these) and плохими (bad). Плохими uses -ими instead of -ыми because of the spelling rule that says you cannot write the letter 'ы' after 'х'.
Why are there two negative words, ничего and не? Doesn't a double negative make a positive?
Not in Russian! Russian requires a double negative. When you use a negative pronoun like ничего (nothing), you must also put не before the verb. Literally, it translates to 'We nothing not can do,' which just means 'We cannot do anything.'
Why is the verb сделать used instead of делать?
Сделать is the perfective form of делать, meaning it focuses on a completed result. Here, the speaker is focusing on the fact that they cannot successfully complete the task or get a result using these bad needles.
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