Breakdown of Мой брат думает, что мотоцикл менее надёжный, чем машина.
брат
brother
машина
car
мой
my (мой, моя, моё) / mine
думать
to think
что
that (conjunction)
чем
than / the (in comparisons)
мотоцикл
motorcycle
менее
less
надёжный
reliable
Questions & Answers about Мой брат думает, что мотоцикл менее надёжный, чем машина.
Why is машина in the dictionary form (nominative case) here?
Because we are using чем (than) to compare two subjects. When you use чем for comparison, the thing you are comparing to (машина) takes the same case as the first thing (мотоцикл). Since мотоцикл is the subject of its clause (nominative), машина is too.
How does the phrase менее надёжный (less reliable) work?
To say 'less [adjective]' in Russian, you simply use the word менее (less) followed by the normal adjective. While 'more' often has a special single-word comparative form, 'less' almost always uses this two-word structure.
Why is the adjective надёжный in the masculine form if we are also talking about a машина (a feminine word)?
The adjective надёжный describes the мотоцикл (motorcycle), which is a masculine noun. The sentence is saying the motorcycle is the 'less reliable' thing, so the adjective must match the motorcycle's gender.
In English, I could say 'My brother thinks a motorcycle is less reliable', dropping the word 'that'. Can I drop что in Russian?
No, you cannot drop it. In Russian, the conjunction что is strictly required to connect the first part of the sentence (Мой брат думает) to the second part.
Why are there commas before что and чем?
Russian punctuation rules are very strict about conjunctions. You must always place a comma before что (that) when connecting clauses, and you must always place a comma before чем (than) in comparisons.
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