Breakdown of Кандидат получил отказ, хотя он отлично ответил на вопросы.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
отлично
excellently
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
вопрос
question
ответить
to answer (perfective)
кандидат
candidate
получить
to receive (perfective)
хотя
although
отказ
rejection
Questions & Answers about Кандидат получил отказ, хотя он отлично ответил на вопросы.
Do I always need a comma before хотя?
Yes! In Russian, clauses connected by conjunctions like хотя (although), что (that), or потому что (because) must always be separated by a comma.
Why is there a на before вопросы? In English it's just 'answered the questions.'
The Russian verb ответить (to answer) requires the preposition на followed by the Accusative case to express what is being answered. So in Russian, you always 'answer on' a question: ответил на вопросы.
Is получил отказ the standard way to say 'was rejected'?
Yes, using a noun phrase like получить отказ is very common in Russian, especially in professional contexts like job interviews or applications. It literally translates to 'received a refusal'.
Why doesn't the ending of отказ change, since it is the direct object being received?
Отказ is a masculine, inanimate noun. For inanimate masculine nouns, the Accusative case (which is used for direct objects) looks exactly the same as the Nominative (dictionary) form.
Can I start the sentence with the хотя part, just like in English?
Absolutely! You can easily swap the order to emphasize the concession: Хотя он отлично ответил на вопросы, кандидат получил отказ. Just remember to keep the comma separating the two halves of the sentence.
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