Breakdown of Творчество Чехова знают во всём мире.
знать
to know
в
in / to (direction)
мир
world
весь
all, the whole, everything, everyone (весь, вся, всё, все)
Questions & Answers about Творчество Чехова знают во всём мире.
Why is Chekhov's name written as Чехова here?
It is in the genitive case to show possession, meaning "Chekhov's" (literally "the works of Chekhov"). For male surnames ending in -ов, like Чехов, the genitive ending is -а, just like standard masculine nouns. Remember that these surnames take a special adjective-like ending in the instrumental case (like Чеховым), but in the genitive case used here, they decline like regular nouns.
The English translation uses the passive voice ("are known"), but isn't знают the active "they know"?
Yes! Russian frequently avoids the passive voice. Instead, it uses the third-person plural ("they" form) without an actual subject to talk about things people do in general. Literally, the sentence is "[They] know Chekhov's works all over the world."
Творчество is a singular noun, so why does the English translation say "works"?
Творчество is a collective, abstract noun that refers to an artist's or writer's entire creative output (their "oeuvre"). While English naturally translates this concept using the plural word "works," Russian uses this singular noun.
Why does the sentence use во instead of the normal preposition в for "in"?