Breakdown of Анна Иванова стала великим врачом и гордостью больницы.
и
and
врач
doctor
больница
hospital
Анна
Anna
Questions & Answers about Анна Иванова стала великим врачом и гордостью больницы.
Since our lesson is about surnames, how does Иванова decline? Is it just like a normal adjective?
Not exactly! Surnames ending in -ов and -ин have a "mixed" declension. Feminine surnames like Иванова decline a lot like adjectives, but with a key exception: their accusative ending is -у (Иванову), just like a regular noun, rather than -ую.
Why are врачом and гордостью in the instrumental case?
They are governed by the verb стала (the feminine past tense of стать, to become). In Russian, the role or state that someone becomes takes the instrumental case.
Anna is a woman. Why is the adjective великим (great) in the masculine form here?
Because it modifies врач (doctor), which is grammatically a masculine noun. In Russian, many traditional professions are masculine nouns. Even when applying them to a woman, any adjectives directly attached to the profession must match its grammatical masculine gender.
Why does the instrumental form of врач end in -ом (врачом) instead of -ем?