Breakdown of Из-за дождя они отменяют поездку.
дождь
rain
они
they
поездка
trip, journey
из-за
because of; from behind
отменять
to cancel (impf)
Questions & Answers about Из-за дождя они отменяют поездку.
Why do we use из-за here instead of потому что for "because"?
потому что means "because" but must be followed by a full clause (a subject and a verb). из-за means "because of" or "due to" and is followed directly by a noun in the Genitive case. It is heavily used for external or negative reasons that force an action, like bad weather ruining plans.
How do we form the Genitive case for дождь to get дождя?
дождь (rain) ends in a soft sign (-ь), which means it could be masculine or feminine. It happens to be a masculine noun. To form the Genitive case for masculine nouns ending in a soft sign, you drop the -ь and add -я.
Why is the verb отменяют in the imperfective aspect?
The sentence is translating "are canceling," which is an ongoing action in the present tense. In Russian, perfective verbs can only be used for the past and future tenses. If an action is happening in the present, you must use the imperfective aspect, which is отменять.
Why does the word for trip (поездка) change to поездку?
The trip is the direct object of the sentence—it is the thing receiving the action of being canceled. This means it must be in the Accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in -а, the ending changes to -у in the Accusative.
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