Breakdown of Зарплату задерживают из-за кризиса.
зарплата
salary
кризис
the crisis (m)
из-за
because of; from behind
задерживать
to delay (impf)
Questions & Answers about Зарплату задерживают из-за кризиса.
Why use из-за here instead of потому что?
потому что translates to 'because' and must be followed by a full clause with a subject and verb. из-за translates to 'because of' or 'due to' and is followed directly by a noun in the Genitive case, like кризиса. It is specifically used to point out a negative cause or an obstacle.
Could we use благодаря instead of из-за since both can mean 'due to'?
No, because благодаря (thanks to) is used strictly for positive causes. A crisis delaying a salary is a negative event, so you must use из-за. Also, keep in mind that благодаря requires the Dative case, while из-за requires the Genitive case.
Why is the verb задерживают in the 'they' form when there is no word for 'they' in the sentence?
Dropping the pronoun они (they) and just using the third-person plural verb is a common way to make a sentence impersonal in Russian. It is often the best way to translate the English passive voice. It means 'the salary is being delayed' without focusing on the specific people doing the delaying.
Why does the sentence start with Зарплату if it is the object receiving the action?
Зарплату is in the Accusative case, showing it is the direct object. Russian word order is flexible, so placing the object first makes it the main topic of the sentence. It emphasizes that the salary is the focus of the discussion, which fits perfectly with the anonymous 'they' verb form.
Is задерживают an imperfective or perfective verb?
It is imperfective, which shows that the delay is a current, ongoing situation. If the speaker wanted to say 'they will delay the salary' as a one-time completed event, they would use the perfective future form задержат.
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