Breakdown of Новый начальник будет руководить этим отделом.
новый
new
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
быть
to be
начальник
boss
руководить
to lead
отдел
department
Questions & Answers about Новый начальник будет руководить этим отделом.
Why is the object этим отделом in the Instrumental case instead of the Accusative?
The verb руководить (to manage, to lead) specifically requires its object to be in the Instrumental case, not the Accusative. Several verbs dealing with management, control, or leadership work this way, such as управлять (to manage) and командовать (to command).
I always mix up этим and этом. Why is it этим here?
Этим is the Instrumental case for the masculine word этот (this), matching the Instrumental noun отделом. You might be thinking of этом, which is the Prepositional case form used after prepositions like в or о (for example, в этом отделе meaning 'in this department').
Why use the two-word future tense будет руководить rather than a single-word perfective verb?
Managing a department is generally an ongoing process or a state of being, rather than an action that gets completed once and for all. Because of this continuous nature, we use the imperfective verb руководить. The future tense of all imperfective verbs is formed by combining the future of быть (here, будет) with the infinitive.
Where does the word руководить come from?
It is built from two common Russian roots you probably already know: рука (hand) and водить (to lead). A boss or manager literally 'leads by the hand'.
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