Breakdown of Секретарь всегда владеет важной информацией.
всегда
always
важный
important
информация
information
секретарь
secretary
владеть
to master
Questions & Answers about Секретарь всегда владеет важной информацией.
Why is "important information" in the Instrumental case (важной информацией) instead of the Accusative?
The verb владеть (to possess, to have at one's disposal) is one of the special verbs that require their object to be in the Instrumental case. Verbs related to control, management, or possession (like руководить - to lead, or управлять - to manage) frequently follow this pattern instead of taking a standard Accusative direct object.
Could I use the verb иметь (to have) here instead of владеть?
Yes, you could say Секретарь всегда имеет важную информацию, but notice that иметь takes the standard Accusative case. Using владеть is often preferred in professional contexts because it implies "commanding" or "having mastery over" the information, rather than just passively having it.
How are the Instrumental endings formed for the phrase важная информация?
For the feminine noun информация (which ends in -ия), the ending changes to -ией in the Instrumental case, making it информацией. For the feminine adjective важная, the standard Instrumental ending is -ой, making it важной.
I've seen feminine nouns ending in -ью in the Instrumental case. Why doesn't информация end that way?
The -ью ending (as seen in words like тетрадью or ночью) is only for feminine nouns that end in a soft sign (-ь) in their base Nominative form. Since информация ends in a vowel (-я), it follows the vowel-ending declension pattern and takes -ей.
Learn Секретарь всегда владеет важной информацией and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free