Breakdown of Хороший врач никогда не рискует своей репутацией.
не
not
врач
doctor
хороший
good
никогда
never
свой
one's own
рисковать
to risk
репутация
reputation
Questions & Answers about Хороший врач никогда не рискует своей репутацией.
Why is репутацией in the instrumental case here?
The verb рисковать (to risk) is one of the verbs that govern the instrumental case. In Russian, you do not risk a direct object using the accusative case; instead, the thing being put at risk must always be in the instrumental case.
Why do we use своей instead of a word for his or her?
Свой is the reflexive possessive pronoun, meaning one's own. In Russian, if the owner is also the subject of the sentence (the doctor), you must use свой rather than его (his) or её (her). If the sentence used его or её, it would mean the doctor is risking someone else's reputation! Here, своей is in the instrumental case to match репутацией.
Why is there a не before the verb when the sentence already has никогда (never)?
Russian strictly requires a double negative. Whenever you use a negative word like никогда (never), никто (nobody), or ничего (nothing), you must also place не right before the verb.
What is the dictionary form of репутацией, and why does it end in -ей instead of -ой?
The dictionary (nominative) form is репутация. While many feminine nouns take -ой in the instrumental case (like работа becoming работой), feminine nouns ending in -ия change their ending to -ией. Therefore, репутация becomes репутацией.
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