Question 1

Why do we use the imperfective verb нарушать here instead of the perfective нарушить?

Accepted Answer

This ties perfectly into the current lesson! When combined with нельзя, an imperfective verb means an action is forbidden (you must not do it). If we used the perfective нарушить, it would mean the action is physically impossible to complete (like an unbreakable law of physics). Since this is a human law that people are prohibited from breaking, the imperfective is the correct choice.

Question 2

Why does the second part say "его нельзя" instead of "это нельзя"?

Accepted Answer

Его is the accusative case of он (he/it). Because закон (law) is a masculine noun, we must refer back to it using a masculine pronoun. It is in the accusative case here because it is the direct object of the verb нарушать (to break it). Word order is flexible in Russian, so placing the object его before the verb is very natural here.

Question 3

Can I use нарушать if I want to say "break a window"?

Accepted Answer

No. Нарушать (imperfective) and its perfective pair нарушить are used for abstract or rule-based breaking—like breaking a law, breaking a promise, violating a rule, or breaking the silence. To physically break an object like a window or a toy, you would use verbs like разбивать (to shatter) or ломать (to snap/break).

Question 4

Just as a refresher, why is it "Это строгий закон" and not "Этот строгий закон"?

Accepted Answer

Here, это is acting as a standalone subject pronoun meaning "this is" (This is a strict law). In this role, it doesn't change to match the noun. If you instead wanted to say "This strict law is..." to describe the noun itself, you would need the matching demonstrative adjective Этот: Этот строгий закон работает (This strict law works).

Это строгий закон, его нельзя нарушать.

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