Breakdown of Мотоцикл упал, и теперь его нельзя поднять.
и
and
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
теперь
now (as opposed to before)
нельзя
one must not
мотоцикл
motorcycle
упасть
to fall (perfective)
поднять
to lift
Questions & Answers about Мотоцикл упал, и теперь его нельзя поднять.
Why is the perfective verb поднять used after нельзя instead of the imperfective поднимать?
This ties directly into our current lesson! When нельзя is paired with a perfective verb like поднять, it means the action is physically impossible to achieve (for example, the motorcycle is too heavy or stuck). If you used the imperfective поднимать, it would mean that lifting it is strictly prohibited.
Why is the motorcycle referred to as его instead of он?
Его is the accusative form of он (since мотоцикл is a masculine noun). It acts as the direct object of the verb поднять (to lift it). Sentences with нельзя are impersonal, meaning there is no 'doer' in the nominative case performing the action.
Why does его come before нельзя поднять?
In Russian, object pronouns like его usually migrate to the front of a phrase to establish the topic you are talking about. You could say теперь нельзя поднять его, but putting его first is the most natural word order.
Why use the perfective past tense упал for 'fell'?
Упал is perfective because the motorcycle falling was a single, completed event, and the sentence focuses heavily on the direct result of that event in the present: it is now on the ground and needs to be lifted.
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