Breakdown of Шкаф очень тяжёлый, его нельзя сдвинуть.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
очень
very
шкаф
cabinet / wardrobe
нельзя
one must not
тяжёлый
heavy
сдвинуть
to move (shift an object)
Questions & Answers about Шкаф очень тяжёлый, его нельзя сдвинуть.
Why do we use the perfective verb сдвинуть here instead of the imperfective сдвигать?
This is the core rule for нельзя. When you use нельзя with an imperfective verb, it means an action is forbidden (you are not allowed to do it). When you use нельзя with a perfective verb, it means the action is physically impossible to successfully complete. Since the wardrobe is too heavy, moving it is impossible, so we use the perfective сдвинуть.
Why is it его нельзя сдвинуть and not он нельзя сдвинуть?
Sentences with нельзя are impersonal, meaning they do not take a subject in the nominative case. The word его is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb сдвинуть. Literally, the sentence is structured as: it is impossible to move (what?) it.
What does the с- prefix in сдвинуть mean here?
The base verb is двигать (to move). Adding the prefix с- gives the specific meaning of moving something off its current spot or shifting it aside. The sentence emphasizes that the wardrobe is so heavy you cannot even dislodge it or shift it slightly.
Could I put его after the verb, like нельзя сдвинуть его?
Yes, grammatically that is fine. However, putting the pronoun его right at the start of the second clause is much more natural here. It immediately connects back to the topic of the first clause (шкаф) before introducing the new information (нельзя сдвинуть).
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