Breakdown of Скрыть тайну нельзя, директор строго проверяет отчёт.
директор
director
нельзя
one must not
отчёт
report
тайна
secret
проверять
to check
скрыть
to hide (conceal something)
строго
strictly
Questions & Answers about Скрыть тайну нельзя, директор строго проверяет отчёт.
Why is the perfective verb скрыть used with нельзя instead of the imperfective скрывать?
When нельзя is paired with a perfective verb like скрыть, it means the action is physically or logically impossible to successfully complete. You cannot get away with hiding the secret because of the strict checks. If we used the imperfective скрывать, it would change the meaning to a prohibition, meaning 'it is forbidden to hide'.
Why is the word тайна in the accusative case (тайну) if the sentence doesn't have a specific subject doing the hiding?
Even in impersonal sentences using words like нельзя or надо, the infinitive verb (скрыть) still affects nouns exactly as it normally would. Since the secret is the direct object being hidden, it goes into the accusative case, changing тайна to тайну.
Why is the imperfective verb проверяет used in the second half of the sentence?
The imperfective is used here to show a regular, ongoing habit. The director checks the reports routinely and strictly, which is the ongoing background fact that makes hiding the secret impossible.
Why does the sentence start with Скрыть тайну instead of putting нельзя first?
Russian word order is flexible and often puts the topic or the emphasized information first. Starting with Скрыть тайну highlights the specific action we are evaluating, flowing literally as 'To hide the secret is impossible.'
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