Breakdown of Этот сорт очень устойчивый, несмотря на то, что погода плохая.
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
плохой
bad
очень
very
погода
the weather
Questions & Answers about Этот сорт очень устойчивый, несмотря на то, что погода плохая.
Why do we need 'то, что' in this sentence? Couldn't we just say 'несмотря на погода плохая'?
In Russian, the preposition несмотря на (despite) must be followed by a noun or pronoun, not a full clause. Because погода плохая has its own subject and adjective, we must use то, что (the fact that) as a grammatical bridge. Literally, it translates to 'despite that, that the weather is bad.'
How would this sentence change if I wanted to say 'despite the bad weather' without using a 'что' clause?
You would drop то, что and use the preposition несмотря на directly with a noun phrase in the accusative case. The sentence would become: Этот сорт очень устойчивый, несмотря на плохую погоду.
What exactly does 'сорт' mean here? Is it just a general word for 'sort' or 'kind'?
While сорт can mean 'sort' or 'grade', in gardening and agriculture it specifically refers to a 'variety' or 'cultivar' of a plant. The adjective устойчивый (resistant or hardy) is a big context clue that we are talking about a tough plant variety here.
Why is there a comma before 'несмотря'?
Russian has strict punctuation rules that require a comma to separate clauses in a complex sentence. The first clause is about the plant variety (Этот сорт очень устойчивый) and the second is about the weather (погода плохая). The comma acts as a clear boundary between these two ideas.