Breakdown of Вам нужно поливать сухую почву, так как без воды урожай гораздо хуже.
вода
water
вы
you (plural or formal)
нужно
it is necessary
без
without
гораздо
much (with comparatives)
урожай
harvest
почва
soil
сухой
dry
хуже
worse
так как
since, as
поливать
to water
Questions & Answers about Вам нужно поливать сухую почву, так как без воды урожай гораздо хуже.
Why do we use Вам instead of Вы at the beginning of the sentence?
The word нужно (need/necessary) requires the person who needs to do something to be in the dative case. Literally, the structure translates as 'To you it is necessary to water'.
Why is the verb поливать imperfective here?
We use the imperfective поливать because watering the soil is stated as a general rule or repeated action, rather than a single, completed event. If it were a one-time instruction for a specific dry patch right now, you might see the perfective полить.
What case is сухую почву and why?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb поливать (to water). Both the feminine adjective сухая (dry) and the noun почва (soil) change their endings to show they are receiving the action.
Why does this sentence use так как instead of the lesson's main topic, несмотря на то, что?
The phrase так как means 'since' or 'because' and introduces a logical cause for why you need to water the soil. If you used the concessive conjunction несмотря на то, что (despite the fact that), it would logically contradict the sentence by saying you should water the soil even though it ruins the harvest!
How does гораздо work with хуже in this sentence?
The word гораздо means 'much' or 'by far' and is used to strengthen comparative adjectives. While хуже alone means 'worse', adding гораздо makes it 'much worse'. Remember that in Russian, you cannot use очень (very) with comparative words.
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