Breakdown of Написав диссертацию, он поехал в столицу, чтобы защитить её.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
в
in / to (direction)
её
her (acc)
написать
to write (perfective)
столица
capital city
поехать
to go (by transport)
чтобы
in order to
диссертация
dissertation
защитить
to defend
Questions & Answers about Написав диссертацию, он поехал в столицу, чтобы защитить её.
What exactly is the form of написав and how is it used here?
Написав is a perfective verbal adverb meaning having written. It is formed by taking the past tense of написать (написал), dropping the -л, and adding -в. It shows that the writing was completely finished before the main action (поехал) began.
Why is there a comma after диссертацию?
In Russian, a phrase built around a verbal adverb (a деепричастный оборот) must always be separated from the rest of the sentence by commas. Here, the comma isolates the extra having written the dissertation clause from the main sentence.
Why do we use в столицу instead of в столице?
Поехал is a verb of motion indicating a destination. When expressing motion to or into a place, Russian uses в + the accusative case (столицу). Using the prepositional case (в столице) would mean he was already inside the capital when he started driving.
Why is a comma required before чтобы?
Чтобы introduces a subordinate clause of purpose (in order to defend it). In Russian grammar, you must always place a comma between the main clause and a subordinate clause.
Why does the sentence end with её instead of его?
The pronoun её refers back to диссертацию (dissertation). Because диссертация is a feminine noun, you must use the feminine pronoun to say defend it in Russian, even though we use the gender-neutral it in English.
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