Breakdown of Во время выступления он плохо себя чувствовал.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
плохо
badly
себя
oneself (себе: Dat/Prep)
чувствовать
to feel
во время
during
выступление
performance (public appearance, speech)
Questions & Answers about Во время выступления он плохо себя чувствовал.
Why is выступления in the genitive case here?
The phrase во время (during) is a preposition that always requires the genitive case. Since выступление (performance) is a neuter noun ending in -е, it changes to -я in the genitive, becoming выступления.
Why do we need the word себя in this sentence?
The verb чувствовать (to feel) needs an object. To express how you feel physically or emotionally, you use the reflexive pronoun себя (oneself). Without it, он чувствовал would mean he was physically touching or sensing a specific external object.
Why is the adverb плохо (badly) used here instead of the adjective плохой (bad)?
In Russian, when you describe your state of health or mood using чувствовать себя, you must use an adverb like плохо or хорошо. You are literally saying that he felt himself badly.
Could I use the perfective verb почувствовал instead of the imperfective чувствовал here?
Using the imperfective чувствовал shows that feeling unwell was an ongoing state that lasted continuously throughout the performance. If you used the perfective почувствовал, it would mean he suddenly started feeling bad at one specific moment during the performance.
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