Breakdown of Теперь они празднуют Рождество по-другому.
они
they
теперь
now (as opposed to before)
праздновать
to celebrate
Рождество
Christmas
по-другому
differently (in another way)
Questions & Answers about Теперь они празднуют Рождество по-другому.
How exactly is по-другому formed to mean 'differently'?
It is built using the prefix по- attached to the dative form of the adjective другой (other, different). Adding по- to the dative case of an adjective (which ends in -ому or -ему) is a common pattern in this lesson to create an adverb of manner, literally meaning 'in a different way'.
Could I use сейчас instead of теперь for 'now' here?
You could, but теперь is much better here. While сейчас means 'right now' or 'at this current moment', теперь implies 'now, as opposed to how it was before'. Because the sentence explicitly states they celebrate 'differently', it emphasizes a change, which makes теперь the perfect fit.
Why does the verb праздновать (to celebrate) look like празднуют here? Where did the -ова- go?
This is a standard spelling rule you might remember from earlier: for most verbs ending in -овать or -евать, that suffix changes to -у- or -ю- in the present tense. Therefore, праздн-ова-ть drops the -ова- and adds -у- plus the 'they' ending -ют, giving us празднуют.
What case is Рождество (Christmas) in?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object (the thing being celebrated). Neuter nouns ending in -о or -е, like Рождество, do not change their spelling in the accusative case, so it looks exactly the same as its dictionary form.
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