Breakdown of Каждый гражданин должен знать государственные законы.
знать
to know
каждый
every
должен
must, have to (должен, должна, должны)
закон
the law
гражданин
the citizen
государственный
state
Questions & Answers about Каждый гражданин должен знать государственные законы.
Why do we use Каждый (every) here instead of Любой (any) or Весь (all)?
Каждый means "every" or "each," pointing to all members of a group individually. Любой means "any" in the sense of "whichever you pick," which is too casual for a strict legal duty. If you wanted to use a form of весь (all), you would have to make the subject plural: Все граждане (All citizens).
Why is должен used instead of a normal verb for "must"?
Russian does not have a regular verb for "must." Instead, it uses the short-form adjective должен, which functions like a verb but agrees in gender and number with the subject. Because гражданин is a masculine singular noun, we use the masculine form должен.
Why is the imperfective verb знать used after должен?
Knowing the laws is a continuous, ongoing state rather than a one-time completed action. Because this describes a general obligation and an uninterrupted state, Russian requires the imperfective aspect.
What case is государственные законы, and why does it look exactly like the nominative form?
It is in the accusative plural case because it is the direct object of the verb знать. However, for inanimate nouns and their matching adjectives in the plural, the accusative endings are completely identical to the nominative endings.
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