Breakdown of Сын внешне гораздо больше похож на отца.
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
сын
son
гораздо
much (with comparatives)
отец
father
больше
more (quantity or size) / no longer, anymore
похожий
similar, alike
внешне
outwardly
Questions & Answers about Сын внешне гораздо больше похож на отца.
Why do we say похож на отца? What case is отца here?
The short-form adjective похож (looks like / is similar to) always pairs with the preposition на plus the Accusative case. Because отец (father) is a living (animate) masculine noun, its Accusative form is identical to its Genitive form: отца. Also, notice that the 'е' in отец is a 'fleeting vowel' that drops out when endings are added!
If похож translates to 'looks like', why is внешне in the sentence?
By itself, похож на just means 'is similar to' or 'takes after', which could refer to personality, behavior, or looks. Adding the adverb внешне (outwardly / in appearance) specifically clarifies that the son shares his father's physical traits.
Why is 'much more' translated as гораздо больше instead of много больше?
To say 'much' before a comparative word (like больше, лучше, хуже), Russian uses гораздо or намного. You generally cannot use много directly in front of a comparative degree like this.
Could I use the long-form adjective похожий here instead of похож?
No, it wouldn't sound natural. When an adjective acts as the main predicate of the sentence (stating a fact about the subject) and connects to an object via a preposition (like на отца), Russian strongly prefers the short form. You would use похожий if it were directly modifying a noun, like in похожий человек (a similar person).
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