Breakdown of Он сорвал зелёное яблоко с дерева.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
яблоко
apple
дерево
tree
зелёный
green
с
off / down from (a surface)
сорвать
to pick / to tear off (perf.)
Questions & Answers about Он сорвал зелёное яблоко с дерева.
Why do we use с for from here instead of из?
In Russian, prepositions of direction work in pairs. The preposition с (from/off of) is the exact opposite of на (on/onto). Since an apple grows on a tree (на дереве), taking it from or off the tree requires с (с дерева). If the apple were inside a box (в коробке), you would take it out using из (из коробки).
Is it a coincidence that the verb сорвал starts with со- and the preposition is с?
Not at all! The verbal prefix с- or со- often indicates movement away from a surface, which pairs perfectly with the preposition с. The base verb is рвать (to tear), so сорвать literally means to tear off, and he tore it off the tree.
яблоко is the direct object being picked. Why hasn't its ending changed?
яблоко is a neuter noun, and for all neuter inanimate nouns, the Accusative case (used for direct objects) is identical to the dictionary (Nominative) form. The same rule applies to the adjective modifying it, leaving it as зелёное.
What is the dictionary form of дерева, and why does it end in -а here?
The dictionary form is дерево (tree). The preposition с, when meaning from or off of, always forces the noun into the Genitive case. For a neuter noun ending in -о, the Genitive ending is -а, making it дерева.
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