Breakdown of Она сорвала помидор с куста.
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
помидор
tomato
с
off / down from (a surface)
куст
the bush
сорвать
to pick / to tear off (perf.)
Questions & Answers about Она сорвала помидор с куста.
Why do we use с куста for 'from the bush' instead of из куста?
The preposition you use for 'from' depends on the preposition used for location. Because a tomato grows on a bush (на кусте), we must use its exact counterpart с (off of / from) to say where it came from. If it had been located inside something (using в), we would use из.
Does the prefix со- in сорвала have a specific meaning here?
Yes! The root verb is рвать (to tear or to pull). The prefix со- (a variation of с-) adds the meaning of taking something off or down from a surface. It is the perfective counterpart to the preposition с, working together in this sentence to mean 'plucked off'.
Why doesn't the ending of помидор change since it is the direct object being picked?
Because помидор is an inanimate masculine noun. For inanimate masculine nouns, the Accusative case (used for direct objects) is completely identical to the Nominative dictionary form. If it were a living thing, the ending would change.
What is the dictionary form of куста?
The dictionary form is куст (bush). Because it directly follows the preposition с meaning 'from' or 'off of', it must take the Genitive case, which means adding the -а ending for a masculine consonant-ending noun.
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