Breakdown of Сегодня христиане празднуют Рождество.
сегодня
today
праздновать
to celebrate
Рождество
Christmas
христианин
Christian
Questions & Answers about Сегодня христиане празднуют Рождество.
Why does the plural word for Christians end in -ане (христиане) instead of the usual -ы or -и?
The singular form is христианин. Nouns for people (like nationalities or religious groups) that end in -анин or -янин follow a special plural rule. They drop the -ин and add -е. So, христианин drops -ин to become христиан-, and adding -е gives us христиане.
Does the stress change between the singular and plural forms of христианин?
Yes! In the singular (христиани́н), the stress is on the final syllable. In the plural (христиа́не), the stress shifts back one syllable to the -а-. This backward stress shift is very common for nouns ending in -анин / -янин when they become plural.
How does the verb празднуют come from the infinitive праздновать?
Verbs ending in -овать or -евать have a special conjugation pattern in the present tense: the -ова- or -ева- drops out and is replaced by -у- or -ю-. That is why праздн-ова-ть turns into праздн-у-ют for the 'they' (third-person plural) form.
Why doesn't the ending of Рождество (Christmas) change, since it is the direct object being celebrated?
It actually is in the accusative case here, but you cannot see a difference! Рождество is an inanimate neuter noun (it ends in -о). For all inanimate neuter nouns, the accusative case looks exactly identical to the dictionary (nominative) form.
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