Breakdown of Это единственный безопасный путь домой.
это
this / it is
домой
home
единственный
only (adjective: sole, single)
путь
track / path (route, journey)
безопасный
safe (adjective)
Questions & Answers about Это единственный безопасный путь домой.
Why do the adjectives единственный and безопасный have masculine endings if путь ends in a soft sign (-ь)?
While many nouns ending in -ь are feminine, путь (way/path) is a major exception. It is a masculine noun. In this sentence, the masculine adjectives единственный (only) and безопасный (safe) are great clues to help you remember its true gender!
Since путь is masculine, does it decline like other masculine nouns ending in a soft sign, like день?
No, and that is exactly why it is called an anomalous noun! Even though it is masculine, its endings in most other cases (Genitive, Dative, Prepositional) match the feminine -ь declension, taking an -и. It is in the Nominative case here, which is why it just appears in its standard dictionary form.
Why do we use домой here instead of дом or в дом?
Домой is a specific adverb of motion meaning "homeward" or "to home". Even though путь (way) is a noun, the concept of a "way home" strongly implies direction and a destination. Therefore, Russian naturally uses the directional adverb домой.
Is it normal to have two adjectives in a row like единственный безопасный without a comma or the word и (and)?
Yes! You don't need a comma here because the adjectives describe completely different categories. Единственный (only) is a limiting adjective, while безопасный (safe) describes a quality. They stack together naturally without punctuation, exactly as they do in the English phrase "only safe way".
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