Breakdown of По-моему, директора знают правила.
знать
to know
директор
director
правило
rule
по-моему
in my opinion
Questions & Answers about По-моему, директора знают правила.
Why does the plural of the masculine word директор end in -а instead of -ы?
Директор belongs to a special group of masculine nouns that take a stressed -а (or -я) in the nominative plural instead of the standard -ы or -и. Other common examples are дома (houses) and города (cities). When this happens, the stress always shifts to that final vowel, making it директора.
Both директора and правила end in -а. Are they both following this special masculine rule?
No! While директора is a special masculine exception, правила is completely regular. It is the plural of the neuter noun правило (rule). Regular neuter nouns form their nominative plural with -а or -я. Notice the spoken difference: the special masculine ending is stressed (директора), but the regular neuter plural ending is usually unstressed (правила).
What case is правила in this sentence?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object—it is the thing being known by the directors. For inanimate nouns (like rules, objects, or concepts), the accusative plural looks exactly the same as the nominative plural.
Why is по-моему hyphenated, and could I just use я думаю here?
You could certainly say Я думаю, что... (I think that...), but по-моему is a very natural, concise way to say in my opinion. In Russian, adverbs formed from pronouns or adjectives using the prefix по- and ending in -ому, -ему, or -и are always written with a hyphen.
Learn По-моему, директора знают правила and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free