Breakdown of Такая работа уже является нормой.
работа
work, job
уже
already
такой
such / so / what ... is
являться
to be (formal)
Questions & Answers about Такая работа уже является нормой.
Why does the word for norm change to нормой here instead of staying as норма?
This is because of the verb является (to be / to serve as). Verbs of formal equivalence like являться and казаться (to seem) require the noun that follows them to take the Instrumental case. Therefore, the Nominative feminine noun норма changes to its Instrumental form, нормой.
Why do we use a verb for "is" here at all? Couldn't we just say Такая работа уже норма?
Yes, you absolutely can say Такая работа уже норма in an everyday conversation! Using the verb является simply changes the register. It makes the sentence sound much more formal, objective, or official. You will frequently encounter it in business, journalism, and academic writing.
Since являться translates as "to be," can I use it to say things like Я являюсь студентом (I am a student)?
Grammatically yes, but native speakers almost never do this in daily life. It sounds incredibly stiff and bureaucratic, like a statement in a police report. For everyday facts about who or what someone is, stick to dropping the verb (e.g., Я студент). Save являться for formal definitions and documents, as seen in this sentence.
Why use Такая here instead of Так?