Questions & Answers about Я был в шоке от этой сплетни.
Why do we say от этой сплетни instead of using another case?
The preposition от (from) always requires the genitive case. The base phrase is эта сплетня (this gossip). In the genitive case, the feminine pronoun эта becomes этой, and the noun сплетня changes its ending to -и.
In English, gossip is usually an uncountable noun. Is сплетня countable in Russian?
Yes, сплетня is countable. It means a specific piece of gossip or a single rumor. If you are talking about gossip in general, you would typically use the plural form сплетни.
How could I add неужели to turn this into a question expressing disbelief?
You could ask someone: Неужели ты был в шоке от этой сплетни? (Were you really in shock from this gossip?). Placing неужели at the start expresses strong surprise, as if you find it hard to believe the person was actually shocked.
Why does шок become шоке here?
The phrase uses the preposition в (in) to describe the state or condition you are experiencing. When indicating a state or location, в takes the prepositional case, so the masculine noun шок adds the ending -е.