Breakdown of Разве он мог взять взятку и обмануть нас?
и
and
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
мы
we
мочь
to be able to
взять
to take / to adopt
разве
really?, surely not?
взятка
bribe
обмануть
to deceive
Questions & Answers about Разве он мог взять взятку и обмануть нас?
Why does the sentence use разве instead of неужели?
While both particles translate to "really?" or express surprise, разве usually shows that the speaker doubts the statement is true and expects a "no" for an answer (like saying "Surely he couldn't do that, right?"). Неужели expresses stronger shock and is often used when the speaker fears the surprising fact might actually be true.
Is it a coincidence that взять and взятку look so similar?
Not at all! The noun взятка (a bribe) comes directly from the root of взять (to take). In Russian, taking a bribe is quite literally "taking a take".
Why is мог imperfective, while the verbs following it (взять and обмануть) are perfective?
Modal verbs like мочь (to be able to) are almost always used in their imperfective form in the past tense (мог) because being able to do something is an ongoing state. However, the specific actions he supposedly committed—taking a bribe and deceiving—are focused on single, completed results, so they use the perfective aspect.
What case is нас in here?
Нас is the accusative case of the pronoun мы (we). It is the direct object of the verb обмануть (to deceive) because "we" are the people who were deceived.
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