Breakdown of Дети выглядывают из-за угла.
дети
children
угол
corner
из-за
because of; from behind
выглядывать
to peek out
Questions & Answers about Дети выглядывают из-за угла.
I thought из-за meant "because of". How does it mean "from behind" here?
You are right that из-за is often used to mean "because of" for negative reasons. However, its original physical meaning is "from behind". It literally combines из (out of) and за (behind). Since the children are positioned behind the corner and looking out, из-за is exactly the right preposition to use.
Why does the word for corner (угол) change to угла?
The preposition из-за always requires the Genitive case. The noun угол has a fleeting vowel in its root. When you add case endings to it, the о drops out, leaving the stem угл-. Adding the regular masculine Genitive ending -а gives you угла.
How does the verb выглядывают get the meaning of "peeking out"?
The core of this verb is related to глядеть (to look). The prefix вы- adds the meaning of outward movement or action. When combined, it literally means looking out, which perfectly describes peeking out from a hiding spot.
Could I just use из or от instead of the compound preposition из-за?