Breakdown of Солнце выглядывает из-за тёмного облака.
тёмный
dark (adjective)
солнце
sun
из-за
because of; from behind
выглядывать
to peek out
облако
the cloud
Questions & Answers about Солнце выглядывает из-за тёмного облака.
Wait, doesn't из-за usually mean 'because of'? Why does it mean 'from behind' here?
You are right that из-за is very often used to mean 'because of' (usually for negative causes). However, its literal, spatial meaning is 'from behind' - combining из (out of) and за (behind). In both meanings, it requires the Genitive case, which is why it changes the following words to тёмного облака.
How does the prefix in выглядывает change its meaning?
The root of this verb is related to глядеть (to look). Adding the prefix вы-, which signifies outward movement, creates выглядывать, meaning 'to look out' or 'to peek out'.
Why is the 'г' in тёмного pronounced like a 'в'?
This is a standard pronunciation rule you might remember from earlier lessons: the -ого and -его endings for masculine and neuter adjectives in the Genitive case are always pronounced as -ово and -ево.
What gender is the word for 'cloud' here, and why does it end in -а?
The dictionary form is облако, which is a neuter noun because it ends in -о. Since the preposition из-за forces the noun into the Genitive case, the -о changes to -а, making it облака.
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