Question 1

What is the difference between пускай and пусть?

Accepted Answer

Both are particles used to form a third-person command, meaning 'let' or 'have someone do something'. Пускай is simply a slightly more conversational or colloquial version of пусть. You could easily use пусть here instead, and the meaning would not change at all.

Question 2

If this is a command, why does подпишет look like it is in the future tense?

Accepted Answer

Because it is! When you form a third-person imperative with пускай or пусть, you must use a verb in the present or future tense. Here, we want the king to successfully complete the action of signing the decree, so we use the perfective verb подписать. Perfective verbs do not have a present tense, so its conjugated form подпишет is future tense, even though the command is for right now.

Question 3

Why does этот указ look like it is in the nominative case if it is the thing being signed?

Accepted Answer

It is actually in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb. However, указ is an inanimate masculine noun. In Russian, the accusative form of inanimate masculine nouns (and matching modifiers like этот) is completely identical to their nominative form.

Question 4

Is подпишет related to the verb писать (to write)?

Accepted Answer

Yes! The verb подписать is formed from the prefix под- (meaning 'under') and the root verb писать (to write). Literally meaning 'to write under', it is the standard Russian way to say 'to sign' a document.

Пускай новый король подпишет этот указ.

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