Breakdown of Этот завтрак с пятьюстами калориями кажется полезным.
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
полезный
healthy, good for you (of food) / useful
с
with (also со)
завтрак
breakfast
казаться
to seem
пятьсот
five hundred
калория
calorie
Questions & Answers about Этот завтрак с пятьюстами калориями кажется полезным.
How do we form the instrumental case for five hundred (пятьюстами)?
The number пятьсот (500) is made of two parts: пять (five) and сот (hundreds). When declining hundreds in Russian, both halves change. The instrumental of пять is пятью, and the instrumental ending for the hundreds part is -стами. Combined, they make пятьюстами.
Why is калориями in the instrumental case instead of the genitive plural?
When a number is in the nominative or accusative case, the noun following it goes into the genitive plural (like пятьсот калорий). However, when the number is in any other case, the noun simply matches the case of the number. Because the preposition с (with) requires the instrumental case, both the number and the noun take the instrumental: с пятьюстами калориями.
Why is the adjective полезным in the instrumental case if it describes the nominative subject завтрак?
The verb казаться (to seem) requires the adjective describing the subject to be in the instrumental case. Even though завтрак is in the nominative, the trait it seems to possess takes the instrumental: кажется полезным. You will also see this pattern with verbs like быть (to be) and стать (to become).
Is there a way to say this without declining the number 500?
Yes! If you want to avoid the tricky instrumental case while speaking, you can rephrase the sentence to keep the number in the nominative. For example: Этот завтрак, в котором пятьсот калорий, кажется полезным (This breakfast, in which there are 500 calories, seems healthy). However, using the preposition с is a very natural way to describe foods, making this great practice.
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