Breakdown of Разве он просил одолжить её скотч и черновики?
и
and
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
разве
really?, surely not?
просить
to ask for, to request
одолжить
to lend
её
her (possessive)
черновик
the draft
скотч
the tape
Questions & Answers about Разве он просил одолжить её скотч и черновики?
Why doesn't её change form to match the plural noun черновики?
This is the special rule for third-person possessive pronouns (его, её, их). Unlike words for 'my' or 'your', they are indeclinable, meaning they never change their form. Whether the noun they modify is masculine, feminine, plural, or in a different case entirely, the pronoun stays exactly the same. So we say её скотч for the singular tape and её черновики for the plural drafts.
What exactly does Разве mean at the start of the sentence?
Разве is a question particle used to show surprise, doubt, or disbelief. It changes a simple question like 'Did he ask?' into 'Did he really ask?' or 'Are you sure he asked?'. It signals that the speaker didn't expect this to happen.
I thought одолжить meant 'to lend'. Can it also mean 'to borrow'?
Yes! Strictly speaking, the formal Russian phrase for 'to borrow' is взять взаймы (to take as a loan). However, in everyday conversational Russian, people very frequently use одолжить for both 'to lend' and 'to borrow'. The context of the sentence usually makes it clear which action is meant.
Why is скотч used here? Does it mean the drink?
No, in Russian, скотч is the standard, everyday word for clear adhesive tape. Just like in English where people sometimes say 'Scotch tape' based on the brand name, Russian adopted this word for all standard transparent tape.
Why is the imperfective verb просил used here instead of the perfective попросил?
Both would be grammatically correct. However, the imperfective просил focuses simply on the fact that the action happened, which pairs very naturally with the surprised tone of Разве. Using the perfective попросил would place a stronger focus on the actual result of the request rather than the surprising fact that he was asking.
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