Breakdown of Мать гордится взрослыми сыновьями и всегда помогает им.
и
and
они
they
всегда
always
сын
son
мать
mother
помогать
to help
взрослый
adult
гордиться
to be proud
Questions & Answers about Мать гордится взрослыми сыновьями и всегда помогает им.
Why is 'adult sons' in the instrumental case (взрослыми сыновьями) here?
The verb гордиться (to be proud of) always requires its object to be in the instrumental case. That is why we use взрослыми сыновьями instead of the accusative or prepositional.
How do you form the instrumental plural of сын (son), and why is there a soft sign in сыновьями?
Сын is an irregular noun that forms its plural with the suffix -ья (сыновья). In oblique cases like the instrumental, these irregular nouns keep the soft sign before the ending. You take the stem сыновь- and add the standard instrumental plural ending -ями to get сыновьями.
Why is the pronoun им (them) used at the end of the sentence instead of the accusative их?
The verb помогать (to help) always takes the dative case. Им is the dative plural form of они (they), used here because the mother is giving help to her sons.
Is мать (mother) a standard feminine noun?
No, мать is a special 3rd-declension noun. It ends in a soft sign rather than -а or -я, and when it changes cases (like in the genitive, dative, or instrumental), an extra -ер- appears in its stem, making it матери or матерью.
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