Breakdown of Из принципа он не общается с журналистами.
не
not
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
журналист
journalist
с
with (also со)
общаться
to communicate
из
out of
принцип
principle
Questions & Answers about Из принципа он не общается с журналистами.
Why do we use из here instead of от to mean 'out of'?
This is the core of our current lesson! We use из for conscious, deliberate motives, like acting 'out of principle' or 'out of curiosity'. We use от for involuntary physical or emotional reactions, like shaking 'from cold' or crying 'from joy'. Since holding a principle is a conscious choice, из is the correct preposition.
What case is принципа and why?
It is in the genitive case. The preposition из (whether it means 'from a place' or 'out of a motive') always requires the noun to be in the genitive case. Since принцип is a regular masculine noun ending in a consonant, we add -а to make it принципа.
Why is журналистами in the instrumental case?
The verb общаться (to communicate or converse) requires the preposition с (with) followed by the instrumental case to show who the person is interacting with. Журналистами is the instrumental plural form of журналист.
Why does the verb общаться have the reflexive -ся ending?
In Russian, the reflexive particle -ся or -сь is often used to indicate a reciprocal action, meaning two or more people are doing something with each other. Because communication is a mutual, back-and-forth process, общаться is inherently reflexive.
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