Word
Директор выступает в качестве наставника.
Meaning
The director acts as a mentor.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Директор выступает в качестве наставника.
в
in / to (direction)
директор
director
выступать
to perform / to act (in a capacity)
в качестве
as / in the capacity of
Questions & Answers about Директор выступает в качестве наставника.
Why is наставника in the Genitive case here?
The phrase в качестве (meaning in the capacity of or as) always requires the following noun to be in the Genitive case. Since наставник (mentor) is a masculine noun ending in a consonant, its Genitive form is наставника.
Could we use как instead of в качестве in this sentence?
Yes, you could say Директор выступает как наставник. When you use как for roles, the noun agrees with the subject's case. Since Директор is in the Nominative case, наставник also stays in the Nominative. Both versions mean the same thing, but в качестве sounds slightly more formal and official.
Doesn't выступает usually mean to perform or to give a speech?
Exactly! Its most common meanings are to perform on stage or to speak publicly. However, when paired with phrases like в качестве (in the capacity of) or в роли (in the role of), выступать translates to acting as or serving as a certain figure.
Why not just use the Instrumental case for the profession, like we learned earlier?