Breakdown of В этом деле нужна мера.
это
this / it is
дело
matter, business
нужен
needed (short form)
мера
measure
Questions & Answers about В этом деле нужна мера.
Why is the feminine нужна used here instead of the standard нужно?
In Russian, when you say something is needed, you often use the short adjective нужен. It must agree in gender and number with the thing that is needed. Since мера (measure) is a feminine noun and acts as the grammatical subject here, the adjective takes the feminine form нужна.
The translation says 'one needs', but there is no word for 'one' or 'needs' as an active verb. How does this work?
Russian often expresses this idea passively. Literally, the sentence translates to 'In this matter, a measure is needed.' Instead of an active verb, the short adjective нужна (is needed) describes the subject мера. This is a common way to express general necessity without specifying a person.
I usually see дело translated as 'business'. Does it mean something different here?
Yes, while дело can mean a commercial business, it is a very flexible word that often means a matter, affair, case, or deed. In the prepositional phrase в этом деле, it translates best to 'in this matter' or 'in this situation'.
How does мера fit into a lesson about fractions like половина (half)?
While words like половина (half) or треть (a third) are exact fractional quantities, мера is the broader noun for a measure, measurement, or sense of proportion. This sentence is a common idiom about keeping things in proportion, which introduces the broader theme of measuring.
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