Breakdown of Он серьёзно занимается спортом.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
заниматься спортом
to do sport
серьёзно
seriously
Questions & Answers about Он серьёзно занимается спортом.
Why is the word for sport in the instrumental case (спортом) here?
The verb заниматься means to be occupied with or to engage in an activity, and it always requires the following noun to be in the instrumental case. Because he is engaged in sport, спорт becomes спортом.
Can I just use делает instead of заниматься since the English translation says he does sport?
No, saying делает спорт sounds very unnatural in Russian. When talking about playing a sport, exercising, or studying, you must use заниматься.
How would I apply this lesson's topic to say he does sport much more seriously?
You first need the comparative form of the adverb серьёзно, which is серьёзнее. Then, you add an intensifier like гораздо or намного before it. The new sentence would be Он гораздо серьёзнее занимается спортом.
Is it okay to put серьёзно at the very end of the sentence?
Yes, because Russian word order is flexible, Он занимается спортом серьёзно is also perfectly fine. However, putting the adverb right before the verb is the most neutral and common way to phrase this.
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