Question 1

Why is трудными in the Instrumental case here?

Accepted Answer

The verb оказываться (to turn out to be) requires the adjective or noun that describes the subject to take the Instrumental case. Since вопросы is plural, we use the plural Instrumental adjective трудными instead of the Nominative трудные.

Question 2

What is the infinitive of оказываются, and what is its aspect?

Accepted Answer

The infinitive is оказываться. It is an imperfective verb, and its perfective pair is оказаться. We use the imperfective form here because the word часто (often) tells us this is a repeated, habitual occurrence.

Question 3

Could I just say Эти вопросы часто трудные?

Accepted Answer

Grammatically yes, but the meaning changes slightly. Using just the adjective simply states a fact ('These questions are often difficult'). Using оказываются adds the nuance that they 'turn out' or 'prove' to be difficult in practice, implying they might not have seemed that way at first glance.

Question 4

How does this sentence relate to the lesson on impersonal verbs like удаваться?

Accepted Answer

While оказываются is a personal verb here (it grammatically matches the plural subject вопросы), both it and удаваться are reflexive verbs ending in -ся that naturally describe how situations unfold or resolve. You will frequently encounter both when talking about the final results or outcome of a tricky task.

Эти вопросы часто оказываются трудными.

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