Breakdown of Наша группа состоит из десяти человек.
человек
person
наш
our
десять
ten
группа
group
состоять
to consist (of)
Questions & Answers about Наша группа состоит из десяти человек.
Why do we use из after состоит instead of just using the Genitive case directly to mean "of"?
While the Genitive case alone often translates to "of" (like when showing possession), the verb состоять (to consist) specifically requires the preposition из (from/out of). In Russian, something literally consists "out of" its parts. Because the preposition из is used, it forces the following phrase into the Genitive case.
Why is the number ten written as десяти instead of десять?
Numbers decline in Russian just like nouns and adjectives! Because the preposition из demands the Genitive case, the number десять must change to its Genitive form, which is десяти.
Why is the word for "people" человек here? Shouldn't the plural be людей?
You are right that the standard plural of "person" is люди, and its Genitive plural is людей. However, when you are counting a specific, exact number of people (from 5 onwards), Russian uses the special Genitive counting form человек. If you were talking about "many people" without an exact number, you would use много людей.
What is the difference between состоять used here and the reflexive verb состояться?
They look very similar but mean different things. состоять (always imperfective, usually followed by из) means "to consist of." The reflexive verb состояться (which is perfective) means "to take place" or "to happen," and is used for events like meetings or concerts.
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