Word
Это отличный план.
Meaning
That is an excellent plan.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
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Questions & Answers about Это отличный план.
How could I expand this sentence using the 'такой ... что' (such ... that) structure from this lesson?
To say 'It is such an excellent plan that...', you would use Это такой отличный план, что... Notice that такой (such a) matches the gender, number, and case of план (masculine, singular, nominative), exactly like the adjective отличный does.
Why do we use the neuter Это here when план is a masculine noun?
In this sentence, Это acts as a standalone subject pronoun meaning 'this is' or 'that is'. When you use it to introduce or equate something to a noun, it always stays in the neuter form Это, regardless of the gender of the noun that follows. If you instead wanted to say 'This plan is excellent', you would use the masculine pointing word Этот to directly attach to the noun, making it Этот план отличный.
What is the difference in nuance between отличный and a simpler word like хороший?
While хороший just means 'good', отличный is much stronger, meaning 'excellent', 'great', or 'perfect'. It is related to the verb отличать (to distinguish), so using it implies that this plan distinctly stands out from all the others.