Breakdown of Что именно он сказал на этом конкретном допросе?
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
что
what
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
сказать
to tell, to say
именно
exactly, precisely
допрос
interrogation
конкретный
specific
Questions & Answers about Что именно он сказал на этом конкретном допросе?
Why do we use именно here instead of как раз?
Именно is used to ask for exact details ("exactly", "specifically") and frequently pairs directly with question words like что, где, or кто. Как раз means "just right" or "precisely at that moment" (often implying a coincidence or a perfect fit) and cannot be used directly after a question word like this.
Can I change the word order and put именно at the end of the sentence?
You shouldn't. Что именно is a tight collocation functioning almost like a single question phrase ("what exactly"). Именно needs to sit right next to the word it is specifying. Moving it to the end of the sentence would sound very unnatural.
Why does допросе take the preposition на instead of в?
In Russian, events and processes take the preposition на rather than в because they aren't physical, enclosed spaces. An interrogation (допрос) is an event, so you use на допросе just like you would say на концерте (at a concert) or на встрече (at a meeting).
What is the difference between именно and конкретный in this sentence, since they both narrow things down?
Именно is an unchanging particle that acts like an adverb here, clarifying the question word ("what exactly"). Конкретный is a normal adjective meaning "specific" or "particular" that modifies a noun. Here it is in the prepositional case (конкретном) to agree with этом допросе.
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