Breakdown of Следователь не верит именно обоим свидетелям.
не
not
верить
to believe
свидетель
witness
именно
exactly, precisely
оба
both (m/n)
следователь
the investigator
Questions & Answers about Следователь не верит именно обоим свидетелям.
Why is именно used here instead of как раз?
именно is used to single out or specify exactly who or what we are talking about (precisely both witnesses, not just one). While как раз can also mean 'exactly', it usually implies a coincidence or perfect timing (like 'just in time' or 'that is exactly what I needed'). Here, the investigator is logically pointing out a specific group, so именно is the natural choice.
Could we put именно somewhere else in the sentence?
именно almost always goes directly in front of the word or phrase it emphasizes. Moving it changes the meaning. If you said Следователь именно не верит обоим свидетелям, it would mean 'The investigator precisely does not believe...' (emphasizing the disbelief itself, rather than who is not being believed).
Why are the words for 'both witnesses' in the Dative case (обоим свидетелям)?
The verb верить (to believe) dictates the case here. When you believe a person or trust them in Russian, that person must be in the Dative case. Therefore, the base phrase оба свидетеля changes to the Dative обоим свидетелям.
I always mix up the forms of 'both'. Why is it обоим and not обеим?
The numeral оба is used for masculine and neuter nouns, while обе is used for feminine nouns. Since свидетель (witness) is a masculine noun, we use the masculine root. In the Dative case, this becomes обоим. If the witnesses were specifically female (свидетельницы), you would use the feminine Dative form обеим.
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