Breakdown of Эта свеча была новая. Кто-то явно зажигал её.
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
новый
new
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
быть
to be
Questions & Answers about Эта свеча была новая. Кто-то явно зажигал её.
Why is the imperfective verb зажигал used here instead of the perfective зажёг for a completed action?
This is the "annulled result" function of the imperfective past tense. The action was completed in the past (someone lit the candle), but its result has been undone or reversed (the candle is no longer burning). If you used the perfective зажёг, it would mean the candle is still burning right now.
Why does the sentence use Кто-то instead of Кто-нибудь for "someone"?
We use Кто-то because the speaker knows a specific person definitely performed the action, even if their identity is unknown. Кто-нибудь is used for hypothetical, future, or generalized situations, like asking "Did anyone light it?" or saying "Someone needs to light it."
Why is the adjective новая in the nominative case rather than the instrumental case (новой)?
When using the past tense of быть (to be), both nominative and instrumental cases are possible for adjectives. While the instrumental often highlights a temporary state or a change, the nominative is very common in everyday speech to state a simple, direct fact about how something looked at that moment. Both would be correct here.
How does the word явно (clearly) connect to other Russian words?