Breakdown of Из-за старого пророчества этой битве точно быть.
старый
old
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
быть
to be
точно
for sure
из-за
because of; from behind
пророчество
prophecy
битва
battle
Questions & Answers about Из-за старого пророчества этой битве точно быть.
Why does the sentence end with the infinitive быть instead of a future tense like будет?
This is an independent infinitive clause expressing inevitability. By pairing the dative subject (этой битве) directly with the infinitive (быть), the sentence conveys that the event is fated or bound to happen. It carries a stronger sense of destiny than just using the regular future tense.
Why is "this battle" in the dative case (этой битве)?
In these infinitive clauses of inevitability, the logical subject—the person or thing that is bound to do something or have something happen to them—always takes the dative case. You can think of it literally as meaning "for this battle, it is destined to happen."
I thought быть meant "to be". Why is it translated as "to happen" here?
When referring to events like a battle, a meeting, or a concert, быть is very commonly used to mean "to happen" or "to take place." In this fated context, быть means the event itself is destined to occur.
Could I use благодаря instead of из-за for "because of"?
You technically could, but it would change the tone. Благодаря means "thanks to" and is used for positive outcomes. Из-за is used for negative or neutral causes. Since a battle is generally seen as a negative event, из-за (followed by the genitive case старого пророчества) is the natural choice here.
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