Breakdown of Витамины важны. Более того, нам нужны минералы.
мы
we
важный
important
нужен
needed (short form)
витамин
vitamin
Questions & Answers about Витамины важны. Более того, нам нужны минералы.
How does более того compare to the previously learned кроме того?
Both are used to add information, but they have slightly different tones. Кроме того literally means 'besides that' and simply adds another fact to the list. Более того means 'more than that' and is a stronger reinforcement; it amplifies your previous point, showing that the new information is even more significant.
Why do we use важны and нужны here instead of the full adjectives важные and нужные?
When an adjective acts as the main statement of the sentence (the predicate), Russian often uses the short form. Here, vitamins are important (важны) and minerals are needed (нужны). The short form is very common for stating direct facts like this.
In the second sentence, why is the pronoun нам in the dative case rather than saying мы?
The most common Russian way to express 'someone needs something' using short adjectives flips the English structure. The person who has the need takes the dative case (нам means 'to us'), and the thing that is needed becomes the grammatical subject in the nominative case (минералы). Literally, it says 'To us, minerals are necessary.'
Does более того always take a comma?
Yes. Более того is an introductory phrase (a вводное слово). In Russian punctuation rules, introductory words that organize the flow of your argument must always be separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.