Breakdown of Мы встретили известного критика. Впрочем, он хвалит этот элегантный фасон.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
мы
we
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
известный
famous
встретить
to meet (pf)
критик
critic
хвалить
to praise
фасон
the cut
впрочем
however (then again)
элегантный
elegant
Questions & Answers about Мы встретили известного критика. Впрочем, он хвалит этот элегантный фасон.
How does впрочем contrast with simpler words like но here?
While но simply means "but," впрочем acts more like "then again," "mind you," or "having said that." It introduces an afterthought or a slight concession that softens the previous statement. Here, the implication is: "We met a critic (who you'd expect to be highly critical), but then again, he actually likes this specific cut."
Why do the masculine direct objects have different endings in известного критика and этот элегантный фасон?
This is a great refresher on animacy rules in the accusative case. Because критик is an animate noun (a person), its accusative form matches the genitive (известного критика). Meanwhile, фасон (cut or style) is an inanimate object, so its accusative form stays identical to the nominative (этот элегантный фасон).
Why is there a tense shift from the past встретили to the present хвалит?
The verb встретили is past perfective because the meeting was a single, completed event in the past. The verb хвалит (praises) is present imperfective because it describes the critic's ongoing opinion or general stance on this clothing cut, which remains true right now.
Can впрочем be placed differently in the second sentence?
Yes, discourse markers like впрочем are quite flexible. While placing it at the beginning of the sentence is very natural, you could also place it after the subject to slightly shift the rhythm: Он, впрочем, хвалит этот элегантный фасон. Just remember that wherever it appears, it must be set off by commas.
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