Breakdown of У пациента была высокая температура, значит, это инфекция.
это
this / it is
высокий
tall / high (of a level or amount)
у
at, by
быть
to be
температура
temperature, fever
пациент
patient
значит
so (therefore / it means)
инфекция
infection
Questions & Answers about У пациента была высокая температура, значит, это инфекция.
Doesn't значит normally translate to "means"? How is it working as "so" here?
As a verb, значит translates to "means" (from the verb значить). However, when used as a discourse marker linking two clauses, it acts as a logical bridge meaning "so," "therefore," or "consequently." Here, it introduces a deduction drawn from the first part of the sentence: because there was a fever, therefore it's an infection.
Why is значит surrounded by commas in this sentence?
When значит functions as an introductory word (a discourse marker of conclusion) rather than a regular verb, Russian punctuation rules require it to be set off by commas. It behaves like a parenthetical word, similar to how we might use commas around "therefore" in English.
Could I use следовательно instead of значит here?
Yes, следовательно would also work and means "consequently" or "therefore." The difference is mainly stylistic: значит is very common in everyday, conversational speech, while следовательно sounds more formal, scientific, or academic. A doctor talking to a colleague might use either, but следовательно would be preferred in a written medical report.
Why does the verb была agree with температура instead of the patient?
This is the standard Russian "to have" construction: у + [Genitive possessor] + [verb to be] + [Nominative possessed object]. The grammatical subject of the first clause is actually температура (a feminine noun), so the past tense verb быть must take the feminine form была. The patient (у пациента) is grammatically just the location where the fever "was."
The first clause is in the past tense (была), but the conclusion is in the present (это инфекция). Is this tense mixing common with значит?
Yes, this is very common and perfectly natural. You are using a past observation (the patient had a high temperature) to make a current deduction (it is an infection right now). Значит easily bridges different tenses as long as the logical conclusion makes sense.
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