Breakdown of По мнению чиновников, ведомство должно проверить новую методику.
новый
new
должен
must, have to
мнение
opinion
проверить
to check (perfective)
по
according to (also: along, by)
чиновник
the official
ведомство
the department
методика
the methodology
Questions & Answers about По мнению чиновников, ведомство должно проверить новую методику.
How does the reporting phrase по мнению work grammatically in this sentence?
По мнению translates to "in the opinion of" or "according to." It consists of the preposition по followed by the Dative case мнению (from мнение, meaning "opinion"). The person or group whose opinion is being reported must immediately follow in the Genitive case. Here, that is the plural Genitive чиновников (from чиновники - officials).
Why do we use the neuter form должно here instead of должен?
In Russian, the word for "must" or "obliged to" (должен) acts as a short-form adjective and must agree in gender and number with the subject it refers to. The subject of this clause is ведомство (department/agency), which is a neuter noun, so we must use the neuter form должно.
Why use the perfective verb проверить rather than the imperfective проверять?
We use the perfective проверить because the sentence refers to a single, concrete, and completed action. The officials expect the department to successfully conduct one specific check of this new methodology, rather than checking it habitually or as an ongoing, open-ended process.
Can I use ведомство for any type of "department," like in a private company or a university?
No, ведомство specifically refers to a government agency, ministry, or high-level state administrative department. For a department within a standard corporate business, you would usually use отдел, and for an academic department at a university, you would use кафедра.
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