Breakdown of Идея, что человек может мгновенно исчезать, — это вымысел.
это
this / it is
человек
person
идея
idea
что
that (conjunction)
мочь
to be able to
исчезать
to disappear (vanish)
вымысел
fiction / fabrication
мгновенно
instantly
Questions & Answers about Идея, что человек может мгновенно исчезать, — это вымысел.
Why is there a dash and the word это before вымысел?
In Russian, when the main subject and the predicate are both nouns in the nominative case (here, идея and вымысел), they are often connected with a dash. The word это acts as a pointer to emphasize the connection, filling in for the missing present-tense 'to be' verb. The descriptive clause in the middle is simply set off by commas.
Why use the imperfective verb исчезать instead of the perfective исчезнуть for 'disappear'?
We use the imperfective исчезать because the sentence describes a general, theoretical ability ('disappearing' as a recurring concept or constant possibility) rather than focusing on a single, specific instance of someone disappearing.
How would we use this lesson's grammar to say 'A person can hardly disappear instantly' instead of calling it outright fiction?
You would use вряд ли or едва ли with the indicative verb: Человек вряд ли может мгновенно исчезать. Notice that even though the idea is highly unlikely, the particle itself carries all the doubt, so the verb stays in the normal indicative mood rather than switching to the conditional.
What is the root of the word вымысел (fiction)?
It comes from the root мысл- (thought, mind), which you also see in words like мысль (thought) and смысл (sense or meaning). With the prefix вы- (out), a вымысел is quite literally something 'thought up' or fabricated by the mind.
Learn Идея, что человек может мгновенно исчезать, — это вымысел and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free