Breakdown of Вопреки уставу, директор одобрил новый проект.
новый
new
директор
director
проект
the project
одобрить
to approve (perfective: endorse, express a favorable opinion)
вопреки
contrary to
устав
charter
Questions & Answers about Вопреки уставу, директор одобрил новый проект.
Why does уставу end in -у here?
It is in the Dative case because of the preposition вопреки (contrary to). Prepositions of formal compliance and opposition, such as вопреки and согласно, always require the Dative case.
Could I use несмотря на instead of вопреки in this sentence?
Yes, you could say несмотря на устав (despite the charter). However, вопреки is a stronger, more formal word specifically meaning 'in direct opposition to', which fits perfectly in a business or legal context. Also note that несмотря на takes the Accusative case, whereas вопреки takes the Dative.
Is the comma after уставу mandatory?
Usually, yes. In Russian writing, introductory phrases starting with prepositions like вопреки, согласно, and благодаря are often set off by commas to separate them from the main clause, especially when they act as an extended modifier at the start of the sentence.
Why doesn't the direct object новый проект change its ending?
It is actually in the Accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb одобрил. However, because проект is an inanimate masculine noun, its Accusative form is identical to its Nominative form.
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