Breakdown of Охранник отказался выдать ключи по завершении смены.
ключ
key
охранник
guard
смена
shift
отказаться
to refuse (pf)
по
upon / after (formal, e.g., upon arrival)
завершение
the completion
выдать
to issue
Questions & Answers about Охранник отказался выдать ключи по завершении смены.
Why does завершение end in -ии in the phrase по завершении?
In this formal construction, по means 'upon' or 'immediately after' and requires the prepositional case. For neuter nouns ending in -ие like завершение, the prepositional ending is -ии, not the standard -е. Therefore, it becomes по завершении.
Why is смены used here instead of смену or смене?
Смены is in the genitive case because it indicates possession or association, translating to 'of the shift'. The entire phrase literally means 'upon completion of the shift', linking the two nouns together.
Why is the perfective verb выдать used after отказался?
The guard refused to perform one specific, single action: handing over the keys. While verbs of negation often trigger the imperfective to mean 'do not do this at all', the perfective is used here because the refusal is about a specific, expected result on a single occasion.
How is выдать different from just using дать for giving the keys?
While дать means 'to give' in a general sense, the prefix вы- adds the meaning of 'out'. Выдать specifically means 'to issue' or 'to hand out', which is the standard verb used in Russian for officially giving items like keys, equipment, or documents from a designated place.
Learn Охранник отказался выдать ключи по завершении смены 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