Breakdown of Пускай эта книга потрёпанная, но сказка очаровательная!
книга
book
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
но
but
сказка
fairy tale
Questions & Answers about Пускай эта книга потрёпанная, но сказка очаровательная!
Why does this sentence use пускай instead of пусть, and do they mean the same thing?
Yes, they mean exactly the same thing here. Пускай is simply a slightly more colloquial and conversational version of пусть. You can freely swap it for пусть without changing the meaning of this concessive clause.
Could I just use хотя instead of пускай in this sentence?
You could, but пускай adds a specific nuance of agreeing to or conceding a point. While хотя is a neutral, fact-based 'although', пускай feels more like 'Granted, the book is shabby' or 'Fine, I admit it is shabby'.
Is но strictly required in the second half of the sentence?
It is not strictly required grammatically, but it is highly natural here. The pattern пускай ... но ... sets up a strong contrast: 'I concede this negative point, but this positive point makes up for it.' If you drop но, the sentence relies entirely on your tone of voice to highlight the contrast.
Where does the word потрёпанная come from?
It is a past passive participle acting as an adjective, built from the perfective verb потрепать (to fray, ruffle, or wear out). It literally describes something that has been worn out from heavy use, making it the perfect word for a 'shabby' or 'tattered' book.