Breakdown of Пусть принтер громоздкий, но он безотказный и быстрый.
и
and
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
принтер
printer
но
but
быстрый
fast, quick
пусть
let
громоздкий
bulky
безотказный
reliable (fail-safe, trouble-free)
Questions & Answers about Пусть принтер громоздкий, но он безотказный и быстрый.
How does пусть work here? I have usually seen it used to mean 'let', like in пусть говорят.
You are right that пусть often means 'let' as a third-person imperative. However, when paired with но or всё же, it creates a concessive clause. It translates closer to 'granted that', 'even if', or 'although'. It acknowledges a drawback like being bulky before introducing the positive counterpoints.
Can I just use хотя instead of пусть in this sentence?
Yes, хотя принтер громоздкий means essentially the same thing. Using пусть just adds a slightly more conversational tone, expressing a concession similar to saying 'Okay, sure, it is bulky, but...' in English.
What is the literal breakdown of the word безотказный?
It breaks down into the prefix без- meaning 'without', the root отказ meaning 'refusal' or 'failure', and the adjective suffix -ный. Literally, it describes a machine that works 'without refusal', making it the perfect word for 'reliable' or 'trouble-free'.
There are no verbs in this sentence. How would the grammar change if I wanted to say this in the past tense?
Because Russian omits the present tense of the verb 'to be', you just need to add its past tense form был for past situations. The sentence would become Пусть принтер был громоздкий, но он был безотказный и быстрый. The word пусть itself does not change.
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