Breakdown of Пускай рюкзак тяжёлый, но всё же он вместительный.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
но
but
рюкзак
backpack
тяжёлый
heavy
пускай
let (colloquial)
всё же
still
вместительный
roomy
Questions & Answers about Пускай рюкзак тяжёлый, но всё же он вместительный.
How does пускай work here compared to its usual meaning of "let"?
While пускай (and its twin пусть) often expresses commands like "let him do it," here it introduces a concession. It acts like "granted that" or "even though." It acknowledges a drawback (the heavy backpack) which is then balanced out by the second half of the sentence using но всё же (but still).
Is there any difference between пускай and пусть in this context?
There is no difference in meaning. Пускай is simply a slightly more colloquial, conversational version of пусть. You can easily swap it to Пусть рюкзак тяжёлый... without changing the grammar or the overall message.
Why use the пускай ... но всё же structure instead of just using хотя (although)?
You could perfectly well use хотя here. However, the пускай ... но всё же combination adds a stronger conversational flavor. It sounds like you are actively yielding a point in a debate ("Granted, it's heavy, but on the other hand..."), whereas хотя is a more neutral way to state two contrasting facts.
What is the root of the adjective вместительный (roomy)?
It comes from the verb вместить (to fit in, to contain), which shares its root with место (place or space). So an object that is вместительный literally has a lot of space to fit things inside.
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