Breakdown of Он чувствовал себя подавленным, потому что скрывал внутренний гнев.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
потому что
because
скрывать
to hide (conceal something)
чувствовать себя
to feel (well, unwell)
гнев
the anger
подавленный
depressed
внутренний
inner
Questions & Answers about Он чувствовал себя подавленным, потому что скрывал внутренний гнев.
Why is подавленным in the instrumental case instead of the nominative?
When using the verb чувствовать себя (to feel), the adjective describing your state is usually put in the instrumental case. It acts as a descriptor of the condition you are in (literally: "he felt himself as a depressed person"). While you might hear the nominative in very casual speech, the instrumental is the standard and correct form here.
Could we use the perfective verb скрыл instead of the imperfective скрывал here?
No, скрывал is much better here because he was in a continuous state of hiding his anger. Using the perfective скрыл would imply a single, completed action (he hid it once and was done), whereas the sentence describes an ongoing background situation that caused his depression.
Is подавленный a normal adjective or something else?
It is originally a past passive participle formed from the verb подавить (to suppress, to crush), so it literally means "suppressed." However, it has fully transitioned into being used as a standard adjective meaning "depressed" or "downcast," which is how it functions in this sentence.
Why use гнев for anger instead of a more common word like злость?
Гнев is a stronger, deeper, and slightly more literary word, often closer to "wrath" or "deep anger." Злость is your everyday, standard "madness" or "annoyance." Because the sentence describes a profound psychological state involving deep, hidden emotions, гнев captures that intensity perfectly.
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