Breakdown of Это был человек невысокого роста и скверного характера.
это
this / it is
и
and
человек
person
быть
to be
характер
character, personality
рост
height
невысокий
short / not tall (height)
скверный
nasty / bad (foul, unpleasant)
Questions & Answers about Это был человек невысокого роста и скверного характера.
Why are невысокого роста and скверного характера in the genitive case here instead of using the preposition с (with)?
This sentence uses the Genitive of qualitative description. In Russian, permanent, inherent characteristics like height (рост) or personality (характер) are described by putting the noun and its modifying adjective in the genitive case right after the person or object being described. You would use с plus the instrumental case for accessories, temporary states, or distinct physical additions (e.g., человек с усами - a man with a mustache).
Could I say короткого роста instead of невысокого роста to mean 'short stature'?
No, this is a common trap! In Russian, короткий means 'short' only in terms of physical length of objects (like a short rope) or time (a short meeting). To describe someone's height, you must use невысокий (not tall) or низкий (low).
Why use this genitive structure instead of just saying Это был невысокий человек?
You can absolutely say невысокий человек! However, using the genitive of description (человек невысокого роста) is a stylistic choice that sounds more literary and descriptive, much like 'a man of short stature' compared to 'a short man' in English. For характер, this structure is incredibly useful because simply saying скверный человек would mean 'a vile person' overall, rather than specifically pointing out their nasty temperament.
Why is the nominative case (человек) used after был here, instead of the instrumental case (человеком)?
Because this sentence uses the introductory Это был... (It/This was...). In introductory constructions identifying who or what something is, the noun stays in the nominative case. If the sentence had started with a personal pronoun like Он (He), assigning a description to a previously mentioned subject, you would use the instrumental: Он был человеком невысокого роста.
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