Questions & Answers about Мы арендовали палатку необычной формы на два дня.
Why is необычной формы in the Genitive case instead of agreeing with палатку?
This is the Genitive of qualitative description. Instead of using an adjective directly agreeing with the noun, Russian often uses a noun-adjective pair in the Genitive to describe an inherent feature or type. It literally translates to a tent 'of an unusual shape'.
Could we just say необычную палатку instead of палатку необычной формы?
Yes, необычную палатку (an unusual tent) is grammatically fine, but палатку необычной формы specifically emphasizes the physical attribute (the shape) rather than the tent just being unusual in a general sense. The Genitive construction sounds more descriptive and exact.
Is the verb арендовали perfective or imperfective in this sentence?
The verb арендовать is bi-aspectual, meaning it can act as either imperfective or perfective depending on the context. Here, because it describes a single, completed action with a specific result (successfully securing the tent), it functions as a perfective verb.
Why do we use the preposition на in на два дня? Couldn't we just say два дня?
When talking about the intended duration of an action's result (how long you get to keep the tent), you must use на + Accusative. If you just said два дня without на, it would mean the literal action of renting (e.g., signing the paperwork) took two whole days.