Breakdown of Это овальный стол крошечного размера.
это
this / it is
стол
table / desk
размер
size
овальный
oval
крошечный
tiny
Questions & Answers about Это овальный стол крошечного размера.
Why do we use the genitive case for крошечного размера here?
This is the Genitive of qualitative description. In Russian, you can describe an inherent trait of a noun (like its size, color, or age) by using another noun and an adjective in the genitive case. Here, стол is described by its trait: крошечного размера (of a tiny size).
Does овальный стол крошечного размера mean the exact same thing as крошечный овальный стол?
Yes, the core meaning is identical. However, using the genitive construction крошечного размера sounds a bit more formal, literary, or analytical. In casual everyday speech, you would typically just use two adjectives and say Это крошечный овальный стол.
Since стол is a masculine noun, why does the sentence start with the neuter Это instead of Этот?
In this sentence, Это functions as an independent pronoun meaning 'This is'. When pointing something out this way, это is frozen in the neuter form regardless of the gender of the noun that follows it. You would only use the masculine Этот if it directly modified the noun, as in Этот стол крошечный (This table is tiny).
The word крошечного looks like it comes from a specific noun. What is its root?
It comes from the noun крошка, which means a crumb. By adding the suffix -ечн-, it transforms into an adjective describing something crumb-sized, which is why крошечный translates to tiny or miniature.
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