Breakdown of Почему этот сотрудник сутками отсутствует на работе?
работа
work, job
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
почему
why
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
сотрудник
employee
сутки
twenty-four hours, a full day
отсутствовать
to be absent
Questions & Answers about Почему этот сотрудник сутками отсутствует на работе?
Why is the word for days in the Instrumental case (сутками) here?
It is the bare Instrumental plural of сутки (a 24-hour period). In Russian, using a time noun in the Instrumental plural expresses an extended duration or a repeated, uninterrupted action. Here, it emphasizes that the absence is stretching on for days on end.
Does сутками mean exactly the same thing as днями?
They are similar, but сутками specifically refers to full 24-hour cycles. While you can use днями, сутками is the natural choice when you want to emphasize that a state or action is continuous around the clock, rather than just during the daytime.
The verb отсутствует looks a bit complicated. What is its infinitive and how is it conjugated?
The infinitive is отсутствовать (to be absent). It follows the standard rule where the -ова- suffix changes to -у- in the present tense, giving us отсутствую, отсутствуешь, and отсутствует. It is the direct opposite of the verb присутствовать (to be present).
Can we use perfective verbs with this Instrumental of extended duration?
Generally, no. Because words like сутками, часами, or годами emphasize a continuous, stretched-out process or a repeated action, they pair almost exclusively with imperfective verbs like отсутствует, regardless of whether the sentence is in the past, present, or future.
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