Breakdown of Это просто отговорка, нам пора браться за дело.
это
this / it is
нам
to us
просто
simply, just
дело
matter, business
Questions & Answers about Это просто отговорка, нам пора браться за дело.
Why is the pronoun 'we' translated as the Dative нам here?
This sentence uses an impersonal structure with the state word пора (it is time). In these constructions, the person who needs to act is put in the Dative case, which is нам. There is no Nominative subject because the state itself is the focus.
Why does пора take the imperfective verb браться instead of the perfective взяться?
When you use пора with an imperfective verb like браться, it stresses that it is time to start doing the action right now, or even that it is slightly overdue. The imperfective focuses on initiating the process immediately.
What case is дело in the phrase браться за дело?
It is in the Accusative case. The verb браться (to take hold of, to tackle) combined with the preposition за requires the Accusative case for the object you are tackling. Because дело is a neuter inanimate noun, its Accusative form looks exactly like its Nominative form.
How does the prefix in отговорка (excuse) help explain its meaning?
It comes from the root for speaking (говор) and the prefix от-, which often indicates moving away, bouncing off, or deflecting. Just like the related verb отговариваться (to talk your way out of something), an отговорка is literally a statement used to deflect responsibility.