Question 1

Since this lesson focuses on с тех пор, как (since), is с которым functioning as a time expression here?

Accepted Answer

No. Even though both structures start with the preposition с, this sentence does not contain a temporal clause. While с тех пор, как uses с to mean "from" (indicating a starting point in time), the с here simply means "with". The phrase с которым is a relative clause meaning "with which", pointing back to the noun качество (quality).

Question 2

Why does the relative pronoun take the form которым here?

Accepted Answer

Который must match the gender and number of the noun it refers to. Here, it refers to качество (quality), which is a neuter singular noun. Because it follows the preposition с (meaning "with"), it is required to be in the instrumental case, resulting in которым.

Question 3

Why is there a dash before это in the first half of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

The dash replaces the present tense verb "to be" (which is almost always omitted in Russian). You must use this dash when both the subject (дисциплина) and the core of the predicate (качество) are nouns in the nominative case. Adding это right after the dash is a very common way to emphasize the equation between the two nouns.

Question 4

Why does the second clause use the word order приходит стабильность rather than стабильность приходит?

Accepted Answer

Russian word order relies heavily on context and often places the most important or "newest" information at the very end of a clause. Reversing the order to verb-subject (приходит стабильность) puts the emphasis directly on стабильность (stability), highlighting it as the ultimate result.

Дисциплина — это качество, с которым приходит стабильность.

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