Question 1

Why do we need both но and всё-таки here?

Accepted Answer

While но just means "but", adding всё-таки (nevertheless / all the same) emphasizes that the outcome happened despite the preceding context. Together, но ... всё-таки translates well to "but ... nevertheless", highlighting that his resolve overcame the danger.

Question 2

Could всё-таки be placed somewhere else in the second clause?

Accepted Answer

Yes, particles like всё-таки are flexible, but they usually sit right before the word they emphasize. Here, it precedes the verb спасла to highlight the action of saving despite the odds. Placing it at the very end (спасла бизнес всё-таки!) would make the spoken sentence sound much more emotional or colloquial.

Question 3

Why is опасной in the instrumental case rather than the nominative опасная?

Accepted Answer

When using the past tense of быть (here, была), Russian typically puts adjectives in the instrumental case to describe a temporary state or condition. The situation was dangerous at that specific time. The nominative is possible, but the instrumental is much more natural for temporary past states.

Question 4

How can we tell the gender of решимость (resolve) in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

It is feminine. You can see this directly because the past tense verb спасла takes the feminine -а ending. As a helpful rule of thumb, almost all abstract Russian nouns ending in -ость are feminine.

Ситуация была опасной, но его решимость всё-таки спасла бизнес!

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