Breakdown of Кто прожёг сестре платье и оторвал ей карман?
и
and
сестра
sister
кто
who / whoever
платье
dress
ей
to her
карман
pocket
оторвать
to tear off (detach, rip off)
прожечь
to burn a hole in
Questions & Answers about Кто прожёг сестре платье и оторвал ей карман?
Why are we using the dative сестре and ей instead of the possessive сестры and её?
This is the dative of detriment. When an action negatively affects someone's body or closely held personal items like clothing, Russian prefers to put the affected person in the dative case (сестре, ей) rather than using a genitive possessive. It emphasizes that the damage happened to her, not just to her property.
Why are the verbs прожёг and оторвал in the masculine singular form when the victim is female?
What does the prefix про- add to the verb жечь (to burn) in прожёг?
The prefix про- often indicates an action that goes completely through an object. While жечь means to burn in general, прожечь specifically means to burn a hole through something, which fits perfectly with ruining a dress.
Could I use порвал instead of оторвал for tearing the pocket?
They have slightly different meanings because of their prefixes. The prefix от- in оторвал specifically denotes detachment or separation, meaning the pocket was completely torn off the dress. Порвал simply means to tear or rip, which would imply the pocket was damaged but possibly still attached.
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