Breakdown of Солдаты совершили великий подвиг не ради славы.
не
not
великий
great
ради
for the sake of
солдат
soldier
совершить
to commit
слава
glory
подвиг
feat
Questions & Answers about Солдаты совершили великий подвиг не ради славы.
Why do we use ради here instead of для, and what case follows it?
The preposition ради specifically means "for the sake of" or "in the name of", highlighting a high purpose or sacrifice. While для (for) is a general preposition of purpose, ради fits the elevated tone of a "great feat". As you can see with славы (from the feminine noun слава), ради always requires the Genitive case.
Why is the negation не placed right before ради rather than before the verb?
In Russian, you place the negation particle не directly in front of the specific word or phrase you are negating. By saying не ради славы, the sentence clarifies that they did accomplish the feat, but the motive was not glory. If it were не совершили, it would mean they didn't accomplish the feat at all.
Is совершить the standard verb to use with подвиг?
Yes, совершить (to accomplish or commit) is the natural pairing for подвиг (a feat or heroic deed). You will also frequently see this perfective verb paired with words for serious actions, such as совершить ошибку (to make a mistake) or совершить преступление (to commit a crime).
Why doesn't the accusative adjective великий change its ending here?
The phrase великий подвиг is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb совершили. Since подвиг is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form is identical to its nominative form. Because of this rule, modifying adjectives like великий also remain in their nominative-looking form.
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