Комик шутил, невзирая на выкрики из зала.
The comedian joked, regardless of the shouts from the hall.
Questions & Answers about Комик шутил, невзирая на выкрики из зала.
Why is выкрики in the accusative case here instead of prepositional, even though it follows на?
The phrase невзирая на is a fixed concessive preposition meaning regardless of or despite. Just like its more common synonym несмотря на, it dictates that the following noun must take the accusative case. Since выкрик (shout) is an inanimate noun, its plural accusative выкрики looks exactly like its nominative form.
What does невзирая literally mean, and why is there a comma before it?
Historically, невзирая is a verbal adverb (gerund) from the formal verb взирать (to gaze or look at). Literally, it means not looking at. Although it functions as a preposition today, Russian punctuation rules still treat it like a verbal adverb clause, which is why you must always separate it from the main sentence with a comma.
The word for shouts here is выкрики. What nuance does the prefix вы- add to the basic word крик?
While крик is a general cry or scream, the prefix вы- adds the sense of outward movement. A выкрик is specifically a sudden call out, exclamation, or heckle from a crowd, which perfectly fits the context of an audience interrupting a comedian.
Why is from the hall translated as из зала rather than от зала?