Breakdown of Несмотря на злые насмешки, комик сохранял спокойствие.
злой
angry, mean
сохранять
to preserve
спокойствие
peace (calmness, tranquility)
несмотря на
despite (+ noun)
комик
comedian
насмешка
mockery
Questions & Answers about Несмотря на злые насмешки, комик сохранял спокойствие.
What case is used after несмотря на, and why does злые насмешки just look like the nominative plural?
The preposition несмотря на requires the Accusative case. Because насмешки (mockeries) is an inanimate noun, its Accusative plural form is identical to the Nominative plural. If the comedian were ignoring people instead, the animate Accusative would look like the Genitive (for example, несмотря на злых критиков).
I know смотреть means 'to look.' Why is несмотря written as a single word in this sentence?
When it acts as the concessive preposition 'despite,' it is always written as one word: несмотря на. It developed from the verbal adverb meaning 'not looking at,' but if you want to use that literal physical meaning (for example, walking 'without looking' at your feet), you must write it as two separate words: не смотря на.
Why is the imperfective verb сохранял used here instead of the perfective сохранил?
The imperfective сохранял is used because keeping calm was a continuous state. The comedian was maintaining his composure over a period of time while being mocked. The perfective сохранил would imply a single, finished action, like saving a file or successfully preserving a specific object.
Does злые mean 'angry' or 'mean' in this context?
It means 'mean' or 'malicious' here. While злой frequently means 'angry' when talking about a person's mood or an aggressive dog, it translates to 'mean', 'spiteful', or 'wicked' when describing abstract things like jokes, words, or intentions.
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