Breakdown of Нам приходится нагревать воск, но его не с чем смешивать.
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
мы
we
но
but
с
with (also со)
нечего
nothing (there is nothing to...)
смешивать
to mix
нагревать
to heat
приходиться
to have to
воск
wax
Questions & Answers about Нам приходится нагревать воск, но его не с чем смешивать.
Why is the preposition с in the middle of the phrase не с чем?
When a negative predicative pronoun like нечем (nothing) is used with a preposition, the preposition splits the pronoun into three separate words and sits right in the middle. This turns what you might expect to be с нечем (which is incorrect) into не с чем. In these split constructions, the stress always falls heavily on не.
Why do we use the dative pronoun нам with приходится?
The verb приходиться (to have to / to be forced to) is an impersonal verb used to describe an action imposed by external circumstances rather than a personal choice. Like many impersonal constructions in Russian, the logical subject who is experiencing the obligation must take the dative case, giving us нам.
Is воск in the nominative case here?
It is actually in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb нагревать (to heat). Because воск (wax) is an inanimate masculine noun, its accusative form looks exactly the same as its dictionary (nominative) form.
Why is the pronoun его used before не с чем смешивать?
Его means it here, referring back to the masculine noun воск. It acts as the direct object of the infinitive verb смешивать (to mix). The second half of the sentence implies: there is nothing for us to mix it with. Because it is the direct object receiving the action of mixing, it takes the accusative case его.
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