Breakdown of В нашем атласе есть информация как о реке Волге, так и об этом материке.
и
and
наш
our (наш, наша, наше)
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
в
in / to (direction)
о
about (о, об, обо)
есть
is, there is, to have
информация
information
так
so, like this
река
river
как
as (in comparisons)
атлас
atlas (m)
Волга
Volga (f)
материк
continent (m)
Questions & Answers about В нашем атласе есть информация как о реке Волге, так и об этом материке.
Why do both реке and Волге change to the prepositional case here?
This is appositive agreement. When a generic geographical term (like река, river) is used with a familiar, declinable proper name (like Волга), they usually agree in case. Since the preposition о takes the prepositional case, both words decline together: о реке Волге.
Would it ever be correct to leave the river's name in the nominative, like о реке Волга?
In standard, everyday Russian, no. For well-known rivers, cities, and towns that naturally decline, the name must agree with the generic noun. Leaving it in the nominative (о реке Волга) is mostly restricted to strict geographic, military, or official documents to avoid any confusion about the exact base name.
What is the grammar behind the phrase как о... так и об...?
This sentence uses the paired correlative conjunction как [X], так и [Y], which means 'both [X] and [Y]'. It is a great intermediate structure to link two ideas with equal weight. Notice that the preposition (о or об) must be repeated in both halves of the phrase.
Why does the preposition change from о before the river to об before the continent?
The preposition о ('about') changes to об when the word immediately following it begins with a spoken vowel sound (like а, о, у, э, и). Because the pronoun этом starts with the vowel э, it requires об этом.
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