Breakdown of Сначала нас было семеро, но потом они отделились.
они
they
нас
us
быть
to be
сначала
first
потом
then
но
but
семеро
seven (collective)
отделиться
to break away (perf)
Questions & Answers about Сначала нас было семеро, но потом они отделились.
Why does the sentence use the genitive pronoun нас instead of the nominative мы?
When a collective numeral like семеро is used as a predicate with a personal pronoun to say how many of 'us', 'you', or 'them' there are, the pronoun must take the Genitive case (нас, вас, их).
Why is the verb было in the neuter singular rather than the plural были?
Because the logical subject of the first clause is the Genitive pronoun нас. When a clause is built around a Genitive quantity rather than a Nominative subject, the past tense verb defaults to the impersonal neuter singular form (было).
Could I use the standard cardinal number семь here instead of the collective numeral семеро?
You could technically say нас было семь, but Russian strongly prefers collective numerals (like двое, трое, семеро) when combining quantities with personal pronouns. It emphasizes that the people originally formed a single, cohesive group.
Why does отделились have the reflexive -сь ending?
The non-reflexive verb отделить means to physically separate or detach a different object. Adding the reflexive suffix makes it intransitive. Отделиться means to separate oneself or break away, showing here that the smaller group split off from the main group on their own action.
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