Breakdown of Весь проект представляет собой редкий феномен.
проект
the project
себя
oneself (себе: Dat/Prep)
весь
all, the whole, everything, everyone
редкий
rare
Questions & Answers about Весь проект представляет собой редкий феномен.
The lesson says представлять собой takes the accusative case, but редкий феномен looks like the nominative. Why?
It actually is in the accusative case! Because феномен is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form is identical to its nominative form. The adjective редкий perfectly matches this, so it also looks like the nominative.
What is the exact grammatical role of собой in this expression?
Собой is the instrumental case of the reflexive pronoun себя (oneself/itself). Literally, the verb phrase translates to represents by/with itself. In Russian, this fixed combination is used as a highly formal way to say is or constitutes.
Can I just use a dash instead of представляет собой to say the project IS a phenomenon?
Yes, you could simply say Весь проект — редкий феномен. Using a dash is very common and grammatically correct. However, представлять собой elevates the sentence to a formal, academic, or professional register, which fits perfectly with a conceptual word like феномен.
Can I drop собой and just say Весь проект представляет редкий феномен?
No, you should not drop it here. Without собой, the verb представлять usually means to represent in the sense of acting on behalf of someone (like a diplomat representing a country) or to submit/present (like a document). To mean to constitute or to inherently be something, the fixed phrase представлять собой is required.