Breakdown of Стоило сигнализации сработать, как диспетчер вскочил от страха.
от
from
вскочить
to jump up (pf)
страх
fear
как
than (in 'no sooner ... than')
сигнализация
alarm system
стоить
one had only to (as soon as)
сработать
to go off
диспетчер
dispatcher
Questions & Answers about Стоило сигнализации сработать, как диспетчер вскочил от страха.
How does the стоило ... как construction work in this sentence?
This structure translates to as soon as or no sooner had. It requires the logical subject to be in the Dative case (сигнализации), followed by an infinitive (сработать). The second part of the sentence always starts with как and uses the past tense to show the immediate result (диспетчер вскочил).
Why is сигнализации in the Dative case here?
In Russian, impersonal constructions often use the Dative case for the entity experiencing or doing the action. Since стоило acts as an impersonal trigger word here, the alarm (сигнализация) must take the Dative form (сигнализации) to act as the logical subject of the infinitive сработать.
Does сработать always mean to go off?
Not always, but it usually does when talking about alarms, traps, or automated mechanisms. While работать simply means to work, the perfective verb сработать emphasizes a mechanism triggering, firing, or a plan working out successfully in a single moment.
Why do we use от страха instead of из-за страха for from fear?
The preposition от followed by the Genitive case is used for uncontrollable, involuntary physical or emotional reactions. Since jumping up was a sudden reflex to the emotion of fear, от страха is the natural choice. Из-за is typically used for external circumstances rather than internal emotional reflexes.
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