Breakdown of Они хотят разделить луг и засеять его.
и
and
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
они
they
хотеть
to want
разделить
to divide
луг
meadow
засеять
to sow (an area, perfective)
Questions & Answers about Они хотят разделить луг и засеять его.
The verb разделить means 'to divide' here. Is this the same word used when talking about mathematical fractions and division in the current lesson?
Yes! The verb разделить (or its imperfective pair делить) is exactly what you use for mathematical division. For example, 'to divide by three' is разделить на три. A fraction itself is a дробь, but the action of splitting a whole into parts—whether it is a mathematical whole or a meadow—uses this exact root.
How does the prefix за- in засеять change the meaning of the basic verb сеять (to sow)?
The prefix за- often adds the meaning of covering a surface completely or filling up a space. While сеять is just the general process of sowing seeds, засеять means to cover an entire area (in this case, the meadow) with seeds from edge to edge.
Why are разделить and засеять both in the perfective aspect after хотят?
After verbs expressing desire like хотеть (to want), you use the perfective aspect when you aim for a specific, completed result. They do not just want to spend time in the process of dividing and sowing; they want the meadow completely divided and fully sown.
The word его usually translates to 'him' or 'his'. Why does it mean 'it' in this sentence?
Его is the accusative form of the pronoun он (he/it). Because the Russian word for meadow, луг, is a masculine noun, it must be replaced by the masculine pronoun он. Since the meadow is the direct object receiving the action of the verb засеять, the pronoun takes the accusative form его.
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