Breakdown of Они избирают его муниципальным депутатом.
они
they
его
him / it (acc)
депутат
deputy
муниципальный
municipal
Questions & Answers about Они избирают его муниципальным депутатом.
Why is муниципальным депутатом in the Instrumental case rather than the Accusative like его?
The verb избирать (to elect) is a verb of appointing. In Russian, verbs of appointing, naming, and considering take a direct object in the Accusative case (here, его) for the person being appointed, and the Instrumental case for the role or title they are given (муниципальным депутатом).
Where is the word for "as" in this sentence?
There isn't one! English uses "as" (to elect someone as a deputy), but Russian expresses this relationship purely through the verb's requirement of the Instrumental case. Adding a word like как (how/as) would be grammatically incorrect here.
If I want to say "They elected him..." in the past tense, which aspect of the verb do I use?
To talk about a single, completed election, you would use the past tense of the perfective verb избрать, giving you Они избрали его.... The imperfective form избирают used here emphasizes an ongoing process, a recurring event, or the historical present.
Can I ever use the Nominative case for the profession with this verb?
No. With verbs of electing, appointing, and becoming, the resulting role or profession must be in the Instrumental case. The Nominative case in this sentence is strictly reserved for the subject doing the electing (Они).