Breakdown of Многое здесь изменилось.
здесь
here
многое
much, many things
измениться
to change (intransitive, perfective)
Questions & Answers about Многое здесь изменилось.
Why does the verb изменилось take the neuter singular form here instead of the plural?
The subject is многое (much / many things), which is grammatically a neuter singular pronoun. Unlike phrases with много plus a plural noun (where the verb can sometimes be plural), the standalone pronoun многое always requires strict grammatical agreement, meaning the verb must be neuter singular.
Could I use много instead of многое as the subject here?
Not in this context. Много is an adverb of quantity typically used to modify a noun or verb, like in много людей (many people). Многое, however, is an adjective acting as an independent noun, meaning 'many things' or 'a lot of things.' Since this abstract concept is the standalone subject, you must use многое.
If I wanted to say 'Many changed' referring to people, would the agreement stay the same?
No. If you are referring to 'many people,' you would use the plural form многие. The verb must then agree in the plural, so the sentence would be Многие здесь изменились. Многое is strictly neuter singular and used for abstract things or situations.
Why is the verb reflexive (изменилось) in this sentence?
In Russian, the non-reflexive изменить means to change something else, which requires a direct object. Because the subject (многое) is undergoing the change itself rather than changing another object, you must use the reflexive form измениться. Note that it ends in -сь rather than -ся because the neuter past tense ending -о is a vowel.
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