Breakdown of Что касается брата, он ещё учится.
брат
brother
он
he / it (for a masculine noun) / it (for a neuter noun)
учиться
to study (be a student)
ещё
still, more
что касается
as for, regarding
Questions & Answers about Что касается брата, он ещё учится.
The lesson topic includes то after the comma, but this sentence just says он ещё учится without it. Why is то missing here?
The full formal construction is indeed Что касается + Genitive + , то... where то acts as a structural pivot introducing the main clause. However, in conversational Russian, it is very common to drop то, just like in this sentence. Adding it back in to say ...то он ещё учится would be equally correct.
Why is брата in the genitive case here?
It is required by the verb касается. The verb касаться literally means "to touch," and in Russian, verbs of touching or reaching govern the genitive case. The phrase что касается translates literally as "what touches [of]..." which is why it forces the following noun into the genitive.
Why use the reflexive учится instead of изучает or занимается?
The verb учиться means "to be a student" or "to attend school," which fits perfectly here because he is still in his schooling years. You would use изучать if you were mentioning a specific subject (like studying math), and заниматься if you meant he was actively doing his homework at this very moment.
How do we know ещё means "still" in this sentence, rather than "more" or "yet"?
When ещё modifies a continuous affirmative action (like attending school), it translates naturally to "still." It would mean "yet" if the verb were negative, like ещё не учится (is not studying yet). It typically means "more" when it modifies a noun or a quantity, like asking for more tea.
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