Breakdown of Она, между прочим, известный врач.
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
врач
doctor
известный
famous
между прочим
incidentally, by the way
Questions & Answers about Она, между прочим, известный врач.
Why is the masculine phrase известный врач used when the subject is Она (she)?
Many Russian profession nouns, like врач (doctor), are strictly masculine. When referring to a female professional, the noun remains masculine, and any adjective directly modifying it must also be masculine to agree with the noun's grammatical gender. So, it is always известный врач, never известная врач. Note that if there is a past-tense verb, it often takes the feminine form to match the actual person (e.g., врач сказала - the doctor said).
What is the literal translation of между прочим, and why does it take that ending?
It literally translates to "between other things." The word прочим is the instrumental case of прочее (other things / the rest), because the preposition между (between/among) requires the instrumental case here. In everyday speech, it functions as a set phrase meaning "incidentally" or "by the way."
I sometimes see a dash used to mean "is" in Russian. Why isn't there one here?
In Russian, a dash replaces the present-tense verb "to be" when both the subject and predicate are nouns (e.g., Иван — врач). However, when the subject is a personal pronoun like она, the dash is generally omitted. Additionally, the phrase между прочим separates the subject and predicate here, which also overrides any need for a dash.
Are the commas around между прочим strictly necessary?
Yes. In Russian grammar, между прочим acts as a parenthetical phrase or "introductory word" (вводное слово). These are phrases that express the speaker's attitude or structure the thought, rather than forming the core grammatical meaning of the sentence. They must always be isolated with commas, no matter where they are placed.
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