Questions & Answers about В целом результаты хорошие.
Why is целом in the prepositional case here?
The phrase в целом is a fixed expression meaning "on the whole" or "in general." It uses the preposition в with the prepositional case of the adjective целый (whole or entire), which is acting here as a noun.
Could I use the short form adjective хороши instead of хорошие in this sentence?
You could, but it changes the tone. The long form хорошие simply states a fact: the results belong to the category of good things. The short form хороши is more emphatic, formal, or evaluative, almost like saying "are quite fine!" In everyday contexts, the long form is standard here.
Why isn't there a comma after В целом like there is for many other introductory phrases?
While many Russian introductory words require commas, в целом is typically treated as a regular adverbial modifier meaning "generally." It does not take a comma unless the writer wants to indicate a very distinct, deliberate pause.
Why does the plural adjective хорошие end in -ие rather than the usual -ые?
This is a classic application of the 7-letter spelling rule. You can never write the letter ы after the consonants г, к, х, ж, ч, ш, щ. Because the stem of this word ends in ш, the standard plural adjective ending -ые must be spelled as -ие.
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