Breakdown of Агент работал в другой стране много лет.
много
a lot
работать
to work
год
year
страна
country
другой
other
агент
the agent (m)
Questions & Answers about Агент работал в другой стране много лет.
Why is there no preposition translating the English word 'for' in много лет?
To express how long an action lasts, Russian uses a quantity phrase or the bare accusative case without any preposition. English speakers often mistakenly try to use для or на. However, для means 'for the benefit of', and на implies the duration of a result, not the duration of the action itself.
Why is the word for 'years' лет here instead of a form of год?
Why is the verb работал in the imperfective aspect?
The imperfective aspect is required here because the sentence focuses on the continuous duration of an action in the past. Whenever you state exactly how long an action took place using phrases like много лет (for many years), you are emphasizing the ongoing process rather than a single completed result.
Why does the adjective другой end in -ой in this sentence?
The phrase в другой стране is in the prepositional case because it answers the question 'where?' to indicate a location. For feminine singular adjectives in the prepositional case, the standard ending is -ой, which modifies the feminine noun страна (country).
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