There are some special expressions in any language related to time. In Russian, they have different grammatical forms comparing with English and other languages. This article introduces some of these expressions separated in several groups that vary by their meaning and grammatical form. You will learn how to express correctly the time in Russian!
1. Specific days
Grammatically, these words are adverbs formed from nouns.
Here are some example sentences below:
1. Specific days
Grammatically, these words are adverbs formed from nouns.
Here are some example sentences below:
- Вчера был чудесный день. / Yesterday was a great day.
- Я хочу погулять по городу сегодня. / I want to walk around the city today.
- Завтра я пойду на экскурсию. / Tomorrow I will go on excursion. Some particular dates are usually expressed by ordinal numerals with genitive case. For example:
- Пятого августа будет день нашей свадьбы. / Our wedding day will be on the 5th of August. 2. Parts of the day Parts of the day are expressed by invariable adverbs which initially were nouns. They go without any preposition in the sentence and can be both at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. Examples:
- Утром я встаю рано и принимаю душ. / I get up early and take a shower in the morning.
- Днём я на работе. / I am at work in the afternoon.
Я прихожу домой и ужинаю вечером. / I come back home and have dinner in the evening. If we talk about specific moments during the day, usually it is expressed by the preposition “в”and its accusative case. Example sentences: - Я смотрел телевизор, и в этот момент в комнату зашла моя дочь. / I was watching the TV and at that moment my daughter entered the room.
- В этот час все обычно спят. / Everybody usually sleeps at this hour.
- Моя любимая команда играет в эту секунду. / My favourite team is playing at this second. 3. Days of the week
- “Days of the week” are expressed with the preposition “в” and its accusative case. Example:
- В пятницу мы идём на концерт классической музыки. / On Friday, we are going to the classical music concert. If the action takes place during a week it is expressed by prepositional case. Example sentences:
- На этой неделе у меня много работы. / I have a lot of work this week.
- Я не ходил в спортзал на прошлой неделе. / I didn’t go to the gym last week. 4. Month and year “Specific month and year” normally goes with the prepositional case if it is used separately. Example sentences:
- в тысяча девятьсот девяносто пятом году. / In the year 1995.
- Джеймс идёт на языковые курсы русского языка в марте. / James is going to the Russian language course in March.
- В 1995 году Анна пошла в школу. / Anna went to school in the year 1995. If there is a date with a month and a year it is expressed by prepositional case + genitive case. 5. Frequency words There are some adverbs in Russian that specifies the frequency of the action. Example sentences:
- Обычно я еду на работу на машинe. / Usually, I commute to work by car.
- Ирина редко ходит по магазинам. / Irina rarely goes shopping.
- Иногда он изучает китайский язык вечером. / Sometimes he studies Chinese in the evening.
- Мы часто встречаем новых друзей, когда этого не ожидаем. / We often meet new friends when we don’t expect it.
- Елена никогда не думала о других людях. / Elena has never thought about other people.
- Михаил всегда знает, что сказать. / Michael always knows what to say. The position of all these time expressions is not fixed and can be different in a sentence. I really hope that this article can help those who read it brush up their Russian!
