Making plans with a friend is where several B1 pieces of Russian grammar quietly cooperate. The present tense does the work of the future ("what are you doing Saturday?"), suggestions run through the all-purpose Дава́й ("let's"), the verb for "let's go to the cinema" is a round-trip perfective (you'll come back, so it's сходи́ть, not one-way пойти́), and the time gets pinned down with в + accusative (в семь "at seven"). None of these is hard on its own, but together they form the natural rhythm of an everyday arrangement. Read the exchange first, then the commentary.
The dialogue
— Что ты де́лаешь в суббо́ту?
— What are you doing on Saturday?
— Ещё не зна́ю. А что?
— Don't know yet. Why? (lit. 'And what?')
— Дава́й схо́дим в кино́!
— Let's go to the cinema!
— Дава́й. Во ско́лько?
— Sure. At what time?
— Дава́й в семь.
— Let's say at seven.
— Отли́чно, договори́лись!
— Great, it's a deal!
Line by line
— Что ты де́лаешь в суббо́ту?
Что ты де́лаешь в суббо́ту? literally reads "What are you doing on Saturday?" — but в суббо́ту ("on Saturday") points to the future. Russian regularly uses the present tense for scheduled or planned future events, exactly as English does with "What are you doing this weekend?". The imperfective present де́лаешь fits because the question is open-ended ("what are your plans?"), not about a single completed result.
в суббо́ту is "on Saturday" — в + accusative for days of the week. суббо́та (feminine) → accusative суббо́ту. Days take в + accusative; this is the standard "on [day]" pattern.
- accusative: в суббо́ту, в понеде́льник, в сре́ду. (Months and years switch to other prepositions — в ма́е uses the prepositional — but days are reliably в
- accusative.) See accusative time expressions.
— Ещё не зна́ю. А что?
Ещё не зна́ю = "I don't know yet". Ещё ("yet, still") + the negated present не зна́ю ("I don't know"); the subject я is dropped because the -ю ending already says "I". The pairing ещё не is the standard "not yet".
А что? is a tiny idiom worth memorising: literally "And what?", but it means "Why do you ask? / What's up?" — the natural prompt for the other person to reveal their reason. It is not a request to repeat anything.
— Дава́й схо́дим в кино́!
This is the suggestion line, and it is dense with B1 grammar.
Дава́й is the universal "let's" particle. Originally the imperative of дава́ть ("to give" → "come on, let's"), it now heads almost every casual proposal. With the ты-form Дава́й you're addressing one friend; to a group or politely you'd say Дава́йте.
схо́дим is the 1st-person plural perfective of сходи́ть ("to go and come back, make a round trip on foot"). Two things are happening:
- After Дава́й, Russian uses the perfective 1st-plural (the future-form -им/-ем ending) to mean "let's [do it]": Дава́й схо́дим = "let's go". (With an imperfective verb you'd add the infinitive instead — Дава́й смотре́ть "let's watch" — but for a single planned outing the perfective 1pl is the idiomatic choice.)
- The verb is сходи́ть, not one-way пойти́, because going to the cinema is a there-and-back trip — you watch the film and return. The prefix с- on a ходить-type stem gives exactly this "go and come back" meaning. Using пойти́ ("set off, head out [one way]") would suggest leaving for the cinema with no implied return.
в кино́ = "to the cinema" — в + accusative for the destination. кино́ is indeclinable, so it doesn't change form; the accusative is grammatically there but invisible.
- the perfective 1st-plural (the form that looks like the future "we'll…"): Дава́й схо́дим "let's go", Дава́й посмо́трим "let's watch", Дава́й встре́тимся "let's meet". For an open-ended/repeated activity, instead use Дава́й
- imperfective infinitive: Дава́й гуля́ть "let's go for a walk". See let's and third-person commands.
— Дава́й. Во ско́лько?
A bare Дава́й here is the agreement "OK / sure / let's" — the same particle now accepting the proposal. Russian often answers a Дава́й… suggestion with an echoing Дава́й meaning "yes, let's".
Во ско́лько? = "At what time?". Note the form: the preposition в becomes во before the cluster ско- (Russian inserts -о for easier pronunciation, as in во вре́мя, во сне). ско́лько ("how much/many") here means "[at] what hour".
— Дава́й в семь.
Дава́й в семь — "Let's say at seven". A third Дава́й, now meaning "let's [make it]", followed by the time.
в семь = "at seven (o'clock)" — в + accusative for clock time. With numerals on the hour, семь ("seven") doesn't visibly change (it's a numeral, and в + the bare numeral is the fixed pattern for "at [o'clock]"). So clock times work just like days: в + accusative — в семь, в во́семь, в час.
- the hour: в семь "at seven", в час "at one", в полови́не восьмо́го "at half past seven". And note the buffer vowel: в → во before tricky clusters — во ско́лько?, во вто́рник. Same case (accusative) that days take.
— Отли́чно, договори́лись!
A satisfying close. Отли́чно = "Great / excellent". договори́лись is the past tense of договори́ться ("to agree, settle on something") — 1st-plural past, literally "(we have) agreed", used as the set phrase "it's a deal / agreed". Russian seals arrangements with this perfective past — the agreement is treated as a done deal, hence the completed (perfective) form.
Vocabulary gloss
| Word / phrase | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| что ты де́лаешь | what are you doing | present tense = planned future |
| в суббо́ту | on Saturday | в + accusative for days |
| ещё не | not yet | ещё "still/yet" + negation |
| А что? | why do you ask? | idiom, not "and what?" |
| дава́й(те) | let's / come on / OK | suggestion + agreement particle |
| схо́дим | let's go (and come back) | perfective 1pl of сходи́ть |
| в кино́ | to the cinema | в + accusative; кино́ indeclinable |
| во ско́лько? | at what time? | в → во before -ско- |
| в семь | at seven | в + accusative for clock time |
| отли́чно | great, excellent | agreement / approval |
| договори́лись | it's a deal / agreed | perfective past of договори́ться |
Register note
This whole exchange is informal: ты (Что ты де́лаешь), the ты-form Дава́й (not Дава́йте), and the casual idiom А что? and sign-off договори́лись. That fits two friends. With someone you address as вы, you'd shift to Дава́йте схо́дим… and a more measured tone (Не хоти́те ли сходи́ть в кино́? "Would you like to go to the cinema?" is the polite alternative). The grammar of the suggestion is identical; only the particle (Дава́й vs Дава́йте) and the surrounding pronouns carry the register.
Common Mistakes
❌ Что ты бу́дешь де́лать в суббо́ту? (for routine 'what are your plans?')
Not wrong, but Russians default to the present for plans: Что ты де́лаешь в суббо́ту? The future sounds heavier/more predictive.
✅ Что ты де́лаешь в суббо́ту?
What are you doing on Saturday?
❌ Дава́й сходи́ть в кино́.
After Дава́й for a single outing use the perfective 1st-plural (схо́дим), not the bare infinitive.
✅ Дава́й схо́дим в кино́.
Let's go to the cinema.
❌ Дава́й пойдём в кино́ и посмо́трим фильм, а пото́м верну́мся...
Overbuilt — for 'let's go (and come back)' the single round-trip verb сходи́ть already says it: Дава́й схо́дим в кино́.
✅ Дава́й схо́дим в кино́.
Let's go to the cinema (and back).
❌ В ско́лько?
Before the cluster -ско- the preposition needs the buffer vowel: во ско́лько?
✅ Во ско́лько?
At what time?
❌ Дава́й на семь.
Clock time takes в, not на: в семь.
✅ Дава́й в семь.
Let's make it seven.
Key Takeaways
- Present tense = planned future: Что ты де́лаешь в суббо́ту? asks about plans, not the present moment.
- Дава́й(те) is the all-purpose "let's" — and, echoed back, also "OK, agreed".
- For a single proposed action, Дава́й + perfective 1st-plural (схо́дим, посмо́трим); for an open activity, Дава́й + imperfective infinitive (гуля́ть).
- сходи́ть / съе́здить = a there-and-back outing; one-way пойти́ is just "set off".
- в + accusative pins down days (в суббо́ту) and clock time (в семь); use the buffer во before clusters (во ско́лько?).
- Seal the plan with договори́лись ("it's a deal") — the perfective past of agreeing.
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