Breakdown of Мы чуть было не съели червивую сыроежку.
мы
we
съесть
to eat
сыроежка
the russula mushroom
червивый
worm-eaten
Questions & Answers about Мы чуть было не съели червивую сыроежку.
What does чуть было не do in this sentence?
It means almost or came very close to doing something.
So Мы чуть было не съели червивую сыроежку means that we nearly ate the mushroom, but in the end we did not.
A useful point: even though the sentence contains не, the whole expression чуть было не + past verb usually means something almost happened.
Compare:
- Мы не съели сыроежку = We did not eat the russula
- Мы чуть было не съели сыроежку = We almost ate the russula
Why is there both чуть and не? Doesn't не just mean not?
By itself, yes, не usually negates a verb. But in the fixed pattern чуть не or чуть было не, it does not simply mean ordinary negation. The whole expression functions idiomatically as almost.
So here:
- съели = ate
- не съели = did not eat
- чуть было не съели = almost ate
This is one of those cases where you should learn the whole chunk together.
What is the difference between чуть не and чуть было не?