Learn Hardcore Russian: Мой друг идёт по длинной улице. - My friend is walking along the long street.

Russian doesn’t use articles like a or the. In this sentence, Мой друг simply means “my friend” without needing an additional word to indicate definiteness.

What case is друг in, and why is that form used?

Друг is in the nominative case because it’s the subject of the sentence. In Russian, subjects are always in the nominative case.

How does the possessive adjective мой agree with друг?

In Russian, adjectives—including possessives—must match the noun they modify in gender, number, and case. Since друг is masculine, singular, and in the nominative case, мой is used in its masculine nominative singular form to agree correctly.

What does the verb идёт indicate, and which aspect does it represent?

Идёт is the third person singular present tense form of the verb идти. It is imperfective, indicating that the action of walking is currently in progress, thus showing that the friend is on his way along the street.

How is the phrase по длинной улице constructed, particularly regarding the case of улица?

The preposition по is used to express movement along or through an area, and with this usage, it requires the noun to be in the dative case. Here, улица changes to улице (feminine dative singular), and the adjective длинной is declined to match (feminine, dative singular), meaning “along the long street.”

Why is идёт chosen instead of ходит in this context?

Though both идёт and ходит can translate as “goes” or “walks,” идёт is typically used for a single, ongoing action—emphasizing that the friend is currently walking along the street—whereas ходит often describes habitual or repeated movement.