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Questions & Answers about Моя собака бегает на газоне.
Why is the adjective Моя used instead of Мой in this sentence?
Because the noun собака (dog) is feminine in Russian, adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify. Моя is the feminine form of мой, so it correctly matches собака.
What does the verb бегает tell us about the action, and why is it used rather than бежит?
Бегает is the imperfective form of the verb бегать, which implies habitual or repeated action. This indicates that the dog regularly runs on the lawn. In contrast, бежит (a form of the verb бежать) would describe a single, ongoing event rather than a repeated behavior.
Why is the preposition на used before газоне instead of a preposition like в?
In Russian, на is commonly used with surfaces or open areas such as lawns, tables, or fields. The preposition на appropriately indicates that the dog is running on the surface of the lawn. Additionally, with на the noun takes the prepositional case (here, газоне) to show location.
How is the prepositional case indicated in газоне, and what does it tell us?
Газоне is the singular prepositional form of газон. The ending -е is added to the stem to form this case, which is used after certain prepositions (like на) to denote location. This marking helps clarify where the action is taking place.
Could the sentence structure be rearranged without changing the meaning, and if so, how?
Yes, Russian word order is quite flexible due to its case system. For example, you could say На газоне бегает моя собака. Although the order changes and may place emphasis differently (in this case, on the location), the meaning remains the same because the cases clearly indicate each word’s role.
Why are there no articles like the or a in the sentence?
Russian does not have articles. The language relies on context and word endings to convey definiteness or indefiniteness. In this sentence, the possessive Моя already indicates that it is "my dog," so no additional articles are needed.