Learn Hardcore Russian: Я иду по красивой тропинке в саду. - I am walking along a beautiful path in the garden.

The preposition по in the sentence governs the dative case when indicating movement along something. Since тропинка is a feminine noun, its dative singular form is тропинке. This form shows that the walking action is happening along the path.

What case is the adjective красивой in, and why is it used in that form?

The adjective красивой is in the feminine singular dative case, matching the noun тропинке. In Russian, adjectives agree in gender, number, and case with the nouns they describe, so because тропинка appears in the dative after по, the adjective must also be in the dative.

Why does the sentence include the subject Я when Russian often omits subject pronouns?

Although Russian frequently drops subject pronouns when the subject is clear from context, including Я helps clarify who is performing the action. In this sentence, it makes the statement explicit and is very useful for learners to see the clear subject–verb relationship.

How does the prepositional phrase в саду function in this sentence?

The phrase в саду uses the preposition в with the noun сад in its prepositional case (which for сад becomes саду). This phrase indicates where the action is taking place – that is, the beautiful path is located in the garden.

What is the difference between using иду and хожу in the context of walking?

Иду denotes an action of walking in one direction or at a specific moment (often a single, ongoing movement), while хожу is used to express habitual or multi-directional movement. In this sentence, иду is chosen to indicate that the speaker is currently in the process of walking along the path.