Отпуск был долгим, и в автобусе я встретил много интересных людей.

The vacation was long, and on the bus I met many interesting people.

Breakdown of Отпуск был долгим, и в автобусе я встретил много интересных людей.

• я: I
• в: in
• много: many
• быть: to be
• интересный: interesting
• и: and
• человек: the person
• встретить: to meet
• отпуск: the vacation
• автобус: the bus
• долгий: long

Questions & Answers about Отпуск был долгим, и в автобусе я встретил много интересных людей.

Why is the adjective долгим in the instrumental case after был?

In Russian, when a predicate adjective follows a linking verb like был (was), it typically appears in the instrumental case. This construction emphasizes the state or quality of the subject—in this case, that the vacation was long.

What is the function of the comma before и in this sentence?

The comma separates two independent clauses that are joined by the coordinating conjunction и (and). Both clauses express complete ideas, so the comma is used to clearly divide the sentence into its two parts.

How is the verb встретил conjugated, and what does it tell us about the action?

Встретил is the masculine, singular past tense form of the perfective verb встретить (to meet). It indicates that the speaker, я, completed the action of meeting interesting people, emphasizing that the event happened during a specific moment (the bus ride).

Why are интересных and людей in the genitive plural form in the phrase много интересных людей?

In Russian, when using quantifiers like много (many), both the noun and its descriptive adjectives are typically put in the genitive plural. This grammatical rule explains why интересных and людей appear in the genitive plural to express the idea of “many interesting people.”

What role does the prepositional phrase в автобусе serve, and why might it be placed at the beginning of the clause?

The phrase в автобусе functions as an adverbial modifier indicating location—specifically, that the meeting happened on the bus. Russian word order is relatively flexible, so placing this phrase at the beginning can help emphasize where the action occurred or provide a contextual frame for the rest of the sentence.

How is the sentence structured, and what are its main components?

The sentence is composed of two independent clauses connected by и (and). The first clause, Отпуск был долгим, introduces the subject and its quality. The second clause, в автобусе я встретил много интересных людей, describes an event that occurred during the vacation. This structure links two related ideas into a cohesive narrative.